Travel Vehicle Try #2

Posted on May 1, 2013 by andi

Time is flying by and I’m tired and should go to sleep right now. But at least I can post some pictures. I bought it on Sunday and fetched it on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday I had a thorough look at it, it seems not too bad but it certainly has it’s issues. I’ll write more about it later this week.

It’s a Mercedes Benz Model 602 aka T1 aka “Bremer Transporter” (lorry produced in bremen/germany). It’s quite a late model made in 1993 and has the strongest diesel engine available (OM602 2,9L 5cyl, 95hp). About 970000 of them were produced by Mercedes up to 1995 and they are still manufactured as license builds in India.

The interior is self made by the first owner and it seems that he knew what he was doing most of the time.

Somewhere in northern germany

The black stripe on the bottom isn’t original, it’s been repainted due to corrosion

The interior is alright but i think i have to repaint the panels

It’s the final countdown…

Posted on April 29, 2013 by andi

There are only ten working days left! My feelings are mixed but the outlook from now on is awesome. By coincidence good friends are throwing a big party in the countryside just at the end of my last working week. Thanks guys, exactly what I needed! In between I already lined up some outdoor activity and the rest of the time will certainly pass by fast with preparations. Buying a travel vehicle definitly is a big leap forwards. So the next couple of weeks will be joyful busy, finishing work, preparing the bus, enjoying the spring (finally!) while meeting friends… That’s anditainment for sure so stay tuned…

Fuck, I’m old!

Posted on April 24, 2013 by andi

Yesterday my flatmates and I were talking about books&movies for children. One mentioned that he loved Harry Potter when HE was a child.

But yeah, the books came out in 1997, the first movie 2001. Back then I was finishing school / starting studying at the university. He is almost ten years younger so he attended primary school being a cute little boy. The perfect age for Harry Potter. Weird. But good. Normally I just don’t realize that there is such an age difference because we’re both somehow grown ups, share some hobbies (like travelling for example) and get along really well. The older you get the less important is the age difference…

Picking up pace…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by andi

The measures I’ve taken are starting to work out fine. I took good care of myself during the last couple of weeks. I did almost no excessive partying, drank almost no alcohol and kept almost a quite constant sleep rhythm. I visited dear friends and constantly soldiered through my to do list. Now there are only 13 working days left and I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel (and I’m quite sure it isn’t an oncoming train…). There’s still much stuff to do and I still hate the uncertainty of not having a completely checked through travel vehicle standing in the workshop. It’s the same as always before I start an adventure. At first I worry about plenty of stuff and spend much time on alternative plans, countermeasures for any problem which could come up and so on. The closer the date of leaving comes the more I relax (except the last couple of days of course). I’ve got the feeling that I’m prepared well. Mentally not organizationally. Most stuff which is likely to happen has been thought through. I know that I’m good at solving problems, it’s my occupation and hobby as well.

If I don’t find a decent travel vehicle or destroy it in an accident or whatever I can still fix the station wagon and use it for traveling. Having a rear lock differential and quite a good ground clearance it even has limited offroad capabilities. Exactly the same mode of transportation as in Australia and quite comfortable as long as it doesn’t rain for several days straight and it’s not too cold.

And even if that is going wrong as well I still got my “everything sucks and I have to get out RIGHT NOW” escape vehicle which I started to prepare years ago. The trusty Honda XL 600V Transalp!

An old pic without the modifications.

Already equipped with aluminum boxes, engine bashplate and crashbars it only needs a new set of offroad tires and a new chain / sprocket set. That’s done in less than a day. And even if that’s not working either I still have quite some backpacking experience. I just tend to get more comfortable while I’m growing older and my income is raising…

To sum it up: The summer will be fun for sure and some travelling will be done. The only thing which could stop me (except for accidents & stuff of course) is being stuck in an everyday life routine. And I definitely kick ass avoiding that. So no worries folks!

Travel vehicle buy try #1 failed…

Posted on April 9, 2013 by andi

“Muckelchen” on the first pit stop

Well. After not finding a decent van I thought about just buy anything which comes for a decent price and then sell it again if I don’t like it. Then I saw the following combination on the web: VW Taro (badge engineering at it’s finest, it is a Toyota Hilux which was put together in Hannover, Germany by VW). On Top of it a Tischer Cabin originally for a VW Caddy (small pickup on the golf I chassis). To cut a long story short: The state was not exactly as mint as advertised. There were some leak issues which were hidden under a second wall. Also the Hilux is not quite comfortable for a guy with almost 1,90m of height. And I realized that the cabin is to small and that I want a bathroom on board. And a motorcycle. And a bicycle. And other stuff. So I have to get a decent sized van.

Today I sold the cabin for a decent price to a guy from the VW Caddy forum. If the Hilux is hitting the price I expect I will make a small profit with this failed buy. So all in all this buy wasn’t a total fail after all since I learned a lot about my expectations on a travel vehicle, (hopefully) didn’t loose money and got to visit a good friend who is living nearby the place where I bought the car. So it feels almost like a win while it is technically a fail (on acquiring a travel vehicle).