VW Rockton 4wd camper van.

[David_in_TX]

Just ran across this. Probably NOT coming to the USA.

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/12/volkswagen-launches-rough-n-tough.html

 

[Desert Dan]

Nice
I would love to see that sold in the US!

 

[RusherRacing]

yep but the stupid chicken tax will probably prevent us from having it

just like it has helped deter many other cool vehicles from coming to the US.

Looks like a nice package on the transporter.

 

[ihatemybike]

The goods:
Roughly the same size as my beloved Astros
Turbo diesel engines
Already built up for off roading
It's in production

The bads:
Engine facing the wrong way
Primarily driving the wrong wheels
No low range
Won't be available in the USA
Still won't motivate GM to resurrect the Astro

 

[Mikel_24]

VW syncro/4motion vans, from the T3 syncro to the T5 4Motion are not meant to be rouged 4wd vehicles. Even the T3's lack transfer case. They do have a G gear, much lower geared than the 1st gear... but you are not supposed to drive the whole time with the G gear engaged.

I own a T4 Syncro but I have worked in T3 syncros and T5 4Motions. The easiest to modify to make it a better offroader is, as it has always been, the T3. Rear wheel drive, springs on the 4 wheels (you can add spacers to raise ths suspension), protected engine, etc. The T5 is, by far, the opposite. Very low ground clearance, while having a nice subframe to attach a big *** protection plate for it, it still rides low. Lots of plastic stuff in the belly, etc.

I come from the VW spanish forum called FURGOVW and we have been discusing over the Rockton for a while. It is truly expensive and besides the lower geared gearbox... you can modify a stock 4Motion van to get the very same thing... for a lot less money. You whouldn't believe how much the protection plates are worth... for example.

I don't know why are you even sligthly jealous from us in Europe about this car... it isn't anything to be proud off! I wish I could get (and maintain, given the price of the fuel here) a Sporsmobile van...

Mikel

 

[Victorian]

Hi Mikel,

Thank you for your info! I'm reading in German forums and they are saying the same...

I'm currently driving a T4 (in North America known as the VW Eurovan). Mine is the transporter version with a long wheel base. Diesel are very rare and I was only able to get my hands on a gas engine model.

Anyhow, let me tell you why I love my van:

Before I moved to North America, I was like many other people in Europe. I wanted to own one of the BIG Chevy vans.
That changed very fast after the first time I drove one. Compare to vehicles made/designed in Europe, they are cheaply made and drive like ....... They rattle, they start falling apart after a couple of years, the transmissions crap out WAY sooner then you would expect. In other words, they are not build to last...
On the other hand:
My Eurovan is rock solid. Just yesterday I had it in the shop and with now over 220.000km on it, I'm getting concerned about the engine. But my mechanic assured me, that these engines (if taken care of) run for at least 500.000km! The driving is solid, no play in the steering, no rattling anywhere and only a tiny bit of rust. Like you would expect from a 16 year old vehicle.

Too bad the T5 is not available in North America... I would buy one!

Anyhow, please don't get me wrong, I don't want to bash north american cars, I know people love them. But this is just what I observed.

 

[ihatemybike]

Not to familiar with the full size vans, but Astros straight out rule. Grumpy has been abused and mistreated. Previous owner used it working as an expedited courier putting 117k miles on it in less than a year, don't think they cleaned it once the whole time. I recently drove it the entire length of Route 66, putting over 5k more miles on it. It's currently sitting over 331k miles (532k km) and is still running good. Needs a bit of work, but I'd still drive it anywhere.

 

[dsw4x4]

Anything last a long long time when taken care of, my last van was a 94 e350 with a 351w finally at 440thousand miles the tranny died the motor was still running strong. To my knowledge both original (although probably not) they had equal amounts of grime on them, it never had a hitch till I bought it at 360k and I towed toys all over the country with it boats, broncos, motorcycles, you name it. When the tranny died I pulled back the carpet and found some major rust but it was from Missouri where they use a lot of salt on the roads so it was to be expected.
Derek

 

[Mikel_24]

Hi Mikel,

Thank you for your info! I'm reading in German forums and they are saying the same...

I'm currently driving a T4 (in North America known as the VW Eurovan). Mine is the transporter version with a long wheel base. Diesel are very rare and I was only able to get my hands on a gas engine model.

Anyhow, let me tell you why I love my van:

Before I moved to North America, I was like many other people in Europe. I wanted to own one of the BIG Chevy vans.
That changed very fast after the first time I drove one. Compare to vehicles made/designed in Europe, they are cheaply made and drive like ....... They rattle, they start falling apart after a couple of years, the transmissions crap out WAY sooner then you would expect. In other words, they are not build to last...
On the other hand:
My Eurovan is rock solid. Just yesterday I had it in the shop and with now over 220.000km on it, I'm getting concerned about the engine. But my mechanic assured me, that these engines (if taken care of) run for at least 500.000km! The driving is solid, no play in the steering, no rattling anywhere and only a tiny bit of rust. Like you would expect from a 16 year old vehicle.

Too bad the T5 is not available in North America... I would buy one!

Anyhow, please don't get me wrong, I don't want to bash north american cars, I know people love them. But this is just what I observed.

Hello Victorian,
I haven't had the pleasure of driving american made besides two cars and a Chrysler Voyager when I lived for a whole year in Wisconsin. Other than that all I have driven are a few different cars here. The first thing I owned was my VW T4. I knew what I wanted and I went for it.

I am also somewhat jealous of the ease of fixing that american vans have. They seem to share componets with diferent models out there, somewhat easily found on salvage yards. Axles, transfer cases, gearboxes, etc. And they all seem to have solid axle designs.

VW vans, on the other hand, are expensive to maintain. Last year the viscous coupler of my van quitted working and I had to replace it with a new unit straight from VW because none fixes them. Like 2500€... go figure. And that's just an example.

Is anyone in the states willing to swap his SMB for my VW T4 Syncro for a couple years? XD XD XD...

I will try to post pictures of it once I find some time to introduce myself in this forum.

Mikel

 

[ihatemybike]

Yeah, that's another good point. Most of the repairs I've done to Grumpy have been on the cheap. It has parts from Blazers, S10s and Caddies. I'll be adding parts from a police package Caprice and a 3/4 full size van next year, all from the JY.

 

[Victorian]

Yes, that is true, parts are easy to come by for NA cars!

Repairing VW's can be quiet expensive. The guy I bought my van from, peeled out big $$$$ at the dealership to fix an "apparent" engine problem. After swapping out the injection system and several other expensive components with out making it better, he gave up. As a result, I got the van to a very good price :sombrero: First thing I did, I went to a VW repair shop that employs real mechanics ... $100 later and my van was running just fine. All they did was plugging several wires into the right sockets!


Maybe I'm just lucky. :smiley_drive:

 

[avdem]

VW have been offering a "offroad" version of the T4 and T5 all the time. I really can`t see much difference between those and the Rockton apart from a bit more options when i comes to the interior.

The old offroad models got lifted suspension by 30 mm, 16 inch steel wheels, lower gear ratios and protective plates just like the Rockton.

Here`s an ad for a used T5 Offroad here in norway, not excactly cheap, 359000 Norwegian kroner is between 45 and 50000 us dollars.... And thats with just three seats.

Not that different from the Rockton.

http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=25684584

 

[1sweetvan]

Hey Victorian,
The Vancouver CL listings routinely have Ford and Chevy vans with 4-500000 km on them. Of course they had some repairs in that time but what wouldn't? My Ford is far from perfect but I have $30k left in my pocket over any import van and an infinitely more capable vehicle. I have never heard of anyone pulling a 350 or 351 to replace it with a Subaru. VW on the other hand....

 

[howard101]

Hello,
I live in Toronto and I was looking for a handicap van.
I need to know how much the rental cost are and where I can find one.
Can anyone please help me.

 

[1sweetvan]

Hello,
I live in Toronto and I was looking for a handicap van.
I need to know how much the rental cost are and where I can find one.
Can anyone please help me.

Just Google Wheelchair vans Toronto if you need more..

http://www.cilt.ca/transportation_resources.aspx