Post from John
As mentioned in the last post, lockdown has been a time for evaluating things, which included not just plans for future trips, but also the van itself….
When we decided to move on from our first van, we had a clear set of criteria; single beds, a larger washroom and a full cooker. Spreadsheets were produced, websites studied, and a whole day spent climbing over vans at the NEC show in October 2016. We came to the conclusion that, to meet our criteria, we needed to move to a coachbuilt unit rather than a van conversion. All very rational and logical (as you would expect from an accountant and a data analyst). A decision made by the head, not the heart.
Except – we were van conversion people at heart. The interior space in Amelia was great, although not always best utilised. Of course, large internal volume = large external volume. Whilst we had test driven the van, we ultimately never really felt comfortable driving with the extra width & height. Plus, we hardly ever used the on-board shower, as we mostly stayed on campsites. So, we should have listened to our heart.
We started thinking about changing the van in autumn last year, but not much happened until February this year, when I was phoning dealers to see how much we would get for Amelia as a cash sale. Whilst talking with Fuller Leisure, near Nottingham, not only did they offer a very good price on our van, but we realised that they had a van which met most of our requirements. As we were still in lockdown, several conversations and a live video tour later, we agreed on our largest-ever piece of internet shopping. Once we could travel, we headed off to Fullers to complete the deal. After a thorough handover procedure, we became the owners of an Auto-trail V-Line 635SE. As yet not formally named, it is referred to as the Silver Machine*.
We spent a happy(?) day or so working out where the heck we would put all the stuff we used to pack into Amelia (and jettisoned some). We’ll probably have a better idea after our first trip.
Roll on campsites re-opening!
* For fellow ageing hippies, unlike the Hawkwind 1972 single, this particular Silver Machine does not “fly sideways through time”.
At least, not that we’ve discovered yet..
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