Itinerant Air-Cooled Maupin II

[Amskeptic]

This lass has a dad who makes the best damn campsite coffee I have ever had. I was lacking in manners as I requested yet another cup, Brent, thank-you:


A true contributor to the ambience I enjoyed so much:





Hey pj, I won't tell anyone that you have Chrysler candyass red paint all over your bus, it is beautiful regardless:



Two more essential contributors to the spirit of the thing, tristessa and Gypsie, I enjoyed their company, music, and resourcefulness tremendously, as well as spiffy and CoPilot who somehow did not end up in my photo archives, but their plucky bus Bill did. . . .





Some families here made amazing use of tight space:





And here's a few:








And I just had to get a few shots of the beautiful Ruptured Duck:





The weekend was relaxed, almost refreshing (see Maupin III), and the music and people and beauty of the spot all helped to re-aquaint me with this whole air-cooled VW phenomenom.
Colin

[pjalau]

Then of course, there's you


and your bus o parts


and Pete's Sweet machine


If your car is going to bonk - do it loud and proud


but between you and me, it's this kind of thing that gives me the vapors:

[spiffy]

Very nice shots!

The community really had a glow to it over the weekend, every conversation was comfortable and friendly and the vibe just made me happy inside.

Glad you got to take Bill for a spin between RTV brush strokes, he's our plucky little beater bus and we like it that way.

[Amskeptic]

Very nice shots!

The community really had a glow to it over the weekend, every conversation was comfortable and friendly and the vibe just made me happy inside.

Glad you got to take Bill for a spin between RTV brush strokes, he's our plucky little beater bus and we like it that way.

Bill is still resonating in here. I remember driving up the hill into DOWNTOWN Maup (ah ya blinked) in, and back down the hill and was struck by the heart of a bull coming up through that simple old rugged metal.
Colin

[vwlover77]

Wow, it sounds like a pinnacle event. Google maps says 2,440 miles and around 36 hours of driving time from here in northeast Ohio. 20mpg @ $4.00/gallon would cost me $1000 in fuel round-trip. I think I'd better start saving now, but next year's event would be the trip of a lifetime.....

[Amskeptic]

Wow, it sounds like a pinnacle event. Google maps says 2,440 miles and around 36 hours of driving time from here in northeast Ohio. 20mpg @ $4.00/gallon would cost me $1000 in fuel round-trip. I think I'd better start saving now, but next year's event would be the trip of a lifetime.....

It would and do it. Bring a spouse and a kid or two.. Lifetime memories.
Colin

[chitwnvw]

Wow, it sounds like a pinnacle event. Google maps says 2,440 miles and around 36 hours of driving time from here in northeast Ohio. 20mpg @ $4.00/gallon would cost me $1000 in fuel round-trip. I think I'd better start saving now, but next year's event would be the trip of a lifetime.....

I too want to make it next year. Lets keep touch. You can stop over here and we can caravan. What do you think of stopping at Rushmore and Yellowstone along the way?

[spiffy]

^^^^^ that would be the way to do it, take a couple of weeks see all the sights (gotta hit up the Grand Tetons) and take the fam.

[vwlover77]

We've never gone "out west" as a family and trying to plan a trip is frustrating. There is SO MUCH to see that we really want to allow a few weeks to do it, but then the costs start to get too high for a family of four.

And then there's the issue of what vehicle to take..... Convincing my wife to travel cross-country in the Westy will be a hard-sell. See, her parents have spoiled her for life by going out and buying a 23' Winnebago View RV (on the Sprinter chassis). They're on their way to Alaska in it right now, with all the comforts of home.

So, a trip to Maupin in the Bus would probably have to be a "guys trip" and the expense would be hard to justify...... I guess I can always claim mid-life crisis and make her watch "Wild Hogs" again! We'll see.....

[Amskeptic]

We've never gone "out west" as a family and trying to plan a trip is frustrating. There is SO MUCH to see that we really want to allow a few weeks to do it,

Convincing my wife to travel cross-country in the Westy will be a hard-sell.

Don, forget about the Much To See. You will see what you see. This is not a tourist thang. There is no value in bragging rights to the usual "sights." Try the open road. Try the land, the geology. Just the day the land the sky, get away from civilized concerns.

Tell your wife there is no greater refreshment than to forget comfort for a while, harken back to her earlier youth where a VW and the road was a magnificent beckoning to simple freedom. Comfort sucks. It demands your attention.

Tell her it is about time that she takes the directions from her man and as her man you are telling her to get her ass in the van we're going NOW and leave that ridiculous suitcase behind. . .
Colin
(need a couch to crash on for a while? ummmm, I don't have one)

[glasseye]

Comfort sucks.

Here, I gotta disagree. Complexity sucks, and that's a fact I'm made aware of every time I have to download my compact flash cards, recharge the laptop, put new batteries in the GPS, make sure the roof vent is closed, all four doors are manually locked, refill my cockpit water bottle, etc. etc... It all can get a bit too much, sometimes. But then that magnificent view from the Bay Window takes over, and the sounds of the meadowlarks from the fields as I mosey on calm my complexity-nerves and all is well again.

Lack of comfort sucks. Them seats are rilly, rilly bad. After eight hours at the VW wheel, my bones ache. The noise level at cruise demands earplugs. I long for the relaxing gestalt of armrests, cruise control and quiet. Blessed, sweet quiet.

It's gonna be a Sprinter for me. Just you wait.

[vwlover77]

It's gonna be a Sprinter for me. Just you wait.

If so, better go for the new model with the V6. My in-laws have the original version with the in-line 5 and I will say, the combustion noise combined with REALLY LOUD electric cooling fans make it a noisy ride.

But maybe it's just so noticeable because everything else is so quiet....

need a couch to crash on for a while? ummmm, I don't have one

I'll let you know how it works out, but that's one advantage of having the Campmobile - I can always sleep in it if I get booted out of the house!

[zblair]

Wow, it sounds like a pinnacle event. Google maps says 2,440 miles and around 36 hours of driving time from here in northeast Ohio. 20mpg @ $4.00/gallon would cost me $1000 in fuel round-trip. I think I'd better start saving now, but next year's event would be the trip of a lifetime.....

I too want to make it next year. Lets keep touch. You can stop over here and we can caravan. What do you think of stopping at Rushmore and Yellowstone along the way?

YES! If everything works as I think it might for us, we'll be coming up from Texas. I'd rather do a diagonal trip than due West and due North, and that means we could hook up with the bus-a-van caravan in Idaho or Eastern OR. I've gotta look at maps and plan, but wouldn't this be a TRIP!

[glasseye]

[
If so, better go for the new model with the V6. My in-laws have the original version with the in-line 5 and I will say, the combustion noise combined with REALLY LOUD electric cooling fans make it a noisy ride.
But maybe it's just so noticeable because everything else is so quiet....

Good advice. Thanks. There's a significant price difference between the two versions and I've not yet driven the new ones. Considering how many miles I intend to spend in there, it'd better be good.

[LiveonJG]

Hey pj, I've been trying to place you, nice summary post btw, and that pic did it. I love that color!

-John