I build my own motorhome
for big and even bigger trips over land
Even you think and sometimes feel, you don’t get younger. Travelling with the motorbike is still fun, but it also feels more strenuous. Okay, my really big trip was almost ten years ago, anyway, when you see how comfortable you are with something more than two wheels and a roof, and you really could need this for healthy reasons too, then yes, thoughts come into your mind that ultimately lead to such a decision to buy a truck and build your own motorhome.
Interestingly, I then thought of my first girlfriend, who I had when I was 17 and, of course, met on a trip - it must have been to Romania, back then with passport controls every few kilometers at the various borders. Her father had a picture book with various American trucks, which we leafed through almost every time I was with her, and philosophized about what it would be like to travel around the world in a truck like that, converted into a three-room apartment.
20 years later, during my trip around the world (only German available at the moment) and the occasional contact with other travelers who own such a 3-room apartment on 12 square meters, the idea came back to me. After various research, trade fair visits and discussions, I bought a new motorcycle in spring 2022.
Now the story of the expedition vehicle could be over because the money is gone, but no, far from it. The research continued in this direction. However, due to some political decisions in recent years between the beginning of 2020 and the end of 2021, the market for a suitable vehicle was virtually empty. Everyone wants to go camping. Well, let's not call it traveling, because very few people probably know what traveling is, it's not just two weeks of annual vacation, traveling is more. Nevertheless, finding a suitable vehicle was not easy. But at the end of 2022 I actually stumbled across an old Mercedes-Benz.
An old fire engine, built in 1989, hardly driven, 204 hp - more than enough, and at an acceptable price too, maybe I can negotiate another three fifty bucks. A few phone calls later we met for the test drive, during which not everything went smoothly, but it wasn't the vehicle's fault, but rather a classic operator error. That looks good, I slept on it, or two or five times, and then I said yes. Before New Year, I paid the deposit and then planned my vacation. No, not with the new car, but with the new motorcycle - off to Norway; Savalen Rally number two, as you can find on the German sites.
In the new year I paid the rest of the vehicle and agreed that I would pick up the fire brigade as soon as the salt had been washed off the roads. You don't have to subject the vehicle to unnecessary stress straight away, and road salt is just part of that. I agreed with a vehicle builder that I could put the vehicle in his yard, so I have a place to work and he would help me take down the fire brigade structure and make the intermediate frame for the new living cabin. That way everyone benefits. I get a parking space and the vehicle builder earns some money in supporting me.
And once again, everything went differently than planned. A small mishap while riding my motorcycle after work shattered my knee joint. I won't be able to do any work for the next few months, which is extremely inconvenient, because I've already ordered the cabin. The planned pick-up date would be the end of July or beginning of August. I can forget about that. So I've ordered the vehicle manufacturer to take the fire engine body down so that at least that's done, and get in touch with the cabin manufacturer to postpone the pick-up date if possible.
Dismantling the fire engine superstructure was actually a bigger undertaking than postponing the pickup date for the cabin. After a rough initial estimate, I was planning to pick up the cabin at the end of September or beginning of October. However, it quickly became clear that this would not be possible. Although I was slowly becoming mobile again, I was not able to do what I wanted. To make matters worse, the sheet metal that was installedinto my knee after the accident was causing me a lot of trouble and further pain.
I can’t work like this!
And let's take that saying in a double sense. Things weren't going well in my job, which is why I was looking for something new. I actually found that, and I would have liked to have started in October. That's not possible. The pain in my knee was unbearable, I have to go under the knife again. It also turns out that I have a knack for succubi who want to change me so drastically that it's unacceptable. A bit of mutual adjustment, okay, but that, no, not like that. Now I basically had to end a relationship, quit my job, go under the knife for another knee operation, look for an apartment, organize a move, and then find my way in a new job and in a new country. An exciting end to 2023, so to speak.
At least I was able to do one or two things in the summer. I swapped the wheels, dismantled the auxiliary drive with the hydraulic unit and hydraulic winch and took a quick look at the electrics to pull the fuse for the siren system, as the TÜV is a bit sensitive about that. The only problem was that the horn stopped working after that, but I'll have to take a closer look at that another time, it shouldn't really be related.
Well, I've since ended the relationship and been kicked out of the apartment. I don't know why I let myself leave the apartment, after all I was the one who had the rental agreement and paid the rent, but whatever. At least I was able to stay with a friend for a short time and park the remains of the truck under a roof because it was raining. That was necessary because the driver's cab had to be cut open so that I could later get into the living area.
next steps coming soon