I have to echo the inspection and having a shop prep the van for the trip. 

I bought  a 86 Vanagon in Anacortes, WA, located on the Pacific and brought in home to Dartmouth Ma, on the Atlantic and despite that a friend owned the van for a few years, and that I had used it for 2 week vacation the following year in Washington, I still had a shop inspect and prep the van for the trip.  I experienced Vanagon Syndrome in South Dakota and luckily a shop had the wiring harness.   

So in spite of the inspection, if I did not have some knowledge about Vanagon syndrome, to some extent (I had only owned air cooled prior) and had a lap top and motel Internet connection to verify, I might have been having the thing shipped anyway and flying home.  
This is after replacing cap, rotor, fuel filter, etc.  All done in campgrounds or on the road, in the rain.

It also rained across the ENTIRE country (northern half) for the week of my trip, except in So Dakota where we had snow and that was on national news.  Only the Badlands offered sun.  

You know those signs that say rocks? Well sometimes there are rocks - lot's of them.  And then they are covered with snow.  And when your van is sliding and spinning the tires 300 ft from the top of a pass that if you don't make, will be a 300+ mile trip around due to road closings, you wonder if simply waiting days for the weather to change is the smartest option.  So even if the van cooperates, Mother Nature may not! (You also have to get down those snow covered passes) 

I only had a week to drive, which was short, but that was thaI t was based on my friend's allowable vacation time.  I'm glad I did the trip.  Sometimes wish the family would have gone, taking 2 weeks (SO said no), and othertimes, I'm so lgad that they did not go!

John

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