Andy's Atlantic (Wolfgang)

[nordberg]

Well after all of the hard work, time, effort and money spent on my van since i bought it back in October, last week was the true test in finding out if it had all been worth while. Our first main holiday started last weekend at Camper Jam for two nights. This was the first leg of our break which lead us into Wales at a camp-site in Llanrug which was in a great location. Prior to this we had done a maximum of four nights away.

Anyways, we set off from Camperjan (what a great weekend by the way) to be greeted with rain just as we got over the border into Wales. We were sceptical about visiting Wales after a few prior visits that were a wash out so this did not bode well. It stopped in the evening and we had rather a pleasant time chilling. Later on the weather took a turn for the worst and the Monday was an absolute wash out. We caught the bus into Caenarfon, had a meal and headed back to the van for a lock down.

After that the holiday was an absolute dream. I figured we have done a total of 600 miles and the van ran fabulously. We visited many of the bays, nooks and beaches on Anglesey ( Benllech, Moelre, Amlwch, Cemaes & Llandwin Bay) along with South Stack Light House on Holy Island. We also did Porthmadog, Pwllheli and Nefyn. The camp site was great by the way for anybody that is interested and is in very close proximity to Snowdon if your into walking ( http://www.llysderwen.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) . I must confess that having the back box was a real bonus, and although it did get a bit of getting used to not being able to look out of the rear view mirror as it does pretty much render it useless, i soon became accustomed to using my side mirrors which now become second nature. I think for me I have pretty much found my ideal setup

[scottbott]

very nice looking van

[Budgie7]

Nice looking van and great pics. I am just finishing off my van and can't wait to get out there also.

[nordberg]

Hopefully having the night heater fitted will be the last major expense on the van till next year. Every month there has been an outlay, but next months two week vacation could see the temperatures dip a little, so may as well get it installed. Done lots of work to get it fitting in the original Eber housing. Just going to get a trusted garage to do the job of bolting it on and wiring it in.

[nordberg]

Van full of parts dropped off at the garage this morning. Night heater, Engine under tray and puddle lights for the front doors.

[trucker]

It works well OBG's advice was very helpful too!

[nordberg]

Yeah, will be nice to have heat at the press of a button this winter instead of having to rely on electric hook up . I think I would have been able to manage the install myself but it was tight under the van and i could see myself struggling with positioning everything. Same goes for the under tray so it made sense to pay the garage as it will take him less time with it being up on ramps

[nordberg]

Well the engine under tray has been fitted and to be honest it's nice to know its 'as it should be', but from a noise point of view its questionable as to weather or not it makes a vast amount of difference . At least it will stop dirt and grime getting into the engine bay. Also had the Webasto night heater fitted. WOW. I love it . Had chance to try it out over the weekend when we had a camp over on Saturday night after a trip to Chatsworth house and gardens with a couple of friends. We got a great parking spot in front of the house when we first arrived.


And shortly afterwards we were joined by a new T5 California.

The chap was a nice guy. I got chatting to him and found that it was only a month old and he had already been to Europe in it. I can appreciate its a nice well made van, but It's not my cup of tea as it seems to lack the character of the T3\25. However, it was quite funny when I showed him that my LPG tank was underslung, where his is taking up room in the van . Think he was a bit shocked that they hadn't retained that feature.

Anyways, after a brilliant day at Chatsworth we booked in to a nice Caravan Club CL site at Farley near Matlock. You do have to be a Caravan Club member, but it was only £9 for the night. What fantastic views of the Derbyshire countryside. ( https://taxfarmcaravansite.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )


Anyways, I will keep posting up as and when Wolfgang gets modded or turns a wheel. Expect the next major update mid September after, bus Fest, Vans in the Sands, Eden project, Woolacombe, Dawlish....well you get the picture

[nordberg]

Finally managed to track down a set of Sherpas Combi Translift roof bars . WHOOP, WHOOP . £40 including a bunk guard

[Smosh]

Your van is looking well. I haven't seen your thread for a while! I like the box on the bike rack!

[nordberg]

Cheers Smosh. I keep chipping away at it ( finances permitting )

[nordberg]

Well I managed to fit my roof bars. However, I didn't realize just how much more difficult it would made elevating the roof. So the knock on effect is to have to order some gas roof struts. Hope to get and fit them before we go on our two weeks holiday on Friday.

Bars in mobile position


Bars in loading position


My intention is to have a solar panel mounted on the right half due to the fact the awning is on that side which means the loading option is a little more protracted for real use of the bars. I will leave the other side available for storage etc

[boxer]

I was always impressed by this thread but having seen the van in the flesh last weekend you must be justifiably proud of it and the care you have taken to keep it original. If only Gill could allow me that much time and a shed, I'd still end up with a scruffy looking beige pop top.

[nordberg]

Well all of the hard work, time effort and money proved to have been rewarded by a faultless journey which started at Busfest, and Finished at Bath on Friday. Not sure how many miles we have covered but we had 2 nights at the Malvern showground, 3 nights at Woolacombe Bay, 2 nights at Dawlish, 2 nights at Blackpool Sands, Dartmouth for 'Vans in the Sands', 2 nights at the a campsite near the Eden Project, 1 night at St Johns, Torpoint near Plymouth visiting my uncle, 1 night near Bristol, and 1 night near Bath. Seen some amazing places and met some fantastic people. I have to say this must go down as one of my best holidays ever. Below is just a selection of photos of Wolfgang on his travels
Busfest

Woolacombe


The following two photos are pretty important in the scheme of pre-owning and now owning my van. The first photo was taken a year ago on our last night at Woolacombe camping in a tent. I got talking to the chap that owned the van because I liked the look of it. One month later I owned my van and one year later (a couple of weeks ago) I managed to take the second photo of my van only yards from the original photo.



Anyways...the trip continued....Waiting for the ferry from Kingswear to Dartmouth for Vans in the Sands

Partial line up of vans (in the sands)

Early Saturday morning sunrise at Blackpool Sands after a night of heavy rain

Wolfgang and the beach (Blackpool Sands)

Saturday night on the beach with beer and good company

Torpoint / plymouth

Camping on my Uncles driveway

Not a bad garden

[nordberg]

Well I've managed to find some dry storage for winter. No plans to lay it up but just nice to know its out of the rain as i can't accommodate it at home.

Anyways, you may not be too surprised to hear I still have plans for the van . I know the jury is out as to just how effective solar is, but my thoughts are if you can install it without doing too much damage to the van, then the cost is quite reasonable (sub £200 for a single panel install if you wire it in yourself). May as well have it than not. So for my Birthday I asked for amazon vouchers and bought 1x100 rigid solar panel plus a 20 amp controller and LCD display module all from the company Photonic Universe. I've fitted the panel in between the top two rails on the right hand side of the van. This required 4x holes drilled in the panel and two holed in each roof rack rail. Knowing now that it 'works' I'll be ordering a second panel for the left hand side giving me a total of 200w . I've had some good feedback from a few people who have managed to wire their panels in discreetly but I'm going to take my time and make absolutely sure I'm happy and that it can be done in the best possible way.



My wife is convinced that having a fitting for a front Westy table is the way forward so we bought a bracket from ebay that was galvanised steel. Not the bet looking item so I have colour coded it 'Industrial Grey' from a spray can I bought from Halfords. Excellent match for the carpet don't you think


I also received and fitted my new Brickwerks Stainless Steel exhaust cover. Mine was missing when I got the van. My only reservation is that I'm now hiding my polished stainless Brickwerks exhaust. The way I am looking at it is it came out of the factory with the cover on so I figure it's more stock that way. I just need to feed the back lip up and under the bodywork instead of having it mate up as it is in the photo.


My wife and I went to the motorhome show at the NEC and bought some of these seat organizers. I think they fit really well, are functional and don't look too ugly.