My story so far....

[Dixieland]

Great read - thanks for posting your story.

Looking forward to more, and the pics of the famous "under-bumper breeze blocker" ®™

Cheers petrev

I think i might have over egged the "under-bumper breeze blocker" as it's only a cheap 4 pole wind break from Amazon cut down that wraps around the rear bumper but i have to admit, it's a game changer to stop the draught coming under the van and into the tailgate tent, especially at night when everything is closed up.

In fact, the whole van thing has been a real game changer - i only bought it last minute to go away with my mate last year up to Scotland but I'm out in it every chance I get.

Pictures from my last 620 mile round trip up to Dornoch/Inverness camp site last month for a few nights R&R with the dog.......absolutely tremendous.

Oh, I also have one of those double pan things you got petrev, think it's called a RidgeMonkey (strange name) but makes a crackin cheese and ham toasty.

The now famous and patented "under-bumper breeze blocker ©


Got to try out the window covers for the first time as i hadn't realised they came with the van




The dog knows where the heater is


Couldn't want for better weather


The joy of going when it's not the kids holiday, you pretty much get the place to yourself


Cheese 'n toasted

[petrev]

Oh yes !!!
A Sandwich Toaster is just brilliant.
Ridgemonkey is one of the brands.

I have a Std. and a Double now (2 crumpets at once)


Kampa Croque XL Toasted Sandwich Maker is my Twin Sized,
and NGT is the single sized one that I have.

Great pics again
Thanks for posting.

[Dixieland]

Well with the little mini heatwave firmly in place, i decided to chuck a few things and the dog in the van and head North for a few days.

We travelled up the A1 coastal route to Edinburgh then cut over West on the M9 then A84 to Glencoe and ended up staying at a site on Kinlochleven for a few days. It was 27 degrees when we got there at just after 12 o'clock

246 miles and took 5hours 15mins with a couple of stop offs to let the dog out.

The total trip was roughly 500miles and i think i probably could have done it on one full tank but decided to fill up at Holy Island on the way back down with 60 miles to home and 15ltr left in the tank which isn't at all bad really i don't think

I've got to say, the more i drive this van, the more and more i really like it. - It's so easy to forget its actually a 1.6 diesel van as it flees up the mountain roads with ease and honestly feels more like driving a car than a van though the remap probably helps

My story so far is turning into a bit of a travel blog but other than wanting to replace headlights, heated seats and a newer steering wheel, there isn't anything else that needs doing so may as well enjoy it as is........thanks for looking

The A84 to Glencoe








Not a bad view to wake up to at 6am




Say CHEEEEESE




Still extremely tidy and not a beer in sight.......must have just got there

[petrev]

Yeah

Nice little road trip, and what a great view as you say.

Thanks

[the swan fiend]

You’re finding some great places to stop mate. Pics are epic!
My wife and I were up there a few weeks back heading up to Skye. The place was amazing, we will definitely be going back. I’ll try keep a lookout for some of the places you’ve stopped at, you seem very good at finding them!


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[Gabbus95]

This is great, love it The pooch aswell, beauty


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[Dixieland]

Yeah

Nice little road trip, and what a great view as you say.

Thanks

You’re finding some great places to stop mate. Pics are epic!
My wife and I were up there a few weeks back heading up to Skye. The place was amazing, we will definitely be going back. I’ll try keep a lookout for some of the places you’ve stopped at, you seem very good at finding them!

This is great, love it The pooch aswell, beauty

Cheers guys, having an absolute hoot so far

Anyway, been planning this one since last summer with my mate and his two cockers in his Ford Ranger complete with a brand new, never put up Ventura roof tent......what could possibly go wrong!

Headed up to Oban for a night as it's a 5 hour, 250mile drive from Newcastle which is far enough especially with all the dogs - plus we've stayed here before and it would give him a trial run with his new roof tent

The roof tent sort of worked with a bit of improvising but anyway, up sharp the next day and got the Calmac ferry over to Craignure onto Mull which takes just under an hour and from there it was East side to the West side which is only 36miles but seems quite a bit longer on the single track A849 road with unexpected Coos and various other obstacles along the way.........spectacular non-the-less.

Fidden Farm Campsite is absolutely amazing......no electric hook-up but massive and extremely cheap with clean toilets and showers and if you're careful with the Alpicool fridge and what you plug into recharge, the leisure battery is good for at least a couple of days so cold beer all round.....happy days!

We knew there was a weather warning for the whole of Scotland looming so it was just a case of where to spend it so we decided to head back to the mainland via Fishnish to Locholine, Calmac Ferry which is only a 15 minute shuttle crossing running all day and press east to Kinlochleven which is a favourite stop off for us both and thought it would be a canny place to weather the storm....if it actually came

Unfortunately for us, it did come out of nowhere and blew an absolute hooley with sideways rain and as i was reversed straight into the way it came, after a couple of hours i decided to pull the tailgate tent down as even if it had withstood the wind and rain, we'd not have slept due to the noise so a good decision, just wish i'd done it in the relative calm - unfortunately my mate and his roof tent didn't have the same luxury but i'll leave it at that until he's spoke with Ventura

Honestly, if you're considering Mull, go now before it turns into another overcrowded Skye type place......it's absolutely wonderful and we'll definitely be returning shortly for a longer better look around.

Again, thanks for looking and apologise for some of the non-caddy pics but this is my story so far

It's official........i'm addicted to van life

Oban Holiday Park Campsite


Starting to get the hang of this getting things setup malarkey


Random Coos doing their thing along the A849 toward Fidden campsite on Mull


Totally not fazed one bit


West facing at Fidden Farm campsite and really wanted this view to wake up to but decided to spin it 180 so my nose was pointing into the wind rather than letting the tent take the brunt


Doesn't get much better than this tbh


Dog approves


Heading back to the mainland, waiting in the queue at Fishnish - only 4 cars on the ferry


Back to Caolasnacon at Kinlochleven and a little bit of rain but nothing to write home about


We met the locals that night


Not a bad place to wake up to for coffee even tho it was a bit damp


......guess this was the lull before the storm hit




just deciding at what point to get out and pull the talegate tent down


snug as a bug in a rug.......tailgate tent down and the back door shut


It was pretty brutal through the night yet we woke to a little ray of sunshine

[petrev]

Great
Thanks for posting.

Don't think it would be very restful during a gale in a roof tent !

Great to see the locals and the views.
Your little helper looks well happy too.

[Dixieland]

On a trip to the Isle of Mull back in July I had a close call by simply following my mate in his Ranger into a designated passing place - something you do 100's of times while up and around there but the attached video shows just how easy it is to shred a tyre if you're not paying attention

(WARNING if you're offended by the F word, don't watch the following Youtube vid )

youtu.be/8ikDPm-q8pY

Anyway, given that i've started using the van way, way more than i'd ever imagined and my go-to places are all Scotland and the outlying isles where a lot of the roads are single track and some have seen better days, i decided to fit some AT tyres.

Loads of useful threads on the forum tho not much info on using 17" wheels with AT tyres so it was a bit of "suck it and see" moment

I ended up going with the Falken A/T AT01 Tyres - 215/60/17 on 17" 7.5 inch ET 42 which i've had on a few days now and i'm well impressed so far and give a decent ride though one is catching slightly on the inner arch liner right at the back but i think that is more to do with the liner not sitting as it should so will be looking at fixing that when i come to fit mud flaps which are going to be a necessity come the winter months.

[petrev]

Ooooo !!



That was a nasty crunch !

New tyres look the biz

[DUBmech]

Looking good, any road manners different with the tyres?