I only ever broke down once in my van .. lump of rust In fuel pipe Whether you believe me or not is a different matter but I use a very good mechanic for my (van when I had it ) And my cars that I have now, The top priority is maintaining them well Also if you can’t do this properly yourself or have a poor mechanic then they are more likely to break down Subaru or the proper engine I have called AA it was when the alternator went on my Mondeo
I’ve broken down twice. Once, when the van was ‘new to me’ on the first day driving to cornywall on Bodmin moor. A ring broke. I saw sparks in the mirror, then smoke. Pulled into a lay-by, van still running but losing oil quick. AA home then Haynes manual and learned all about building type 4 1700 engines. Back on the road a week later, and back in Cornywall to finish the hols. 2nd time, same van, in cornywall,(different holiday). Pulled into garage to get fuel. Filled up, paid, turned the key and nothing.Main cable connection to starter completely corroded and fell off! Bought a length of wire from the garage, and fashioned up a makeshift cable from battery to starter, then got going, and replaced it when I got home! Moral is, carry a decent tool kit AND a trolley jack! Scissor jacks are m a r m I t e!
Yeah when we had fire training at work years back The retired firefighter said ohh .. you’ve got one of them and as for that little fire extinguisher you have You had just as well throw it at it don’t bother with the plastic tab it won’t put it out once it’s alight
I bought my van and drove it home broke down a mile from home found the issue fixed it drove the rest of the way And that has happened at least 2-3 times since but I just keep fixing it and getting on with it lol
Drive it more . If you go from new car to the van people will damage your confidence by saying ‘will it get there?’. Scoff at them and say aloud ‘for sure’ then under your breath ‘tho it may be on a breakdown truck’ . It will still get there though I find that by patting my van before and after use, talking to it whilst driving and giving it a kiss after climbing/descending a steep hill etc also works. I’ve broken down sort of a few times but then it gets fixed. 2 x fuel lines chewed through by rats at the farm - pipes replaced 1 x carb stuck (possibly) resulting in petrol in the engine - trailered to vw repairers and fixed Both above problems spotted before driving 2x brakes overheated on steep hills - pulled over and waited till they’d cooled down and carried on I will not however be advising on brake drum removal
First breakdown was within the first few months of ownership driving from Sheffield to the Volksworld Show and back again....rings went and used some 10 litres of oil on the way home. Second one was the rear brake shoes binding and smoking on the way to Vanfest causing me to stop on the A38 and adjust them back whilst in a narrow lay-by with lots of lorries passing way to close (won’t be doing such a thing again) The third was a pipe from the remote oil cooler touching the exhaust and melting through so dumping all the oil on the M1 (which I replaced within 2hrs only for the the windscreen to break as we set off again) Fourth was the drive shaft bolts shearing as I set off up a steep hill after the traffic lights changed (which was after we had been all the way to Cornwall and were heading back to go to Santa Pod whilst having an engine that was running with a dropped valve guide) Fifth was the flywheel coming loose and sixth a sticking valve guide which caused a pushrod to bend so the valve was stuck open. Despite the above I think we have actually been brought home by a recovery vehicle twice in the 16yrs we’ve owned the camper which isn’t that bad IMHO. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Not been on a recovery truck, I’ve done three roadside repairs whilst owning bus . Got home ok after no major probs . Maintaining your bus and using it at least now and again do help . Get to know your bus and keep ears n eyes open , oh and nose .happy cruising
We were brought back from Bodmin moor by the big yellow taxi in the splitty when a reduction gear bearing collapsed .took ages but saved££££ on - petrol.
Only real problem I had was my first time to a vw show on my way home the crank oil seal went putting oil over the clutch. Luckily was only 20 minutes from home and managed to limp home but ever cloud has a silver lining it needed a new clutch anyway and I enjoy working on cars.
Took a train to buy my van & drove 6 hours home without a hiccup. You watch, I’ll break down filling up, down the road!
Take your time. Check oil reularly Carrya few spares And afew tools Check oil Enjoy Dont fit worry gauges
In seven years I’ve only broken down once. The drive shaft dropped off on a busy four-lane roundabout near Oxford. RAC couldn’t come out for six ....SIX ... hours and in the end two passing mates (one Sikh one Moslem, which was interesting, “we are like brothers”) fixed it roadside. One turned out to be a BMW mechanic who’d once done up a Beetle He went home to get his trolley jack etc and find, successfully, exactly the right sized bolts which he had “kept somewhere”. They were both brilliant and loved showing off their skills. Wouldn’t take a penny and now we’re Facebook friends. All in all - apart from a heart stopping second or two on the roundabout, it was a far nicer experience than simply driving home.
The van in my avatar broke down a week after I got it! I sold my twin slider and felt a bit gutted that I had, so I went onto Autotrader about 2 weeks later and found this one in Mabe burnthouse in cornywall. Went down and bought it for 5k. Drove it home gingerly, as I knew nothing about the mechanics of it, didn’t go over 55mph, took over 6 hours to get home. About a week later, a mate wanted me to dump an old washing machine up our local council skips. Took it up there, and the engine popped on the way home! Took it apart to find it had two different style of cylinder heads and knackered push rod tubes which were different to a vans usual ones. So... new heads,pistons,rings,exhaust. It’s only done around 4,500 miles since! Bloody things, but so easy to work on. Glad I went on the YTS as a motor mechanic when I was 16 after school! Messed around with engines ever since!
