Hi there, I thought I’d start by giving you a bit of an introduction to Gunther. He’s a 1989 VW T3 California which we bought in May 2018. He’s a Westfalia factory high-top conversion with all the normal stuff that come fitted on these vans. He’s got a newish refurbished 1.6jx TD engine and 5 speed gearbox that have only covered a few thousand miles. He’s not fast, but that’s not really the point is it – hence the Pootle Van?!

pootle
/ˈpuːt(ə)l/
verbINFORMAL•BRITISH

move or travel in a leisurely manner.
“they were pootling down a canal in their new boat”

Gunther was the name he came with – the guy we bought it from was pretty upset to see him go, but a growing family and bills meant he had to say goodbye. Part of the deal was that we kept the name. As anyone with an affinity for these vans will know – they definitely have their own personality!

We chose a high top because it just gives us that bit more space. We can stand up without banging our heads or having to fiddle with raising a pop-top, and if we get brave enough we’ll be able to wild camp without raising too many suspicions. The biggest plus is the extra storage space in the roof. There’s a huge cabinet above the cab where we store all our clothes, and we use the rest of the roof space while travelling for storing all the bedding.

He’s pretty original – imported to the UK from Germany there’s not much that he’s wanted for in his 30 years. The only things we’ve added are a bike carrier, and awning, but there are a few things we need to tackle before our next big trip. The front window seals are knackered, and have started to let water in, we want to fit a three point seat belt in back, and the radio is long overdue an upgrade.

Keep an eye out for upcoming posts that’ll talk through some of the upgrades we’re making to the van in preparation for a big adventure in 2019. The point of this site is to record our journey, but also to try to help other considering the same kind of adventure.

The next introduction will be to us – the the family that’s going on an adventure, so watch this space!