Malcolm wrote:
<snip>
>My Westy is my hobby, so the more care I can give it,
>the more I'm "hobby-ing".   Just a matter of attitude.

Once upon a time I had that attitude. I loved working
on cars. They were my hobby. I guess that's why I
owned so many '60's busses and beetles...

But now I have other hobbies and I find I don't really
enjoy working on cars much anymore. I don't mind
it that much, but there's too many other things
I'd MUCH rather be doing, and too little time to do
them already. I don't want to waste that much of my
time getting greasy anymore. I don't mind doing
routine maintenance and fixing things, but I only want
to have to fix them *once*. If I pull something apart and
I don't like the way it's made and/or don't think it will
be reliable then I fix it to my own standards, which may
include replacing it with something I feel is more suitable.
The WBX falls in that catagory for me.

<snip>
 >When taking off on a trip with a 3 year old kid, one must
 >plan! and work around the needs and eventual
 >frustration of the kid.  Same with a Van.

I want the vehicle for enjoyment, not to learn how to work
around additional frustration.
I really love the van, but parts that I find too frustrating
will be replaced with something else in a big hurry.

I want to go camping, not endure a forced 4 mile march
along the edge of some highway because my car is
being moody, or be constantly puckered up every time
I drive along some narrow busy stretch of road where
there's no place to pull over...

I get where you're coming from. I've been there.
But I feel different about it now than I once did.
I guess it's just one of the symptoms of old age. sigh...

Cheers,
  Steve

At 07:27 AM 3/29/2003, you wrote:
>On 28 Mar 2003,  Steve Delanty wrote:
>
> > I suppose it's been particularly frustrating because I'd
> > hoped the bus would be "stress reliever", allowing me to
> > camp and travel and relax a little once in a while.
>
>Its all a matter of attitude.  I love my wife but I get
>frustrated with her sometimes. I love my kids, but they
>are also the source of much frustration.  I"love" my
>Westy, but .....   yes it is frustrating too.
>
>When taking off on a trip with a 3 year old kid, one must
>plan! and work around the needs and eventual
>frustration of the kid.  Same with a Van.  When my
>Westy "konks out" my wife gets all frustrated and rants
>along the lines of what you say:  un-trustworthy.  I look
>at the situation as an opportunity to lavish some
>kindness on the Westy AND to learn some more about
>its care and nursing.  I budget an extra day or so for
>breakdowns and I tell folks that I might be a day or 2
>late in getting there.
>
>My Westy is my hobby, so the more care I can give it,
>the more I'm "hobby-ing".   Just a matter of attitude.
>
>Oh yes, you wanted a camping story, let's see if I can
>think of one ..........     Malcolm