Poll: Long drive, did you make it? 1,000+ miles

lemonspeed · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:22 am Post subject:

2009- i took the 84westy from Nelson BC to Glacier National park, Up through to Waterton Parks AB , Kaninaskis Parks , Banff, Lake Louse , Jasper....then back down through the Trans Canada to Revelstoke, then finally home. NOT ONE issue Very Happy

( even drove over - going to the sun road in Glacier!!) Multiple high passes....that was great van.

This was a "shared ownership" van and unfortunately later sold ( not my decision)

2011 - i took the 81westy (new to me at time) from Nelson to go on an okanagan loop then down into washington.....anyway i made it less than an hour up the Pulson Pass ( 5000ft) and blew the belt. Indy ( my dog) and i spent 40mins and replaced the belt but at that point i had a bad feeling( and melted belt smoking all over the engine) and decided to head home. Next day the head gasket went .....top end later rebuilt....then the 81 was sold. Think my days in an air-cooled have ended.

This summer i'm hoping to take the 90 Vanagon to Canon Beach as I've never been ( 1500 mile round trip or more),,,, she still new to me so working out the bugs and making her into a tin-top camp mobile!
_________________
Instagram : @overland_van
90 Vanagon Carat "domino"
81 Westfalia (sold) "clemintine"
73 Transporter (sold) "chloe"
80 Vanagon (sold) "brownie"

lemonspeed · Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 2:24 pm Post subject:

the 84 on the East side of "going to the sun road " Glacier Montana . 2009

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
Instagram : @overland_van
90 Vanagon Carat "domino"
81 Westfalia (sold) "clemintine"
73 Transporter (sold) "chloe"
80 Vanagon (sold) "brownie"

travelteam · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:03 am Post subject:

We just returned from a 2-week trip. My wife, our nearly 3 year-old girl and I in our '90 Westy w/ original 2.1 w/ about 165k on the odometer. We totaled 3,200 miles and averaged around 18mpg.

We went from Long Beach, up the coast, Big Sur, S.F. (on accident - wrong turn onto the bay bridge), CA Redwoods, Oregon coast, Portland, Bellingham, Vancouver BC, then turned around and did nearly the same route the way back. There's just too much to see, and 2 weeks wasn't enough time.

No problems. Used no noticeable amount of oil or water. Good job van. Time for a bath for you!

schoonerman · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:10 pm Post subject:

Just got back from a 4 week trip in my 1987 Westy with a 2.2 performance engine.
Vancouver BC, Washington, Idaho, all the Canyons of Utah, into Arizona for a day, back up to Wyoming, around Yellowstone, into Montana and Glacier National Park, entered back into BC at Creston and back to Vancouver.
Total mileage 4,476 miles, without a problem, I have yet to calculate the MPG, as I have all the gas receipts, should be no problem.
Great trip, great van.
_________________
87 Westy/Vanagon

physast · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:54 pm Post subject:

Just purchased a 91 camper in Idaho and drove back to East Coast through Glacier, Yellowstone... About 4300 miles in 3 weeks. Only major issue was replacing a fuel line. Gas mileage was horrible and we did start to burn some oil. Will be looking into this soon.
_________________
1967 L633 VW beetle (currently being restored...slowly)
1991 Orly Blue Vanaru 2.5L

dobryan · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:19 pm Post subject:

MD to KY then back to MD via OH and PA. 1400 miles no issues... Very Happy

_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

ironturtle · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:37 pm Post subject: first trip

Colorado through Yellowstone to Bend Oregon, then 3 days at a ranch 2 hours south of Bend, followed by a slow journey down the Oregon and NorCal coast, a few days at Santa Cruz, a couple days by the pool in Las Vegas culminating in our return to Colorado, all in 2 weeks.

Van feels like it has an extra cylinder down at sea level!!!

3600 miles, only problem was a broken muffler strap, repair cost = 2 wire hangers.

First real trip in the Westy, fantastic. Oh and it developed a LP leak right before we left so we had to use the camp stove, not a big deal.

I love this van! Now to work on some fiddly idle issues (TPS).

1985, supposed 1.9 to 2.1 transplant, 4 speed manual. Bomber.

wooden nickel · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:21 pm Post subject:

In 4 weeks in April & May my wife & I took our 85 Bostig Westy from Central Florida to Death Valley and back. We were towing our sidecar motorcycle 7200 miles and only trouble was the bolts backed out of the right outer CV joint. Took about 1.5 hrs by the side of the road to get it back together counting hunting tools and all. We came back on I 70 through Colorado and had to drag the bike & trailer up those mountains.

Grand Isle State Park Lousiana

Just outside Bryce Canyon NP

imdbui · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:55 pm Post subject:

Just made a trip last week!

1. 86' Westy Syncro original 2.1L with ~200,000mi
2. Tulsa, OK - Portland, OR aprx: 2,000mi
3. No repairs - other than the headlight switch burnt from long usage of headlights (drove thru the night)

Good luck!

Kejidog · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:07 pm Post subject: 85 been all over

When we bought our van it had over 300,000 kms on it the guy i bought it from was flipping it make some cash. He told me the original owners, who he got it from drove it across Canada and the US several times. He didn't know much about vans at all; it had car tires on it ffs, i probably knew even less.my first long trip in it was five days later to Maine to get a delivery of gowesty 16 inch wheels. That was a fun 600 km from Halifax to get those wheels! And a marked improvement. Never had a hiccup ( ahem except for my throttle cable post) I removed the rear seat cabinet later that summer, and found Dutch money and a brochure to a cathedral in southern germany. It was a well traveled van. And continues to be.

We we're all over nova Scotia and New Brunswick in it on that original engine. We replaced it with a rebuilt 2.1 running like a 1.9. In 2012 It got us up to Ottawa and all around Quebec last summer and is taking us to the acadian shore of New Brunswick and around Prince Edward Island this summer. we drive it and love every mile. So what if it costs a small fortune to keep running
_________________
85 Westy Camper "Jeebus"
"new" rebuilt 2.1 with a ten cent stainless exhaust- lovin all the power!!!!

Alex Proulx · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:43 pm Post subject:

Just came back today from a 1,500 miles round trip to Martha's Vineyard. We took 3 days to drive each ways and stayed a week on the island. It was great. No issues at all with the van other than adding a little bit of motor oil. Confused

17-19 mpg on the highways at 65 mph, this is down from 18-20 mpg before I installed the roof rack with the solar panel, nothing is free.
Alex
_________________
Vanagon GL 1988 Full Camper, 4 speed manual, 2.1 stock engine
Audi A3 2.0T S-Line Quattro 2015

Bntbrl · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:08 pm Post subject:

Went from Seattle over around the coast and down through Oregon coast over to Crater Lake and meandered up back home.

About 1500 miles

No problems.
_________________
1984 Vanagon Westfalia 1.9 wbx

www.DIYSeattle.com

RBEmerson · Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 10:59 pm Post subject:

Nov. '13 - May '14 - We did Philadelphia to West Palm Beach, FL (along the Atlantic coast), stored the van for 2 months, West Palm to New Orleans (for Mardi Gras!), stored the van for a month, NOLA to Philadelphia via Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. Total miles: 4400+. Other than at West Palm, we stayed at national, state, and county parks. www.ReserveAmerica.com is your friend!

Problems: Starter was wonky on occasion, but never failed. Two big loss of power incidents while driving. Added Sea Foam each time and kept on trucking.

This is with a '90 Westy with 200K on the chassis, a four year old GW 2.2 motor and three year old GW transaxle. We used the propane fridge during the entire trip - no problems at all.
_________________
Lord, give me coffee to change the things I can change, and wine to accept the things I can't change.

LeftCoastKiteboarding · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:40 am Post subject:

'89 Westy Syncro,
190k on (then) stock 2.1l

2008 Santa Cruz to Victoria island, Canada. 2000 miles No issues

2009 Santa Cruz ca to the cape region in Baja, about 4000 miles. Lots of off-road. Only issue, loose front wheel bearing. Fixed in la Paz for free.

2011 Santa Cruz to Cape of Baja. 4000 miles. 1 blown tire. Replaced clutch in la Paz, No other issues.

2012 Santa Cruz to Sequim, Washington. 2000 miles. Freak winter storm. Sub freezing temps, down to 16 deg, for over 500 miles, Tahoe to Oregon on highway 395. Didn't see pavement for 3 days. Van was so cold that it went into cold start mode and poured too much fuel in, causing engine to die. Torn off engine, re start, run for 10 min. And repeat. Took me awhile to figure that one out. Ended up covering radiator with plastic just to get up to operating temps. Still haven't figured that one out. Still don't know why it couldn't stay warm. Thermostat was tested and working properly.

Many other shorter trips. Very few issues. Now running a Bostig. Looking forward to the next trip.

ryecatcher · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 8:30 pm Post subject:

Right around 1000 mile drive all through Florida up to the panhandle to some killer beaches and back. 1982 Aircooled, zero issues, ran like a champ, averaged 21 mpg. Got lucky and there was a "cold" front (85 high!), so the heavy days of driving (without air-conditioning) were rather pleasant. Stuck to the backroads and averaged around 58-60 m.p.h., where she's happiest (that's "real" speed – the wildly inaccurate speedo indicated around 70).

My new a/c "wall unit" system worked great – I'll post up a full description and how-to a bit later.

I saw two Westies in Grayton Beach S.P. – anyone here?

There are really some spectacular beaches out there:

_________________
1982 Westfalia Camper, Air Cooled
"Wendeline"

tarandusVDub · Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:06 pm Post subject:

Some wonderful trips here! Bozeman to Jasper and back, about 1600 miles. 2.5 Subie in our '84. Did 65 to 70 with a small trailer, about 18 to 20 mpg. Ran like a fine Swiss watch.
_________________
1990 Syncro 16" DoppleKabine 2.1 DJ 112i
________________________
Sold: 1972 Bay Campmobile; 1984 Westy, base model, 2WD.

EwokPoacher · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:21 pm Post subject:

86' syncro tintop, 2.1l wbx motor, 6 people and gear.

san diego - spokane - edmonton - glacier national park - denver - san diego - 5000 miles in 4 weeks. jul-aug 2014.

no problems, no repairs, and a/c worked the whole way. added 1/4 quart of oil for the whole trip.

i did have to replace my ignition coil the day after i got home.

dachary · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 8:49 am Post subject:

In May/June...

1. 1982 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen high top, 1.6L NA
2. Boston to Flagstaff, up to Yellowstone, back to Boston (~6,000 miles)
3. Lost some studs in the muffler and sooted all over the engine compartment, eventually killing the van. Had to be towed ~100 miles to Flagstaff. Libby worked on it for better part of a week, including many fixes we didn’t know we needed, but smooth sailing for the ~3,500 miles afterward. Averaged 24mpg, many many quarts of oil. (We were averaging ~28-30 MPG but we had Libby install a turbo injector pump - we’ll take the loss of mileage for the gain in power.)

We did develop a problem with reverse/first gear... I can't get it into reverse, hubby can't get it into first - and the problem has gotten more pronounced since we've got home, but we haven't dealt with it yet.
_________________
'82 Diesel Westy w/Adventurewagen High Top

Microbusdeluxe · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:50 am Post subject:

Bellingham, Wa to Moab, Canyonlands NP (first 1/2 of White Rim Trail), Hovenweep, Arches NP, Mesa Verde NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Cedar Breaks & back home. 4,700 miles on the '81 aircooled, one quart of oil, 100+ temps, zero problems. (Passed by about 1000 semis on the freeway sections!)
_________________
'69 Squareback RIP
'65 21 window deluxe sold before the price spike, damn it.
'70 rhd bay now a taxi in South Sudan
'81 Westy sold
'89 hightop Westy Joker syncro 16" now with Bostig!

snowsyncro · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 11:18 am Post subject:

Just got in (yesterday) from a non-stop drive home from Ontario. Only stopped for gas and to pick up fast food and coffee. I have some leaks to deal with, so every gas stop I have to check/add engine oil, and every third stop I have to check auto trans fluid, so this means unpacking everything from the back. So, despite this being a 'non-stop' drive, all the gas stops (5) and food pickup, and traffic stops for Montreal rush-hour and road construction all along the way, added up to more than two hours of stopped time. No stops for repairs.

Stats:

Distance: 1915 km (1190 miles)
Moving time: 21:16
Moving Avg: 90 km/hr
Stopped: 2:07
Overall Avg: 82 km/hr
Total time: 23:24

This is too much in my opinion. You are so tired when you are done that you lose the next day anyway. We got in at 7AM, and basically lost the rest of the day. Would have been better splitting it into two days. On the way up we did 16 hours on Day 1, and 5 hours on Day 2 (plus 2 hours for repairs).

This was in a 1988 Westy, but with 1.9L engine. That was trying to keep up with the speed limits wherever possible, but I often could not due to traffic, fog, rain, marginal lighting when I was not able to tuck in behind a transport truck.

I have done this drive plenty of times non-stop, but always in a car. For example last time two years ago in 2001 Passat, time was 18 hours 36 minutes, average 99 km/hr. That is manageable and you can still be somewhat functional after the trip.

Also, having a car with AC and a good sound system makes a huge difference. No AC when it is hot, means windows open. The higher noise level of the Westy, the heat, the wind buffeting, the wind noise, the difficult conversation, all adds up to beat you up pretty good, compared to a nice quiet and cool car.

RonC


Hello! Log in or Register \| Help \| Donate \| Buy Shirts	See all banner ads \| Advertise on TheSamba.com

Poll: Long drive, did you make it? 1,000+ miles
Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 9, 10, 11 ... 45, 46, 47 Next Jump to:

	Forum Index -> Vanagon	All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time Page: Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 9, 10, 11 ... 45, 46, 47 Next Jump to:
Page 10 of 47