we us our 84 gl gas burnin globe warming hog as our only vehicle -
though right now i probably i only drive it once or twice a week.
when i drive it i deliver furniture and pick up furniture i've helped
people out with - fixing and refinishing and stuff - so we have a westy
sized rear seat that folds down flat in place of the z bed, full width
seat that was back there, both for better sleeping and flatter
cushioned table and dresser carrying - i also now and again do some
construction work and lets face it - the old vanagon handles plywood
and sheetrock (i have a funny story about the word or nonword
"sheetrock") really well - i have a roof rack so if i see free wood
around, or run across the occasional barn being torn down - i can carry
nasty nail filled things home to clean up and re-use without hurting
the inside. I'm planning on re-outfitting the inside walls with plywood
doorskin to make a more versatile environment with nice bungee grabbing
spots and some shelves along the side where a westy has its sink and
closet etc for better camping which is something else my wife and i
use the van for - and for road trips two people one van is still
cheaper than the old airplane and while evil as hell probably carbon-
wise less costly too -

i cant corner like andretti like i used to could in my 81 toyota sr5
pickup (i'm not kidding) but probably its better that i dont drive like
that anymore anyway -

but it does have a lot of headaches and general anxiety that the old
truck was free of....

take care

monte

On 13 Apr 2007, , at 14:00, Stephen Grisanti wrote:

>> Are there people here that (gulp) just use the van
>> for camping?
>
> Depending on how you have the van insured it might be
> wise to do just that.  I like driving the Westy (and
> drove it to work today wearing my Ben and Jerry's
> "Peace, Leve and Ice Cream" microbus T-shirt) but the
> abrupt throttle tip-in makes it a hassle in
> stop-and-go traffic.  The Mopar minivan is easier in
> daily use.
>
> Stephen
>
> --- Mark Tuovinen <mst@AK.NET> wrote:
>
>> Bryan,
>>
>> Re:  "So the question is, does anybody still drive a
>> Vanagon (or loaf) as a daily driver out there? What
>> are you doing with those vans? Are there people here
>> that (gulp) just use the van for camping?  I could
>> never understand that one."
>>
>> My family has both a daily driver and a camping only
>> Vanagon.  We have three vans, one for parts which I
>> need to disassemble or sell(got to keep the wife &
>> neighbors happy) the other two are driven.  All are
>> Syncro's, one a Westy, one with sunroof, and the
>> parts van.  Of the two that are street legal the
>> Westy is only driven during the summer months and
>> while I drove it daily for the last three summers it
>> will mostly be a camping rig from this point
>> forward.  Last Fall I purchased our Sunroof Syncro
>> for a daily driver and will continue to use it as
>> such but am also modifying it to suit my tastes.  It
>> came with the standard 7 passenger interior with
>> which I am replacing with rear jumpseats and the
>> folding table so that it will better fit my needs.
>> With curtains, a cooler and a campstove it will be
>> what I drive when I am going somewhere and don't
>> want to take the Westy.
>>
>> "Are there places besides CA where there are some VW
>> vans left or are most parts of the country as
>> vanless as SE PA?"
>>
>> There are plenty of Vanagons and few Loaf's roaming
>> Alaska, many are parked during the winter months but
>> some are on the road year round.  I have never tried
>> to count but it seems that a large percentage of
>> them are Westy's and/or Syncro's, which makes sense
>> considering our climate.
>>
>> Mark in AK
>>
>
>
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