by Paul Gadsdon

Created on: April 23, 2008   Last Updated: May 01, 2008

Servicing your VW Bay Window bus can see like a bit of chore in the excitement of the new spring season all ready upon us. Often there seems too much to do in terms of Volkswagen Camper meets, events and the inevitable road tips that are planned for the summer, to think about getting ones hands dirty, serving your cherished Volkswagon bus. Some or even most of us will take our cherished bus to a non Volkswagen garage to have it serviced, get charged through the nose for what's essentially no more than a regular car service. Even Volkswagen appointed garages will only undertake a standard vehicle service and not consider the unique requirements of a 30%2B year old air-cooled Volkswagen Bus.

It is also too easy to forget that VW Bay Window Campers need frequent servicing; in fact some servicing tasks will require your attention at a frequency of as little as 2000 miles! It is incredible to think that most modern cars have service intervals of 10000 miles or more. The high operating temperatures of Air-cooled Volkswagens' for instance require oil changes every 3000 miles to protect vital engine components from heat and wear related damage.

Take my word for it! I am no mechanic, so I have written this article not as a definitive DIY servicing article but more as a simple 20 step guide that you can either use yourself or help your local mechanic to ensure your bus remains on the road for years to come! I have scavenged I lot of the material from the web and rehashed it to suit Class Campers. And I have subsequently referenced at the end of this article all the sites and printed material that I used.

Step 1

Changing engine oil

Engine oils should be changed at 3000 mile intervals, to ensure that your engine doesn't suffer from undue wear and tear. Some folks even suggest that it should be changed every 2000 miles. If this seems a little extreme just think about how much it will cost to replace your engine should you have a catastrophic failure due to excessive engine wear! The actual oil change interval is up to you, but I wouldn't recommend that you go more than 3000 miles.

Step 2

Tire pressures

It is important to your tires are inflated to the right pressure. Your buses ride will be better and its road handling will be much improved, which also means that it will be safer. Check your tire pressures at least every two weeks and always before a long journey. Make sure you know the correct tire pressures for your model of VW Bus. I will be adding standard tire pressures to

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