Hello from Wisconsin

[slowlane]

Hello, I'm Tim from Wisconsin. I've enjoyed road trips and the outdoors for quite a while, but just recently happened upon this forum. My main mode of transportation for the past decade has been my trusty old 1966 VW Beetle. I resurrected it in 2010 after it had sat in a field for 20 years. The little car has taken me on several memorable cross-country trips over the years as well as a number of smaller trips. I have a crude wood sleeping platform I made that takes the place of the passenger and rear seat, making the VW into a small camper of sorts. It's a tough little car that has no problem bouncing over many miles of dirt roads and even saw a few logging trails when I lived in New Hampshire. With only 40hp the VW doesn't get anywhere fast and I'm pretty much consigned to the back roads, but that's just the way I like it. I have been to a variety of places around the US, but my favorite regions would be the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains. The mountains and deserts of the west are beautiful, but I feel most at home in the prairies, fields, and forests of the country's mid-section. I hope to learn a bit here and maybe make a few contributions myself.

Here's a picture of the '66 VW on the first trip to California back in 2013. US-50 west of Delta, Utah.

UT17 by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

Here's a more current picture from a camping trip I took last fall along the Upper Mississippi River.

DSC_0095 (2) by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

 

[Iridium]

Welcome to the community! Absolutely love that style of vehicle and so damn cool that you take it adventuring! Looking forward to seeing more your rig and hearing about your adventures with it!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

 

[DintDobbs]

@slowlane Nice ride! It seems that there's a fairly small portion of the community that regularly travels in classic cars. She looks clean, treat her nice but always remember that these machines exist to serve us, we don't exist to serve them! You've got the right mind set.

 

[Kent R]

Hello, I'm Tim from Wisconsin. I've enjoyed road trips and the outdoors for quite a while, but just recently happened upon this forum. My main mode of transportation for the past decade has been my trusty old 1966 VW Beetle. I resurrected it in 2010 after it had sat in a field for 20 years. The little car has taken me on several memorable cross-country trips over the years as well as a number of smaller trips. I have a crude wood sleeping platform I made that takes the place of the passenger and rear seat, making the VW into a small camper of sorts. It's a tough little car that has no problem bouncing over many miles of dirt roads and even saw a few logging trails when I lived in New Hampshire. With only 40hp the VW doesn't get anywhere fast and I'm pretty much consigned to the back roads, but that's just the way I like it. I have been to a variety of places around the US, but my favorite regions would be the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains. The mountains and deserts of the west are beautiful, but I feel most at home in the prairies, fields, and forests of the country's mid-section. I hope to learn a bit here and maybe make a few contributions myself.

Here's a picture of the '66 VW on the first trip to California back in 2013. US-50 west of Delta, Utah.

UT17 by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

Here's a more current picture from a camping trip I took last fall along the Upper Mississippi River.

DSC_0095 (2) by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

Welcome to Overland Bound
I spent the early seventies working on those, great to see someone actually using one rather than collecting dust.
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
App Tutorials
Overland Bound One App Adventure and Expedition Tutorials
Take a try at adding a track or Point of interest to the app.
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
You are in the Midwest Region, local information can also be found in the “Overland Bound by Region”
OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
Check out Overland Expo https://www.OverlandExpo.com
Here is a Midwest expo in MO MOORE OVERLANDING AND OFF-ROAD EXPO // APRIL 21-22, 2023 // OZARK EMPIRE FAIRGROUNDS – SPRINGFIELD, MO
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com

 

[AggieOE]

What a cool bug! There is nothing better than there being a different car, place, and seasib that motivates you compared to everyone else. I would love to see how you've set the inside up!

 

[slowlane]

Welcome to the community! Absolutely love that style of vehicle and so damn cool that you take it adventuring! Looking forward to seeing more your rig and hearing about your adventures with it!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Thanks for the welcome. I may make a couple of posts about some past adventures and I'm planning to get out for some new trips this year. The VW is in its winter hibernation right now, but once the salt is washed off the roads up here it'll be back out.

 

[slowlane]

Welcome to Overland Bound
I spent the early seventies working on those, great to see someone actually using one rather than collecting dust.
You can use the Member Map to find other members and events in your area. You can also send a message directly from the map to other members.
RESOURCE MAP
App Tutorials
Overland Bound One App Adventure and Expedition Tutorials
Take a try at adding a track or Point of interest to the app.
Check the forum calendar and Meet-Up page for events, and the Trip Planning page for trips being planned by members. These pages can be filtered by region.
Overland Bound Meetups
Overland Trip Planning
You are in the Midwest Region, local information can also be found in the “Overland Bound by Region”
OVERLAND BOUND COMMUNITY
Quick adult & youthTread Lightly online awareness course.
Online Courses - Tread Lightly
Tread Lightly! Youth Online Course
Check out Overland Expo https://www.OverlandExpo.com
Here is a Midwest expo in MO MOORE OVERLANDING AND OFF-ROAD EXPO // APRIL 21-22, 2023 // OZARK EMPIRE FAIRGROUNDS – SPRINGFIELD, MO
If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me, hopefully I can get you going in the right direction. @Kent R or Kent@OverlandBound.com

Thank you for the information. I'm a bit young to have experienced the heyday of aircooled VW's as plentiful and cheap transportation, but I've enjoyed driving the wheels off this one. They are still very reliable and relatively capable cars if you maintain them right but are now solidly in the realm of collectable vintage cars and good ones are priced accordingly.

 

[slowlane]

@slowlane Nice ride! It seems that there's a fairly small portion of the community that regularly travels in classic cars. She looks clean, treat her nice but always remember that these machines exist to serve us, we don't exist to serve them! You've got the right mind set.

Thanks. I've come across a few other people also going cross country in old vehicles while on my trips. The pictures definitely make the VW look better than in person. It doesn't have a dent-free panel on it and the passenger side has a mismatched red door and yellow front fender covering up some pretty crude bodywork from a long-ago collision. I specifically wanted a VW that was already beat-up so I wouldn't worry about adding some dings and scrapes to it.

 

[slowlane]

What a cool bug! There is nothing better than there being a different car, place, and seasib that motivates you compared to everyone else. I would love to see how you've set the inside up!

Thanks. Here's a picture of the wood sleeping platform in the car. It's built of some cheesy OSB and 2x4's that were stacked in the rafters of my parents' garage for who knows how long. It extends forward under the dashboard. I put a foam pad on it and a sleeping bag. I lay with my head under the back window and my feet under the dash. It's not too bad. I pile up my stove, food, and utensils in a box behind the driver's seat. Spare parts are in a little crate under that stuff. Tool bag, water jugs, hiking boots and other stuff goes under the platform. Suitcase goes on the platform while driving and is moved to the driver's seat while sleeping. It requires travelling very minimally but has worked out well for me.

 

[DintDobbs]

@slowlane Handy little setup in there! Reminds me of days gone by, camping in the back of my Explorer. Light travel is much more fun; there is less to worry about, and there is a greater focus on the activities rather than car life.

 

[roots66]

Hello, I'm Tim from Wisconsin. I've enjoyed road trips and the outdoors for quite a while, but just recently happened upon this forum. My main mode of transportation for the past decade has been my trusty old 1966 VW Beetle. I resurrected it in 2010 after it had sat in a field for 20 years. The little car has taken me on several memorable cross-country trips over the years as well as a number of smaller trips. I have a crude wood sleeping platform I made that takes the place of the passenger and rear seat, making the VW into a small camper of sorts. It's a tough little car that has no problem bouncing over many miles of dirt roads and even saw a few logging trails when I lived in New Hampshire. With only 40hp the VW doesn't get anywhere fast and I'm pretty much consigned to the back roads, but that's just the way I like it. I have been to a variety of places around the US, but my favorite regions would be the Upper Midwest and the Great Plains. The mountains and deserts of the west are beautiful, but I feel most at home in the prairies, fields, and forests of the country's mid-section. I hope to learn a bit here and maybe make a few contributions myself.

Here's a picture of the '66 VW on the first trip to California back in 2013. US-50 west of Delta, Utah.

UT17 by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

Here's a more current picture from a camping trip I took last fall along the Upper Mississippi River.

DSC_0095 (2) by louiethespelunker, on Flickr

Hello and welcome to the OB family.