Ah the old 82 Westy

[wolfej1]

Have not posted in quite a while but have been checking in somewhat regularly. Have a trip planned to drive to Tucson AZ from Cleveland OH in a few weeks and am debating whether or not to take the Westy or my 07 Toyota Tacoma.

Common sense is obvious here, but my sense of adventure dictates otherwise. Only have 8K on the rebuild and the old fella runs pretty good, however in the back of my mind I keep seeing us on the side of the road somewhere in BFE waiting for a tow truck......

I remember when I bought the Westy, it was for making trips such as these, and now that I have the opportunity I am hesitant to to do it...

Maybe if I was retired and time was not as critical I would feel differently.

Regardless, anyone else ever had this sort of dilemma? Just curious

Have a fine day everyone!

[Dampcamper]

(1) Triple A Plus, Motor Home style.
(2) Leave yourself some extra time. If you don't need it to handle unexpected problems, then you can use it for fun and relaxation.
(3) It's an old Westy. Of course you might have problems. But of course you might not. That's part of the charm, right?
(4) Keep in touch. You have lots of friends right here. Let us know how it goes!

[wolfej1]

Have the AAA would not leave home without it. Don't have the luxury of time so that kills it.

I was tired yesterday when I started this thread. You can all disregard these blatherings of an old man...and move on to more productive topics as one reply set me straight
Thanks
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1982 Westy
2004 KDX200
2008 Kawasaki KLR 650
1979 Yamaha DT 175
1995 Toyota 4Runner

[jalopyjockey]

shake it down...flog that thing as a daily driver to build your confidence for next couple weeks leading into the trip...at 8k that engine is just finding its legs and getting stronger (unless its a gex or avp pile, but you would know that engines crap already by the 10mpg you would be getting)

i was moving once when i first got mine, unknown engine/tranny condition, fully loaded down with all my crap, and poor....lost compression on cylinder 1 (dropped seat)....and it still got me where i was goin 500miles later on 3 cylinders....

thats not a trip like you plan but on another engine i threw in there real quick like the rings 'welded' themselves to the piston (again cylinder 1)...sounded horrible (like a piston in upside down or broken skirt/excessive slap) and at the time couldnt figure out what was wrong....still got me home 1500miles later

any vehicle can break but vanagons do it with style and then get you home (or are your home while you scratch your head )

...the unexpected happens, even in toyotas

[malagato]

do it....i have a 82 westy, with a rebuilt, oh, about 4500 on it now plus some time making greasy things greasy again (bearings and cv's) and I plan on driving from oregon to florida soon...I concur, drive around a bunch before leaving and get to "know" it and you'll be fine.
shoot we wouldnt have given it a second thought 30 years ago...
reminds me of a friend of mine with an old harley...everytime we'd leave for a longish trip we'd hit the freeway right out of town, its a long uphill climb and he'd just flog it, tach it out and fly up that hill, he said if it was gonna break it would have done so right there...now we can travel without worry...
yeah, just do it, it'll be fun...
psst but now that i have money I dont ever forget my triple A RV preferred card....but the only time I've called AAA was when my BMW 525 died...(fuel pump)...

[torbot]

I had that dilema before taking our new-to-us '82 Westy on a 5000 mile trip this past summer (and mind you ours still has its original, non-rebuilt engine). Turns out we needn't have worried as we had zero problems.

+1 on driving it a bit beforehand too. I take ours in to work every couple weeks if we haven't camped and it helps build confidence (plus I think he likes it).

Good luck!
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'82 Westy w/2012 Subaru EJ25 (AKA "Dave").