Kombiando Bus Rearended by a Semi in AZ from Argentina

[notchboy]

[Sharp64]

[raygreenwood]

I tend to agree. Not wishing hardship on anyone......but this is like going to Vegas when you have a gambling fetish......and not having your plane ticket and cab fare to the airport pre-paid and locked in the hotel safe.

Learned that one years ago from a cab driver in Vdgas who was pointing out the guy in a business suit doing the multi-mile "walk of shame" to McCarran airport in 85 degree weather dragging his suitcase......probably because he spent his cabfare on gambling or hookers.

If the trip itself wae their dream they should have had unspendable plane fare credit put aside. They could have had a family problem and needed to return home immediately.

If the bus itself was precious....they should have had it jnsured to the hilt AND had return tickets set aside.

If they are young and naive.....ok....still......but I have little sympathy. I ranted ahout this a couple years ago before I just gave up on the bus forum......but hardly a week goes by without a frantic "help" posting from some starry eyed modern hippy who left home on a 9,000 mile round trip to find Shambala.....in a used craigs list bus.....with no tools......no maintenance....no knowledge.....just a pair of headphones...his old lady and a bag of weed.


Ray

[busdaddy]

[Q-Dog]

[williamM]

[Sharp64]

[raygreenwood]

[notchboy]

[TDCTDI]

[Sharp64]

[notchboy]

[Sharp64]

Or they could just go home.
_________________
1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[TDCTDI]

[wcfvw69]

Well, I did it.. I sent them $10k to their go fund me page that I was promised by the Nigerian Prince after I cashed his check and mailed him back the difference.

Ok, no I didn't..

I think the "go fund me" trend has gotten way out of hand. There are certainly situations where it's genuine and needed like treatment for a sick child.

I recently saw a go fund me for a HS friends Dad to get hearing aids on Facebook. This is a big family with lots of kids in it. I guess it was easier for them to ask for everyone else to pay for their Dads hearing aids vs. paying for it themselves.

I've donated to lots of worthy causes in the past that were vetted before hand. Funding someones lifestyle choice will never be one of them.
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[notchboy]

[skills@eurocarsplus]

oh look, another soup kitchen thread....

yea, the situation sucks. I feel for them. but no back up plan is not cool.....and not my problem.

I guess all of a sudden because someone owns a bus/bug etc the samba family is almost expected to come to the rescue. i would (and have) help regulars here, not the nut swinging passers thru....i mean the real vw people.not just people who exploit the marque

I suppose if notchbutts house burnt down I could send him some unwashed undies and socks.

just remember when you get them yellow in the front, brown in the back, and you can feel free to flip them inside out if you like.
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[raygreenwood]

I find it counter-intuitive....these massive "pilgrimage/lifestyle" trips that far too many ACVW owners in general...and bus owners in specific....embark on.

If its the "dream trip"...the one you have been wanting to take forever....you PLAN FOR IT.

This means you plan for contingencies. The level of planning should be commensurate with what is important to you...like:

1. If its strictly for the experience of driving a bus through another country (see the sights, live the spartan life, capture memories, experience the bus lifestyle)....but no matter what...you plan to get home alive.
You pack duplicates of documents. You have emergency travel money (plane ticket credit), extra camera, some contact somewhere in the country of choice...all of these things.
With this type of thing...the bus/vehicle is secondary. Get out with your memories and life even if the bus gets sold or lost.

2. When the bus is a part of your life you cannot bear to lose.....insure it to the hilt, Make sure you have insurance that works wherever you go. Make sure the bus is mechanically excellent. Pack tools and parts.....have the ability to use them. Be self sufficient and assume that you may not have help when you need it.

....and all of the rules from #1 apply as well. Have the ability to get home if the bus is lost.

3. If the experience of seeing and traveling in another country is the most important thing....and the bus and the lifestyle experience is just another accessory possession.....expendable in an emergency......MOST of the rules from #2 and all of the rules from #1 still apply.

Insure the bus carefully. If it gets lost...have the ability (money) to store or ship home unneeded possessions, the ability to either return home (plane or train ticket) or the ability to rent a car and pay for hotels and campsites to finish your once in a lifetime trip.

I fully understand the "trip of a lifetime" vibe.....but the trip of a lifetime takes planning.

This is not 50 years ago...anywhere in this world for that matter.
The American highway system (or any highway system for that matter)...is not a Buddhist pilgrimage trail where a stop at every shrine entails a free meal and shelter paid for by the kindness of devout strangers......neither is this 1968 on a Grateful Dead junket ...where every roadside camping spot with another VW owner in sight will contain oodles of people willing to share their parts, weed or a veggie burrito.

Soup Kitchen mentality I think is a good term. Ray

[my59]

Anyone considering such an epic road trip should read up on Shackleton and the Endurance. Or Robert Scott's last adventure.
Only then start planning the trip.
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
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Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[hazetguy]