Trip Report!

Bus, Microbus, Transporter, Station Wagon, Vanagon, Camper, Pick-Up.

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

Post Reply
appetite
Getting Hooked!
Status: Offline

Trip Report!

Post by appetite » Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:49 am

Trip Report!

This August, I took my fickle 1969 bus, my patient wife and my two rambunctious kids on an epic (to us) two week road trip. What could go wrong? Nothing, as it turns out! We had a wonderful adventure. We traveled 1750 miles, from northern NJ to Edisto Island, SC and back, zig zagging through beach towns and state parks along the coast.

We found great beach camping at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware, Kiptopeke State Park and First Landing State Park in Virginia, and Edisto Beach State Park in South Carolina. The beach towns of North Carolina are laid back and fun, especially Ocean Isle and Kure Beach.

The kids saw sea turtles hatching, got devoured by mosquitoes, spied an alligator in the marshes and were generally intoxicated by the experience. The wife was an expert navigator, an ambitious camper and didn't flinch (well, maybe a little) when she got a massive jellyfish sting!

The bus behaved swimmingly! A couple of glitches here and there, but nothing that arrested our progress. It was hot as Hades, humid as a steam bath. But we love the heat, and apparently, the bus does as well. We packed way too much stuff and I was worried for the first few days that the weight of all of us, our crap and ambient temps were going to cause us problems. But whether it was 70 or 100 degrees, the bus chugged along, without much variation in performance.

To wit, vital stats:

Avg CHT between 350 and 400, with a couple of peaks to 425
Avg oil temp 180 to 210, with a few peaks to 220, maybe 225
Avg 18 MPG
Driving time per day - no more than 4 hours, except one 5 hour marathon.

I chose the right path down the coast, mostly two lane rural roads (Routes 13, 17, etc) where I could maintain 55 MPH, 60 max. Perfect bus driving!

And, behold, I passed 2 vehicles! One was an old lady driving 25 in a 55 mph zone and one was a tractor that was belching smoke.

To do: adjust the rear brakes, check valve clearances, change the oil, sweep out all the sand and plan the next journey!

Thanks to all for your expertise as we prepared for the trip, especially when our alternator crapped out just before take-off.
IMG_2898.jpg
IMG_2898.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 7495 times
IMG_2892.jpg
IMG_2892.jpg (1.71 MiB) Viewed 7495 times
IMG_2889.JPG
IMG_2889.JPG (1.77 MiB) Viewed 7495 times
James

User avatar
sped372
IAC Addict!
Location: Waunakee, WI
Status: Offline

Re: Trip Report!

Post by sped372 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 10:51 am

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. I noticed the tent, did the kids sleep out there and you in the bus?
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

appetite
Getting Hooked!
Status: Offline

Re: Trip Report!

Post by appetite » Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:28 pm

We brought the tent so the boys could have the option of where to sleep. Some nights they chose the bus, others the tent. One night, they simply claimed the whole bus as their own and made us sleep in the tent!

The tent was also helpful for dry storage space if there was rain. And this dry bag from Go Westy was worth the $100 for storing bulky items on the luggage rack:

https://www.gowesty.com/product/cargo-e ... cargo-bag-

We drove through some monsoons and everything inside was bone dry.

User avatar
asiab3
IAC Addict!
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Trip Report!

Post by asiab3 » Wed Aug 28, 2019 2:45 pm

Fantastic trip report, thanks for sharing. Nice to see that beautiful bus out and about!

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

User avatar
sped372
IAC Addict!
Location: Waunakee, WI
Status: Offline

Re: Trip Report!

Post by sped372 » Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:39 am

Yes, having a place to stash things at night is key. We used one of those "instant" pop-up tents for that purpose for a few years but have recently started using a tiny Coleman trailer. Moving and tripping over things inside the bus at night gets old fast!
1971 Karmann Ghia - 1600 DP
1984 Westfalia - 1.9 WBX

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Trip Report!

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 30, 2019 6:52 am

appetite wrote:
Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:49 am
Trip Report!
What could go wrong? Nothing, as it turns out!
James

I ... I feel like a proud poppa. And the kids! They are growing so fast! And the VW! Out there in the country!
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

Post Reply