I agree with you.
I have a South African 5spd that I had regeared to all an OD 5th. (Since
the standard 5sp has the same ratio on 5th as the 4 spd.) I also added a
locking diff from a sycro. (I would have used a quafie, but they were
not in production when I did my transmission.) Having the 5 speed makes
the van so much nicer for freeway driving and does boost freeway mpg a
bit. (but not enough to pay off the transmission in my lifetime.) :-)

Todd
'88 Westy

On 1/13/2012 9:14 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
>     I have a 5sp and like it.  It MAKES my van, pretty much.   I find the
> very low, but not a true granny gear 1st to be quite useful on rough
> terrain...not having to slip the clutch or lug the motor way down and risk
> 'jerking along' when the wheels lift....that makes driving in the rough or
> on very steep hills quite a bit better than with a tall first gear.    The
> regular pattern (I normally skip using 1st gear for starting out) is a
> standard "H" 4speed.   The most useful aspect of the 5sp in a Vanagon is
> the ability to downshift at about 65 or 70 when you encounter a significant
> long grade at speed.   This shift is a small-ish increase in RPMs, but in
> my van it really allows me to maintain 70mph easily uphill....I do have an
> inline gas ABA Jetta 2 liter motor with a higher rpm power band.
>     One thing it took me a while to discover is to NOT 'guide' the shift
> lever when going from the back and left first gear to the second
> gear.....just slap the stick forward and it will take the needed path to
> second gear on it's own, much better than if you try to "help" it.     And
> frequent lubrication of the under-van shift linkage really makes the
> shifting slick!   I just squirt some spray lube onto the shiftrod bushings
> from alongside the van...it works fine to do that every month or so.
>      As mentioned, this pattern that many call 'weird" is actually normal
> feeling to me....I have to re-adjust when I get into a vehicle where 5th
> gear is on the other side of the "H" pattern.
>    Selling a 5sp to finance a 4sp?  Huh?  Don't get that one at all..
>