So it’s been just over 2 weeks on the road and I’m now in Berlin, Germany and driven over 1500 miles already. I wanted to write a post on a review what I have found has gone well so far and not so well with my Vanlife experience so far. I’ve also had some questions regarding getting my van ready and converted from a Van to a motorcaravan (I’ll write another post regarding this)
- Leaving home for a long period of time is always going to be hard and for those who have experience vanlife already will know that they’re quite a lot to sort out before you leave. (Van fit for the journey?, MOT, Insurance, Travel Insurance, Finance – enough to go with?, Covering the costs while your gone, Renting your house, Job (there when you come back or quit?), What to take with you? (Clothes and Equipment).
- Van upgrades – As you know I completed the van last year and tested it in Scotland in August with my girlfriend then Ellie. Once we I came back from the trip I changed a few things on the van as I knew it wouldn’t work for my Europe trip (Again I’ll write another post for this)
- My Van (Ford Transit Smiley Minibus 1999 2.5 litre – converted) Since I left the UK I didn’t know what the MPG was for my van as I used it a lot around my home town so I would give a true highway/motorway/country road reading. After reaching Paris I filled up again and found it was better than I thought at 30-34 MPG average (I got from Luxembourg to Berlin on a full tank which is amazing) The downfall of the van is that it doesn’t have a turbo when when I hit a hill I slow right down to about 20-30 mph and have to drop a few gears. My advice is to buy a van with a turbo but take into consideration these can use more fuel, and also costly to repair if they break.
- The first week I had my good friend Matt travel to France with me and was a massive help as he’s driven in Europe before. We were attending a friends stag do in Fontainebleu, France the weekend after we left. I was good to have the company and I knew it would be hard been alone after Paris, lots of people travel alone and I guess people do get used to it. I do have friends visiting me while out in Europe (Poland, Hungary and Croatia) so that will be a nice change.
- Food and Water – these haven’t been a problem at all so far. I just make sure I buy cheap bottles of water in packs of 6×2 litre, plus most gas stations have a tap for the other water (Shell garages are the best so far)
- Showers – I have a shower on the back door which I have used a few times but only when I want a cold shower when it’s too hot and have a water supply close to re-fill my tanks after a few days.
I’ll be posting some more advice and tips when I come across them, thank you for following me and any questions / advice is welcome.
CampervanLife Official 