Due to arrive soon

[94touring]

Made the trip back!  Weather was nice and cool too so it was easy driving without head temps being an issue on any long uphill grades.  Kept it at 3800-4000rpms and that seems to be the sweet spot for pulling hills.  A few things to address now that I'm back such as my window crank handle broke, the speedo needle is sticking yet the odometer works, the horn stopped working (tried beeping at an old bug) and I need a catch can for fuel spill over when filling the tanks to max capacity.  If I overfill it it's pouring gas out the vent like a garden hose.  I'm thinking a 2 gallon fuel can inside below the vent to feed into will suffice for when I accidentally overfill it.  Otherwise it now has 6k miles on the new engine and due for another oil change which will be full synthetic.

[94touring]

Got the oil changed and valves adjusted per every oil change as required.  It's no mini where you set it and forget it.  Had the left carbs off to see what was sticking and found absolutely nothing. In fact they work better than ever and the additional springs were removed.  Gave it a good cleaning and lube job anyways and kept the return spring that I have on the center pedestal for a safety measurement should it ever decide to stick again.  Taking the additional springs off the left carb definitely improves pedal feel.  While I was in there I installed the half inch phenolic spacers I bought that are supposed to reduce heat to the carb body.  Well they work!  After a drive and parking it for several minutes the intake manifolds are about too hot to touch but the carbs are cold.  Should make restarts after a drive much easier.  The horn that stopped working was a bad relay.  I ended up bypassing it, which looked dodgy at best by some previous wiring job and tied the horns into the additional circuit breaker I had installed with its own relay.  In addition to the factory horn I put on an aftermarket loud horn.  It sounds mad when you hit the horns now! 

[94touring]

Fuel leakages!  I've tracked gas mileage since buying this thing.  The old motor and fuel tank got a consistent 15mpg and that was it.  The new motor and tank has been oddly all over.  I attributed some of this to a heavy foot and going over 65-70 mph and wind resistance.  I've seen as high as 18 but also as low as 14.5mpg.  Lately I've been taking the curvey scenic road to the shop which allows a steady 60mph cruise for a large portion of my drive, the first portion I do about 68mph.  Going slower for the bulk of the drive and being able to get the air fuel leaner at that throttle position I expected a good bump in mileage.  Instead I hit an all time low of that 14.5mpg. What the deuce.  Checked all my lines and noted no leaks so began investigating further. Turns out my vented gas cap was broken internally and I got a glimpse in my side mirror in a left turn of fuel a flowing out into the abyss.  Not only that but my fuel catch can I recently added for accidental fuel overfills was also catching fuel in right hand turns. About a quarter gallon worth, at least on a full tank in this curvey road section.  So the reason why fuel mileage went down on this curvey road was it was sloshing out of the tank. Once I blocked the gas cap (new one ordered) and poured the catch can back into the tank on fillup my mileage on this same stretch of road was just shy of 19mpg.

[tmsmini]

I knew buses have gone up in value and I always wanted a 67, 12 volt with old body style, but this cannot be real:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234307893728

[tmsmini]

I guess $50K is the price range looking at other listings...

[94touring]

Yeah prices have gone up considerably. Split windows in particular.

[94touring]

Ironically a guy who lives here at the condos that loves my bus said a buddy of his back in California with a 64 was offered 85k for his this week.  He turned the offer down.

Just saw this on the samba.  Custom built new shells for 35k. 

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2510609

Or this one for 150k

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2480308

[94touring]

Still driving the bus non stop.  This past week I played with the twin webers by changing the venturies from 28mm to 30mm.  Actually woke the engine up a bit and required a jet change as a result.  After I take it on a few trips this summer I'll pull the heads and upgrade those along with some ratio rockers that I think will really liven it up more.  Few other odds and ends to do and of course a respray is planned also.  Back on topic of summer trips.  One of them is to Yellowstone where my shore power will be of no use because they don't have electricity available.  I do have my 2000 watt low decibel inverter generator to use during allowed hours and purchased a 200ah lithium battery for night ops.  Something to give us lights, heated blankets, and important stuff like a coffee pot.  I have an appropriate LiFePO4 charger for it as well.  ALSO I've added a couple other toys to the stable recently.  This battery when not used for off grid bus camping will live on a 1973 Pearson 26 foot sailboat that we were given.  I just have a slip fee at the lake that's 25 minutes from our house. And of course the boat needs a remodel which I'm planning on this year, to hopefully have it ready by next summer. But wait there's more....  Being that I've been into air cooled vehicles lately, I found a 1971 bug nearby that's a running project. Pretty sure nothing worked on it when I got it but it's finally about ready for it's maiden voyage on the road. 

[cstudep]

Looks like a pretty decent bug!

So I guess the question now is, do you know how to sail? lol Must be a pretty good sized lake.

[MiniDave]

Most boring time I ever had was a whole day of sailing on the bay in Sandy Eggo......might be different to just go and park in a cove and enjoy the day, but unless I'm on a cat or something fast, it's not for me.

[94touring]

The bug is a 10-20 footer. Not totally rotten but needs some patches. 

Yes the lake is big!  We're definitely not speed boat people. When we go to grande lake with our friends on their yacht it's a quick blast to party cove, tie up, and begin drinking.  Our plan with the sailboat is cruise out and park it.  Sleeps 4, has a sink, dining table, little bathroom area, ect...  I'd say it's comparable to bus camping.

Oh and no I don't know how to sail. But since I'm aerodynamically smart I can't imagine it's that hard.  I talked with a fellow pilot who has a 42 foot sailboat and he said I'd probably figure it out in about an hour.

[cstudep]

Based on what the bugs usually look like around here 10-20 feet would be a huge improvement!

"camping" on the water, sounds like a good plan to me but I like to do some fishing too so that helps.

[94touring]

Fishing might be on the agenda as well.  And long term we had already planned on building a house on the lake, coincidentally in the same residential area this marina is located. 

[cstudep]

Sounds like it was meant to be I guess, nice!

[bikewiz]

"Oh and no I don't know how to sail. But since I'm aerodynamically smart I can't imagine it's that hard.  I talked with a fellow pilot who has a 42 foot sailboat and he said I'd probably figure it out in about an hour."

Anyone can sail, but there's a big difference from "sailing" to being a sailor. If the sail is up you're a sailor, if the motor is on you're not. When you sail out of the slip you're a sailor. You may consider a lesson just so you know what all the lines do.

We "race" a 60 yr old 18' Cape Cod Knockabout, race in quotations because my results are like Williams or Haas, and I've been sailing most of my life. I learn every time I get in the boat.

Remember BOAT = bust out another thousand.

[94touring]

It's that time of year again for camping trips.  This year as well as going to the Rockies I have a Yellowstone trip planned.  By planned I mean a year in advance to get anything booked.  As you may be aware they had some flooding recently that almost nixed this trip, but the south loop where I'll be camping has been open.  In fact the North loop of Yellowstone is opening the 2nd of July now too. We're set to arrive July 6th and depart the 13th.  I get home from work the 3rd and plan to load up that evening with all the gear to leave early the 4th to beat the 100 degree weather that day. Total mileage to get there is about 1300 miles so I'm breaking it down with an overnight in North Platte Nebraska and one in Pinedale Wyoming. This gives about 8.5 hours driving each day, with the final leg to Yellowstone about 3 hours to leisurely check in after 1pm on the 6th.  I should get into North Platte before the high heat hits mid day there and leave early enough to get up into the mountains the next day where heat won't be an issue.  The bus can handle it, I prefer not to endure it for 8 hours at a time.  I'll have the roof rack packed with the side tent and some other gear.  The tow hitch will have the cargo carrier I bought for it. I built a wooden box a month or two ago to match the cargo carrier which will store the small low decibel generator inverter, gas can, 200ah lithium ion battery, and spare propane tank specifically for this trip. Maybe a few other odds and ends too.  Here's a picture of the flight plan.  I'll have more pics of the trip to post up when I get back.

[94touring]

I posted about this generator in the tools section, but here it is again to keep it within the bus/camping talk.  This is the box I built to haul it and supplies.  What I decided to do was cut a few holes on the intake side of the generator to run extension cords out as well as provide air to the intake which is on that side facing the holes.  The sides of the box has slots for ventilation, and I'll bring my fiberglass welding blanket for the exhaust side to catch heat, exhaust noise, as well as to prop the top a bit for more ventilation.  The generator running on high is only 53db up close and the goal here is to keep it as quiet as possible.  Standing 20 feet away you really don't notice it at all.  I didn't run a decibel app testing it in the box but the box definitely knocks the noise down further when I set it in to see how it would do.  Since I'll be at 8k feet I even bought a high altitude kit for it which just involved changing out the main jet to the carb.  I tested a window ac unit to see how the generator would hold up and it runs one without any problems, though no ac required on this trip.  Some pics... 

[MiniDave]

Wow, pop that window A/C in one of the back windows, fire up the genny and have air conditioning all the way there and back! 

[94touring]

Wow, pop that window A/C in one of the back windows, fire up the genny and have air conditioning all the way there and back! 

That did cross my mind!

[cstudep]

For sure, you could get one of those carry all type things that go into the hitch https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html, strap your wooden generator box down on it and run the cord into the van.

[94touring]

For sure, you could get one of those carry all type things that go into the hitch https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html, strap your wooden generator box down on it and run the cord into the van.

This is the one I have.  For an ATV but it's angled up which is what I needed.  https://www.harborfreight.com/300-lb-capacity-atv-cargo-carrier-69858.html?_br_psugg_q=atv+cargo+carrier

[cstudep]

So what you are saying is, the van is already pretty much "AC ready" in a sense Nice!

Way back in the day working for my parents we used to do a lot of over the road traveling for their business. They had an old Chevy box truck, with no AC of course, and the dog house inside the cab area like the old full size vans. It was like a furnace in that thing in the summer. We had a generator on board for other things, and eventually even my dad got tired of no AC when driving across the middle of south Dakota in the middle of July. We put a window AC in the access between the cab and the box truck and ran it off the generator. Pretty sure you could use it as a meat locker after that, you almost couldn't turn it down low enough to prevent frostbite.

[94touring]

Day 1 complete. Hit the road around 445am, it was 82 in Tulsa.  As we drove north it dipped to 75, then got as high as 93, then back into the upper 80s as we crossed into Nebraska, with the last hour hitting 94.  All in all beat most of the heat.  Supposed to be 100s all week in Tulsa with 106 for several days, so I'm glad we're going to be in the mountains this week. 

[cstudep]

Most definitely a good week to be at higher elevations!

[MiniDave]

Do you open the bay window or leave it closed?