5 Safety Tips for Vanagon Lovers
The Vanagon is a great vehicle. But they are quirky.
If you’ve owned a Vanagon for long enough you stopped worrying about reliability.
Seasoned enthusiasts know what to expect when it comes to reliability on the road. They know how to troubleshoot the engine, or whatever goes wrong. But not everyone is that experienced.
Here are 5 road tips for the Vanagon:
#1 TOWING MEMBERSHIPS
Always have a backup plan before any road trip. Carry a road-side emergency card like AAA or any equivalent of it with you. I included it this tip because you may not be able to get your Vanagon running, but at least you can get to a shop, or a safe place before you walk away.
If you are a U.S.citizen traveling in a foreign country (Canada for instance) be sure to call AAA in the U.S., and ask them about their out-of-country towing service before you take off on your trip.
Emergency road service programs are relatively cheap, and some come with up to 200 miles of free towing. Just be sure to ask for a “flatbed,” not a standard tow truck. Automatic transmission Vanagons should always be trailered, not towed behind a tow vehicle. The retailer GoWesty goes into detail about this, so do yourself a favor and read their story because it can save you the expense of buying a new transmission, or worse.
#2 BENTLEY SHOP MANUAL
All Vanagon owners should understand how to read the Bentley manual, and bring it with you on every road trip.
The Bentley manual is the best resource for figuring out how to remove and/or install practically any component on the Vanagon, including doors. It has a detailed wiring section too.
While it’s not an easy read. What it will do for you is show you where everything is located, and that’s a start to diagnosing an issue. If someone recommends that you go under the vehicle to look at the starter 12volt cables for instance, at least you’ll know exactly where to look. Or your friend on the phone says to check out the idle stabilizer. It’s invaluable in many ways.
There is a free PDF version of the Bentley available online if you do a little hunting. What I don’t like about PDF it is too large to easily search from section to section. Don’t discount carrying it if at all possible.
#3 VANAGON APPS
If you are stuck on the side of the road don’t just Google “vanagon repair shop,” instead download the Van Alert app.
It’s free and comes with a quantified list of repair shops specifically for Vanagon. It’s a crowdsourced data base. So you know that other people are supplying the information, and often those listed have already been vetted.
You still have to determine whether the shop you contact meets your expectations. But at least you don’t have to worry whether or not they truly understand Vanagon. Because if they are listed there chances are they are good what they do. The app allows for comments from other platform users so you get the good and bad reviews of any particular shop.
#4 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
Whether you like social media or not, you should join a Facebook Group like Vanagon Cafe. Another group calling themselves Vanagon Technical Depository is solid, too.
Many of these people are more than qualified to answer simple technical questions in the event that you are off-the-road broken down.
There are other really useful FB groups, where you can ask questions to complete strangers and get good results. Most of those belonging to the groups will recommend mechanics as long as you provide specific details about your vehicle and attempt to describe the particular problem you are having.
True Story: I was stuck in Northern California once and jumped onto my FB group. After describing the problem I was having two Vanagon enthusiasts responded to my post, and they actually drove out to help me get back on the road. Luckily for me, they were only about 15 minutes from where I had broken down. That’s how responsive some FB groups can be. Don’t discount the power of FB.
#5 BEST TOOL TO CARRY
Learn to use a multimeter. It’s really easy to do. It may save you. Many issues on Vanagon crop up because of faulty wires. You may need to test the wiring somewhere because ground wires are notorious for failure. Always carry a multimeter to measure wire continuity/resistance. That’s the first place to start if you suspect it is an electrical issue.
A poor performing starter battery/or coil can cause running issues and can be tested using a multimeter.
A multimeter can help you determine if a ground wire is to blame for the vehicle not starting. A broken circuit, or a bad relay can be identified using a multimeter.
There are numerous critical grounds inside the cab near the driver’s knees, under the chassis and in the engine bay/wiring harness. You should learn exactly where they are located before any long road trip.
You can get fairly comfortable using a multimeter by going to YouTube and watch a video. Using one can help isolate problems. Here are 2 very good videos about testing wiring and circuitry in a Vanagon. 1) Engine cranks but doesn't start. 2) Battery not charging.
