Joanna,
What an excellent introduction.  You are a great writer.

I had 71 and 69 campers in my past.  I had the 69 in the late 80's, and
remembered driving along the interstate, shivering in the winter,
struggling to go 60mph into a headwind.  This nice new expensive Vanagon
comes zipping by me with ease.  I wanted one of those.  I wondered how long
it would be before I could afford a used one.

Now I know that 14 years is the answer to that question.  I like the 86
vanagon camper pretty well.  The vanagons are quirky, and it helps a lot if
you can work on the vehicle yourself, or at least learn enough about it to
make sure it gets serviced properly.  The AC system in the camper is not
great because it is way in the back, and you drive from way in the
front.  People do optimize them and find them more than adequate, even in
places like Florida.  I think Tim Hannink is a good resource for this.  He
may chime in on the topic.  I find the Vanagon to have plenty of heat,
adequate power to cruise comfortably at 65-70 mph, and gets 15-20 mpg (mine
has AT, others do better with the 4spd).  The seats and camping equipment
are comfortable and pretty efficient.  I think the Vanagon handles pretty
well compared to the buses, but seems to not do as well in traction.  It is
a much heavier vehicle.  The vanagon has character.  I liked the styling of
the first generation of Golf (Rabbit in the US), and the Vanagon reminds me
of  those cars.

There are some great resources out there for Vanagon owners, especially
this list.  Some good vendors too that will provide a source for almost any
part you need.

I think your price range will also get you a Eurovan camper of some
vintage.  I've never driven one, but tend to think newer technology is
better if you can afford it.  Also will be easier to get serviced.  Some
(or many) VW Dealers will not even work on a vanagon because they don't
have trained techs for that vehicle.

Edward

At 11/1/02 07:41 PM, you wrote:
>There I was, heading home from work and approaching a light. Car stopped
>ahead in the left turn lane duly noted. Everything all clear. Then the car....