Such a surprise surprised us hundreds of miles from home when the alternator bearings began to make noise. It was not an electrical problem but a mechanical one. I happened to have a spare aboard and changed it out in the lot of the Auto Zone in Birmingham AL. My wife has been more charitable about my hoarding tendencies ever since. We had the pleasure of meeting John Rodgers later that same day. 

Stephen

Mobile

> On May 2, 2017, at 6:33 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> A reasonable maintenance plan would include checking that at about 75K miles. That should not be a road trip failure. However an alternator can also fial for other reasons and be a surprise. This is a common VW alternator, readily available. 
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Loren Busch
> Sent: Tuesday, May 2, 2017 3:27 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: What spare parts to carry with on trips
> 
> ​RE: Spares
> An alternator regulator/brush pack.  Most failures of the alternator are worn brushes.  A 15 minute fix.​