When arriving back in the UK in April our initial plan was to drive our van to Australia but after much consideration and the state of the world at that time we decided instead to ship our van to Uruguay. To travel a Trans-American journey through the Americas from the south through central all the way up to the north. If you would like to know more about how to ship your van take a look at our other blogs ‘Shipping and Tripping – how we shipped our van to South America’ and ‘Solero’s in town- Arriving in Montevideo and collecting our camper van from the port’. But for now here is more on us getting our campervan ready for our long journey ahead.
Fitting Windows to our Campervan
Fitting windows is something that we had been putting off for a long time and really can’t explain why. Over the last few years we have had two self build Ford Transits that have both been pretty much the same. When we are sat in the back with the sliding door closed it’s dark and airless with the feeling of being stuck in a tin box. On days we are parked up in a beautiful spot in nature but the wind is just a little too much, or it starts to rain we don’t want to have to close the door and miss out. It’s one of the things we kept putting off but once we decided to do it, we would question why we didn’t do it sooner.
As usual fitting windows to our van came with the extra added challenge of doing so on a budget, we don’t travel with a lot of money, so every penny really does count. Sourcing windows was our first hurdle to over come. Buying new ones that are made to fit a camper van is the usual route people take but that’s not us. New windows are costly ranging from £150 to £300 each.
Searching the internet we decided to look into second hand windows at a much more affordable cost, so when we came across two windows hollowed out from a caravan on Facebook marketplace, that’s the challenge we wanted. At a grand Total of £40 we had two windows (what a bargain), we did however buy the roof vent first hand on eBay at a reasonable price of £50. Now we have our windows and it’s time to fit them. The scariest part was making that first hole in the metal panelling and thinking “well we can’t go back now”. Over the span of two days and with the expert help and guidance of Will’s Uncle, the windows were secure. Even now, we still look through those windows and say “isn’t it so great to have windows”.
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Fitting new windows meant we needed new curtains too, repurposing an old bed sheet I began the painstaking task of hand sewing curtains and mosquito nets. This would have been a much faster and easier task if weren’t for the sticky back velcro. I can’t tell you how many needles snapped and how many finger injuries occurred as I repeatedly forced those needles through the tough sticky barrier. But alas, we can now sit happily in our little home on wheels with the door closed and windows open and be safe from those pesky mosquitos whilst still enjoying fresh air and great views.
Solar energy
With the idea of being away for so long and wanting to be able to sustain ourselves we needed to take another look into solar energy. Investing in permanent solar panels was something we had ummed and ahhed over for some time. We knew we wanted some kind of solar energy and weighed up the pros and cons of having a permanently fixed solar panel and the portable solar panel that was recommended for the Ecoflow leisure battery we have. We did initially opt for the portable solar panel as we thought it would be more convenient to be able to move it around to capture the suns power. However it didn’t take long for us to re-consider, missing things like the morning sun whilst still asleep and not being able to put it out if it was windy. In the end it got a crack in it and ceased to work anyway, so we sent it back and bought our new fixed solar panel and haven’t looked back since. Harnessing every drop of sunshine as it lays on our roof and provides us with the suns energy is something we still find quite wonderful.
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Extra storage
Whilst getting our campervan ready, we knew we would be travelling in all seasons and would be needing to pack the appropriate gear for all weather conditions. Previously opting against roof bars as we enjoyed the comfort and convenience of being able to fit into underground parking, for this adventure we reconsidered it. With our current van being a former recovery vehicle it was already raised further off the ground making it taller so having the extra height didn’t matter anymore. Having roof bars allowed us to have a roof box where we can store all our extra bits and bobs. Our roof box was also purchased second hand as well as the roof bars, thanks again to Facebook marketplace. Meaning whilst being in South America we can store all our heavy winter clothes, sleeping bags and heater ready for the colder climate of Northern America.
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Campervan upkeep and maintenance
Cars are an expensive luxury and this one is no exception to the rule, there is always something that needs fixing, a new noise here or a rattle there. We try to avoid the urge to turn the music up when we here a new strange noise. And with this substantial trip ahead of us we certainly couldn’t afford to do that.
With rust appearing on the skirting and under belly we had some welding done. Considering when we returned from our last trip our poor van Luna was so rusted that the chassi could have fallen out any moment. Also general maintenance such as break discs and pads and new tyres. All of which adds up to quite a costly sum with any mechanic and after spending that much money on our camper van we certainly weren’t going to swap it out for another one. Having the foresight, we also packed tools and spare maintenance parts for the van such as oil filters, diesel filters and an alternator belt, along with mud tracks, snow chains and a tow rope so we can take care of our vehicle without the stress of finding parts, and be able to get out of a sticky situation!
Leisure and home comforts
As we both enjoy reading so much when we are on the road, the last thing we want is to run out of books. In countries where English is not the first language it is very difficult to find books written in English and if you are lucky enough to stumble across somewhere then it’s often quite expensive, (and yes, we know we could have kindles instead, but it’s just not the same!). So before our voyage in getting our campervan ready, we made a trip to our local charity shops to stock up a bountiful supply of books. Which are kept safely tucked away in our new roof box. We also stocked up on classic British non perishables that we can’t get anywhere else for those days we need a taste of home such baked beans, marmite and gravy granules (don’t judge us). In hindsight we wish we had packed more canned food and non perishables as we were quite surprised how expensive our first destination Uruguay would be.
Getting the van packed up and into the shipping container
Before we left the UK for Germany to ship our little home we loaded up our non perishable goods and did a full clear out and tidy of the van (we are still trying to find things that were “tidied” away!). This meant removing anything that was flammable, so we couldn’t take any gas bottles with us which would have been handy to have on the other side.
After our few days travelling North, on the day we were to lock Solero up in the container, we were just outside of Hamburg. In the early morning haze we took the roof box down and just managed to squeeze it in the back of Solero and we tied it down tight. The van with the roof box on top wouldn’t have fit inside the container and it’s also a safer place for our belongings to be. We taped down every draw, cupboard door and box to ensure it was all swell proof. Packed all our herbs and spices safely away and passed on any of our perishables to our friend. The van was ready to go.
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Insurance
Everyone knows part of getting your campervan ready is thinking of insurance. Car Insurance was easy to find. The shipping company we used recommended an insurance company but doing our own research through blogs and internet searches we found our own. Allianz quoted much the same as the others and were quick to respond. It was however at first a shock when we were quoted what we thought was 230K Uruguayan dollars, the equivalent of £4K and thought that perhaps this adventure was over before it had begun. But it soon became clear that the quote was in Argentinian pesos, meaning it was actually only $234 USD for the year. Ah yes that’s more like it! It is also a legal requirement to have travel insurance that includes medical insurance before you can enter Uruguay. This is a first for Will and I, we have had travel insurance here and there but for the most part relied on having our wits about us and a dash of good luck. We certainly haven’t had medical insurance before and were shocked at the cost but ‘c’es la vie’, what can you do. At least we can take comfort in the knowledge we are financially protected if we needed it.
Conclusion on getting our campervan ready
Getting our campervan ready was a big project and a stressful one at times but totally worth it. We made it to Uruguay, the van and everything in it all in the condition we left it. We have books to read and beans to eat, we may not have gas to cook the beans but we have them and that’s the point! We have windows and solar energy which will never get old, the van is in good nick and we have the materials to replace basic maintenance items. Let us know if there is anything you think we forgot or that you would have added or done differently.
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