One of the few areas where I fault my 84 Vanagon manual tranny low-top
'westie' is it's lack of ability to go.  I am now committed to 'saving up'
for a limited slip diff.

 I am a very good snow driver.  I lived over 20 years in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming and drove to work at the ski area every day.  My Ski Patrol job had
me arriving there at  an ungodly hour to shoot the avalanche control guns on
stormy mornings, so my commute was often before any snow plows, through
drifts white-out storms, etc.  I had a variety of vehicles during those
years, not one a 4wd and yet I rarely got stuck or couldn't make it where I
needed to go.

  But this Vanagon really frustrates me.  It's simply not good at all...in
fact it is 'amazingly' poor.  I keep trying, thinking "Hey, it can't be THAT
bad, maybe if I_______ this time" and like that.  It feels like it should do
OK.  I've been over all the suspension looking for reasons why it sucks..I
have decent tires.  The "open differential" must be waay more open than any
other vehicle I have ever owned..Even my old long bed 2wd six cylinder ford
pickup had better wintertime traction without any weight at all in the
back...."Amazing"..
  Just yesterday I tried again to 'leave our Hill' in the Vanagon with a
little snow (about 3-5") on our gravel driveway.  Couldn't make it back
up...missed by about 20' and had to go get the pickup to tow it up the rest
of the way.
  Even with Nokian Hakka M+S with decent tread and a  rear decklid loaded
with ballast (480lbs of stove pellet bags) the van just would not make the
grade...The van is virtually useless with any snow whatsoever.  I had to
'un-mothball' my diesel Ford truck!  I must be beyond the "Denial" stage
finally.

  Don Hanson