History of our great travel companion

“La Furiosa”

When we set up our small business in 2008 we saw our neighbour parking his VW T4 in front of our door. He bought La Furiosa free of sins, after spending several years in a convent carrying nuns backwards and forwards .

We told him that if one day he wanted to sell it, to get rid of her, we would be more than happy to get it. Four years later, happy and content, our neighbour kept parking in front of our door so we sold the business and we moved to Scotland.

After a year in Edinburgh the idea of a longer trip of adventure and freedom, still mounted to four wheels spinning in our heads. We started the search for what today is our little home on wheels, La Furiosa. In Scotland we found it difficult to find a nice vehicle for a good price and without rust all around.

And … how life is. Our neighbour and the blue van came into our minds and we thought, what about if we call him? maybe he sells it, or maybe it is already sold, should we? why not?

Five days after talking to him the blue van that was parked in front of our door four years ago was in the garage os Javi´s parents.

After giving us shelter for so many nights, crossing a bunch of borders, the Atlantic Ocean, being always ready for the adventure, after crossing rivers and streams, break through sandy lands, after taking us on a desert of salt, climbing to the the 4,500 meters high and ignore those who said  “you won´t be able to get that far”, our travelling companion has been renamed as: La Furiosa (furious)

With more than 25 years,  only 67 horsepower and a lot of excitement and enthusiasm, she has promised to take us to the END OF THE WORLD.

Evolution of our camper van

With its more than 25 years the van has been changing little by little, adapting to the circumstances, budget and needs of the trip. She is better than ever, we look after her, she gives us no problems.

Chronology of the evolution:

We don´t need to say that for the first six months of travelling through Europe we went with basics things and with what we considered was necessary for that first adventure. We really wanted to experience what would be the journey of our lives and we had a lot of enthusiasm to go out on the road, it was the most important thing for us.

👉 We fitted thermal/acoustic insulation on the roof and almost all around the entire van. We say almost because we didn’t do the rear sides. Nowadays everything is well covered.

👉 We bought thermal blinds for all the windows. It is of a big help in the cold nights or when the morning sun in the middle of summer begins to punish the crystals of the van.

👉 The bed … well, simple but functional and very large.

It consisted of three parts: wooden board, folded seat and a table. In the rear of the van we had a wooded plank with folding legs, the central part was the triple rear seat, which when folded was at the same height as the plank, and a table on the front, an adjustable table in height that we have used for many purposes. On top of the table, the seat and the plank , which centimeter above centimeter below was at the same height.

Above all, a large inflatable mattress😉

👉We installed a 12V – 220 V Power inverter with an USB slot and two sockets to load our old mobile phone, razor and other devices.

👉Also we bought a 12V adapter with battery charge indicator, with space for 3 devices.

👉 We purchased a 12V compressor fridge with a capacity of 21.5 liters. We could not miss cold beers, as well as carry fruit and vegetables always.

👉All of this was connected to an 100 Amps gel leisure battery. On that trip the battery was being charged by the alternator when the van was running, now we got a solar panel and we don not use the alternator any more. (Click HERE to read about the solar installation)

 With this, we started our trip across Europe – May 2014

After the experiences on this trip, with regard to the equipment of the van, we made some changes:

👉We had more than enough with the bicycles insidetherefore we have bought a bike rack. The rack was great in Scotland and in our first year of adventure in America we used it to transport a jerry can, a second emergency spare wheel and a fire pot.

When we arrived in Peru we where missed a lot our bicycles so we put a roof rack to carry what until then we had in the bike rack and bought two cheap bicycles.

👉We installed a 100 W solar panel and a 10 Amps charger controller. Occasionally we felt in love with a place and we did not want to leave but the battery did not give more than that, so we decided to do the solar installation.

👉The inflated mattress got punctured in Croacia and then we had to buy another one, plus on the cold days you could tell that the air inside wasn`t the warmest option to sleep with, now , we have opted to get a three pieces foam mattress like the ones you can find in a baby cot.

👉It is very nice to have a swivel seat but since you can not have everything, we put a wooden trunk which goes in the back of the driver seat and allow you to rest your back on the back side of driver seat.

👉The space to store objects is essential so we decided to make this piece of furniture and keep the winter clothes so  we made a furniture loft at the back of the van, which is hooked up on the brackets of the seatbelt.

👉We wanted to have an awning but they are very expensive and need to be homologated so we manufacture one ourself.

Click HERE to read the step bu step for making your own anwing.

👉We have acquired a 12 V portable shower. It keeps us clean and fresh on the summer days. It is awesome! works great! You can buy one HERE.

👉Without a doubt, the biggest change we made was to build the camper bed ourselves 🖤

We have given shape to this idea in order to obtain a great functional bed, where everything is accessible from the inside as well as from the outside opening the back or side doors. The space is maximized by giving a large storage capacity to the van, where everything can be reached easily. The bed gives a lot of amplitude to the van, and at the same time, the mechanism of it allows you to have the bed ready just  in seconds.

And the best of all is that we made a step by step HANDBOOK where we told you everything you need to know about making a CAMPER BED.

You will have in this handbook:

• We have detailed all the tools you need and all the materials to use.
• Its dimensions and measures.
• It can be adapted to any van.
• More than 60 detailed images.
• Explanations that will guide you step by step through this process.
• You will enjoy a functional bed, comfortable and easy to operate.
• You will have a lot of storage and save a lot of money.
• And all this without spending a fortune.

Click on the GREEN button to start the download

Since we have no source of income, the aim of this book is to use its profits to maintain our website and to continue sharing information with other people who want to travel. Please do not make copies and value the effort of two people trying to fulfill the dream of travel round the world.

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And you, do you already have your camper van?

Tell us in the comments ⬇️

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