Meet Betty...

For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to find a campervan to tour around in for the summer. Not only would I need some trusty wheels but this vehicle would also be my home so it would be nice if it had a few creature comforts like a stove and a fridge, comfy bed. Initially I was looking for a mid to late 80s VW van (a T3) with a left hand drive. With England driving on the wrong...I mean left side of the road, most cars here are right hand drives however the rest of Europe it's the opposite. The first van that I looked at fit my spec sheet. Sid and I drove into London late one Sunday afternoon and in general I liked the looks of it. It did have some noisy shocks and a few dings here and there but those kind of things are to be expected with a 20+ year old set of wheels. The biggest drawback was the price. The guy was asking £4000. I called him back the next day with an offer of £3100 which he countered with £3700.

I still considered that too high and became concerned about how easy, or more likely difficult, it might be to sell a left hand drive in the fall. Right now everyone's buying to go touring around Europe but they'll all be returning in the autumn. So I widened my search to include right hand drives and other models. The next van we saw was a Renault Autosleeper for £2500. Sid, Sonia and I checked it out on our return trip from Auntie Shirley's birthday weekend. It was alright but the interior didn't call out to me and there was a disconcerting rusty hole inside the engine bay...let's see what else is out there.

And this lead me to my next viewing in East Grinstead, about an hour and a quarter from Aldershot. The gentlemen's name was Philip and he was selling a 1989 Ford Transit Autosleeper (Autosleeper is a company that camperizes various models...just as Westfalia does vee-dubs). It has a 2.5 liter diesel engine, so noisy but economical. The interior is pretty decent with a two burner stove and grill, a three way fridge (no, not sexually adventurous but it can run on gas, battery and when the van's plugged in), a small sink and plenty of storage space.

After driving back to Aldershot, I called Phil that evening as he had another inquiry to view it the next day so I had to act fast if I wanted it. I offered him £2300 - a couple hundred pounds off of his asking price as it did require a new leisure battery (that runs the internal electrics) which cost £120 and also needed to be road taxed which was another £205. The spare tire also needed some fixing and there were a few other minor thing but I figured I could sort those out.

I called the insurance company and they were to post the documents that day (a Tuesday). I couldn't go and get the van until I had these in my hands. Wednesday came and went, then Thursday...what, nothing?!? On Sonia's good advice, I called the company and for some reason the docs were still there! Luckily I did receive them on Friday morning so I hopped on the train and went to get the van from Phil. It took us close to 2 hours to get the tax and other documents in order and then I was on my way...my first attempt at driving on British roads! Thankfully I had no problems and thanks to Sonia's sat nav guiding the way, I was back in Aldershot in a little more than an hour.

I decided to call my new wheels/home, Betty...as in Betty Ford...and I'll let you draw you're own conclusions with that...