Itinerant Air-Cooled Maupin II

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ruckman101
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Post by ruckman101 » Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:53 pm

I think Bertha is mighty comfy. Dining table, love seat, reading seat, ice-box, closet, storage, shelving, kitchen, water.

Of course I've got no experience in any of the luxury liners.


neal
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Amskeptic
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Post by Amskeptic » Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:29 pm

ruckman101 wrote: Of course I've got no experience in any of the luxury liners.
They suck the day away from you and put in little pictures of the outside world, courtesy of unwelcome tinted glass. The typical modern muted palettes of plastic throw you into a nameless depression like being stuck under the flourescent lights at the bank on a beautiful sunny afternoon, the uselessly swoopy "style" of the dashboard gives you a subconscious irritation because you know it is trite and meaningless, the air-conditioning robs your olfactory sense of reality and subsitutes with mold from the evaporator drain tray, the soundproofing of the luxo lumbering louts dulls the auditory stimulation you once marvelled in with that fine unique German engineering clattering you along in joyful symphony, the entire gestalt of the luxolimoRV fills you with a self-indulged shame as you motor past the peasants, those peasants who once waved at you and shouted gladly, "nice bus!" the darkness slowly envelops you in the despair of mendacious typicality as you pine longingly for your loyal little VW, as the joy is finally snuffed out of you once and for all and for good. . . the luxolimomoderncrap airbag light comes on and you choke up acid bile and gasp at the impending bill that awaits you surely as death.
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

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zblair
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Post by zblair » Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:07 am

Amskeptic wrote:
glasseye wrote:Drooooooooooooooooooooooooool :bounce:
Pshaw. . . discomfort is the gateway to Consciousness. Therefore, a VW is your fastest path to Enlightenment.
ColiLama
Careful what you wish for ColiLama :bom:
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hambone
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Post by hambone » Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:32 am

It would be a frosty day in Hell before you caught me behind the wheel of one of those behemoths.
Is the trip about STUFF? Bringing more crap doesn't somehow improve the experience.
I bought my '69 Bus from a guy who was 83. He sold it for a '74 because he wanted a poptop. Drove it to AZ CA etc. regularly. I don't buy the whole "old bones" schtick. Are you guys gettin soft????
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
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glasseye
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Post by glasseye » Sun Jun 22, 2008 8:12 am

Amskeptic wrote: Pshaw. . . discomfort is the gateway to Consciousness. Therefore, a VW is your fastest path to Enlightenment.
ColiLama
*WARNING* Flame-bait follows. :pirate:



I respectfully disagree with this Luddite dogma. :flower:

The path to true Consciousness is through serenity, not distraction.
Noise, Vibration and Harshness constitutes competition for serenity, not a gateway.
When my ears ring after a day driving, that's fatigue, not enlightenment.



THIS is the answer to my needs for a transcontinental camera truck/living quarters.


Image

With diesel prices factored in, costs less per mile than an air-cooled bus.

An industrial-strength drivetrain designed with a service life of over half a million kilometers.

Gasoline is a solvent. Diesel is a lubricant.

Runs beautifully on biodiesel sourced from non-food, sustainable, local resources. No war required.

Stand-up and walk-around headroom for six footers.

Carry virtually any cargo inside, including a second vehicle. (a scooter! Can you imagine a scooter in, say Zion National Park?)

Carry practical quantities of life-support materiel. Like fresh water.

Overall length of the mid-range model: 18.75 feet. Very similar to a bus. Park in a standard stall with ease.

Mirrors that let you actually see stuff.

Over 500 mile range. (Not a pitiful 200 on a good day :pukeleft: )

Relaxed, easy cruising with minimal cockpit noise, allowing for supplemental audio entertainment or even education.

10,000 + mile oil change interval.

No monthly valve adjustments.

No complex, antiquated, failure-prone ignition system.

Headlights that actually illuminate the road ahead.

An unequaled view of the the world around you. :geek: THAT is enlightenment. :cheers:

(standing back from the heat, donning protective gear)
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

bus71
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Post by bus71 » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:15 am

No flame here, just a different perspective. To me valve adjustments are not a chore, it is a familer task that provides quiet meditation. Our bus has never let us down. I love the sound of that little beast. My wife and kids have slept many miles on the bed over that purring engine. I think many people like the idea of a VWbus, the reality is much different. Our bus provides us with an independence that is not possible with a modern automobile. :flower:

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:29 am

I second that. Also, on remote FS roads I need a jeepy-bed-wagon that I can fix in a pinch.
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat

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Quadratrückseite
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Post by Quadratrückseite » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:41 am

glasseye wrote:
Amskeptic wrote: Pshaw. . . discomfort is the gateway to Consciousness. Therefore, a VW is your fastest path to Enlightenment.
ColiLama
*WARNING* Flame-bait follows. :pirate:



I respectfully disagree with this Luddite dogma. :flower:

The path to true Consciousness is through serenity, not distraction.
Noise, Vibration and Harshness constitutes competition for serenity, not a gateway.
When my ears ring after a day driving, that's fatigue, not enlightenment.



THIS is the answer to my needs for a transcontinental camera truck/living quarters.


Image

With diesel prices factored in, costs less per mile than an air-cooled bus.
An industrial-strength drivetrain designed with a service life of over half a million kilometers.

Gasoline is a solvent. Diesel is a lubricant.

Runs beautifully on biodiesel sourced from non-food, sustainable, local resources. No war required.

Stand-up and walk-around headroom for six footers.

Carry virtually any cargo inside, including a second vehicle. (a scooter! Can you imagine a scooter in, say Zion National Park?)

Carry practical quantities of life-support materiel. Like fresh water.

Overall length of the mid-range model: 18.75 feet. Very similar to a bus. Park in a standard stall with ease.

Mirrors that let you actually see stuff.

Over 500 mile range. (Not a pitiful 200 on a good day :pukeleft: )

Relaxed, easy cruising with minimal cockpit noise, allowing for supplemental audio entertainment or even education.

10,000 + mile oil change interval.

No monthly valve adjustments.

No complex, antiquated, failure-prone ignition system.

Headlights that actually illuminate the road ahead.

An unequaled view of the the world around you. :geek: THAT is enlightenment. :cheers:

(standing back from the heat, donning protective gear)
Are you factoring in the cost of the vehicle into that? My bus cost $850. I expect to put another $2000 or so total (hopefully) to get her completely roadworthy. 'Twould take many many years for them to equal out cost-wise, diesel or not.
I noticed the passenger version of that Freightliner/Sprinter starts at $40,140! That's before any options.
They look nice, but I like what Colin said. Puts it all into perspective.
"The bus is the real talisman. It's the thing that runs through all of this history. It's not a thing anybody owns or controls. No matter how peeved you get with people, the bus always makes your heart jump. Everybody was attached to it."
- Ken Kesey

Steve
1978 Country Homes Camper conversion - "Gus"

http://gusthevwbus.com
http://freshandmodern.com/blog

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glasseye
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Post by glasseye » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:04 pm

Quadratrückseite wrote: Are you factoring in the cost of the vehicle into that? My bus cost $850. <snip>
I noticed the passenger version of that Freightliner/Sprinter starts at $40,140!
That's a sorta unfair comparison, eh? An old bus to a new Sprinter?

An 07 Sprinter passenger with nearly all options and 12,000 miles (ie, brand spanking new) sold recently on ebay motors for $28K, getting down close to the price of "regular" new vehicles.

I've seen higher-mileage, serviceable Sprinters for less than $10K.
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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Elwood
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Post by Elwood » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:33 pm

Apples and Oranges ~ It just is not fair to compare what you want to do with your talent and equipment needed ,to our love of vw buses. I would not want to have the type of cameras you have in a bus, hell they steal the whole bus by pushing them into the back of a large van :pale:

What I don,t get glasseye is why you want to sell "Sunny D" , that is what you named him right ? after so much history. You certainly have room to store him and maybe take the wife , it was her parents right? for a little outing once in awhile, and play the part of us happy, proud keepers of a unique community. But some people are just not the camping type. I have been camping all my life, early on with my husband and 2 daughters in a couple splitties and later a fancy new camper on a new Ford truck so we could tow a boat or buggy. Now Im back with my beloved Elwood and Jake as a project I may never finish but the journey keeps me interested in life. Yes my bones ache and I bitch but when I drive my bus I sit high in the seat of pride and always have a plan of rescue :flower:

Keep the Bus!!! and get your dream work transport for that trip. They are very differant and besides, I really like what you bring into this family and hope to meet you some day.

Love and Peace, B/E&J
'69 weekender ~ Elwood

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vwlover77
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Post by vwlover77 » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:49 pm

Glasseye, I understand your perspective because my wife shares it as well.

But, please do consider that the Sprinter is not perfection either. My father-in-law spends a lot of time on the yahoo discussion group for the Winnebago View (his Sprinter-based RV), and the Sprinter does have a few Achilles' heels. One is some sort of pipe in the air intake system. Apparently, it is made of a composite plastic and prone to breakage which is an automatic vehicle breakdown. The factory is on revision 5 or so of the part and it's still not solved.

Another is the ever-present danger of water in the diesel fuel. There is a water sensor, but if the warning lamp lights up and the driver does not shut down the engine immediately, there is the risk of trashing the entire injection system and engine, and this is not covered by the warranty.

Finally, the Sprinter engine relies very heavily on numerous sensors. Any fault detected by the engine computer immediately shifts the engine to "limp home" mode, with a max speed of approx 35 mph. People have been unhappy when this event occurs at 60mph on the highway - like slamming on the brakes without the benefit of brake lights!

I agree with Elwood - the price the Dorper will fetch is a small percentage of the new Sprinter. Keep it!!!!

Indeed, many on my dad-in-law's forum believe the Sprinter-based conversions to be the modern interpretation of the Westy of old....
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Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:06 pm

Heh...the road Jasan and I went down yesterday woulda torn the roof off that thing, hell even the undercarriage. They seem fine for crusing state parks with hookups and paved sites. What's thefun of that?!!!?
Image
http://greencascadia.blogspot.com
http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
it balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine
your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat

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vwlover77
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Post by vwlover77 » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:10 pm

Different strokes.... It's all good....
Don

---------------------------
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71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

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glasseye
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Post by glasseye » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:28 pm

Elwood wrote: What I don,t get glasseye is why you want to sell "Sunny D" , that is what you named him right ? after so much history. You certainly have room to store him and maybe take the wife , it was her parents right? for a little outing once in awhile, and play the part of us happy, proud keepers of a unique community. But some people are just not the camping type. I have been camping all my life, early on with my husband and 2 daughters in a couple splitties and later a fancy new camper on a new Ford truck so we could tow a boat or buggy. Now Im back with my beloved Elwood and Jake as a project I may never finish but the journey keeps me interested in life. Yes my bones ache and I bitch but when I drive my bus I sit high in the seat of pride and always have a plan of rescue :flower:

Keep the Bus!!! and get your dream work transport for that trip. They are very differant and besides, I really like what you bring into this family and hope to meet you some day.

Love and Peace, B/E&J
Darn good questions, ones I've pondered since I started on the VW project.

First, "Sunny-D" is a great name! I only drink that crap on road trips (my wife won't allow it in the fridge).

First and a half: I love camping. Hell, I'm a Canadian! You gotta camp when you live here. With several hundred thousand solo miles in the Asstro, I can count the number of motel nights on two hands.

Second, why sell? Well, resources are limited and so is my time for highway adventures. (As a woman my age said on the radio recently: "I have twenty summers left") If I'm lucky.

My great love is for the open road. While your adventures prove that the Bays will do this competently, my joy centers on driving, not wrenching. Others gain huge satisfaction from "keeping it running" and rejoice at thousand-mile, trouble-free trips, but I'm enchanted by the magical flow of geography around the vehicle and the opportunity to capture it with my cameras. (which aren't so large, they fit in a tiny daypack)

Like Colin, I rejoice in continent-vaulting. If it's October, I wanna be in the Yukon; November? Death Valley. A Sprinter will allow me to put at least a hundred thousand miles of safe, comfortable trouble-free miles behind me without worry and Sunny-D will pay for a third of the purchase of a good, used Sprinter.

Don't get me wrong. I feel the love :cherry: The bus is a fun drive and this community is lump-in-the-throat time. But those that would deny me attending VW meetups because I drove a Sprinter probably aren't found here. (If I arrived in an Asstro? I'd probably get what I deserve. : )

When I first talked to Colin, what? two years ago? on this forum, describing the then-somnolent bus, he PM'd me saying "You don't know what you've got there." I do now. More than ever, I realize just what a treasure this vehicle is. But not to me; to someone who really loves Bays. Colin drove it last week and kept exclaiming how "fresh" it felt. satchmo's crawled all under and around it for days and keeps exclaiming how, mostly, it's just like it came from the factory. It's true. satchmo even discovered that what I thought was a cassette player the dash, is an eight-track! If any of the fasteners are damaged, it's me that did it. :pale: Everything's there and everything works. (Except the instrument lights. :bom:) Somebody out there will adore this bus.

So that's the reason for selling. Partly I want someone who really deserves it to have it, but mainly I want to convert its considerable value into something I need right now. Quickly. Before diesel is $10 per gallon and the greatest privilege of North Americans is taken away.



(PS) My wife's with the rest of you. On first seeing a Sprinter up close, I heard her say (sotto voce) "It's a fu$#ing refrigerator!)
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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Quadratrückseite
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Post by Quadratrückseite » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:42 pm

glasseye wrote:
Quadratrückseite wrote: Are you factoring in the cost of the vehicle into that? My bus cost $850. <snip>
I noticed the passenger version of that Freightliner/Sprinter starts at $40,140!
That's a sorta unfair comparison, eh? An old bus to a new Sprinter?

An 07 Sprinter passenger with nearly all options and 12,000 miles (ie, brand spanking new) sold recently on ebay motors for $28K, getting down close to the price of "regular" new vehicles.

I've seen higher-mileage, serviceable Sprinters for less than $10K.
You compared them first, eh? :wink:
glasseye wrote:
When my ears ring after a day driving, that's fatigue, not enlightenment.

With diesel prices factored in, costs less per mile than an air-cooled bus.
An industrial-strength drivetrain designed with a service life of over half a million kilometers.

Gasoline is a solvent. Diesel is a lubricant.

Overall length of the mid-range model: 18.75 feet. Very similar to a bus. Park in a standard stall with ease.

Mirrors that let you actually see stuff.

Over 500 mile range. (Not a pitiful 200 on a good day )

Relaxed, easy cruising with minimal cockpit noise, allowing for supplemental audio entertainment or even education.

10,000 + mile oil change interval.

No monthly valve adjustments.

No complex, antiquated, failure-prone ignition system.

Headlights that actually illuminate the road ahead.
I was asking if you had factored in the cost of the vehicle to the costs less per mile than an air-cooled bus quote, that's all. That's like people who run out and buy a Prius because gas costs too much - it would take a long time to catch up to the savings if you already owned (no payments) a gas guzzler vs. a Prius + car payments, higher insurance, etc. IMHO, that's not a valid cost savings argument - for buying a Sprinter. I've got no beef with them or anyone who wants one - they look pretty sweet. They just don't cost less per mile than an AC bus, that's all. Not even close. I thought you were looking at getting a newer one - my bad on the cost. Comfort-wise, Sprinter wins hands down. Looks like a nice vehicle to travel in once I'm retired (meaning a nice liveability factor -bigger than a bus inside - not implying that only old people would drive one :geek: )
"The bus is the real talisman. It's the thing that runs through all of this history. It's not a thing anybody owns or controls. No matter how peeved you get with people, the bus always makes your heart jump. Everybody was attached to it."
- Ken Kesey

Steve
1978 Country Homes Camper conversion - "Gus"

http://gusthevwbus.com
http://freshandmodern.com/blog

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