>  Date:        5/5/99 10:06:06 AM CDT
>  From:        Jon.Glommen@NOVELLUS.COM (Glommen, Jon)
>
>  In addition to the usual camping gear, what should I pack for a Vanagon
road
>  trip? Extra coolant? Bottle of oil? Flares? CV axle (just kiddin')?

Whatever else you bring in the way of spare parts, fluids, tools, etc., I'd
say these are the most important, since they essentially substitute for
whatever you don't bring, or can't repair by the side of the road:

(1) Cell phone.  (Or perhaps a CB, but I'd feel more confident with the
phone.)
(2) "AAA Plus" membership, or something similar.  ("Plus" is worth while
    because they'll tow you 100 miles, which can mean the difference between
    a salvaged vacation and two nights spent at "Bubba's Towing, Repair, and
    Chili Dogs" waiting for Bubba to figure out which end the engine's at.)
    (The first time we had to have the camper towed we didn't have "Plus",
    but the towing people were very, very nice to us and gave us a bargain
    price to get us home.  But it got me thinking about the possibility of
    someday encountering people that weren't as nice, so we upgraded to
    "Plus".)
(3) Emergency reflector triangle (or flares, but the triangle reflects
    forever whereas flares burn for only 15 minutes).

                                                  -Steven Sittser