I'm changing mine every year at least, or whenever I have clutch or brake
problems, whichever comes first.  I don't 'push' my Vanagon in braking
situations...don't go fast downhill, don't power up to stopsigns, nor do I
do any road racing with it...but if I should detect any signs of brake fade,
I would change the fluid  right away...brake fluid is inexpensive.

  On the Auto trans Westies going downhill:  A properly operated vanagon
should do fine...using the gears to descend is often overlooked, especially
by folks who don't know much about driving an older style or a heavy
vehicle.  I envision someone sailing along down Tioga Pass, looking at the
beauty and listening to tunes on a summer day with one foot on the brake the
whole way...not noticing the smell of hot....Could also happen in a stick
shift, I guess...Some Vanagon drivers seem to be...a little more interested
in The Experience than in the actual process of driving the things...

  Don Hanson

On Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 2:31 PM, <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:

> ---- Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> >  The most effective way to descend in a heavy vehicle with small brakes
> is
> > to apply them firmly and slow the vehicle below it's 'perfect speed',
> then
> > get off the brakes and let it build back up to speed (allowing the brakes
> to
> > cool off some)  Watch the truckers go downhill.
> >
>
> >   Changing brake fluid regularly is good.  Once you experience Brake
> > Fade...you will become a believer...if you live.
>
> So, how often do you recommend changing brake fluid?  Does one go by miles
> driven, or by time elapsed?  I changed the fluid in my '91 VW Vanagon GL
> Campmobile 14 months and 6K miles ago when I got it.  In most vehicles I've
> owned I would change it every two years or 30K miles, whichever was first,
> but the owner's manual in my Prius doesn't even mention it.  I asked at the
> dealer about it, and he said something like, "We like to do it at 100K
> miles."
>
> David McNeely
>