After about 5 or 6 weeks living in Lulu full time, we decided that it was time to upgrade her and say goodbye to the van that had changed our lives!
It was always going to be a struggle, but we agreed that we desperately needed something bigger than a 2 berth panel van conversion if we were going to continue with this lifestyle. We basically had a sofa / lounge or a bed. That was it. There was no compromise. It was either / or.
Also, storage space was minimal. Don’t get me wrong, for weekends away, or even a fortnights holiday, Lulu was perfect and we had just got her how we wanted her. She had new all weather boots; 240 watts of solar; refillable lpg; wifi antennae and router.
She just wasn’t big enough for us and our fulltime lifestyle.
It was time to say goodbye to Lulu.
The search starts!
Allowing a ‘decent’ part ex value for Lulu, we juggled some finances and cashed in a smallish pension pot and came up with a budget figure.
We had a fair idea of the van that we were looking for. Four to six berth. Garage space. LPG. Solar. No more than 10 years old. Low(ish) mileage with good service history. Fixed bed (although – not a deal breaker). Oven.
We knew the marques that we wanted to look at – Hymer, Burstner, Adria or a big Autotrail. Not necessarily in that order but each one, in their own way, had attributes that we were looking for in our next van.
I ploughed through Autotrader almost daily and on our days off we ventured to numerous dealers in the South West to look at, climb over, sit in as many models as we could.
A seller’s market
The problem that we were finding, as many people have this past year or so, was that it was a sellers market.
Prices were inflated as the vendors knew that the vans would sell regardless. We saw some real dross out there for money that 18 months ago would have landed a decent van.
The marques that we wanted, with the features that we wanted, at the price that we wanted were hard to come by. The search went on and on for about three weeks.
Out of the blue, I came across an advert that peaked my interest.
Have we found Lulu2?
A 2011 Autotrail Apache Hi Line with 13500 miles on the clock. It came with almost everything on our list. It had an over cab bed with a U shaped rear lounge and a double dinette at the front. It was 7.65 mtrs long (Lulu was 5.9 mtrs) and 4150KG laden ( Lulu was 3300KG). It had solar; a garage; full service history; bathroom with separate shower; oven & hob; Truma heating.
She also came with a full airbeam awning; winter covers; water and waste hogs; chairs; tables; external barbeque, 240v and shower points; Cello TV; Roadpro satellite dome and loads of other stuff!
It ticked almost every box and we loved it!
The price however, was the very top of our budget – depending on the valuation we got on Lulu.
We arranged to go to Cornwall to view the Apache the following week.
The deal is done………..welcome to Lulu2!
Here she is………………..
The deal was done. We didn’t get as much for Lulu as we’d have liked or that we felt she was worth but the purchase price was reduced slightly also. This left us enough in the pot to put in a full ‘Gaslow‘ twin bottle system before we finished our stint at Hillhead and took to the road.
We cleaned out Lulu, storing our possessions in the awning (which we have since sold to colleagues) and in a garage on site. We set off for St Austell for the hand over on a bright, dry Wednesday morning.
Mags was quite upset as we got out of Lulu for the last time and watched as someone else drove her away. It was time to say goodbye to Lulu for the last time.*
*We now know that Lulu has found a home with new owners. Hopefully they will have as much fun in her as we had and she will start them off on their own vanlife journey.
Homeward bound!
Driving such a big van for the first time around the twisting and turning lanes of Cornwall and Devon was a baptism of fire but we did it.
Another shock to the system was when we stopped to fill up with fuel. £78.00!! £78.00!!!
We pulled back onto our pitch at around 2pm and spent the remainder of the day repacking our new home. For the third time in two months!
Four weeks in…….
Well, we’ve been living in Lulu2 for four weeks now.
Before we left Hillhead I installed a Gaslow system, all supplied by Devon Motorhomes…………. who A) had everything I needed, in stock (national shortage of ANY make of 6Kg bottles) and B) whose customer service was absolutely outstanding Highly recommended.
We also arranged vehicle tax and full-time insurance cover with Comfort Insurance. Another eye watering bill!
We left Hillhead on 4th November and have been on the road since. We have travelled almost 600 miles and Lulu2 has stuck to the road like glue. She is really comfortable to drive and has real presence on the road. We have another week to go before our big test trip to Spain so make sure that you subscribe and follow our blog to keep up to date with how we all get on together!
Until next time, stay safe & happy travels all,
Love,
Mags, Kev & Marley
xxx