I transported  in my '85 GL fifteen 100lb bags of plaster from
Anchorage to Soldotna, AK down on the Kenai Peninsula - total distance
about 150 miles through the mountains. The only place I had a bit of a
problem was going up into Turnagain Pass, which is a pretty steep climb,
but the van did it without a hitch. It was a slow pull up that pass,
shifting lots between first, second and third, with a good bit of it in
2nd gear. I didn't try to push it. Just watched what gear, RPM, speed,
temperature and paid attention to the sound of the engine. I made sure I
had plenty of stopping distance, and watched the speed in the mountains.
Never had any trouble then, nor ever after. One thing that sureprised me
about carrying that load, and still surprises me even to this day with
my other vans, is how nicely the van rides with a load. Not the harsh
stiff ride of the truck that it is, but more like a big luxury car.

John

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 3/26/2011 2:26 PM, Ed Lloyd wrote:
> The local High School is selling 3 cubic foot bags of mulch, with an additional delivery charge of $20.  My neighbor and I always buy some, and I offered to pick it up in the Vanagon to save us some money.
>
> At about 54 cubic feet (18 bags), I believe I can get them all in the Van.  Last year I bought 10 bags by myself and got them all in with no problem.  This time there are 18 bags, which I believe will fit, but the neighbor tells me that there is too much weight and he doesn’t want me to damage the van.
>
> Looking in the driver’s manual talks about gross weight, weight per axle, etc, but doesn’t tell me how much I can carry.
>
> If the bags are 40 pounds each that would come to about 720 pounds of cargo, and we only have about 2 miles of side streets to travel.
>
> What cargo weight limit do you think is maximum?  If the bags are wet they could be 50 pounds or more.
>
> Ed
>
>