another good reason to avoid diesel westies, or any other camper, is
that in a condition that will make  the trip, you won;t have the dough
left for actual travel.

i just bought a gas burning passenger van because it seemed that
outfitting it for travel was cheaper than paying 10k or more for a good
condition westy. i do miss the poptop idea, though. but otherwise i
think the hardtop will serve quite well

good luck - it would be great to hear more about your trip - is there
an agenda or jsut going for the excitement of it

i am planning a much shorter trip - only half of the western hemisphere
rather than all of it - mostly to scope out the west coast of north
america for the signs and damage caused by climate change - hence the
original idea of veggie oil - but without a sponsor it seemed pretty
hard to figure that angle - so its gas burning for me - sigh.....

take care

monte

On Apr 19, 2006, at 3:13 PM, Ian Cooley wrote:

Evening, friends and fellow aficionados of travel.

I am currently preparing to head south, bound for Argentina, and I am
looking for a Vanagon Adventurewagen.  All the same, I am new to this
market (as a serious buyer) and to a roadtrip of such great extent.
Any advice or suggestions on either topic one may offer would be
greatly appreciated and warmly accepted.

Beyond their pertinence to my planned endeavor, I have wanted a
vehicle of this nature for years now.  I hope to find a diesel with
the intention of converting it to run on veggie-oil (though, of late,
this desire has diminished to some extent given the impression i've
received regarding the availability of vegetable oil in these
countries).  As I am
currently in Reno, NV, something within a six-seven hour drive should
suffice (i.e., this post is most pertinent to those living at any
point along the west coast, from Los Angeles to Vancouver,
Canada)--though, if a steal surfaces elsewhere that I would be amiss
to pass... If one should be found, please email me:
ianrcooley@gmail.com. Thank you sincerely, irrespective of your
realized effort towards this end.

With much love and sure cadence.
Ian

--
Scientists warn that traveling through space-time by means of a cosmic
wormhole may be extremely dangerous.

"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still
on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken to concerning
them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and
even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious
to recover them as if they had lost them themselves." - henry thoreau