Vince, need your help...traveling thing

Vince, I need your help about a VW van or something like that. Me and a friend intend to go to the States for half a year, going to travel and play poker there, and we need a van to drive and sleep in. Do you know a good wagon for us, and what is a normal price? Only criteria is that we dont have to do repairs and it has to be cheap. Oh yeah...and it might need some space for a chick too..oh no..wait...my friend is going to sleep outside :-)


Thanks.


Regards

Ikke,


Look on ebay. That's where I found mine. Look under RV's and Vans and "other vehicles." You may get lucky. That's about all I can recommend at this time. You have a good buddy there. I'd make the girl sleep outside.


vince


P.S. Where are you from?

n/t

Bring some of that Amsterdam hash to the States with you and I'll rent you a VW van myself. What a long strange trip it will be...

Lol...If I bring that with me, I'll be probably on the next flight back to Amsterdam!


A friend of mine once had something with him when we were on holiday to France, and sure enough only our bus was the bus they took to search for drugs...Even with hasj hounds! Glad they werent to harsh(j) on us.


Regards

Ikke,


I was stationed at Soesterberg from 1978 to 1982. Yours is a beuatiful country. Amsterdam is among my list of great cities. Canal street.... no I won't mention Canal street. I lived in Utrecht for a while during my time there. I loved it. I've been to the Casino in Den Haag many times. No poker back then. I am looking forward to returning one day. I never learned Dutch. Everone spoke english. I don't thin I could get that "hccllkt" sound down right anyway.


vince

Ikke,


I was stationed at Soesterberg from 1978 to 1982. Yours is a beuatiful country. Amsterdam is among my list of great cities. Canal street.... no I won't mention Canal street. I lived in Utrecht for a while during my time there. I loved it. I've been to the Casino in Den Haag many times. No poker back then. I am looking forward to returning one day. I never learned Dutch. Everyone spoke english. I don't think I could get that "hccllkt" sound down right anyway.


vince

"I don't think I could get that "hccllkt" sound down right anyway."


There's a nice story about that... In World War II, when you wanted to get into the Netherlands, they had to test if you were Dutch. They did that by you letting pronounce the word "Scheveningen" (a Dutch city) correctly. If you didnt pronounce it correctly....well....


About poker....A'dam is the only city that has a (legal) casino where you can play poker. Every year in november they hold, I believe, the biggest tournament in Europe. There are also a lot side cash games, up to 1000-2000 guilder (about $400-$800). Would be nice to so you there, among other poker celebrities! ;-)


Regards

Ikke,


I believe I would enjoy the tournament in A'dam. What a great idea. What a great city. Trust me, Sklansky would love that town! Those of you that have not been there you are missing something special.


Great "Scheviningen" story! Thanks!


Oh btw what are the rakes at the A'dam Casino?


vince

Vince, I think this response sums up the weakness in your poker game. You lack the Killer Instinct. Here, you had a chance to unload that rusty old heap on an unsuspecting foreigner, and you let the opportunity slip through your fingers.

Rakes are pretty high in Amsterdam. I dont know if they change something during the Masters, but normally the 20/40 guilder game has a 5% rake with a cap of 50 guilder. Advantages are that the dealers are paid here, and it's normal to only tip once in a while. Games are very soft.


Regards

n/t

Hey 3 Bet,


I love my VW Bus. Listen to what a little research will do. I am a cheapskate. I have always professed that there was no reason (other than your engine pinging) to use any gasoline other than the cheapest (lowest octane). I certainly did not believe that octane could affect gas mileage. I was getting around 15 miles to the gallon with my bus. I thought it was horrendous and certainly there must be something wrong with the engine.


There is a VW type2 web page dedicated to thw VW bus. Thank goodness. It has helped me tremendously. I went up to the site the other day. searched for posts concerning gas mileage. It seems that a number of people have researchd bus gas mileage. One fellow compiled mpg stats from a large group of owners. MPG ranged from 15 to 22. Wow! that's horrible for a 4 cylinder engine but it sure made me feel better. At least I felt my engine wasn't in kaputz land. It was running pretty good so I doubted it was bad but I was concerned.


Another poster recommended that you use the factory recommended tire pressure. 32 up front and 44psi in the rear. My book said 30 up front and 37 in the rear so I went with that. Another fellow said that 89 octane gave him the best mpg. Basically the best bang for the buck.


Yesterday I filled her up with 89 octane. She was about 1/3 full of 87 octane so I need to test here for a few trips to confirm the mpg I got yesterday. I drove to Foxwoods to play some cards. It's 130 miles. Then when I was done I drove back another 30 miles to a highway Mobil station and filled her up. To my amazement it took only 8 gallons. thats a whopping 33$ increase to 20 mpg. I would say that this post sums up my strength in my poker game. A willingness to do some research and work if I believe something may be a problem. Hey thanks for the post.


vince

"50 guilder. "


That's horrendous. What is the dollar equivalent now? About $20?


Vince

Yes...1 dollar is 2,30 guilder I believe. Rolf Slotboom very often plays in Holland Casino. I asked him on Pokerpages by how much he thinks this rake is beatable given the (rather poor) players. Havent had answer yet however. Will ask him when I go to the casino next time.


Regards

You were right about higher octane. You only need it in higher compression engines. It won't affect mileage. All gas has the same additives and will give equal performance.


I drove a bus for a few years, and 20-22 mpg is attainable if you are driving on the highway, but stop and go or city driving, or mountain driving, will give you 15-16. I suspect you took the mileage after a highway trip, and it will go back down if you are driving around town.

"I suspect you took the mileage after a highway trip, and it will go back down if you are driving around town."


Yes, I took it after highway driving. But I compared it with my previous highway driving. I know it sounds unbelieveable but it is exactly what happened. MPG went way up. Not only that but the engine idles a lot smoother also. I will keep monitoring it to be sure.


vince

BTW, other sites to get cars in the US are cars.com and autotrader.com