A FrankenVanagon from DVNP
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:15 pm
Hey, boys. Long time, no see.
Frito's been treating me so well, I've not had a VW thought for ages. Until last week, that is, in Death Valley. I'd stopped for lunch when this pulled up nearby. Something that will offend the snot outta Colin, no doubt. But hey. It's America. Land of the free and home of the individualist.
The owner, a sliver of a man about my age but half my weight, was only too happy to give me a tour. Here he is, inspecting Frito's interior.
He was on his way to The Racetrack, one of the more remote areas of Death Valley. Judging by the overall look of the vehicle, he could deal with pretty well any emergency that developed out there. He said that his Vanagon was on its second Subaru replacement engine, something he'd done himself.
He tows it behind his motorhome, which was currently docked in Beatty. Check out that desert lighting! He counted up the wattage for me and it came to something over 700W! Ghaaa! I hope the alternator's up to the task. He didn't seem worried. Looks to me it'd slow the vehicle down some, just from the reverse thrust of photons.
That's not dust, that's rattle-can whitewalls. He'd sprayed the tires with white paint to "protect" them from the desert sun.,
Anyway, he's out there, doing what we all love to do. Road Trips!
In other news, Deerhunter and his son joined me in Eureka Dunes last week for two days of Scotch testing, dunes hiking and world problem solving. We were successful at just two of the above. This world seems beyond solving.
130,000 miles and eight years later, Frito (my 04 Merc Sprinter) has been a flawless performer since I picked him up in Mesa, AZ with 9800 miles. He's had nothing in the way of repairs except consumables and standard maintenance items and he's taken me across the continent many times with comfort, grace and style. Well, comfort, anyway.
Here's our campsite (lower right) at Eureka Dunes last week.
Happy trails and good compression to all.
Peter
Frito's been treating me so well, I've not had a VW thought for ages. Until last week, that is, in Death Valley. I'd stopped for lunch when this pulled up nearby. Something that will offend the snot outta Colin, no doubt. But hey. It's America. Land of the free and home of the individualist.
The owner, a sliver of a man about my age but half my weight, was only too happy to give me a tour. Here he is, inspecting Frito's interior.
He was on his way to The Racetrack, one of the more remote areas of Death Valley. Judging by the overall look of the vehicle, he could deal with pretty well any emergency that developed out there. He said that his Vanagon was on its second Subaru replacement engine, something he'd done himself.
He tows it behind his motorhome, which was currently docked in Beatty. Check out that desert lighting! He counted up the wattage for me and it came to something over 700W! Ghaaa! I hope the alternator's up to the task. He didn't seem worried. Looks to me it'd slow the vehicle down some, just from the reverse thrust of photons.
That's not dust, that's rattle-can whitewalls. He'd sprayed the tires with white paint to "protect" them from the desert sun.,
Anyway, he's out there, doing what we all love to do. Road Trips!
In other news, Deerhunter and his son joined me in Eureka Dunes last week for two days of Scotch testing, dunes hiking and world problem solving. We were successful at just two of the above. This world seems beyond solving.
130,000 miles and eight years later, Frito (my 04 Merc Sprinter) has been a flawless performer since I picked him up in Mesa, AZ with 9800 miles. He's had nothing in the way of repairs except consumables and standard maintenance items and he's taken me across the continent many times with comfort, grace and style. Well, comfort, anyway.
Here's our campsite (lower right) at Eureka Dunes last week.
Happy trails and good compression to all.
Peter
