July 2025
Well, it’s fair to say this month has tested both our patience and our bank account! If you’ve been following along, you’ll know we’ve been chasing down a persistent oil leak. At first, we thought it was down to a badly completed wet belt. Cue us forking out for a second wet belt in less than 12 months (thankfully we didn’t pay for the first one!). But when our local garage had a closer look, the real culprit turned out to be the turbo. Oh no! 😬
With a trip to Scotland to visit the grandparents looming, and dreams of taking the van with the bikes, we asked (pleaded) with the garage to squeeze us in. Sadly, their first available slot was the Monday we were actually away. The compromise? If we left the van with them, they’d try to work on it around other bookings. So, with fingers tightly crossed, that’s what we did.
As luck would have it, things didn’t go quite to plan. The garage struggled to slot her in, and when they finally did, they discovered a cracked oil feed pipe that needed ordering and fitting. That sealed it – we ended up heading to Scotland in my husband’s car, bikes left behind. A shame, especially as we’d hoped to explore Peebles on two wheels, but it wasn’t all lost. We still had a brilliant week walking the Whiteadder circular, visiting the Whiteadder Reservoir, hiking the St Abbs to Eyemouth coastal path, and rock pooling with the boys. Proof that you don’t need the van to make an adventure out of it!
The silver lining came after we got back. Vangelina was ready for collection – hopefully leak-free at last! We picked her up during another week of annual leave (this time set aside for fun with the boys before our eldest headed off on Scout camp to Guernsey). It was a bit gutting that the unexpected wet-belt part II, turbo job, plus the MOT and a few (thankfully minor) fixes, completely swallowed the last of our van conversion budget, meaning it’ll be quite a while before we can finally save up to tackle the electrics now and finish her. Sobs. BUT quite excitingly, we took her somewhere new the very next day… though spoiler alert, it wasn’t an overnight stay. Stay tuned! ☺
️
Related Posts You Might Like:
Discover more from Treks, Trails & Travel
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Sad that you’ve had some mechanical issues that are delaying finishing off the van for overnights. Hopefully all behind now and before too long you’ll be out and about for real van-life
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been pretty upsetting as I spent a lot of time looking for a decent van and hoped all my budget would see the build through. It’s unfortunate but it is what it is and I’ve got everything crossed that that’s all now and we can just save for the fun stuff 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my, wasn’t expecting that. But on the flip side it was nice to see the trip away worked without the van. i guess the take from it is when you do have the van up and running, you need to still include the adventures away to mix it up. Both ways will have fun included
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nor was I 😅… but I agree, the trip away was still brilliant and there are adventures outside of mtb days! The boys have been so obsessed with their bikes since we’ve been able to go to these places that the walks have kind of gone under the radar a bit, and I’ve missed them, so it was nice to be able to get them in 🙂 The adventures away will come 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s always adventure even without bikes. Beautiful van and family, EJ
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly Hazel 🙂 And it was nice to walk for a change because the boys have been MAD for mtb and keep choosing it over walks, so I have missed the walking 🙂 Thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s good to alternate bikes and walks if the boys are on the go. My pleasure, EJ.
LikeLike
Just been catching up (It’s actually raining outside!). Sometimes these things are sent to test our resolve. When I had a Harley a few years back it was plugged into my bank account, anything that could go wrong did and some could have had very nasty consequences. If you can, stick with it if not cut and run.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahh I know the feeling, I’ve a bunch of posts I still haven’t caught up with! 🙃 For sure she is testing us haha – at the moment we are trying our hardest to stick, we’ve done so much together and when things are going right, she’s doing everything I ever imagined van ownership would be 😍. Wow, I didn’t realise there was so much on a motorbike to go wrong! Or was it the steep import costs (aka “Harley Tax”?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cost of parts and losing top notch mechanics I could trust. Got the Harley cheap from an old acquaintance who hadn’t used it in years so there were problems from it standing even though it looked like new. Spent a lot on customising it then other, more serious parts failed which, due to the model, were hard and expensive to come by. So in the end it had to go.
Keep at it, I’m sure you will have great fun with the van for many years to come!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww that’s a shame, they are great looking bikes! I feel the pain, spending a lot of money on customising and them having serious things costing money 🙃 It’s a shame as it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and then can put you off having one again in the future. I’ll keep at it for now, I have everything crossed and I’ve had a stern word with her (the van!) 😂.
LikeLiked by 1 person