Yep.  Back to disappointment.

You see I have to wait for my insurance documents to come through the post before I can go and get my Road Tax before I can actually drive the van off the driveway! It’s been six days!!! Come on Direct Line, seriously – send the bloody bit of paper!

Anyways readers, I have ordered around £300 worth of stuff this morning.  Hopefully all delivered between tomorrow and Monday – so I’m going to keep this post short. Otherwise I will just end up ranting about how much I dislike my insurance company!

Anyways, must go and put some more wires in for our 6 Sony XS speakers and 1200Watt Subwoofer, much fun!

Some photos from our cleaning and re-spraying days are below, enjoy!

Happy Travelling!
Overland Si

Well today, I have yet again been cleaning!

…and tomorrow I will be doing the same tomorrow! But still, the van needs it. There was so much dust left over from it’s working life that it would have probably be a health risk as a campervan!

So anyway ladies and gentlemen, I am again thoroughly knackered (which means really tired (for Kate)) so below are a few photos from today’s cleaning mission, more coming soon.

LDV Convoy Dash Stripped out

The door panels, as they were

Scratches and horrible white gunk on the door panels

Door Trim mid-scrub, you can see the horrible colour of the soap suds!

Anyways, more to come tomorrow.  The floor is also coming up and the seats are going to be steam cleaned, leaving me a clean canvas to start the conversion.

So that’s Sunday sorted.  Hopefully on Monday morning my insurance papers will come through, meaning I can finally get tax on the van and actually drive her!

Hope everybody else is doing well!

Hello to all you readers. I now have nearly three hundred followers (stalkers), which is brilliant.  I haven’t bee able to look at all of your blogs because the connection whilst I am here in Germany is not the fastest and online time is limited, mainly by my Facebook obsessed sister!

Please leave a commnent and I will check out your blog as well.

In our brilliant little stellplatz there are many, many campervans. A lot of them are coachbuilt wagons that are incredibly expensive.  Unfortunately my budget will not stretch to any of these travelling mansions.

There are also a number of van conversions here.  Most of them are, of course, Mercedes Sprinters or Volkswagen Crafters and Transporters.

All of these types of wagons are brilliant for converting into campervans. Below are a few things that you may want to think about before converting choosing or converting your own van. I have noted a few of these points before in my post talking about travelling Europe and Scandinavia in a Van – Link here

When choosing a van ask yourself these questions.

Do you want to have a van that you can stand up in?

Having somewhere to stand up whilst getting changed or just moving about can make a huge difference.  If you do buy a hi-roof van then make sure you check for water ingress at the connection between the van and the roof.

Think about where you will be travelling, If you will be travelling a lot into towns and cities then bear in mind that you may not be abe to get in a lot of car-parks due to the height.  I would always recommend taking public transport into major cities though.  Much easier and usually works out cheaper.

How big do you want the van to be?

This will affect your design, think about how many people are travelling with you and what you will be taking with you.  Also bear in mind the extra costs that you will incurr if your travel plans include any ferries, most of them will charge by the metre.

Van widths vary between manufacturer, with the Mercedes Sprinter being narrow but long whereas the Fiat Ducato is short but wide. The LDV Convoy is long, wide and tall.  Making it a perfect choice for conversion in this respect. You may not be able to get down every county lane in a wider van, but fold your wing mirrors and hope for the best!

Weight

Anybody who passed their driving test after 1997 in the UK is unable to drive any vehicle over 3.5tonnes gross vehicle weight (GVW).  (I am not sure how this translates for other countries, if anyone would let me know I will be grateful.) Make sure you check before you buy the vehicle that you can actually drive it!

A lot of Mercedes Sprinters and VW Crafters are 5.5t rated, having them down-plated to 3.5t is a hassle that you could avoid by buying the right van in the first place.

Also make sure you take the weight into consideration when converting the van.  The van must never weigh more than its stated weight, even when full of people, packing and food.

Also if you plan to visit Austria or Switzerland then note that your Vignette (compulsory road tax for all) will be more expensive ifyou are over 3.5tonnes.

Is speed something that concerns you?

If it is, then you may want to look at the Mercedes Sprinter – it is a beast.  Unfortunately the more powerful vans usually means a more expensive insurance policy and less economy therefore more money spent on fuel.  Speaking of fuel – go for the Diesels everytime, try to get a turbo charged one, they have good enough power and reasonable economy.

Tomorrow I will be posting a list of all the vans I have looked through and considered.

Fameseekers can post a comment here!

Ok, so I promised you a post on car / van insurance for Europe and here it is!

Please remember that this is only my own findings, if you have been told something different to what I have written here then please let me know – It might be something I have missed out on!

Travelling Abroad

Two Europes

Again though be careful of which countries you want to visit. “Old Europe” will cost you less whereas the “New Europe” countries will cost you more.

As usual please post any questions in the comments and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Happy Travelling
Overland Si

Howdy all,

I am not sure if Blogger has issues or if it is just me but the last post seems to have some sort of issue accepting comments. Bizarre! Try this one – hope it works!

I be off on me holidays in about 5 hours (and counting) and I need one of those “split-screens” that they have on the rather brilliant 24 series to clearly demonstrate just how many tasks I am trying to do all at once so that I can get going!

I have been looking through the Google Analytics package to see how most of you are finding my little piece of bloga firma and have found (without surprise) that it is from the wonderful Blogs of Note.

Then I found out that some of you were also arriving from Search engines. So i thought I would be all clever like and actually answers one of the questions from the search phrases, seeing as they are related to this blog anyway.

One of the most popular is asking “How long to drive round Europe?”

Well I think that this is the wrong way to approach it. There is just so much to see that you could spend months, years, decades or centuries just travelling round Europe.

The best thing to do is select a few destinations (and not whole countries, yer we’re gonna DO Italy, Yuh huh… quite a LOT to DO!) Keep it down to individual campsites / areas. “Doing Rome” is a plausible statement. You could spend a couple of days in Rome then move on to your next destination.

The trick is to have a plan about how you’re going to plan bear with me it does make sense.

If you have a few people travelling with you then all try and pick on destination of your own. Set all the destinations then see how far the journey is.

If they are a few of you doing the driving then you can do many more miles, If it is just one or two people then make sure you get a good nights sleep otherwise you will be seriously affected by tiredness. Also, remember that in a lot of European countries you can stay in motorway service stations overnight, sleep in your van if you want to – save money!

If you haven’t got a set plan then take a map and a dart or something that makes a mark and lob it at said map, this must be done over your shoulder and well away from any livestock. These have heralded some of my greatest adventure travels. As you may end up in some quirky place you must be prepared to enjoy everything you see and accept the choices.

Alternatively, and currently my favourite destination planning device is Google Earth. Scroll over and just have a look at some of the photos (Panoramio) until you see something you like and then go there! Works brilliantly!

As for timings though – Plan some sort of plan first then work out how long you can take to drive round Europe.

Unless, of course, you have nothing to get back to. In which case put your right foot down and get that van rolling.

Speed limits in Europe.

UK motorways are a ludicrously slow 70mph (112kph) The rest of Europe is mostly at 80mph (130kph). Then of course there is Germany. Their Autobahns have no set speed limit (on some sections only) and you can expect a lot of BMW’s and Audi’s and Merc’s to be passing you at 130mph (209kph).

Beware though that Germany has also brought in a new rule for many parts of these de-restricted motorways and enforced an 80mph (130kph) limit between 10pm and 6am.

Equipment

Yes – something that has caught a few people out. Most countries in Europe require the following equipment by law, else you may face a fine. And there’s no point blaming it on the rental company. It’s your responsibility to be safe. Also for your own safety carry them. You never know, it might just save your life.

• First Aid kit
• Reflective Jacket
• Fire Extinguisher
• Sticker stating where the vehicle is registered (GB / D etc.)
• Spare Light bulb set
• Warning Triangle

Not having any of these could lead to be fined, or just hassled, there is also possibly more. Check before you go with your motoring association, they should know or be able to find out.

Lights

In Austria, and some other countries, you are required to have your lights on all the time, Day or Night. Don’t argue, just do it. Put a post it note, or make a sticker, to remind you and put in on the windshield or somewhere prominent.
Update – this is no longer the case in all of Austria, only certain counties – better check or just leave ‘em on! – thanks to Susi @ 2girlsincalifornia for the info

Also – a note for American visitors.

A note from a previous experience. Please remember that us lot over here in Europe mostly drive manual (stick drive) vehicles.
If you are looking to get a van to travel in then I can almost guarantee that this will be the case.
Automatics are very few and very far between, and will cost you a lot more to hire or rent.

Next time I will do some sort of information on the Insurance policies and how they work in Europe, Feel free to post any questions you may have in the comments.

That’s all for now. I hope this helps some of you. I will update you guys from our glorified car park some time next week.

Happy Travelling
Overland Si!

Insurance, Campervan Conversion, Planning and Budgets!

Short post today folks. I am suffering from information overload at the moment so just trying to grab some “brainspace” and unplug myself from the laptop for an evening!

As is normal here is where I say please leave a comment, even if just to say Hi - it’s nice getting to know you all. I am slowly getting round to replying everyone.

Well I have had a fun day of talking to insurance companies. And actually it has been a lot better than I expected

Bonus points to Nick @ Herts Insurance today for explaining everything simply and giving me loads of advice and options. I’m going to go for 3rd party fire and theft, purely for budget reasons!

Bit of a roundup and scary list below

• I must re-register the van as a campervan, for both insurance and other legal reasons
• The van must be valued at more than £2,000 for it to be insured by Herts Insurance
• Fitting the van with a gas supply is just asking for trouble!
• My brain hurts
• I have only 10 working days left
• I need to sell my current van
• I need to buy the LDV van
• I need to plan some sort of route
• I need to book a ferry crossing
• Also need to plan the layout of the van and “spec” it up
• My brain hurts
• Get travel insurance
• Oh and need to price the conversion of the van as well
• Need to get some writing done, see if I can get some query letters off to publishers
• Get something done for MatadorTravel – they are offering some reasonably articles.
• Budget, Budget, Budget
• Sleep
• Eat
• Stop brain pain

Despite that list I am still remarkebly excited and upbeat. I have just come up against my own biggest flaw – organisation.

To put it into perspective – spare a thought for all those in Australia right now.

Picture below is for the dreamers of us out there, to all travellers, the world over.

From Skiing

Me out – Happy Travelling guys and gals.
Overland Si

Hey followers and finders!

I have been trying to find some insurance for my van for travelling through Europe. What a bloody hassle!

I have two main problems.

1. The proposed van, an LDV convoy, is registered as a commercial vehicle, so until I can re-register it as a personal vehicle it is hard to find a proper quote
2. Travelling in Europe – yes, although the UK is supposedly part of Europe our insurance companies still enjoy ripping people off for daring to venture abroad.

Most UK insurance companies have clauses in them stating how much time I can spend abroad in them. These range from between 2 and 180 days included in the cover price, more days though starts adding more money, a lot more.

TheAA.com charges roughly £10 per day extra spent abroad.

Also, as an aside, now I am classed as unemployed my premium has gone up. I’m sure I have been lumped into some “category” or other, but still what a pain. Here is the time when I should be whinging about being “numbered” or “categorised” but to be honest, with insurance companies, it’s just not worth it.

So after a lot (and I mean a massive ginormous lot) of searching I think I might have found a company that could insure the van throughout Europe. I will find out tomorrow if they call me back, fingers crossed everyone.

Oh and that company – Herts Insurance, I will of course let you all know how it goes.

Hello faithful readers,

Well I’m pretty much committed to the idea of becoming a working nomad.

Below is a list of all the things I believe I will need to get sorted before going.

Remember to please leave a comment, or get in touch, even just to say hi! I will have probably missed some off though! In which case you can let me know by commenting, and feel free to call me a numpty as well, this may be the only chance you get!

So starting with stuff for the van:

• Van - yer kind of essential really, need to buy a van
• Insurance - another essential, need to find some insurance that will cover me for being abroad for long periods
• Kitting out the van
• Tyres - some good tyres that will last for many miles
• MOT - the van will probably need a new MOT certificate before I go away

Travel things:

• Books / Guides and Atlases. We will be using a mixture of campsites and wild camping, there are a few guide books for these
• Sat Nav – this is already purchased, my wonderful Garmin Nuvi will navigate me all the way from the North of Norway to the South of Greece and almost everywhere inbetween
• A list of all Wi-fi hotspots in the countries we are travelling to – so as to keep in touch with you guys and gals
• Clothes – kind of essential, I won’t go into detail here, seeing as I will just throw my wardrobe into the van.

And that’s the very basic list as far as I can think. But there are other things… As you all know I am planning to make money writing whilst I travel.

To this end I will be hawking my writing “skillz” to everyone, trying to write for what companies want as well as what I want. AND I will also be writing a bit of a book about it. So you guys could say you’re reading a free sneak preview. Not that I’m holding any secrets from you guys, so it’s less of a preview and more of the whole thing.

Worth It?

If anybody else has any ideas on how I can use my wonderful talents with the keyboard then please let me know in the comments!

(A recap for all those coming from Blogs of Note / Twitter)

Please leave a comment, even if just to say hi!

I started off being very disheartened with my job, longing for travel. I’ve never been one to stay in the same place – this mostly came from being part of an army family and often moving from place to place, meeting new people, seeing new countries and facing new challenges.

So I decided to set myself a new challenge… to become an Overland Driver.

It is a job I really wanted and sounded like almost precisely what I wanted to do. (Click here for the post explaining all about overlanding).

Unfortunately for me there were a few legal hurdles to get over, mainly insurance. I’m only 22, most of the company’s insurance policies stated that drivers must be over 25.

Rather than just give up and go back to a normal 9-5 job I decided to get out and just travel on my own.

So here I am 22, jobless and with an open plan of where I can go and what I can do. Life has never been better.

I hope you enjoy the blog and I hope this helps some of you make that ultimate jump to freedom.

Please comment if you have any questions or just want to say Hi!

And if you wish to follow me on Twitter just find @OverlandSi or find me on Facebook

Happy Travellin’
Overland Si

Wooo – so I have finally managed to tear myself away from applying for jobs, packing for my skiing holiday, trying to build a better template for this blog and my normal daily work to bring you guys all an update – see the things I do for you ey! haha!

(That was of course sarcasm, unfortunately the internet does not have a sarcasm button – I think I might invent one)

So – how are you wonderful people?

First stop is a little life lesson. Don’t worry I’m not gonna get all self help on your ass!
I have just one thing to say… Rule Number 6. This is the only rule you really ever need in this life.

This rule comes from Benjamin Zander you can watch the video here. If you are having a crap day, or just an ordinary day, or even a good day. Go and watch this video. You will feel good afterwards. That I promise you.

I shall tell you all what Rule Number 6 is in the next post – it will spoil the video other wise.

After that life afferming lesson, how is the hunt for jobs going I hear you ask?

Well – I have found out that getting an overland job is going to be a lot harder than I thought (I never thought it would be a walk in the park by any stretch) and that some of the companies that were interested in me were a little “shady” and were known about the internet as bad payers, poor on safety and a whole host of other issues.

Since then, and after some replies to my post on the Thorn Tree Forum, I have decided to focus more on starting off within Europe. First hit on this was Busabout.com

These guys offer a “Hop-on-Hop-off” service throughout Europe and pretty much looks like a bloody good job.

You can download their 2009 brochure here (click clunk)

I don’t know about pay or anything as yet, but I’ve never really been in it for the money. Which is possibly one of the biggest problems I have being a salesman as I am currently!

So – a slight change to the original plan, but I told you it was going to be a long journey. I am most probably going to start off in a non-driving job whatever path I choose. Most insurance policies start from 23 or 25… which is just a mighty pain in the rear!

I’m off now to find more of these types of companies and keep the fires burning, but before I go….

There probably won’t be anymore blog posts until after the New Year. I’m off skiing!

We shall be driving down to Garmisch Partenkirchen and staying in the Alpencamp Wank – yes you did hear that correctly. We shall be skiing on Mount Wank.

I will offer a prize of 100 Entrecard credits to the person who gets the best joke about skiing in wank by the time I return – the 8th January 2009! Post your entry in the comments section below.

Oh and below should be the daily webcam image from where we are staying in our campervan in Wank… I’m starting to wonder if the use of this word will increase the search engine statistics or just get my blog blocked by all this NSFW stop things. OOPS!

And here’s another image of the pistes we shall be on…

I am hoping that these images will keep refreshing. They are taken from the webcam’s feed and that location is put into blogger directly. So you never know. I suppose the only way to find out is to keep coming back!

Well, I’m off back to work now – and to planning the ski-trip.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Happy Travellin’

Overland Si