| First of all, there's your normal household recycling | | | | tires, on the other hand, are specially designed to |
| tasks that can easily be accomplished whilst on the | | | | improve a vehicle's fuel economy. Most major tire |
| road. It's not hard to separate your paper/cardboard, | | | | manufacturers now produce LRR models, so when it |
| glass and plastics in separate bags or containers | | | | comes time to replace your tires, seek out a set of |
| ready for recycling. In fact I have three very small | | | | LRRs. |
| square plastic containers that fit perfectly in to my | | | | - Get a tune-up. Whether you do it yourself or go to a |
| bottom cupboard below my cooker. Ok they are a little | | | | mechanic, a tune-up can increase your fuel economy. |
| difficult to get at but a little sacrifice doesn't hurt | | | | - If you have a garage, use it as much as possible to |
| anybody. Because lets be honest sacrifices have to | | | | keep your car warm in winter and cool in summer. |
| happen if you are going to live in Volkswagon Bus for | | | | - Reduce your speed - A drop from 60mph to 50mph |
| a week! And because you are travelling it is very | | | | will reduce your fuel consumption by 10% |
| easy to find recycling points, nearly all campsites and | | | | - Reduce the amount you use your brakes - The |
| supermarkets will have recycling centres. | | | | more you brake the more fuel you use. You should |
| Next there are arguably the more important issues, | | | | anticipate braking and take your foot of the throttle |
| fuel consumption and the environment. There are | | | | earlier. It's the science of physics, if you have to use |
| many ways by which you can reduce your fuel | | | | your brakes then you have used your throttle too |
| consumption and at the same time save money. | | | | much! |
| VW Campers are not well know for there economical | | | | - Add lightness - Don't carry a full water container, try |
| drive. In fact my old 2.0ltr 1979 Bay Window would | | | | not to fill your fuel tank up, and have a small gas |
| do around 25mpg on a run but around town that | | | | canister. 10 gallons of water and full fuel tank adds 200 |
| would drop to about 15mpg! Now that is disgraceful. | | | | pounds or 90kgs to the weight of your bus. It will be |
| OK, so here are the tips to make your VW bus a | | | | cheaper to run and go up hills much easier. |
| greener, meaner machine. | | | | - Tyres - Check your tyre pressures and check for |
| - Avoid "jack rabbit" starts and aggressive driving. One | | | | undue wear. Driving on tyres with the wrong PSI (air |
| second of high-powered driving can produce nearly | | | | pressure), can be dangerous add cost more in fuel |
| the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as a | | | | consumption. |
| half hour of normal driving. | | | | - Aero-dynamics - Keep your van sleek and slender. |
| - When possible, plan your trips to avoid rush hour. | | | | Roof racks can add up to 15% to your fuel |
| Stop-and-go driving burns fuel and increases emissions | | | | consumption and that's when they are empty. We |
| of smog-forming pollutants. | | | | know they look great and by all means wear them but |
| - Combine trips. Warmed-up engines and catalysts | | | | think about long journeys. You can easily stick them |
| generate much less air pollution, so combining several | | | | in the back until you get to the show/meet etc. This |
| short trips into one can make a big difference. | | | | also applies to luggage, ifs possible you should always |
| - When driving a manual transmission, shift up as soon | | | | put in your van and not on the roof rack. Keep your |
| as possible. Running in a higher gear decreases the | | | | windows shut when ever possible. |
| rpm and will decrease fuel use and engine wear. But | | | | - Servicing - A well serviced VW bus will burn fuel |
| be sure you don't drag your vehicle out in any gear. | | | | more efficiently giving you a better power to weight |
| Make sure you are in the appropriate gear. | | | | ratio. If that sounds complicated then it just means |
| - Buy low-rolling-resistance (LRR) replacement tires. | | | | that your VW bus will be more powerful and you will |
| Switching to a typical set of replacement tires lowers | | | | need to put your foot down less. |
| a vehicle's fuel economy as much as 4 percent. LRR | | | | |