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JohnL99
Samba Member
Joined: September 11, 2012
Posts: 62
Location: Wash DC
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 Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 5:21 pm Post subject: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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I’ve tried to search and I can’t seem to get any topics Close to what I’m thinking to return. I would like to travel the United States and see all or a lot of the sights. My problem is I can’t do it all in one loop due to my work schedules
Wondering if anyone has ever done a fly and drive type of vacation string? I would basically drive the Westy maybe six or 700 miles to a destination. Enjoy that destination, or a series of those destinations., then take the Westy to a self storage garage for enclosed storage for maybe a month or two and fly back home. After a little while get a flight to go pick up the Westy and continue my trip and so on, leaving the Westy at predetermined enclosed storage areas around the country.
Wondering if anyone here has ever done such a thing, and maybe has some tips or insight? |
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vanagonjr
Samba Member
Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 3431
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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SCM
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 3119
Location: Bozeman MT
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2023 8:14 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a vanagon Westfalia |
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It sounds damnably expensive to me.
A 600 - 700 mile drive in the western US is a fairly typical distance to drive in a single day - my house to Moab for instance, which is easily justifiable for a 4 or 5 day weekend. If I were to do what you’re suggesting I would need to then drive an hour to Grand Junction CO, hop on a plane to Denver or SLC, then back home to Montana. With layovers it might actually be faster and certainly cheaper to just drive home - or to my next destination. And that doesn’t even consider van storage (if it’s even available) or an Uber to get from your van to the airport.
Maybe it makes sense in very urban areas but I see it as a giant time and money sucking hassle given the short driving distance you’re talking about.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine |
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VeeDubn
Samba Member
Joined: May 31, 2019
Posts: 121
Location: Olympia, Washington
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2023 9:12 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| Questions for the OP . . . How much time do you have for each leg? In other words, how long would you take to drive the 600-700 miles? How long would you stay at your destination spot? then How much time/how many miles would you drive to a self-storage/airport? I would think it would be more cost effective to find storage near an airport. Is money an issue? Or is making the time work in chunks worth the extra cost? |
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jimf909 
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7478
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2023 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| JohnL99 wrote: |
I would like to travel the United States and see all or a lot of the sights.
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Seeing all or a lot of the sights will take awhile.
It seems a hub-and-spoke approach might work well: drive the van to SLC, rent a garage for six months, fly back several times to explore UT, WY, S. ID. Then drive to Phoenix or ABQ, rent a garage and explore the SW for several trips. Repeat.
A point-to-point trip will require more garage accommodations and could place you near a lousy airports requiring long flights.
Now that I think of it, Abel, the creator of the VanAlert app did his. He and a few friends rented a space for their rigs and flew out to them from TX several times for short-term trips.
Having the garage being near an easy airport seems to be key.
Post photos.
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- Jim
| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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Irishcalifornian
Samba Member
Joined: September 08, 2016
Posts: 167
Location: CaliWestyfornia
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2023 10:50 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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I would first lay out a map of all the Vanagon mechanics that are closest to the sites you would like to see.
Sorry to be a "Downer" but I think that would be wise.
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22670
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 3:52 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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Keep your daily down to 300 miles a day of you want to see stuff. At 600 miles a day, you just see highway
Eschew the interstate system for local roads for this travel.
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steve244
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Joined: March 18, 2022
Posts: 1668
Location: GA
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16508
Location: Brookeville, MD
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| Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 8:17 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| JohnL99 wrote: |
I’ve tried to search and I can’t seem to get any topics Close to what I’m thinking to return. I would like to travel the United States and see all or a lot of the sights. My problem is I can’t do it all in one loop due to my work schedules
Wondering if anyone has ever done a fly and drive type of vacation string? I would basically drive the Westy maybe six or 700 miles to a destination. Enjoy that destination, or a series of those destinations., then take the Westy to a self storage garage for enclosed storage for maybe a month or two and fly back home. After a little while get a flight to go pick up the Westy and continue my trip and so on, leaving the Westy at predetermined enclosed storage areas around the country.
Wondering if anyone here has ever done such a thing, and maybe has some tips or insight? |
I do this all the time!
You've got the right idea.
For storage look for RV storage places. They'll have better security than a self storage site. Outdoor storage is fine for me.
I also use the kindness of samba members sometimes for a place to leave it for a few weeks.
Have a great trip.
_________________
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 |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16508
Location: Brookeville, MD
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si2t3m
Samba Member
Joined: September 08, 2005
Posts: 78
Location: Quebec, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 3:20 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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I'm currently doing that!
This summer I left Quebec City and went on the west coast. left the Syncro in Vancouver in storage, flew back home for a month and a half and flew back to pick it up. Did part of the west coast, put it in storage and will pick it back up to continue, and so on.
Should be doing this for the next years. Having another Syncro at home to roam around in our area while the other one is in storage.
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90 Westy Syncro EJ25
90 Weinsburg Syncro EJ22
76 Westfalia EZ30D
72 911 Targa
70 914-6 conversion
69 Ghia convertible
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50353
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| Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2023 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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A year or two ago, someone posted about doing just what you are talking about.
I think your first trip or two might be iffy as you get the bugs worked out of your 30+ year old vehicle. After that it should go well. The American west is immense so its easy to be hundreds of miles from services. I once got stuck in Eli, NV when the bearings when out in my alternator. I got going with a jury rig using another brand alternator, but had I waited for a Bosch to be shipped in I would have been in for a 4 day thumb twiddle.  |
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32634
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16508
Location: Brookeville, MD
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:25 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a vanagon Westfalia |
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| djkeev wrote: |
| SCM wrote: |
It sounds damnably expensive to me.
A 600 - 700 mile drive in the western US is a fairly typical distance to drive in a single day - my house to Moab for instance......... |
Dang!
I'm not one to shy away from driving (I've done North Platte NE to Ashland Or non-stop) but 600-700 miles per day?!?
It is hard to average much over 50mph even in a modern car with gas/food/rest/comfort stops.
But 12-14 hour driving days........ that's simply an endurance run rather than a vacation.
Dave |
Dave, I do 800-900 miles a day when I need to get somewhere, like Key West or Utah for Syncro Solstice. There is a zen to long distance driving. It is all in your head you know.
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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 |
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AndyBees
Samba Member
Joined: January 31, 2008
Posts: 2332
Location: Southeast Kentucky
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:58 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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Most everyone's circumstances are different. However, I cannot imagine attempting such an arrangement to have adventurous excursions with my Vanagon.
Driving long distances (600 miles + per day) has never been an issue for me. I have always planned my trips so we knew where we would be at the end of each day, including seeing things along the way (even long before the ease of the Internet). Once arriving at the primary destination, daily driving was quite minimal.
Over the years, we've done nine 30 day or slightly longer road trips in our 83 Air-cool and 84 TDI Vanagon as well as numerous two week or slightly longer road trips in various VWs and other vehicles.
As for the Vanagons, I always drove them to work as a daily for at least a month in an effort to find and address any problems. Yes, we had one major issue with the 83 on a Friday afternoon and was back on the road Monday morning. I left home knowing there was an issue but thought it would not get worse... it did.
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003. |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16508
Location: Brookeville, MD
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:07 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| AndyBees wrote: |
Over the years, we've done nine 30 day or slightly longer road trips in our 83 Air-cool and 84 TDI Vanagon as well as numerous two week or slightly longer road trips in various VWs and other vehicles.
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This is where staging the bus ahead comes in to play. Most folks do not have 30 day vacations they can take. Some can only take a week or two at a time. If the bus is staged along the route then the vacation can be done in segments without needing to drive the bus home each time. For me in Maryland that is a big deal.
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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 |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50353
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:45 am Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a vanagon Westfalia |
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| SCM wrote: |
It sounds damnably expensive to me.
A 600 - 700 mile drive in the western US is a fairly typical distance to drive in a single day |
I didn't get that he meant driving 600-700 miles in a single day, but driving 600-700 miles in each visit. In a single day 600-700 miles would be far too much, while for a several week visit one is likely to drive far more. A trip for groceries in Nevada could easily mean a 200 mile round trip. |
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32634
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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vanagonjr
Samba Member
Joined: October 07, 2010
Posts: 3431
Location: Dartmouth, Mass.
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 12:49 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| djkeev wrote: |
It is clear that we vacation in different manners.
For me, having a destination is but an excuse to make the drive.
The act of getting there can often be better than actually arriving.
The journey is actually the vacation.
To others, the destination is paramount!
The only reason one takes the drive is to get there........ ASAP! |
Not possible for a lot of people who only have 1 or 2 weeks vacation and want a western van road trip on the other side of country. You either never do it or ship your van (problematic), or lay down the miles.
Myself and others I know have been over this over and over. Bottom line, we simply don’t have European (or teacher) vacation time or even if you have the weeks, you typically cannot take off for more than a two-week stretch.
Hence the reason for this thread.
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Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32634
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: Fly and drive the USA with a Vanagon Westfalia |
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| vanagonjr wrote: |
| djkeev wrote: |
It is clear that we vacation in different manners.
For me, having a destination is but an excuse to make the drive.
The act of getting there can often be better than actually arriving.
The journey is actually the vacation.
To others, the destination is paramount!
The only reason one takes the drive is to get there........ ASAP! |
Not possible for a lot of people who only have 1 or 2 weeks vacation and want a western van road trip on the other side of country. You either never do it or ship your van (problematic), or lay down the miles.
Myself and others I know have been over this over and over. Bottom line, we simply don’t have European (or teacher) vacation time or even if you have the weeks, you typically cannot take off for more than a two-week stretch.
Hence the reason for this thread. |
Not against the fly and drive.
Just different vacation emphasis....... destination focused vs enjoying the journey to destination.
I've seen more good stuff along the way and had more fun than I've seen once I've arrived.
Plus destinations are often as crowded as the urban area I left to get away from the crowds.
One of my best camp sites was a wind swept BLM bluff high above Boise Idaho in 1975 ....... Quiet, alone, peaceful.
No majot water falls, rivers or amazing sights........
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