Chip, the All American Bus

Discussion in 'Show Us Your Ride' started by theBusmonkey, Nov 2, 2013.

  1. The word may have arisen from words in Lincolnshire dialect: gawn and gooze, both meaning to stare or gape.[2] It might be presumed that such an expression would date from the nineteenth century, when canals were at their peak, but the word is only recorded from the end of that century or the early twentieth. It was given wider use by the late L. T. C. Rolt, who used it in his book about canal life, Narrow Boat, in 1944.[3]
     
  2. (boondock) A brushy rural area or location; To camp in a dry brushy location; To stay in a recreational vehicle in a remote location, without connections to water, power, or sewer services
     
  3. More pics please dude:D
     
  4. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Here you go @paradox. Don't want to bore folk Para, but I'll sort some out of some of the remote boondocking sites we stayed at for another day.

    Access to some of the sites in Don Wrights guide were pretty remote & deserted.
    Check out the bullet holes in the sign:eek:
    idaho.jpg

    However, when you got there it was usually worth it! The Americans do camping REALLY well.
    There are usually individual fire pits, at least a bench & at minimum self composting pit toilets at the most remote sites.
    Mostly we paid less than $8 per night & most were free.
    P7120157.jpg

    This is Glacier National Park in Montana. Right up near the Canadian border, at the end of the 19th C there were over
    150 glaciers. Now they reckon there are only about 25 remaining & computer models predict most of these will be gone by 2030 due to changes in the recent climate!
    These were taken in late July.
    glacier.jpg glacier1.jpg glacier2.jpg glacier3.jpg P7170187.jpg
    :cheers:
     
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  5. Razzyh

    Razzyh Supporter

    Your certainly not boring me with the pics, there fantastic!!

    I've got this on subscribed so more pics the merrier.
     
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  6. +1 This is a fantastic thread, I'm loving the pics
     
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  7. Can't believe I missed this thread when you first put it on. I've always planned to tour the states in an RV when I retire, but doing it in a bus bought over there is way cooler.
    Love it @theBusmonkey keep them pics rolling :)
     
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  8. Great picture and story's..!! More please..!!! :food:

    How long were you out there travelling for??
     
  9. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Cheers @Gwar72
    US Customs & Border Control in Dublin granted us a 6 month visa but we were actually on the road travelling for
    150 days due to the bus not being ready when we arrived :(.
    We did 15,960 miles & visited 33 States & 21 National Parks.
     
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  10. Bhubesi

    Bhubesi Supporter

    Nearly 16,000 trouble free miles I bet, after the initial teething troubles.
    How did the bus perform?
    Tony
     
  11. I'd be interested to see a map of your travels
     
  12. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    @Bhubesi, Tony, the bus was immense. Once we'd got the correct distributor in it ran faultlessly. It hadn't run for 10 years previous & I know for a fact the fellow who built it up didn't bother with even an oil change before he handed it over to us.
    Fortunately Wabbit in Venice, LA were experts in the FI & gave the bus a good going over.
    I renewed all the service bits I'm capable of & then religiously stuck to a service every 3 to 6k (or sooner depending on the environment)
    For example, I dropped the oil in Vegas after Death Valley although it wasn't due. We averaged around 21 mpg (Imperial) but of course fuel is much cheaper in the US so the spend is lower compared to similar mileage in Europe.
    I replaced the split charge relay early on & the leisure battery but these fairly cheap replacements managed to work well for the duration. Whenever possible we did use ice in a cooler for refrigeration (thats the big red box you can see in some of the pics) as the standard Westy box fridge is OK when the engine is running but flattens the battery if left on overnight.
    Neil
     
  13. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    Not sure if this will work @Colin ..
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. Bhubesi

    Bhubesi Supporter

    I'm not suprised at all!!
    I've owned VW's since 1970 (and I'm on my second) and they never let me down, driving in Africa, across the Sahara, and in the middle east, thats why I asked the question.
    I always do preventive maintenance as opposed to waiting for something to break / malfunction. In high humidity I changed the oil at 2000 mile intervals.
    Tony
     
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  15. Worked a treat, thanks. That was some journey, we're jealous to the extreme :)
     
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  16. Razzyh

    Razzyh Supporter

    Yes fantastic map of the journey.

    You clearly did a lot in 6 months/150 days
     
  17. Great pics, I have been to glacier national park, Here is a pic taken from almost the same place as your last pic.[​IMG]
     
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  18. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    That's uncannily close, but what a view & why wouldn't you!
    Mrs Monkey became a dab hand at those "fly by " pics.
    Here's a couple more for the memories...:)
    P7170183.jpg P7170185.jpg P7170193.jpg

    Did you visit anywhere else while in the area?
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2013
  19. MorkC68

    MorkC68 Administrator

    Same here, this is one awesome road trip and story :thumbsup:
     
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  20. theBusmonkey

    theBusmonkey Sponsor

    This week we will be mostly visiting Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in Utah.
    Zion is characterised by the cuttings through the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone formed by water.
    The National Park Service run gas powered buses through the most scenic areas of the park.

    zion.jpg z2.jpg z3.jpg z4.jpg

    The road to Bryce

    z5.jpg

    Bryce Canyon has been cut by a mix of water & wind, which creates a really distinctive series of features called
    Hoodoos.

    Hoodoos

    z6.jpg

    Erosion
    z7.jpg

    More wind & rain coming
    z8.jpg

    Have a good evening & stay safe in this foul weather :D
     

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