21 June 2020
Well here we are, day three of six living in a campervan. So far it has been better than I expected, and that’s not just the weather. The van is a Mercedes Sprinter. These have been around since the mid-nineties, though I think ours is a second-generation model (2013 on) with the reformed front end. It is automatic with a Tiptronic gear shift available at the touch of the gear stick. Once I figured it out, it is really good.
Our van is showing 170k, but who knows how many it has done. My impression is that it is showing signs of age and I guess it will probably be sold off in the not too distant future. Trade Me has them from about $50k to over $150k. Many of the newer vans are double glazed; however this one isn’t. It is well insulated though and with the diesel heating on, the van is warm and comfortable both day and night. The diesel heater is in a locked compartment and all that is needed to operate it is a small LED screen and some buttons. Ours is set to 17 degrees.
It is really good that you can walk from one end to the other, from the front cab seats through to the rear dinette. This gives the van a spacious feel. Add to that it has two tables, one down in the dinette and the other in front of a bench (with seat belts) just behind the driver’s seat. This is a two adult and two children configuration, a slightly different layout to the one I booked.
The double bed is an east-west dinette arrangement. Suffice to say I really do not like these and may write more on this later. For the moment I will comment that both our nights aboard so far have been warm and comfortable.
Are we going to buy a campervan? Hmm, well the jury is still out on this.
We’ve had some requests for interior photos. We’ll get some up some time soon but in the meantime, you can check out the photos on the Pacific Horizon website at https://www.pacificmotorhomes.co.nz/
Off Highway One 