Cross Country Trip Prep

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Ok I've been saving for almost a year now and I'm going to take my 1969 Westy on a US tour. My bus is in decent shape but I don't want too many problems so I have a new turnkey 1600eng., trans, axles, clutch, exhaust, and turn signal switch on the way. My question is: What else do I need to do to the bus to get it ready for 10,000+ miles of traveling?????

What are other probable failures? Wheel Bearings? Master Cyl.(it has new shoes/cyls.)? Electrical? Suspension/Steering? Clutch/Accel. Cables? Other??? Should I bring certain spare parts?

Any ideas, thoughts, experiences, or stories would be much appreciated. This is a big trip for me (and my friends), I have worked 1000's of hours to pay for it so I want it to go smoothly. Thanks again, John

[nodtobob]

I would definitely bring a couple extra wheel cylinders as I had a few fail on me after putting a new system on my bus or just carry atleast the dust covers, carry a clutch cable and acceletor too they are cheap. Rear wheel bearings hardly ever go bad unless due to not tightening the rear axle nut tight enough and the harder metal from the axle shaft will wear it or the drum down. I would carry some front bearings they are easy to replace just don't tighten that nut down to tight either, back it off then tighten. I might be over cautious but I carry alot of parts, spark plugs, points, gasket sets, even a carb rebuild kit or a junk one in case you suck up some bad gas in the desert. Case of oil and some grease, extra gas filters even if you can pick up some extras at a swap meet for cheap like a distributor or something. I have a hightop so I have room for the extra parts. I like you just put in a new engine and am getting ready for a long roadtrip next month. I just cahnged the tranny gear oil and dont expect anything to happen but always carry enough to get a job done. Enjoy your trip, crosscountry in a bus is the best "trip" ever. Where are you starting from, I am in Socal. later Anthony

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Thanks for the pointers Anthony, I live in Upstate NY and am headed to Cal. by way of Utah, then I'm headed north to OR, WA, MT, WY, Etc. This will hopefully be a awesome trip for my friends and I. -John

[Deaffy]

You may want to check out this website: http://www.roadhaus.com/initial.htm .

Larry is a guy from the Vanagon.com mail list that is undertaking right now what you are planning. Granted, different vehicle and circumstances, but you might find some parity there. A bit of it is under construction, but it'll give you the general ideas.

My .02? Make sure you carry the Type 2 AIRS list printed out with you; get roadside service (AAA, etc.); and don't carry anything illegal (knives, drugs, guns, small mammals).

Have a fun & safe trip!

[coad]

Stick with bus-specific parts. Anything else you can find along the way in half a day or less. A set of cables (clutch, accelerator, speedometer), a spare windshield wiper motor with blades and maybe arms, a master cylinder, a spare gas cap, and a ton of fuses. And a baby food jar of metric nuts and bolts. Then spend the money and buy a Motor Club membership so the nice man from AAA can tow you into town. Even if nothing breaks you'll save 10% at all the motels and showers and a real bed are good things from time to time. Have fun, relax and enjoy your trip.

[pogolo]

Just did a long trip in my '76 out to West Texas. The best advice I can give is to make sure you've replaced your fuel lines (if you haven't already). Changes in humidity and altitude during my trip caused one hose to crumble and gush gas, forcing us to make a dramatic roadside repair. Also, make sure your CV boots and joints are in good shape. Be sure inspect and re-grease (or replace) the joints before you go. Mine were severely scored and in need of replacing and your bus is much older than mine. I also recommend the Pertronix electronic ignition for all that highway traveling. Everything is much smoother with one of these easy-to-install beauties. antholombaraol.com had a pretty good list of things though it's best to inspect your bus thoroughly and address potential problems before you go. Make sure you break in that new engine and work out the bugs before you go! Good luck! Sounds fun.

[VDubTech]

Hey where in upstate NY do you live? I'm in Syracuse and I have a '79 Westy...

[coad]

The trouble with the electronic ignition systems is that if they break (and granted that isn't often) you're stuck. The original system might act up but at least coils, points condensers, etc are available even in the middle of nowhere.

I remember reading in the John Muir book about his list of tools and spare parts he traveled with, and I recall wondering how he got all that crap into his bus. If you take it too far you might as well just pull a spare bus. If the first one breaks just swap. There isn't anything on your bus that can't be found in a day or Fedex'ed overnight to anywhere. If you think about it you're in better shape with an old VW than you are with a new mini-van where you just sit till whatever black box that broke comes from the factory and the dealer finds the time to install it. Throw your Wolfsberg West catalog in the glovebox so you have part numbers and pictures to show the boys at NAPA and just enjoy your trip. What you're planning is better for your VW's health than just sitting around the garage or puttering around town-- your bus will be happy if you don't mistreat it.

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I just keep the stuff I need to keep the bus running. Fuel pump, fan belt, dist setup with points ready to bolt in, coil, little bit of fuel line, acc and clutch cable. Minimal tools to put in the above items as well as a compression tester, real lug wrench, spare wire and some crips, sillycone, and a remote starter switch. How many times have you been on the side of the road looking in your engine compartment wishing you had someone to turn it over to check for fuel, spark, compression, etc? Go to Goodwill and buy a small old school piece of travel luggage and you have a self contained fix it kit.

As far as master cylinders and extra brake parts, bearings etc...fix that shit before you leave with the right parts and you won't have a problem you can't drive with. It took me several years of carrying enough tools to rebuild the bus on the side of the road before realizing that I didn't want to be rebuilding a bus on the side of the road. I wanted to drive it!

Don't forget the oil!!

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By the way. Now that I have a Syncro Westy in the stable, I pretty much don't bring anything but a cell phone! I wouldn't know where to begin with it! If I took a long trip, it would definitely be in the 70

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John,

Where are you travelling? Coast to coast? If you come through Colorado, I can show you some killer spots to camp. Maybe you could keep the Samba crew up dated with some postings from time to time. I'm sure many of the people in here would be helpful in finding some spots for you to camp or places to go in their states. It sucks to go somewhere and get sucked into the tourist thing when there is a ton of other cool stuff to see.

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Thanks for all the advice.

VWLoverz92999: I live in the Canton/Potsdam area, which is about 2 hours north of syracuse (or 3 hours in my bus).

THE BUS:
I have elec. ign. on my dist. so I don't have to deal with points, hopefully it won't fail, I'll probably carry a stock setup just in case. The CV's are quality new parts.

Things I'm still a little concerned about:

1. Master Cyl., is it really worth the money to replace it?

2. Front Wheel Bearings, should I replace them or just carry extras?

3. Gas Tank Filler Neck, could it leak?

THE TRIP:
I'm going from NY to Iowa (friend's family's place), then I will be going through Ft. Collins, CO (CO State Univ.). From there I'm headed to the canyonlands of UT (Zion and others) to do some backpacking, then we are moving on to CA to meet up with some friends that are doing a roadtrip in CA (SF, LA, Yosemite, Etc.). From there we will be going up the pacific coast hwy to EugeneOR (we were all track runners in college). Next it's off to WA to see Oly. National park and the Cascades. Next we are traveling to MT/WY to see Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, and some lesser know parks (to do some rock climbing). After that we are headed back east.

I just joined A.I.R.S. so I'll print out the lists. I also have AAA Plus for towing. Hopefully we won't need to used these services very much or at all. We are really excited for the trip, what could be better than spending a couple months traveling with your friends in a VW Bus?

One other thing, does anyone have any experience driving up, over, and down the mountain passes in a 1600cc Bus with 4Wheel Drum Brakes? Any suggestions?

Thanks for all the help and keep it coming, John.

[coad]

Here's the problem-- It's obvious that the mountains concern you as far as the brakes go.

If you DON'T replace the master cylinder it will eat at your brain all through the mountains. Instead of enjoying the drive you will constantly worry about the brakes failing every time you tap the pedal. Do you need to do it? Almost certainly not, but for peace of mind do it before you leave and then you can forget about it. It's mental insurance for the trip.

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If its leaking a brakes are of concern to you, replace it. If it isn't leaking, don't. I would repack the front bearings and check the brake linings if you dont know the condition. as far as drum brakes in the mountains, I've been driving splits to bays in the mountains of CO on and off road for years. They built you Bus to endure.http://vintagebus.com/gallery/image/2004304.JPG
http://vintagebus.com/gallery/image/2004305d.JPG

[ratwell]

You said:

>2. Front Wheel Bearings, should I replace them or just carry extras?

Inspect them before you leave. If they've blued or scored replace them beforehand. Otherwise, repack if there is a little movement in the hub.

Repacking and replacing bearings isn't something I'd want to do on a dirt road or any other road. You want those to be installed superclean.

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On the long trips I've taken (12,000+ miles) here are a few things I'd never be without:

1. John Muir's Idiot book
2. Spare fan belt
3. PLENTY of spare fuel line
4. small, but complete socket wrench set and other basic tools
5. plenty of extra oil
6. Accurate oil temperature sensor/guage (not dipstick type)
7. hammer/crowbar (for arguments with the starter)
8. compression testing kit
9. timing gun
10. Multimeter (volt/ohm/tach/dwell)
11. Good jack and lug wrench
12. Fire extinguisher -- maybe two.
13. Oil drain pan and funnel (mine fit neatly under the cover of my spare tire)
14. Flashlight for late night fixes.

Most other things you'll need can be picked up at any auto parts store.

If it's anything like mine, your bus ought to be right at home on the highway. The only major thing to monitor is the oil temperature. That is often a good indicator of a problem after several hours of driving. Even without major problems, keep track of the temperature and pull over to cool down if it spends too much time above 230. I've used both dipstick and sump temp senders, and I much prefer the sump. The dipstick variety tend to read too hot and couse some unnecessary concern. A good VDO sender is between $12 and $25 bucks depending on where you get it, and the guage is another $30 or so.

Other than these things, you might want to make sure your vehicle registration and proof of insurance are in a tidy, easily accessible envelope as you can expect to be pulled over a few times -- they had some very creative reasons each time we got pulled over. One other thing: if you happen to be in Wind Lake, Wisconsin and you lose your transmission, Gene's Bug Hut is the place to go...they even let us pitch our tent in the back yard for the night.

Whatever happens on your trip -- and it will happen -- just remember to have fun and enjoy it. Besides, a trip without breakdowns leaves you without good stories to tell your friends.

Cheers,
Richard

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That is awesome that you are taking this trip. Me and my friends bought a bus and are leaving in july from CO and hitting most of those spots that you mentioned, then hitting up the east coast. I just got back (about an hour ago) from a 5000 mile trip to RI and back by myself, it was just a little warm up trip to see if the bus could handle it with my friends in July. I expected to have at least one problem, but did not have any. It was great and let me tell you, it is a great fealing when you finally leave for your trip and the wait is over. Everything that I brought with me just in case has already been mentioned so I wont repeat it. Have a great time and go slow and take your time to see it all. Good luck.
matt

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Ok, I've ordered my last round of parts. The bus should be ready to go in a week or so. I much appreciate all the advice, parts lists, etc. etc. If your out and about and happen to spot us we are traveling in a multicolored '69 westy with lotsa stickers and NY plates. Any more advice and/or stories will be viewed for the next 10 days or so, then it's off to a place without TV, internet, or telephones...my bus. Thanks, John

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

You can always get your samba fix at a library! Most don't require a card for internet access! Jeremy

[farmersdahtr]

My advice about the mountain braking situation is to keep your speed down on the downhills, don't let the hill pull you too fast. Apply steady pressure to the pedal until you are at least 5mph below your target speed then let up until 5mph above that speed, repeat all the way down. Dont pump your brakes, just even pressure. If they start to feel weak pull over immediatly, they can rapidly get worse (catch fire, seperate, etc.) But like I said if you aren't going that fast in the first place you should be able to deal with any problems easily. Good luck. BTW, I travel around 7000 mis a week in the USA and take notice of every bus along the way so I may very well see you. Have a good trip. Dave