Response to Paul's PM Questions
dobermin said:
Hi Winston -- I am -- Metro Detroit.
I really hate giving up that extra 14" of space.... I too, plan on traveling out west. Can you tell me more about vehicle length restrictions that I would experience if I went with the ext?
Did you put a shower or bath in your 159" standard?
Paul
Paul,
Now I've gotten myself in trouble - - pulling some of the data to respond, my wife now says "Hey, it's only 14" longer, why didn't we get that one?"
Truth is, there may not be that many places that 14" makes a huge difference.
One drive that really is very striking is the Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier National Park. We drove that one last year in our itty-bitty VW TDI Jetta and were happy that we weren't in anything larger. They don't allow large vehicles there but as we looked it up, the restriction is actually 21' . . . so the extended Promaster would have qualified.
Here, for you amusement, is a copy of our 'track file' for the past 4 years (all in that Jetta) - - over 106,000 miles of meandering . . .
Your inquiry propelled us (VJ and I) on a delightful mini-review of the past. It is difficult to select, from the literally dozens of fantastically scenic twisty-turning byways, which roads are least suited to larger vehicles. But here are a couple . . .
We were wandering in the southeastern part of arguably the most beautiful state - - Utah - - when we slammed on the brakes . . . on the brink of careening off a high bluff - - the Moki Dugway - - to the plateau below. This is what our smart-phone indicated along with a few photos from the internet:
And here's what one traveler had to say:
"I'm a flatlander who always tightens up whenever I have to drive some of the scary mountain roads of the west. On our first trip west, many years ago, I held up traffic all the way down to the Hoover Dam. But since then, I've white-knuckled "Going to the Sun Road" three or four times, driven the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park with a light snow falling, followed the pilot car on the Beartooth Pass, and survived pea-soup fog in King's Canyon and Sequoia . . . But out of nowhere on this perfectly straight road, we see the signs about reduced speed, steep grade, gravel road, etc. None of the signs did justice to the actual experience. This was absolutely the scariest three miles I have ever driven. It took more than thirty minutes; my second gear wasn't low enough."
Then, a short week later we found ourselves leaving Carson City, Nevada for the 'short drive' to Yosemite. Our mistake (which wasn't really a mistake) was taking a side road off of US395 just after we entered California (route 89). This decision led us to one of the most interesting two day detours - - zig-zagging our way to Yosemite by hitting four passes, Monitor, Ebbetts, Sonora and Tioga. But look, even an "extended" Promaster could make the famous Ebbett's Pass:
As we began to look at 'our next step' (after the tent) we found ourselves being lured into the "oh, look at that, it's only a little bigger than . . . " mentality. We finally stepped back and, as we have in this missive, re-reflected on what it is that we enjoy about travel and 'drew a line' at 20'. We doubt that the "it's only a little bigger" extra 14" that you're considering makes a significant difference 'on the road' - - our problem is even the 159" standard is way-bigger than what we're accustomed to.
Winston (RW and VJ)
PS: Paul, we're just in the beginning stages of our conversion, but you'll probably not be too surprised that, at present, we have no plans for either shower nor fixed, permanent potty.