I read on Samba where a bay Westy interior rearview mirror stalk is longer and snaps right into a Vanagon, but the one I found turned out to be no different.� It only cost me $5 so I experimented with it by cutting it in the middle of the stalk, drilling holes in each part, screwing in a 4-inch-long piece of allthread with a broomstick sleeve and tried it.� You see the result; it could be classier and finished better but it works.

Stephen

--- On Wed, 7/29/09, Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Trip report: Pilgrimage to Pulaski (vanagon intensive with              pix...longish)
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 7:24 PM

What be this "extended-stalk rearview mirror" of which you speak?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
Bend, OR
KG6RCR

On 7/29/2009 2:35 PM Stephen Grisanti wrote:

> I'm embarrassed to admit that this is the first camping trip of the year, the first since Buses By The Trax last fall.� We've spent every nice (and some not-so-nice) weekend day working on this room addition and that has kept us from making the time to camp, so when Karen needed to go out of town on family business I decided that Hank the dog and I should have ourselves a bacheling overnight.
>
> I decided to combine the camping with the delivery of an alley find to a friend who could appreciate it and then drive a little farther south to visit a notorious Vanagon hotspot in Pulaski, Virginia known as Vanagon Heaven.� My friend Dick Howard, who owned two bay vans for a total of 30 years, is just the type of guy to enjoy a jaunt like this. Sadly, he now owns two Toyota pickups.
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> I'll let the pix speak for themselves.� While we were poking around we were approached by one of Pulaski's Finest and once he determined we were harmless (something Dick and I hate to admit to ourselves) he was glad to regale us with stories of the place ("You never see one drive in or out; they come in on a rollback or leave the same way.� I don't think he fixes them here; he just parks them here.").� There's a Samba thread about this place for the interested among you.� Your dream Vanagon may be here someplace but you'll need a skyhook to get it out.
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> http://picasaweb.google.com/bike2vcu/PulaskiPost?authkey=Gv1sRgCOaBvdWm4YGrnQE#
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> After delivering Dickie safely home Hank and I headed for the North Creek campground in the Jefferson National Forest near Arcadia.� It was raining when we arrived and that helped cool things down but it was still muggy and buggy and I snagged the last available spot.� Whew!� Over the months things had migrated into the house from the camper so not everything that I assumed was in there turned out to be, like the hatch screen and the new slider screen.� A colossal thunderstorm hit during the night so I had to close up the van, making it even more uncomfortable.� Oh well, this was my shakedown run for the season.
>
> Next morning we headed uphill on several miles of gravel to the Blue Ridge Parkway for the trip home and things improved immensely.� The elevation provided cooler temps, a stiff breeze and gorgeous views.� Off the Parkway at I-64 we stopped by second VW place near Stuarts Draft, actually more of a VW-based place.� This Nethken guy is big on expression instead of repair/restoration, and after viewing some of his projects and leaving there the temps got hot again.� Thankfully the recharged A/C in the van worked wonderfully both days.� We did about 550 miles total with fuel mileage at about 19 MPG.� Saw two EVs on the road, but the place in Pulaski made up for any lack of vanage in motion.� It was kind of sad, though.� As with dogs at the pound, you'd like to think every one of them will find a home but you just know that is not how it will be.
>
> Observations on mods:� the Eurovan seats I installed are very comfortable on the road but I really need to get an inch or two more of rearward travel so seat rail surgery comes before the next road trip.� The extended-stalk rearview mirror really improves rearward vision.� The van ran like a dollar watch, as my Dad used to say.� One more thing about Pulaski; it made me realize how lucky I was to find our Westy.� Despite the number of vans we saw, there's nothing on that lot I'd have traded for.
>
> Stephen
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