So what have we bought?

So, having a good look around in the daylight, I emptied the van completely, stripping out those manky carpet tiles to reveal a worn, but slid vinyl floor underneath. This was a surprise, and a pleasant one, and a clearer picture of the history of the work to the van by previous owners. The vinyl matched the covering on the access hatches to the under-bed storage, and I would bet the little cupboard which Wullie had stripped out and sat back in again had matched at one time too. Sadly nowadays it was thickly covered in brushed on gloss white paint, and was beyond saving. I stripped the gas cooker out of it, and scrapped the rest, along with those carpet tiles – they would NOT be going back down! I started to clean what was left…

And it was looking fairly decent, no major damage, although the side panels and door cards were covered in marker pen, glue and who knew what else. Also some bad scuffs to the panels, but they cleaned up to the stage where they were absolutely fine. There were some more surprises in store for us too! After some fiddling about, I found that under the green canvas type covers in the back were some, albeit faded, tartan seat covers to match the curtains. I began to wonder, what was under the front seat covers, then? I started to unpick the wire holding the covers on, guessing the original seats must have been badly worn, hence the covers…..but, not at all! The seats, a bit dirty and stained, one small tear in the driver’s seat squab, but a hundred times better looking than the green canvas stuff! After some major cleaning, and a bit of mediocre darning, the front seats were looking pretty good.

After another check under the seats in the engine bay, it was apparent that the engine had been recently serviced. The oil was clean, the filters looked new. The van started up eagerly enough, a bit of smoke while warming up, but standard for an older diesel. With the steering column joint oiled up and much freer, turning smoothly now, it was time to plan a first trip away. I was keen to try out the Bongo in anger, and off the grid too – not on some campsite. I did a quick inventory of what I had for campervanning – king size sleeping bags, spare pillows, fleece blanket, camping stove, kettle, pots and pans, cups etc ( all from our previous caravanning and car camping trips), we were equipped enough for a first attempt.

I gave the van a good polish, pumped up the tyres, and loaded the gear in. The sleeping bags were a bit bulky to go under the bed, so had to live in a holdall, but there was so much room in the back, for two people it was huge.I packed tea, coffee, some pastries for breakfast. We were going to go to the Galloway Forest Park area, south of us towards Dumfries and Castle Douglas, about 80 miles away and a couple of hours. I reckoned I knew a little spot, just off the road, which might be ideal for a first trip.

Roll on the weekend!