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E420 at Yellowstone
- Thread starter gsxr
- Start date
Yes! It really is spectacular, more than the photos can convey. I didn't know Yellowstone was primarily painted in 702 metallic.
It took a while to dial in the ride height. As delivered, it was (fender lip to wheel cap center) 14.5" up front, 15.0" rear with a full tank. This seemed unusual as our other 034's were not that high in the rear. Turns out this car had #21 (red) rear springs from the factory, which the EPC says should have been unpossible. (This also shows the EPC is not infallible.) It had 2-pt rear pads which didn't help. I have no idea why the car had these rear springs.
I swapped to the normal #12 rear springs (red/short) with a 1-pt pad which got the rear where it belonged, but the front was a bit too high (stock #39 blue/tall with 1-pt pad). I cut 1/4 coil off the fronts. After new rear subframe bushings, the final ride height is 14.25" front & rear with a full tank, and the rear lifts to ±14.75" with an empty tank. In the photos above it has a bit over half tank of fuel plus some assorted junk in the trunk. Sachs aftermarket struts, Bilstein aftermarket shocks, 036 sway bars.
Yes, CLK forged flyweight wheels (16x7.0 ET37) with Pilot Sport A/S 4.
Plan on multiple days at each location. Add more time (days) if you plan to walk/hike anywhere, not just drive through. Glacier is incredible as well.
The parks around Moab (Utah) are amazing (Arches, Canyonlands, etc). Our Utah trip years ago was our last one shot on 35mm film so I don't have easy access to digital pics with the W124 (300D) visible. Have some prints, but nothing I can post here. Need to fix that!
Delicate Arch, takes 30-40 mins hiking (uphill, both ways) to get to this one:
We did a 3 week epic road trip last summer to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and the Badlands in both North & South Dakota as well as the Black Hills and while we didn't take my W124 it was a fantastic trip. I want to go back to see Glacier as well but didn't have enough time.
Make sure to compare the cost both ways, Drew. Even if the cost is higher we'd prefer to drive our car and pay for lodging (hotel, VRBO, AirBNB, etc). Driving an RV or even towing a trailer is not much fun in the mountains. Most of Yellowstone is between 6000' and 11,000' elevation which makes even the 036 wheeze a bit! If you are really into camping, then I understand the RV or trailer option.
I did a Southwest trip with a friend around this time last year, perfect time for it before memorial day and the big crowds.
- Zion was very nice but insanely crowded. Angels Landing took forever to do, even early on a Thursday.
- Brice Canyon was spectacular and felt way more spacious. Really enjoyed it. The solitude really added to it.
- North Rim of the Grand Canyon was even better. Hiked about halfway into the canyon, fantastic. Highly recommend, and it's only open May 15-Oct 15 every year.
- We couldn't do antelope canyon, but there are tons of state park slot canyons in the area that are 99% of the way there that were awesome.
- Things there are far apart and towns are small. We stayed mostly in Kanab, was like 2 hours to Brice which when you do both ways in a day really adds up. The drive to Grand Canyon took a while and was particularly confusing due to the time change crossing from Utah to Arizona at that time of year.
I did Yellowstone in a 72 Volkswagen bus in June of 1975 with Wife 2 kids and a 3 pound poodle. I built a wood platform for a DBL bed mattress which allowed for storage under it thru the back lift door. Kids were small and one slept on the back seat and the other slept on a rigged mattress between the front seats. We spent about 3 days there and saw what we could. Yellowstone is a beautiful place everybody should go there at least once.
It was just part of our 35 day trip around the US that took us up thru Utah’s National Parks to Yellowstone then east all the way to Vermont then south thru Washington DC to New Orleans from there we headed west again on interstate 10 to California. Total of 15K miles. Only one major problem with the bus. I had bought it w/ no engine and paid a supposed German expert to build me an engine. After the first test drive I returned it for blowing oil. He fixed the problem which was rings which had gaps were all aligned on two pistons. I test drive it again and two days later we were off on our trip. All was well until Buffalo, NY were it quit due to points gap closing (easy fix). Next problem was in Alexandria, VA where the generator quit. (I changed it in a part store parking lot- not an easy fix)
All was well until we were a few miles from Tucson, AZ where the flywheel fell off the crankshaft. O’ crap! Got towed to VW dealer. They wanted me to buy a whole new engine. I said NO! The mechanic instead drilled new dowel pin holes in the crankshaft put on a new flywheel and put red locktight on the threads and torqued on that gland nut with a 6’ breaker bar and all of his weight behind it. It only had to get me 500 miles more to home. All this for $500.00
Anyway, we made it home. It was still a great trip. We saw an awful lot of the country. Loved it all.
PS: Drove the bus another 6 months and sold it for $600.00 to a guy who just walked up gave me cash and drove it away. Still had the glued on flywheel.
lol
It was just part of our 35 day trip around the US that took us up thru Utah’s National Parks to Yellowstone then east all the way to Vermont then south thru Washington DC to New Orleans from there we headed west again on interstate 10 to California. Total of 15K miles. Only one major problem with the bus. I had bought it w/ no engine and paid a supposed German expert to build me an engine. After the first test drive I returned it for blowing oil. He fixed the problem which was rings which had gaps were all aligned on two pistons. I test drive it again and two days later we were off on our trip. All was well until Buffalo, NY were it quit due to points gap closing (easy fix). Next problem was in Alexandria, VA where the generator quit. (I changed it in a part store parking lot- not an easy fix)
All was well until we were a few miles from Tucson, AZ where the flywheel fell off the crankshaft. O’ crap! Got towed to VW dealer. They wanted me to buy a whole new engine. I said NO! The mechanic instead drilled new dowel pin holes in the crankshaft put on a new flywheel and put red locktight on the threads and torqued on that gland nut with a 6’ breaker bar and all of his weight behind it. It only had to get me 500 miles more to home. All this for $500.00
Anyway, we made it home. It was still a great trip. We saw an awful lot of the country. Loved it all.
PS: Drove the bus another 6 months and sold it for $600.00 to a guy who just walked up gave me cash and drove it away. Still had the glued on flywheel.
lol
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Very good info. I'm not into camping as much as I once was. Just want to see the most of these wilderness locations. Never thought about the elevation effects on the vehicles. Maybe a mix of 036 pleasure, some camping, and even more lodging / small town comforts.Make sure to compare the cost both ways, Drew. Even if the cost is higher we'd prefer to drive our car and pay for lodging (hotel, VRBO, AirBNB, etc). Driving an RV or even towing a trailer is not much fun in the mountains. Most of Yellowstone is between 6000' and 11,000' elevation which makes even the 036 wheeze a bit! If you are really into camping, then I understand the RV or trailer option.
Terry: It seems many of us have good Volkswagen stories. Yours is an entertaining one. Maybe we should start a thread. I know Gerry has some good ones. We have come a good ways...
Having both worked and recreated in Yellowstone, it is by far one of the best National Parks in the system (Yosemite can't be topped, IMHO, sorry.) If you go, do your best to do it outside of the peak times, as you'll enjoy it so much more.
I was lucky enough to work at Old Faithful one winter based out of West Yellowstone. The Lodge is not open in the winter, nor is access to Old Faithful, so we lodged in West Yellowstone and snowmobiled to the Old Faithful area daily. Nothing beats a daily commute on a snow machine through some of the most remote areas in the country. The common mode of transportation in West Yellowstone in the winter is snow machine, with parking spots for them in front of all the local businesses.
One trip I've never been able to make so far is entering the park from the east entrance, which is supposed to be almost as spectacular as the "Going to the Sun" road in Glacier. Some day...
Glacier is one of the few National Parks I've yet to see. I've spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies (Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise) which I am told is quite similar and just as breathtaking. I would like to see the Badlands, too.
One note of caution to anyone entering Yellowstone or the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - don't pet the furry cows!
Dan
I was lucky enough to work at Old Faithful one winter based out of West Yellowstone. The Lodge is not open in the winter, nor is access to Old Faithful, so we lodged in West Yellowstone and snowmobiled to the Old Faithful area daily. Nothing beats a daily commute on a snow machine through some of the most remote areas in the country. The common mode of transportation in West Yellowstone in the winter is snow machine, with parking spots for them in front of all the local businesses.
One trip I've never been able to make so far is entering the park from the east entrance, which is supposed to be almost as spectacular as the "Going to the Sun" road in Glacier. Some day...
Glacier is one of the few National Parks I've yet to see. I've spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies (Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise) which I am told is quite similar and just as breathtaking. I would like to see the Badlands, too.
One note of caution to anyone entering Yellowstone or the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - don't pet the furry cows!
Dan
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@sheward my vote is for 500 E OR BUST!!!!!!
Stretch the car’s legs and enjoy every single mile while seeing and experiencing a beautiful scenery- no RV in the whole wide world will ever give you the satisfaction of driving a 036 the way it was intend to be driven
Dan, we plan to
Dan, do you mean the East Entrance, west of Cody WY? We were planning a trip to the Northeast Entrance via the Beartooth Highway (currently closed). Guess we'll need to plan another trip, or maybe do a round trip between the two entrances.
Glacier is incredible too. We went there (and Yellowstone) on our honeymoon in the E500. We plan to go back to Glacier someday as well.
Excellent point. In general, don't pet anything if you want to keep your extremities attached to your body.
I know, the bugs were not kind, but thankfully they cleaned off safely after we returned home.
Yup, that was a little dragstrip rubber on the back. Here's another view:
Attachments
There is a pretty amazing road between the Northeast Entrance and Cody (I think the Chief Joseph Highway) which connects to the Beartooth Highway. Pretty incredible scenery which I didn't get to drive on my last trip since I was towing a camper. The road from Fishing Bridge to Cody is also absolutely stunning and if you do that trip I highly recommend stopping overnight in Cody for the Rodeo.Dan, we plan to
Dan, do you mean the East Entrance, west of Cody WY? We were planning a trip to the Northeast Entrance via the Beartooth Highway (currently closed). Guess we'll need to plan another trip, or maybe do a round trip between the two entrances.
Glacier is incredible too. We went there (and Yellowstone) on our honeymoon in the E500. We plan to go back to Glacier someday as well.
Excellent point. In general, don't pet anything if you want to keep your extremities attached to your body.
Beartooth Highway, I'm pretty sure. It's been some time since I was there last, and relying on memory is a very dangerous thing. I know it's closed in the winter, so that's probably it.
Doing the rodeo in Flagstaff in June. That should be fun.
I am continuously amazed at the people of limited intelligence who get out of their cars and walk up to the wildlife to photograph it as if it was going to stand there and pose for them. We we were in Banff one time and watched some Japanese tourists (lots of Japanese folks used to visit Banff and Lake Louise because a very popular Japanese soap opera story was based there) walk right up to a bull elk grazing on a golf green as if it were some calm domestic animal. A miracle the thing didn't charge them.
Dan
Doing the rodeo in Flagstaff in June. That should be fun.
I am continuously amazed at the people of limited intelligence who get out of their cars and walk up to the wildlife to photograph it as if it was going to stand there and pose for them. We we were in Banff one time and watched some Japanese tourists (lots of Japanese folks used to visit Banff and Lake Louise because a very popular Japanese soap opera story was based there) walk right up to a bull elk grazing on a golf green as if it were some calm domestic animal. A miracle the thing didn't charge them.
Dan
