Our camper “Hippie”
About the camper
The camper we drive in is a Volkswagen type 2 from 1976. Originally, the bus was not a camper at all, but a normal white type 2 van. The original English ‘Devon’ interior was built in later as well as the roof. Although the camper looks pretty small, it holds more space then you can imagine. An expandable couch turns into a medium sized bed and when you pop up the roof, there is another medium sized bed. So in total the bus has room for four persons. The interior holds several closets, a fridge, a stove and a sink. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a toilet so we have to enjoy the great outdoors!
More pictures
The camper before the preparations!
Preparation and changes
Preparing the camper!
An expedition to china will, not only take a lot of effort from us, but also from the camper. Safety plays an important role in this! We decided to have the camper made ‘Asia- proof’ by the Fire department of Zeist by adding a bulbar with a spare tyre to the front. The chance that you hit something when driving 30.000 kilometres through countries, where driving exams are non existent and cows like to inspect the traffic, is always there. Therefore we have taken this precaution to protect ourselves.
As we are going travel great distances and we can’t rely on a petrol station every few miles we have also decided to have a carrying device built on the back of the car. We haven’t got a name for it yet so call it a bull bumper! This device, also made by the fire department of Zeist, carries two jerry cans and a spare tyre! To add more safety on the front we have added a bullbar as well. a necessity in countries where livestock wander on the highway!
To realise this all you need good material. The material was offered by Construction Company van Essen based in Den Dolder and put together by the fire department of Zeist. Together they have years of experience in building and re-building fire truck for some serious conditions!
Engine revision
The engine needed a complete revision. We had this done at Hot Rod in doesburg, a company that specialises in volkswagen oldtimers. We also added a extra oilcooler for extra cooling while driving in the desert.
M.A.D. delivers a great job with support springs!
When leaving on a expedition like this it inevitably means you will bring quite a bit of gear. As we drive in an old timer we noticed the rear shockabsorbers started to push their max. So, via a VW message board we were directed to M.A.D. in Veenendaal, a company that is specialised in support springs. After we called and visited them they agreed on supporting us with installing a set of tailor made support springs. This will enable us to carry a larger load of equipment, increase stability and most of all increase safety. Excellent work by M.A.D. we must say! Have a look at the pictures of the stress test and the support springs!
Car security with the help of DG Car Equipment from Hoofddorp and Car System Benelux
When travelling in a campervan, you come to the point where you have to leave your car and all your belongings alone. To secure our car we got the help of DG Car Equipment from Hoofddorp who installed the sponsored Car System Benelux security kit. Now we can leave the car a with more confidence! Thx DG!