Hiace Automatic Transmission/Gearbox, problems & solutions

Hiace automatic transmission sump..

I’m writing this article because it could save you a lot of money, time, stress, and needless disruption when travelling, and get you out of some seemingly mysterious problems single-handedly and back on the road.. 👌🏻

Camper Pizza Oven | Costs | Playa del Carrabassi | Espania 2018

The sun rises as a new day begins..

The Rain in Spain falls mostly.. | Espania 2018

Rio surveys the weather situation - the verdict.. back to bed!

Success with 12 volt battery recovery!

Rob enjoys coffee & a cigar!

Useful Motorhome / Campervan Insurance info for EU, Morocco travel abroad | Adrian Flux

Some useful pieces of information to know regarding your motorhome / campervan insurance, when travelling in the EU, or planning a trip further afield..

Life on a Stick! - Meet Jimmy Svensson | Toyota Hiace D4D camper self conversion

For the past week or so I've been travelling together with Jimmy. We decided to have a sit down and discuss life, travelling and camper vans..

"I think it's important to have time alone; you don't have to be afraid of being lonely"

Hiace Camper Van Reversed Passenger Seat Mod | Hiace rear facing front seat

It can be done! and better still - this is a ten minute job! Create more space in your Hiace Camper and a rear facing comfy seat of course..

Pet Passport & Vacinations | Northern Spanish Coast

3:13pm, Wednesday, 24°

Having a cup of tea, parked just outside check in for the ferry to Plymouth. It seems that Rio's pet passport must have the rabies vaccination page laminated by the vet before we are allowed to check in, and it wasn't done when it was issued in Portugal. Apparently this requirement was only brought in for passports issued since December 2014..

How much does it cost?

Hi all,

I'm sitting in my van in the early evening warmth, watching the sunlight glinting off the water far out to sea. I hear the wind in the pines, the sounds of the waves far below, and the first swallows of the year are swooping on the breeze..

People often ask me, 'How much does it cost to live your lifestyle, to live in a van and to travel with the seasons?'

Living on the Road with a dog - Q & A | Dog-sitting Oscar

For quite some time now I've been contemplating getting a dog to share the travelling life with..

Wild Camping in Wester Ross - Scottish Highlands

Hello friends and fellow camper vanners.. 

Over the past couple of months I've been out there, exploring new spots in the highlands and returning to some favourite ones as well..

Wild Camping Spots Map & GPS downloads for Europe

Hi folks,

I recently came across something really fantastic on a Spanish website. Its an interactive map of wild camping locations all over Europe. The locations have been submitted mostly by Spanish campervaners and there are photos and articles on most of them on the pages forum. The map is really well laid out, with all locations marked clearly. If there's more than one good spot in an area they are numbered, and zooming in guides you to the exact locations. A really great find for anyone planning a trip through Europe who prefers wild camping over campsites. There are also locations listed that have facilities too, including many of the European 'Aires' which are free camping spots with limited facilities. I stayed at one of these locations in Spain on my way to Portugal - in Palencia. Here's the link to the map:

Cycle in the Algarve & Loch Garry Wild Camping Spot | Living in a Hiace Camper Van

Hi there,

For those of you who haven't already seen them on the YouTube channel, I've recently edited and uploaded two new videos. The first one was from a recent bike ride to the beach here in Portugal on a typically lovely sunny sunday. The beach is only fifteen minutes away by bike or only five driving, but its a nice cycle there through the rural landscape. That day there were a lot of surfers at the beach and I sat and watched them as I relaxed on the beach..

Blablacar review | At Plymouth Docks | Living in a Hiace Camper Van

Hi all, I am having a beer, and watching Pale Rider, parked near Plymouth Docks, in good time for my ferry tomorrow. I wanted to share with you a great find, and a great way to cover the cost of fuel on a trip.

I just found out about Blablacar recently while in Bristol, and I wish I'd found out about it before I hit the road back in June. Basically it's a car sharing website and iPhone app on which you can post your planned journeys and it links you up with paying passengers who want a lift.

Growers Ark Wild Salad foraging in the Scottish Highlands - Living in a Hiace Camper Van

Over the past while I've had the good fortune to become friends with Andy Cox and his partner Jessie, who together run an organic permaculture project called 'Growers Ark' located in the Scottish Highlands. I've been staying with them recently, helping out on the land, and with the admin side of things. It was an amazing time staying there in the beautiful and peaceful surroundings, living simply form the land.

Andy describes some of the herbs growing wild nearby..

Tolsta to Butt of Lewis - Scotland Tour 2013 - Living in a Hiace Camper Van

Welcome back! (I have a connection again so will continue with the journey from the point we left off...)

I started my day with this view over breakfast, in the little carpark at Tolsta Bay on the Isle of Lewis:

Jo's Citreon Berlingo Camper Van – Scotland Tour 2013 – Living in a Hiace camper Van

I recently received an email from a guy who was telling me about his Citroen Berlingo camper van conversion. Well it just so happens that Jo who is camping here also has a Berlingo that she's converted into a mini camper van, and is travelling around Scotland in it.

New Video - Donegal trip part I

Part I of the Wild Camping Trip video is now available on YouTube:

I hope you enjoy the video - I certainly enjoyed making it..

Part 2 of the video is here: New video, Part II, Donegal Wild Camping Trip, Ireland

Today I've been hard at work on the van preparations. I've had all the mud flaps off and undertaking the messy job of Waxoyling the rear of the wheel arches to prevent corrosion. I got it done and I'm pleased to get to this point.. It took ages to get all the painting done in these places due to the weather and now I've finally got the area properly treated.

I've also done a good clear out of the van itself, following on from my storage space clear out yesterday. I removed a good sized bag of junk that had gathered up in the van over the past year. Its good to know exactly where everything is now, and to have a little more free storage space, and cut down on some extra weight before I set off..

Whats the one job you are always putting off on your camper van? What do you think are the most important things to have with you on a trip? Share in the comments section.

You might also like ~ Fitting roof bars to a Hiace Hitop camper van / Solar power update

Thanks for visiting! If you've any questions please share them below. 

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See you soon..

Winterising the van ~ part deux

You've probably all seen those silver window insulators that many motorhomers have in their front windows at night? Well, with all the glass in my bus, its going to be losing a lot of heat through the windows. I recently found out about aluminium foil bubble wrap insulation that can be bought from hardware and DIY centres, and decided to do some much needed window insulation in the back of the van. It turned out that a 6 metre roll of this stuff costs less than £10 at B&Q at the minute, so I got to work yesterday evening.

I decided to do all the rear windows, except for half of the sliding door window and the rear gate window - this gives me enough light during the day, along with the skylight, and leaves me good visibility while driving. It ended up being a simple job to fit it flush within all the window frames, cutting with a craft knife, and easing it into place with a teaspoon; no glue or taping required. There was enough left on the roll to put a second layer, loose, behind the curtains on the two biggest windows.

It turns out to have 4 main advantages:

1. Helps keep the van warmer.

2. Stops condensation forming on the windows.

3. Makes the van quieter on the inside.

4. Makes things more private (people can't see the lights on from outside).

I didn't realize about 3 & 4, they were an added bonus for me - I noticed after fitting it.

I made a video showing you the windows all insulated - also look out for the damage done by some idiot with too much to drink on Christmas eve..

Winter Living in the Van

So its been getting pretty cold out recently, especially at night, so no bare feet for a while. I've actually been looking forward to it, since the whole thing is a real adventure to me, but when it gets down to below freezing every night, it does become a real matter of survival. I have a diesel heater in the van, but it has turned out to be pretty useless - it uses up the house battery far too quickly and I'm not driving far enough to charge it, nor is there enough solar power in the winter to keep it charged up. As you know - I am opting not to charge from mains electricity, nor do I often have access to it. I do have enough power for all my other needs though.

Instead I have gone for a small propane heater. I've linked it up to my cooking 6kg propane cylinder using a small 3 way valve, and a quick release coupling, with rubber tubing. The 3 way valve has a control knob, allowing me to reduce the flow of gas to the heater, and also to shut off the gas flow to that hose completely. If I pop the quick release the heater can be removed and stored away in the summer months. I have used enough rubber hose to enable me to position the heater in a few useful locations in the van. So far, one 6kg bottle of propane is lasting me 1 month in the winter weather - One bottle lasted me 5 months over the summer.

I've also now purchased a good 4 season sleeping bag. A Mountain Hardware Lamina 0, which is good down to -15 deg C (0 deg F). I found it to be very warm, roomy and comfortable, and I've been using it with a liner so it won't have to be washed so often, important with a bag that will be used every night. For extremely cold nights (below 0), or when I have a head cold I don't want to be breathing freezing air, so I do need heat to be on in the van throughout the night in order to stay healthy. I have installed a carbon monoxide detector so I can leave the heater on safely all night if needed. With good ventilation from the sky light, there is a good flow of fresh air, without the van getting cold inside. I only intend to do this when the outside temp drops below zero, in order to save fuel.

Another addition for winter is an Indoor/Outdoor temp gauge which I have fitted alongside my electrical sockets, plainly visible form my sofa/bed. I routed the outside sensor though an existing hole in the floor and attached it to the van's chassis. I can now keep an eye on the actual temp where I am parked and see the difference inside and outside. It is actually very cosy sitting in the van on a winter evening by the heater, watching TV on the laptop, reading or listening to music, and its not draughty - I've even found that some friends houses are colder!

I made this video in which I show you some of the things I've talked about here and show my heater running, enjoy, and keep warm and safe this winter: