Bus or Vanagon?

[busman78]

What? Are you worried you will be late to the accident. Put the phone down, pay attention and drive defensively, sorry that does sound like drivers ed doesn't it.

[Glenn]

[busman78]

Did not mention driving slow, my remark was about how close you are to the front, oh well it went over your head.

[Bonesberg55]

If I'm driving a bus and I get hit in the front, I'd much rather be doing 35 mph on a back road than 60 mph on a parkway. At slower speeds you have more time to react and avoid the collision. It also helps to not have a phone to put down in the first place. How did we ever survive without them?

[2type2]

Through many years I have owned, lived, loved, and camped in various vans/busses including '65 + '69 Chevyvans, '67 Econoline, '65 Dodge A100, '78 and'66 Westies. Out of all those vehicles the most reliable,drivable and unstoppable was the 69 Chevy with drum brakes, four leaf spring suspension,three on the tree, and a slant 6 engine. It was a complete hippy hair wagon. and would/did go anywhere.Simplicity in every way.
My current hunt for another (later)van reveals current pricing of domestic vans that are 15 years old with 180K+ miles and asking $20K+ or other overpriced silliness. A Chevy express or a Sprinter would serve your family best. I would jump at the chance for a basic empty cargo van with lower mileage at a reasonable price, but so hard to find. How about - leave your ride stock/sleeper on the outside, and totally hippy--out the interior?
Building it out doesn't mean thousands, I have my canned ham camper set up totally off grid with just a cassette toilet,propane stove, and rechargeable USB lighting, what more do you need? Whatever direction...good luck!
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"A life of peace and happiness depends on your own gratefulness"

[steve244]

I'm kinda partial to the current crop of Ford Transit Connects.

Even those are going for stupid money.

https://www.carmax.com/car/23414415
_________________
82 AC vanagon approx 200K miles (3K are mine).
DD is a 2015 Leaf
Road Trip to Hell (FL 2023)
The Vanagon's drivetrain and chassis restomod thread. Best sung to the tune of I Did It My Way...

[Bonesberg55]

[busman78]

Chevy also had a 230 CID though out the sixties.

[2type2]

Thanks, it was a 250! I wish I could clone another, maybe I will.
_________________
"A life of peace and happiness depends on your own gratefulness"

[EmberiHippie]

I ask about safety stuff because I seem to have bad luck. The one and only time I was in an accident, I hit the vehicle head-on. I don't know how fast I was going but it couldn't have been much above 35 because the speed limit was 35. A drunk driver pulled out in front of me, making a left turn from a parking lot on the side. (An event venue parking lot. She got drunk at a wedding reception and then got behind the wheel.) She didn't see me coming and I rammed her at almost full speed because I didn't have much time to react. How was I to know she'd pull out? Normally vehicles in that position remain stopped.

I was in my 1972 Cadillac at the time and naturally I was fine. The car, however, was totaled. I wonder how fine I would've been had I rammed her with a Bus.

I've hit three deer and BEEN HIT by two more. (Y'ever been rammed in the side by a running deer who never learned "look both ways before crossing the street? Happened to me. Twice.) I hit a BEAR once. (Glancing blow, but again, 1972 Cadillac. Would I have fared as well in a 1972 Bus?)

I've only ever gotten three tickets in my life (26 years of driving, ~700,000 miles driven), two were speeding tickets when I didn't know I was speeding (and yes, I do often speed when I know I'm speeding - I know how to do it without risking a ticket, and I've never even been pulled over for speeding when I knew I was speeding), and one was for "careless driving" when I skidded on black ice (going below the speed limit) and had the great fortune of almost causing a head-on with a cop. (Because there had to be a COP coming at THAT EXACT MOMENT. There's never a cop around when you need one, but there had to be one at that moment.)

Simply put, I'm a pretty safe driver. I don't worry about me. I worry about the other idiots, and the animals, on the road. I'm not sure how much better of a showing I would have no matter how much more situationally aware I were to be behind the wheel.

But a Bus certainly is safer than a motorcycle. I've always thought a motorcycle would be cool... I'm just not yet ready to die. I've known too many people who have been killed or badly injured in motorcycle accidents that weren't their fault.

To complicate the problem of which vehicle to choose, we have my two darling children. I pulled up four pictures last night - a Splitty, a Bay, an air-cooled Vanagon, and a later model rectangular headlight Vanagon. I did what I could to make the pictures the same 3/4 view and keep them away from my kids' favorite colors. Showed each kid the collage and asked which one they liked best. My 5yo first pointed at the Bay, saying that he liked that one because we already had a toy of that one (true), but after a few seconds he said he liked both the Bay and the Splitty. My 3yo, same question, didn't know what his brother had chosen... he picked the two Vanagons.

And that... is so typical of how they operate.

But at least they agreed that they wanted a VW more than another school bus. I do miss my big hippie bus.

To those of you who are recommending different vehicles entirely: I get it. In terms of safety and cost, I'd be wayyyyy better off doing up my current van as a hippie van. But here it's all about the experience... the emotional side of things. Which vehicle will be more likely to attract my tribe? A nondescript Toyota Sienna hippie bus, or a VW hippie bus?

Maybe they'd have the same chances. Who knows. That's why I'm here. I want to figure out what's left of the logic that I can't see from my one angle, and what's left of the emotional side that I can't see from my angle. I'm 43 years old and I have no tribe. Statistics and anecdotes prove that to be enough to make a lot of people roll over and end it all... but I've always been the "turn every stone before you give up" type. And on top of that, I miss the experience of having a cool car. I've had several old vehicles and there's just something about them... I feel good when I drive them. When I have an old vehicle and I see it in the parking lot next to a bunch of bland silver cookie-cutter jellybeans that pass as vehicles these days, I feel good. Even if my old vehicle is a POS, still I feel good. I know that my Sienna will get me where I need to go, and that's comforting, but it's not cool and it doesn't make me feel the same way.

Maybe I can examine the angle of "other" hippie vehicles. But even if I do, we still have the angle of ease of repair. I've heard and read that VWs, particularly the air-cooled version, are very easy to repair. I'm handy enough, and I've done plenty of my own vehicle work. I feel that modern vehicles aren't that easy to work on. I remember working on my Caddy, and especially my '82 Ram with the slant-6 engine, and it was so freaking easy. That ain't the case with my Sienna. (My wife has a 2011 Enclave. Any of y'all tried changing the battery in one of those, or its Chevy / GMC equivalents? The stupid thing is under the floor in a hole barely big enough for it! If your battery doesn't have that handle thingy on it, you're going to be cussing like a sailor trying to get it out! A freaking battery under the floor inside the car? WTF?!?!)

I had to do the water pump on my Sienna last year. What a PIA that was. I thought, throughout that whole job, "if I had an air cooled vehicle, I would never have to do this".

But... it's over 40,000 miles without a lick of trouble since... I won't be giving it up anytime soon...

[steve244]

Go with your heart's choice.

I don't think the safety factor is that different between a 40 or 50 year old vehicle.
_________________
82 AC vanagon approx 200K miles (3K are mine).
DD is a 2015 Leaf
Road Trip to Hell (FL 2023)
The Vanagon's drivetrain and chassis restomod thread. Best sung to the tune of I Did It My Way...

[Xevin]

From what you posted above, a 76-79 should check most the boxes.
Split Window buses are definitely cool looking. They are more narrow than later buses so they feel more cramped. Keep in mind. A lot true hippies can’t afford or bother to spend the money on a Split window bus these days.

The bay window got a little wider and roomier. In 1973 the the bumpers and front end was designed to improve safety in a crash. The layout of a 76-79 is really nice for families.

The Vanagon is even wider and roomier. Many people find air cooled Vanagons underpowered for the weight of a Vanagon. My 1985 1.9 wbx (water cooled)
Vanagon is my best camper in terms of comfort. I think it’s the best for families too. It doesn’t have the stove and sink so it has lots of room. The lower bed is nice and wide compared to the campers with stove/sink set up. Keep in mind. I know a lot of people that grew up true hippies and some that still are hippies that now drive Vanagons.

My wife’s favorite camper is our 1976. She’s likes the kitchen set up and that it has two beds. She prefers the look of the bay window buses as well. She gets whatever she wants

I drive old VWs frequently to work on major freeways full of rush hour traffic in hills and rainy Oregon weather. I’ve driven all over the west coast. I’ve driven from San Diego up to San Francisco and back on freeways and different terrain.

I’ve never felt intimidated in an ACVW or water cooled Vanagon. YMMV.

Enjoy the journey. My “Tribe” includes everyone

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Keep on Busin'

[2type2]

For sure, the later westies have the perfect upper bed. Your kids will think it's a tree house! So as far as Westy, must be later model.
_________________
"A life of peace and happiness depends on your own gratefulness"

[danfromsyr]

if it's size (interior comforts) and safety that weigh heavy in your decision then it's the vanagon hands down. they are significanly more stout and safety improved over the bay, esp the early bay and even the late bay.

this image (PDXWESTY) was taken by the driver of this van.. the crash bars/cage run from the front impact support thru the door to the rear door jamb.

both the Vanagon & Bay forum have a thread dedicated to crash images...
so you can look, study and make your own determination.