Date:         Thu, 22 Apr 1999 17:40:12 +0100
Reply-To:     Martin Laycock <m.laycock@STRATH.AC.UK>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Martin Laycock <m.laycock@STRATH.AC.UK>
Subject:      Subject: air-cooled heat (buy Vanagon?)
In-Reply-To:  <E10ZyJp-0006QG-00@lismore.cc.strath.ac.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Julio.. I admire your keenness to own a vanagon and infact you make me feel
quite smug because I own one, but, what you will have to come to terms with
is that a stock vanagon of any description is not a performance vehicle.
        When I take my '82 2L aircooled camper out along the hilly winding
roads of Scotland I am always amazed at how quiet the roads are until I
look in my rearview mirror to discover that they are all behind me. I then
love to try and catch up with a big truck or a caravan or something so that
they get the blame for the slow progress.
     A Vanagon is a RV (Recreational Vehicle), speed is not the most
important factor, a bit more would be nice agreed, but it is not the most
important thing. If I lived in  Canada/USA and needed to drive 1000s of
miles and did not have a few days to do it then a Vanagon would not be my
first choice of vehicle. Vanagons need time to amble along to their
destination. Also, if you try and boot one down the highway you will be
amazed how quickly you will need to find a refueling stop. Why not hire one
to weigh up the pros and cons of versatility vs performance.
        As for the aircooled heaters, I have no idea how one really
performs as I have converted mine to a water based heater, probably the
only one in the world, it is not that good but at least it is fume free and
my hand crafted heat exchangers will hopefully last for years.
        You asked about the windscreen blower. There were two versions of
ventilation system available. (in the UK at any rate) One with and one
without a fresh air blower. You can tell which is which by the presence of
a blower switch on the heater control panel.
         I treat my VW camper a bit like a hobby, to do it justice you need
to spend time on maintainance and in general give it some TLC. Because of
their age they are not the most reliable vehicle in the world, listees
often follow threads on 'Which spare parts to carry' or 'Audi 5 cyl.
replacement engines' or any number of mechanical  ailments. I love my VW
and would be very reluctant to part with it. All I am saying is be aware of
possible problems, care free motoring does not enter the equation when
owning any model of Vanagon.

If it's foryou, it won't go by you. (one of my grannies)

Martin
Scotland