Category Archives: Repairs & Modifications

When we bought the van in April 2010, almost everything in it was already working fine. This definitely wasn’t a case of “let’s buy a rundown old camper with heaps of potential and fix it back up again”. Despite our best efforts, we had ended up with a van that worked really well. Nevertheless, we’ve managed repair several things that weren’t actually broken, and over the last year we’ve succeeded in breaking several things ourselves. My handyman’s itch has not gone unscratched.

Beefing Up the Speakers

Posted on 17 March, 2011 by jay

Here’s the thing: diesel engines made in 1989 were really, really loud. I don’t have a lot to compare the volume level of our engine to, but at top speed (142km/h) you really have to raise your voice to chat … Continue reading →

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Glowplugs Minus the “Glow”

Posted on 12 February, 2011 by jay

From the day Camperissimo the engine has started first time without any trouble at all. Given that it’s a diesel from the olden days, we knew the situation might be a little different in sub-zero conditions. Part of the original … Continue reading →

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Putting Down Carpet

Posted on 29 January, 2011 by jay

One of the very first – and most significant – changes we made to the van was laying carpet. All it took was four hours, one roll of carpet, a tube of glue and a very sharp knife and the … Continue reading →

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Flat Tyre in the Middle of Nowhere

Posted on 12 January, 2011 by jay

Major excitement was to be had when one of our tyres blew out dramatically at high speed, relatively speaking, on the main road from Krakow to Košice in Slovakia. This was 5 days into our 2010 trip and I see … Continue reading →

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12 Volt Sockets – Rear and Front

Posted on 17 June, 2010 by jay

It’s those twelve magical volts that make the world go round. Since we rarely stop at campsites with mains electricity, 12v is all we have to power everything once we’re on the road. Some of the first purchases we made … Continue reading →

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