Hello Folks,

Got back to Sacto.  Thank you to Rob for suggestions and Rick for coffee,
support and coolant.

My overheating problem was vapor somewhere in the line.

Filling the coolant system is typically a 2-person job -- one to add coolant
and the other keep the engine revs at about 2K rpm -- while the relief valve
at the top of the radiator is cracked open and the van is inclined with the
front end up.

In the evening & early morning I was alone so I improvised -- it worked and
I thought this might be of use to someone else who got stranded like me.
What I did is go to Ace hardware and bought a mini-funnel - about 2 inches
long and quite tiny at the smallest end - and also bought a foot of about
1/4 inch o.d. clear plastic tubing.  I snipped off a bit of the end of the
funnel and stuck the tubing onto the funnel.  This gave me something I could
slowly pour coolant in and that would slip into the radiator relief valve.
I parked so the van was inclined front up and slowly poured coolant in.  It
took a couple of tries to get all the trapped vapor cleared -- filling til
full, running with both heaters open -- then letting the van cool down and
refilling.  I'd done this before I got to Rick's and when we went to do it
one more time the radiator was completely full when I cracked the relief
valve.  No further problems with overheating.

So thanks again to Rob and Rick and hope this helps someone else.

Oh, yes ... take it easy going up the grade from Medford to the Siskiyou
summit if you're towing a second Vanagon.

Werner