Another Successful X-Country Trip in a Thing!

[gfulcher]

Hey All..

While I wait for a client to show up, I decided to poke around the forums a bit for the first time in well, a long time..

Back in '99, I departed from Chatham, MA (on Cape Cod) with a map, a guitar and a small backpack in my '73 Thing (astro) for parts unknown. My trip covered 17,000 or so miles, almost every state in the union, over the course of a year. Total repair costs? about 40.00 dollars.

Absolutely the best thing I've ever done for myself.

Being a glutton for punishment, my wife of two weeks and I hopped in another '73 Thing (one with about 350,000 less miles on it) named "Clem", and drove from Boston, MA to our new home, San Francisco CA. We made the trip in about 12 days I think, via Chicago, Milwaukee (her birthplace), Billings, MT, Yellowstone Nat'l Park, to the coast of Oregon, and then down Route 1 to San Francisco.

I'd like to share with you all a video slideshow that I made of our trip. There are some obvious inside-stories that I don't feel compelled to share, but regardless - entertaining shots of Clem in a variety of scenic places!

Warning: the quicktime movie is large: 170 megs. But it's set to some road-trip tunes! Go to: http://www.inclinesandwires.com/coast-to-coast/home.html and go to the "DETAILS" page, there is a link to download the quicktime movie there, or you can opt for the old fashioned photo gallery (all 400 images).

Let me know your thoughts! It was a great trip, devoid of ANY technical difficulties!

-greg-
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'73 VW THING (driver) • '78 Mercedes 280ce (daily-driver) • '91 SAAB 900 S Convertible

[GSD_Master]

Awsome pictures! I'm taking my Thing on a little road trip out to California next week. My unit is deploying to Iraq so I just thought I would have a little fun and enjoy myself with my dog before I go. I'll miss her... ...the dog I mean.

Just a couple questions. How much did the gas set you back and what was your top speed with all the stuff in car?
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Is that the new Hummer!

[kuebelwagen84]

good luck in Iraq and stay safe

I envy both of you, I'm 23 right now and after college immediately started shift work, just bought a house (i.e., another money pit, spending my days off working on it, and extra money goes to a mortgage), and am getting married this september... I always wanted to go cross country in my 181 but it looks like I'll have to wait till retirement

that's ok though because I'm gonna do a body off resto and then go custom with the body once most of the stuff with the house is done (this spring) and can use that as an excuse to get into the garage and out of the house
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// '73 Thing "Jeep Zerstörer" currently being restored / kustomized
// '07 Rabbit taking over daily driver duties

1600s of air-cooled German muscle!

[gfulcher]

[Fun 181]

I just voted "Hell No", but that's because I haven't got my Thing up to mechanical snuff. I doubt I could make it to Jersey let alone the west coast. That and the fact that I'm a big chicken.

The truth is I read your post and thought to myself "How awesome is that?!" Maybe one day I'll grow a pair and go for it.

[GSD_Master]

I wasn't planning on setting any speed records. The journey is just as important as the destination in my book. I noticed, however, that large ammounts of weight seem to have slowed down my Thing considerably in the past. Maybe with the new engine (+ bug tranny) that won't be so much of a factor.

I don't have a specific itenerary, but I plan on visiting a few relatives in Los Angeles and San Diego, Going to the Beach (La Jolla etc.), camping in the desert (Joshua Tree National Park), visiting Sequoia and Kings Canyon, plus all of the places too and from California. I love the desert so I will be spending a lot of time there. It should be a fun trip.
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Is that the new Hummer!

[74 Thing]

Sweet pics-was that PBR I saw (nice). Do you still have the Thing and did the tire mess up the front hood?

[Van-go108]

I would drive mine across country now. I probably wouldn't have a few months ago. Being new to me, I didn't have a chance to go threw it for some kind of level of confidence. New tires, total tune-up, and valve adjustments are the basics. When ever you get a new (used) car you have to become familiar with it before you just jump in on a cross country trip. I vote "sure" why not?
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"Okay, so there's 6 beers and 5 of us. You know what this means don't you? 4 of you are going to have to leave."


1973 Thing
1957 Continental Mark II Click to view image

[gfulcher]

[gfulcher]

[bmwloco]

I'll chime in. I've done cross country sorties 5 times on BMW motorcycles.

The first time is always the hardest.

Maybe that's why I feared nothing at all when I picked up a '73 Ghia Convertible in Council Bluffs, IA in March (coming back from Antarctica where I bought it online) and driving it home to Asheville, NC and then mere days later down to Birmingham, AL through downtown Atlanta in a driving rain...

...or when I bought my '73 Thing via the Samba, took a bus to Ohio, and drove it home through the rural Ohio outback, into West Virginia, and home to Asheville in one 24 hour period.

I live for the unknown and old vehicles. Bring it on.
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'85 Vanagon Westfalia

[stevehenderson]

If you want to make a trip you better do it in the next year or two. I bet there is no end in site to the increase in gass prices. New cars in the near future @ 50+ mpg will enable those oil dudes to raise gas above $5.00 gallon making our Things hard to justify much driving.

I think a welll maintained AC VW is no more risky than any other car--probably less. If your doing the mountains in a Thing they are kind of nice do to relativity low gearing. I'ts a little slow going, but you will want to look around with the top down anyway.

[csmith181]

There was a time when the thing was nut running that well, had questionable brakes and spent more time in the garage than on the road that i wouldn't have thought it even possible to go on a long trip.

Now I live in the Keys and drive her everyday, rain or shine, tropical heat or tropical storms. There is just no more fun way to travel.

I've fixed all the issues that have come up, and still spend WAY less than the payments on the cheapest car i can buy still in perfect serviceable condition.

Today I would definitely drive the thing on a long trip if I had the time.

I envy your ability to take the time for such a great trip!

[npconnor]

I've treated my engine pretty badly until recently, and it's never let me down. It's pretty bullet proof if you ask me. I think I would, now that I can pretty much tear apart the engine and can diagnose a lot of problems!
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'73 Thing
Austin Air-coolers Gang

[GSD_Master]

Well, the Army just wipped out some more orders for me. I won't be able to make the trip untill they expire in mid April. In the meantime I'm planning a smaller trip for between now and my report date.

The big green weenie strikes again! :2gunfire:

.......I should have expected it. California, I'll see you in April.
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Is that the new Hummer!

[verbal1200]

Anyone planning to travel long distance in an old volkswagen may want to check out this site. http://www.type2.com/rescue/
It looks like it might come in handy.

[emersonbiggins]

[bmwloco]

[gfulcher]

[roofcat]

The good thing is that if you don't know any better, it seems to work out, or luck out. My trips include a 1936 BMW R6 with sidecar, 1963 BMW 700 convertible (which I still have) then a 53 BMW R67, after that a 71 land rover series 2a..... A long trip in my 73 Thing is a piece of cake compared to all those others. Even in the Thing you fear that your nothing but a traffic cone to folks in other cars, trucks, and semi's....