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That is interesting, and concerning. I have been doing it for years and years on 4-8 cars most cold mornings and never had a problem. I just use tap temperature water and first and then warmer water for the second pitcher. Maybe I have just been lucky so far.
Given how fast the defrosters warm glass, especially the built in ones, I am surprised they do not break it. Normally I run the car until the engine is hot (160 - 180 I think) and then turn on the defroster. I do not run it cold and let it warm up because i do not want the cold air blowing on me. If 70 degree water can crack the glass, I would expect a blast of 100 degree air would also crack it. I wonder why it is different. Also I wonder why it does not break if you drive a frozen car into a 72 degree garage. Or for that matter when you press your 98 degree hand to the glass. I also have used a hair dryer to quickly de-frost glass, that is probably hotter than 100. Maybe air does not cause cracking but water does. Hopefully some science minded person will explain it.
As far as I am concerned the Chevy Express is the only viable option. Dodge quit making full sized vans a while back, and they got pretty crummy in the last few years before they stopped. Ford has not changed their van in the past 20 more more years (not the sprinter, sprinter does not interest me).
I was about to crack a Chebby joke, but I will leave it for my Ford friends.
My parents had a Plymouth Voyager conversion van. It was nice, and I definitely thought it was way better than any SUV growing up, but it was rather poorly made and didn't survive more than 12 years. I haven't seen any conversion minivans since.
I think conversion vans are great, but they often look silly and are impractical for every day driving. Fantastic road trip vehicles though.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lamborgotti
My parents had a Plymouth Voyager conversion van. It was nice, and I definitely thought it was way better than any SUV growing up, but it was rather poorly made and didn't survive more than 12 years. I haven't seen any conversion minivans since.
I think conversion vans are great, but they often look silly and are impractical for every day driving. Fantastic road trip vehicles though.
Yup, reach back and grab a tall cool one from the fridge (Ice Tea...)
Early trips in Air Cooled VW camper van with kids in car seats... They got squirt guns instead of AC It felt mighty good to get a good soaking from behind
Embarrassing, you bet... (Being passed by Uhaul trucks...)
More comfortable vehicles to drive than a VW bus... ? Haven't found one yet.
I suspect tastes just changed, and the quality of the vans really did not keep up with the rest of the automotive world. Sure, the conversion installed stuff was nice, but a Ford Econoline still drove like a Ford Econoline. They are still good for people who have a specialized desire for exactly that kind of vehicle, but most folks are looking for other attributes first.
(Off topic... as far as ice on the window, I will second that warm water works fine. Windshield glass is very resiliant and installed in a way to allow expansion and contraction. Even hotter tap water is generally not going to crack as the ice will significantly cool it on contact. That said, if scraping is a bear, get yourself a metal tipped scrapper! They work a thousand times better than the plastic ones!)
Looks pretty nice. I've got a 1993 Roadtrek 19' on the Dodge chassis with the 5.2 magnum engine, and it's been wonderful for my business travels throughout the Rocky Mountain West. It was built as the 4-seat model, but has been converted by the former owner and me to a 3-seat config similar to the Popular model; more cabinets and stowage areas, extended the storage above the front seats, etc. The 5.2 is a little short on power on the hills, so the trans OD switch gets a workout in rolling hills and climbs to keep the rig moving. But it's also been adequate to pull a BP two-horse trailer on the flats around the region.
I've found these rigs to be sturdy and reliable, and the installed equipment/systems pretty good. The 5.9 engine is a real workhorse, and can easily deliver 200,000 miles with routine maintenance. Be sure to change the running gear fluids per Dodge spec; ie, trans fluid and diff fluids are critical to assuring longevity of service and many folk don't do this per schedule or with the correct fluids. The trans cooler can get clogged up if you don't change the fluid, with high temps for the trans and failure at 100K miles not uncommon as a result. Use the right Dodge rated trans fluid every 20,000 miles and the trans will last for a long time.
I saw a 1998 19' Popular at a gas station last week, here from Canada ... the couple use it for 6 months of winter travels in the USA before heading back to Alberta for the wheat season, and asked the folk about their fuel economy. Since I get 16-17ish (with 18 seen if I get a tailwind, and 15 with a headwind) most of the time, I was interested to know if the newer model with the same 5.2 engine but OBDII fuel management was any better than my OBDI 5.2 magnum engine. They claimed 14-16 mpg in their rig, but I'd bet they were loaded out heavier for their extended travels than I keep my rig, and they drive at 75 mph where posted ... while I generally keep mine to 65 mph, even on the interstates here with the higher speeds. Most of our state roads are 65 mph, so I'm not losing anything there for travel times. At 185,000 miles on their Dodge rig, it was still running beautifully although now using a quart of oil between 5,000 mile oil changes ... mine, at 142,000 miles on the odo, uses none, perhaps a 1/2 quart down from full by the time I reach 5,000 miles and the oil still looks very clean.
Last edited by kwoodberry; 08-08-2013 at 10:57 AM..
Reason: incorrect formatting
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It felt mighty good to get a good soaking from behind
