Just got back from a van camping ski trip to Steamboat Springs, CO.  Very
nice ski town for van camping.  The hot springs take care of the need for
a hot shower or bath after a day on the slopes and there are plenty of
good camping spots (mostly national forest trailheads) nearby.

Although temps were in the 30's and 40's with sunshine during the day at
night it would dip into the low single digits (Ferenheit) and maybe even
below 0 F.  At these temps my 86 Westy with Auto trans is very hard to
start.  I have a brand new battery and never have hard starts when temps
are above 15-20 F.  When I turn the key it turns over a little slower than
usual and makes a low groaning sound.  I keep my foot to the floor and I
hear it start to fire but if i stop turning it over it does not keep
itself running.  So I keep the starter running for approx 60 seconds while
it sounds like the engine is firing but is so weak that if i stop the
starter it will die.  RPM's are around 400-600 at this point.  Eventually
the rpms raise and it springs to life and I sigh in relief :)

Any suggestions on starting techniques for very cold or mechanical things
that could be causing my van to be so hard to start?  Experiences from
those who have lived in very cold climes?

Im running 10W-30 oil which VW in my manual says is good down to around 0
F.  I would run the the even lower temp spec oil (forget the #) but it
says not to drive for extended periods at temps above 30 F with this oil.

Thanks very much for any advice!

Andrew Fox
86 Westy
Ft. Collins, CO