VWs vs Alaska

So, lately I have been sharing a lot of memories….I guess it’s an age thing.  In any case, here I go again!!

On Saturday, June 29, Pete and I went to a car cruise in, something we are prone to do.  It’s not really my thing, but I go along to keep him company.  I don’t really know much about cars, just what I like, and I like VWs.  Have had 4 so far; a 1968 VW Bug, 1973 VW Combie, unknown year Karmann-Ghia and a 2004 Convertible Bug…loved them all.

At the Cruise-In I found a 1974 Combie Camper, accompanied by a very pleasant young man who was obviously very proud of his camper.  We started visiting and I asked a bunch of questions regarding his camper.  Then, of course, I started remembering lots of interesting experiences with my Combie while I lived in Alaska. 

I purchased my Combie just a few weeks before I left to move to AK.  The fun started almost immediately.  First up, the handle on the side door broke.  My dealership in Cincinnati didn’t have a replacement part, wouldn’t get it in before I left for my drive up.  I’ll get back to this shortly.

Then, my unfriendly neighbor’s kids decided it would be fun to spray black paint down the length of my brand-new vehicle.  Grrrrr!  Luckily, I was able to rub it off with something, don’t remember what. 

Finally, it was time to leave.  It was Mom and Dad, Jerry’s younger sister, Maureen and me.  We were driving three vehicles up with only 2 drivers.  Maureen was too young to drive, Mom wouldn’t drive the GM Motor Coach and didn’t know how to drive a stick shift of either my VW or Jim’s Mazda (Jim was already in Fairbanks).  So that meant one car was being towed.  Most of the time it was Jim’s car, but my van took a turn at being towed and it wasn’t until we crossed over from the Yukon Territory into Alaska that we saw the damage to the front of my brand-new van!!!  Gravel kicked up from the back of the Motor Home to the front of my Van left lifelong scares of pit marks.   I was devastated!

 Finding the Damage

One other mild incident on the way was when Jim flew in to help us drive, my car was being towed and he managed to bounce the vehicles off the road….just too rutty.  Luckily a semi came along from the other direction, took a chain from the front of the RV to the front of his truck and pulled out with great ease!!  Thank god!!

 

 A Little Incident

When we arrived in Fairbanks I made contact pretty quickly with the VW dealership regarding my replacement door handle.  Worked with a very nice Parts Manager.  He told me when the parts would arrive I showed up on that day….surprise, surprise….the parts manager had gone back to his teaching position and no one knew what I was talking about.  It took several more weeks to get that door fixed!!!

On to the more serious issues. 

Winter arrives early in Alaska.  My first year in Fairbanks it arrived on September 19, with a substantial snow fall.  Yeah!!!  The adventure begins.  Things were ok at first, but when the really cold weather arrived transportation fell apart. 

First, in really cold weather, like 0 or less, an air-cooled engine doesn’t provide much heat.  I purchased a big block of Styrofoam to squeeze in behind the font seats to keep the front as warm as possible!  It worked, but not well.

Second, the accelerator cable that went from the engine in the back to the gas peddle in front froze up regularly.  By that time, I was working my first job at the GMC Dealership in town and the repair guys showed me how to wiggle it loose.  Became an expert at that technique.

Then there was the issue with aluminum wheel rims on tubeless tires.  At about -20 degrees the aluminum would shrink and the tires would go flat…. oh yes, that was sooooo much fun. All four at one time.  Again, my buddies at the GMC dealership helped with that. 

When I switched jobs to the Fish & Wildlife office life became a little easier.  That office was located in what had been a small home.  The house had a garage, so any night when I knew the temperatures were going to be below acceptable levels, I parked my van in there.  Fortunately, I lived right next door to the office so I could leave for work walking at 8:30 AM and arrive at my desk at 8:30 AM.

Here’s the moral of the story, if you are ever going to live in Alaska, DO NOT TAKE AN AIR-COOLED ENGINE WITH ALUMINUM RIMS!!!