Hi All - Our first message... It has been great reading about all your joys and troubles while trying to get geared up to pick up our first Vanagon. We just bought a '90 Westy and will be driving it back to our home cross country.  Can we bug you with some questions? Thanks very much for any help you may be able to give:

-We often go off road through the desert in spots with bad washboard and sometimes soft sand. Is there anything you can do to make the vehicle more suitable for off road travel? We were thinking maybe stiffer shocks and/or higher clearance. Is the Vanagon top heavy or wind unstable without more height?

-Is there any way to add additional seating which can be removed, i.e. by bolting it into and out of the floor?

-Finally, we will be forced to leave our buddy in very bright sunshine outside most of the year. I have seen other Vanagons around here really damaged by the sun. Does anyone have experience with some kind of cover?

Thanks a lot. We are looking forward to meeting folks on the road soon.

Signed,
Working on a good name for our new buddy- probably have to wait for the road trip.

[text/html]