I thought EVERYONE drove their VW campers at 60 mph on the highway (or
slower, depending on conditions).  I know I never drive it faster than that.

On Mon, Jul 31, 2017 at 6:05 PM, Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Well, as disturbing as this episode was I can say I safely made it back to
> the
> West coast without incident.   My wife and I drove from Raleigh, NC to the
> Wilmington, NC area and visited with family there.
>
> I had previously had driven up to Maryland and on the way back had the
> alternator light come on and shortly after the temp gauge light on and the
> needle climbing to the top.   Then had it towed to my rental and then to a
> shop to have the belts replaced and coolant added.
>
> I also had the propane fill valve, bleeder and shut-off valve
> installed/replaced.
>
> I had no trouble with the fridge.   It worked admirably.
>
> I also filled the AC system up with Freeze 12 including the oil and leak
> stop.
>
> So we visited with the nephew and niece for a few days and headed up to
> Maryland to visit my cousin again.  Then we drove the next day to Ocean
> City where the end of highway 50 is and took pictures of the sign that says
> that it is 3073 miles to Sacramento.   As luck would have it the bridge was
> raised so we had plenty of time to take pictures.
>
> We drove back towards DC and did a short drive up to Delaware to say we've
> been there.
>
> After that we drove down towards Virginia and spent the night in a hotel
> near
> the northern entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway.   The next day we enjoyed
> the drive in the beautiful greenery and plenty of wild flowers.  We
> finished the
> drive below the Buena Vista entrance and headed towards Knoxville on I-81.
>
> Our next stop was in Nashville and from there we needed to catch some of
> Kentucky as the wife had not been there.  So off we went.  Had some stopped
> traffic as the there was construction further north where the highway
> splits to
> Chicago or St. Louis.   Ended the day just west of St. Louis and stopped to
> see
> the Arch and had a nice dinner at a nice restaurant.
>
> The next day we headed south toward the Branson, MO area where more cousins
> and relatives live and we were treated with great hospitality.   Also did a
> quick jaunt to Arkansas to say we've been there.
>
> Side note: because of the issue and high miles the camper has I was driving
> no greater than 60 mph this trip.   I wanted to get as far west as I
> could.   I know
> that sound excruciating to many but it was actually not bad and allowed me
> to
> see more scenery along the way.
>
> So after several days visiting with family we headed north again to
> Nebraska
> where some of the family ancestors lived and spent some time in a small
> community outside of Omaha.
>
> Next we, headed further north as we wanted to see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse
> and also, Devil's Tower.   After a couple days we arrived and enjoyed the
> sites.   One sign at Rushmore caught my eye was the one that said "No
> drones".
> Crazy Horse was very moving.    I hope I get to see it completed but I
> doubt
> that will happen.
>
> Next we went north again and eventually made it through to North Dakota and
> did a quick jaunt to Minnesota.  Yep, we've been there!
>
> Next, we headed south west and into Yellowstone.   Lot's of switchbacks to
> get up the the top of the peak (10,900 feet) from the northeast entrance.
> Then
> on down into Yellowstone to see some bison and elk.   Quite a drive.  We
> finished
> the day at old faithful.  We stayed in a hotel just outside the park and
> went back
> in the next day to some of the geyser pools.   Very fascinating.
>
> After that we headed out and noon to get some lunch in West Yellowstone.
> The
> drove all afternoon and into the evening to Boise to stay with another
> family
> member.   We stayed there for a few days and drove the last day to our home
> in California.
>
> We logged about 5,000 plus miles with no issues.  Just keep adding oil as
> needed and coolant.    Oh, and don't drive it too hard.
>
> I feel very fortunate indeed.   Thanks to all that gave advice on the
> original
> post.    It may have gone completely differently.   The camper now has
> 253,000 miles with the original engine and heads.
>
> Steven
> 91 Westy
>