While waiting for Northwesty Vans to complete the "makeover" of Vanna, I lucked onto a website of fellow Volkswagen crazies devotees, thesamba.com. What, I'm not alone in my madness? There are others like me who totally love their Vanagons? And these people don't charge me money for advice or help? Things are looking up.
From thesamba, I've been told the most important upgrade to my camper is a memory foam mattress pad. Evidently the beds in a Vanagon are not the same level of comfort one would find at a Hilton. And comfort is important. Why?
"Show me another vehicle where you can boff your significant other in reasonable comfort anywhere at almost anytime. Try that in a honda crx."
(from www.carlustblog.com/2008/08/volkswagen-vana.html A very funny read. Highly recommended.)
Another helpful samba member turned me on to an app called "vanagon rescue squad" which might just save my bacon in case of a breakdown. But I know that can't happen after all the money I've spent, right?
And I've started my education about auto mechanics. I've ordered several books from Amazon and Ebay, including the bible of Vanagon maintenance, the "Bentley" manual. But I'm starting with a high school text on auto mechanics, appropriately titled.
I've begun to plan our route to Florida. We joined AAA, mostly for the towing coverage, but I also got several maps and have highlighted roads of interest. We will take the southern route, heading down through Oregon and California and then across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (ugh), and the the Gulf Coast. We plan on spending Thanksgiving in New Orleans. My goal is to drive as few interstate highways/freeways as possible. It will be back roads and small towns as much as possible.
I've also found a website that lists all of the Scenic Byways in the U.S. and I plan on driving as many of them as possible on our way to Florida.
So John's right; I'm crazy. There are worse things I suspect.
From thesamba, I've been told the most important upgrade to my camper is a memory foam mattress pad. Evidently the beds in a Vanagon are not the same level of comfort one would find at a Hilton. And comfort is important. Why?
"Show me another vehicle where you can boff your significant other in reasonable comfort anywhere at almost anytime. Try that in a honda crx."
(from www.carlustblog.com/2008/08/volkswagen-vana.html A very funny read. Highly recommended.)
Another helpful samba member turned me on to an app called "vanagon rescue squad" which might just save my bacon in case of a breakdown. But I know that can't happen after all the money I've spent, right?
And I've started my education about auto mechanics. I've ordered several books from Amazon and Ebay, including the bible of Vanagon maintenance, the "Bentley" manual. But I'm starting with a high school text on auto mechanics, appropriately titled.
I've also read How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir. It's the original Volkswagen for Dummies. It is a philosophy lesson disguised as a repair manual. Here's an excerpt on what to do when your engine overheats:
"Do nothing until the engine cools! Read, enjoy the scenery, take a little walk. If you have a bus, and a friend, it might be a good time to go in the back and ball."
I've begun to plan our route to Florida. We joined AAA, mostly for the towing coverage, but I also got several maps and have highlighted roads of interest. We will take the southern route, heading down through Oregon and California and then across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (ugh), and the the Gulf Coast. We plan on spending Thanksgiving in New Orleans. My goal is to drive as few interstate highways/freeways as possible. It will be back roads and small towns as much as possible.
I've also found a website that lists all of the Scenic Byways in the U.S. and I plan on driving as many of them as possible on our way to Florida.
So John's right; I'm crazy. There are worse things I suspect.
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