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Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:48 pm

Every time I've braved the snow in a pre rusted bus around here it worked great, but you have to give yourself lots of space to stop as the ass end is always trying to pass the front.

You need a good heater, good brakes, good lights, good tires, a light foot and lots of goop underneath like ovalbug, oh yeah and hose it off underneath and in the rockers and framerails whenever you can.

We only get 2-3 snowfalls a year around here and it's the slushy, slippery stuff. Some of the local drivers make it such a freak show it's safer to stay home until it melts.

Mon Nov 13, 2006 5:54 pm

Randy in Maine wrote: To me the best way to get through winter driving is to:

Make sure your brakes are working properly and are not pulling.
Keep all of your lights and wipers in good working order.
Ditto to heat and defrost.
Snow tires are a plus. All season radials are the south's revenge for the north winning the Civil War or the war of "Northern Agression". :shock:
Keep it full of gas. It will pay off.
Make all of your moves steady and deliberate.
Give yourself some space for evasive maneuvers. Body parts are hard to score for anything I am driving.
Stay away from yahoos that are an accident waiting to happen.
Take the time to remove all of the snow and ice from yoru car so that it is never an issue.
Use your rear wheel drive to your advantage for slowing down in a straight line.

Thank you Randy......you read the OP and replied with advice!

how odd......:wink:

Mon Nov 13, 2006 6:32 pm

Here is a tip:

If you find yourself stuck in some snow with only one wheel spinning, lightly apply the hand/emergency brake, that will get the other wheel spinning enough to maybe get you out.

:P

Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:36 pm

Here in metro NYC you need salt. no open ground, poor drainage. = sheets of ice, not to mention 100 cars to sq foot

Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:09 am

Big thanks to everyone's imput... Some of the tips mentioned, I would have never thought of. If my bus and I make it through winter in one peice, I'll give an update.

Cheers,
B.C

Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:18 pm

Thiings I've noticed in driving my bus for years up to Mt. Hood (Oregon) to go skiing:

4 studded snow tires are better than 2.

Chains are handy, although I've only had to use them 3 times in the last 25 years, and that was in Portland on the flats.

If somebody's riding your ass coming down a steep snowy hill, let'em, speeding up in our busses is not recommended, or as soon as you start doing a lot of braking, gravity will take over and the engine wishes to go downhill first, and you will see more scenery than you wish (as it flashes past the windshield as you spin).

Don't leave the parking brake on when you're off skiing all day. :wink:

Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:24 pm

No frozen fuel lines after your day skying ?
I had, but with another car.

Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:06 pm

Frozen fuel lines??
craggy...
how can i avoid that?

Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:17 pm

jamesinkster wrote: Frozen fuel lines??
craggy...
how can i avoid that?
When I was in Chicago, I vaguely remember a product named "Heath" or somthing, to add in the tank to remove moisture ( a spray or a liquid ).

In France, after skying all day, we could have a frozen gas line. Then we rigged a gas can as an alternate tank, with a hose, direct to the fuel pump ( may be direct to the carb ). That was enough to start, go back down to milder temperatures.

BTW The frozen gas line was on cars with tank at the back, engine at the front, gas line under the floor.
I did a lot of snow driving, but a little with a VW bus. A VW bus can do some, but it cannot perform on tough winter mountain conditions.

Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:25 pm

I think it is called "heet" and is a fuel line dryer. Somesort of alcohol as I recall.

Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:27 pm

Randy in Maine wrote: I think it is called "heet" and is a fuel line dryer. Somesort of alcohol as I recall.
Right, that must be it, Chicago 1978 or Boston 1976.

Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:31 pm

vwbdog wrote: Hello,

I'm new to the whole cold weather driving when it comes to my '76 bus. What precautions should I take when I encounter snow (how well does a bus drive in snow, Chains?), and are their maintenance issues I should be ready for?

Looking forward to responces :-)

I drove my 77 bus all winter in Anchorage Alaska last winter... I have a set of studded tires that I use and it drove awesome! No issues what so ever.. other then a little chilly with the sub Zero temps...

Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:34 am

just make sure you carry a TOW STRAP not a $5 cheapie either.. but a $40 decent unit that won't break when the strains of a stuck SUV you have to pull out :twisted:

tow strap isn't for you, it's for the SUV latte, cell phone, screaming kid folk.. :x

Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:18 pm

Quote: (how well does a bus drive in snow,

steering is a problem, but the traction is great. even better up hill since the more you tip it to the rear the more vehicle body weight you have over the drive wheels. with the engine, gas tank, and much of the bus all over the drive wheels, it has better traction up hills than any other two wheel drive vehicle. now imagine if it had a limited slip diffy. for early bays, a more powerful engine with an 091 trans would also improve traction at low RPMs. for those with no snow experience, low RPMs in highest doable gear is the best way to keep traction.

an a full gas tank gives it even more traction, and it keeps the line from freezing. when purchasing the gasline antifreeze, make sure it is isopropyl alcohol. the methyl is not nearly as good a value.

put some weight in the front when snowgoing, for the sake of your steering.

Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:41 pm

Most vehicles have the motor in the front so the better traction is over the front wheels giving you better steering in the snow. Now Because the Vw bus has the engine in the back it has better traction over the back tires thus giving it better traction on the driving wheels but because theres no weight in the front exept our own bodys, I put sand bags between the front seats to add extra weight to the front so that I get better steering in the snow and on the logging roads. Another good tip is to never slam your breaks on around a corner YOU WILL SLIDE IN THE DITCH. Instead approach the corner slowly. As for VW busses in the snow I think there great but like any car have to be coaxed correctly in the snow to stay in control.

Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:49 pm

73kombi wrote: I never understood why the east/mid-west side of this country cant drive on flat ground without dumping salt all over the place? It ain't like salt is that much cheaper than dirt.
peace
We (drivers) don't dump the salt. The local government does it, and they don't ask permission.
Maybe it's the same reason that they still make car bodies out of rustable sheet steel after over 100 years of making cars. They do it so that you have to buy a new car every so often. They also time the traffic signal lights so that you have to stop at every intersection regardless of cross traffic conditions. People are getting fed up and running the lights. Instead of retiming the lights, they put in expensive cameras to catch the red-light-runners.
Maybe big oil is footing the bill for that one?
I don't know. It all fits together in the general stupidity of departments of transportation somehow.

More to the point: I carry tire chains, but it gets around pretty well for a rear wheel drive, I think.

Rob

Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:19 am

I was hitch-hiking home from work at Copper Mountain Ski Resort in '92 and was picked up by this cool (cold) ol' hippie in a late 50's bus. We pulled the up-side of Freemont Pass at 30 mph and had to scrape the frost off of the windshield with cassette tape cases. That was the safest I had ever felt in any vehicle on that road all winter (exept my '73 Beetle of course :wink: ). No chains, just good safe driving.

Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:13 am

I drove a '70 westy all last winter at 8500 feet in Colorado, and only got seriously stuck once. It snows ALOT where I live, but I was very impressed with how the bay did.

I once got a ticket for driving through a snowstorm on I25 when it was closed in Colorado in a '60 Westy (wish I still had her!), she did great, I was crusin with chains when I got pulled over, the cop seemed shocked that I was rolling a split through 20 inches of snow. I made it no problem to CO Springs from Telluride, but then the clutch took a dump and I had to pull a engine in the snow and that was miserable. I think the conditions had something to do with the clutch going out, but I'm not sure.

If your going to carry chains, carry bungee cords too, they can be looped through the chains over the hub and will take up the slack. If you've never put chains on tires before, practice when it doesn't matter.

That said, I'm rolling a Nissan pickup this season, 4WD and heat are good things too.

Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:17 am

casey79westfalia wrote: Actually my bro lives in Fort Collins and evrytime I come out to colorado I go bus hunting. Colorado buses still rust just like they do on the east coast.

It's a matter of perspective. To us Left Coast folks, Colorado is quite a ways east!

When they talk about "west coast" buses they are actually referring to desert buses. Nothing like nice dry air to keep the rust demons at bay!

Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:57 pm

spyder wrote: I was hitch-hiking home from work at Copper Mountain Ski Resort in '92 and was picked up by this cool (cold) ol' hippie in a late 50's bus. We pulled the up-side of Freemont Pass at 30 mph and had to scrape the frost off of the windshield with cassette tape cases. That was the safest I had ever felt in any vehicle on that road all winter (exept my '73 Beetle of course :wink: ). No chains, just good safe driving.
I love, this VW community, giving me, great memories, from the late 70s.
I was in Copper Mountain, Snow Mass, Aspen at various times in the year with a Rabbit or a Westy.
Near, Copper mountain, cheap and nice stay in Frisco, where it looks so much like the French Alpes. And fantastic snow ( but bald landscape ) going to the highest places around Copper Mountain.
If you've pics, where I could see what became of this great skying area, please show it to me.