OK, I am not aware of what pad compounds are available for Vanagons so I
could be suggesting something impossible....but if vanagons are like many
other vehicles when it comes to pads....there are a variety of pads
available.  Many German vehicles interchange the pads from make to make
also.
  Google up the coefficient of friction for brake pads.  Read up on it some
and then choose a grippy set of pads for your vanagon if you are having
doubts when trying to stop it.  The difference is remarkable between pad
compounds and how they stop...Yes, you may have to replace a soft compound
more often.  But a softer compound will stop you much quicker and it will
slow you down with less brake application time....so it won't probably get
as hot as a hard pad that has to be engaged with lots of force almost all
the way down a hill...leaving no time for the rotors to cool.

  All this is a 'balancing act' and since I have not encountered brake fade
with my vanagon, despite repeated trips through the High Sierras with big
loads....I can only relate from previous experiences in a general way...not
Vanagon -specific.  There may be few pad compounds available for the
vanagon, but I think there should be a few options.  Choose the friction
pads and your braking will improve..

  Actually, there are two types of brake fade...one type...probably what the
OP is seeing...is when the rotors get really hot from continuous brake
application, they heat above the temperature the pad's compound is designed
to work at....the pads are hotter than is optimum, less friction is created,
so you have to push harder on the pedal for longer, creating even more
heat....Softer pads will stop this.
  The other fade is cause when the brakes, rotors and calipers get really
hot and cause the water in the brake fluid to turn to steam....This is the
classic...."No Brakes!" feeling...when the pedal feels a little soft and
quickly becomes a LOT soft and goes to the floor...This fade will go away
when the brakes cool and the pedal will come back to normal...This is why we
change our brake fluid, get fresh in there without any moisture that can
turn to steam.. .

On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 9:24 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:

> Of course you can buy a lot of really good brake parts after you run off
> the
> road or into something else. And in New York any trailer 1,000 pounds or
> more will have its own brakes!
>
> For the budget mined the brake spindles, calipers, rotors, and hoses from
> an
> 86 and later will bolt up. Slightly larger pads and 15mm thick rotors
> provide some improved heat dissipation. It is real important for the rear
> brakes to be working properly.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Rocket J Squirrel
> Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 5:50 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Brake Fade
>
> On 09/06/2011 02:17 PM, Don Hanson wrote:
>
> >    A fully loaded camper with an auto tranny...that is near the limit
> > for stock brakes...that is why people change to Big Brakes....a little
> > extra safety margin...
>
> A-yup. Add a small trailer loaded with camping gear to the mix, and you can
> really feel how soft the brakes are. I'd so add a big brake kit but unless
> I'm missing something, they are beyond my budgetary limitations.
>
>
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in San
> Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
>
> Sent from my kitchen.
>