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Subject:Re: vermont in winter
From:John Rodgers
Date:Wed, 1 Mar 2006 18:22:18 -0600

A good propane FURNACE like the Suburban woud make quick work any cold
air inside the van on below-zero days. One advantage of the output of a
big heater is that not only will it warm up the vehicle interior fast,
give it a little time and the heat radiating from the interior will
raise the temperature of the engine making it easier to start in that
extreme cold. BTDT.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver 2 X

Rob Infante wrote:

>I spent the past two weekends ice diving in vermont, and sleeping in the
>syncro westy afterwards.  It was brilliant!  I loved not worrying  about a hotel,
>and the 4wd worked great on the snowy slippery hill we  parked on next to the
>water, especially last Saturday when it snowed 4" or  so.  I had my -25F down
>bag with me, even with the temps below zero every  night I was toasty as can
>be.
>
>Given that degree of cold, would a propane heater really do much to heat
>things up?  I usually would just sit in the sleeping bag and stow all the
>curtains, then out for diving.  It would have been nice to crank up the  heat before
>getting up, but if it was going to take more than 5 or 10 minutes to  warm
>the bus it would have been wasted.
>
>Another question I have is about driving in high winds.  The second  weekend
>was better than the first, as I had another person and their gear with  me,
>but I was still being buffeted all over the place.  I had thought about  putting
>15" or 16" tires on, but would that make it even more unstable?   Its pretty
>unpleasant.  Would more power have any effect? I was watching a  dodge sprint
>package truck sail along while I felt the rooster on top of a barn,  and
>wondering why he could be so stable, narrow and taller as he is.  Any  ideas?
>
>regards
>rob infante
>'87 syncro westy
>boonton nj
>
>btw, last month I had written about my hesitation issues, and the general
>recommendation was to change the O2 sensor.  I did to no effect, and  finally
>had my mechanic sort it out.  He found the catalytic converter  clogged solid,
>and changed it out.  It has never driven so well in the 10  months I've had it,
>it goes up the steepest hills doing 50 and has great takeoff  and
>acceleration.
>
>
>
>