September 2019outandaboutlive.co.uk 157fromthe base of the bed to the kitchen
areaand the wa shro om is not an issue.
WHERE DID I PUT THE...?
With the added height and pod
housing the wa shro om, there is a
surprising amountof useful space
in the ’van andwe soon find the
right pl aces to store the appropriate
items. Baskets are provided in the
lockersunder the side bench andthe
rear forward-facing seat. There ar e
cupboards thro ughout the kitchen
areamentioned, and neat overhead
lockersprovideuseful storage, too.
Underneaththe swiv el front seat is a
steel safe forpassports, iP ads, etc, and
there’s even awine bottle holder un der
the flap infront of the rear-f acing seat,
- a must for French tours.
ARE LOOKS REALLY
IMPORTANT?
It’s not the sportiest-looking ’van out
there. With this in mind, a decision
was made to update things without
goin g over the top.
Much of the old graphics were
carefully stripped awaywith a
hairdr yer and scraper, whilst a
friend’s graphics company provide d
replacements where necessary.
Graphite was chosen for where
stripes were re placed, and this was
continuedwith a change of the
wheel trims to match. A large VW
logoon the rear t op panel breaks
up the sla b of white at the back.
Clear front indicatorshave also
replaced the dated-lo oking orange
ones in keeping with t he facelift.
Staying with the ou tside, a
standard-fit wind-outawning has
been very useful for providing extra
covered ou tside space when neede d.
Easy to use and, once removed fo r
a thorough clean and refixed, it has
been used many times, often with a
windbreak toprovidea neat littl e area
for outside table andchairs.LIVING WITH KEN
So, after the gu ided tour,let the
adventures begin! So far, we have
taken two trips tothe Dordogne
covering around 1,200miles ea ch trip.
Day-to-day livingwith the ’van is easy.
Bumbling alon g on Frenchroads,
through vineyards and sunflower
fields, with the windows op en, has
been a n absolute pl easure. The beauty
of pulling upby a river and preparing
breakfast, lunch or supper with
everything to handis something we
thoroughly enjoy.
I would say, that, although
relatively spacious, travelling and evenday vanuse is far ea sier with just two,
although the added space enables us
to welc ome ‘visitors’ andwe’ve met
friends do wn at the beach se veral
times to enjoy walks with the luxury of
a hot coffee and bacon sarnieon our
return to the ’van.
Working from home a lot, I now
also havethe option of a moveable
office and will often head to the sea
for analternative view whilst working.
A few niggle s haveoccurred
over the two years of ownership,
but considering the age of the ’van,
there’s bound to be the odd issue. The
funniest by far wasthe horn’s desire to
work on its own while driving thro ugh
sleepy French villa ges one day. This
raised more than afew eyebrows fr om
fellow road users and pedestrian s
alike. The simple tool kit we carry saw
the steering wheel removed, contacts
clea ned, and all putback togeth er
outside the gite we sharedwith family
and friends for aweek and hasn’t
proved problematic since.+In lounge form...
...and with the double bed made up1994 Auto-SleeperTrophy TESTED