I love the idea of living in a van.
Months of working restlessly allow us to be financially prepared purchasing a van. We travelled 3hours to Whakapapa region on a gravel road just to check the van condition. It was listed on Trademe.com (a NZ-based buy and sell website). The initial price was NZ$5500 and in the end we settled for NZ$5000, we took a huge, huge risk (which we regretted short after) for not sending the vehicle for mechanical inspection.
A week later, the van arrives at our doorstep. We name him Bay Max, the adorable, plus-sized inflatable robot in Big Hero 6. He is empty on the inside, we've got a lot of works to do.
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Baymax was born in 1987 - he is 28 years old when we first met him.
Yes, all manual and no power-steering. |
We decided to build a Campervan myself.
At this of point the COF (certificate of fitness) is expiring and when we have to send in to do inspection. We were told that the van needs a lot of repairs which include rust removal, gearbox leakage, light indicator replacement, underbody rust removal, body dents, and brake adjustments. We asked some shop for quotes and all of that will cost more than the car price ($5000) itself! Then having no choice, we decided to fix them all by ourselves..
Inside Baymax has a simple build up, but we didn't really like it. So we dismantle everything and rebuild it all over. We wanted a bigger table top, more storage, extendable bed frame, electrical system that allows all our gadget to stay recharged without power hook up and water solution.
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| In the progress to build a simple cabinet with plywood from Bunnings, and used tabletop from Trademe |
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Grey water tank to store dirty water, and fresh water tank to supply clean water.
You need to have both and also a toilet in order to be a certified campervan where you can overnight at many places. |
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| Extendable bed frame for 2 people to sleep. |
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| Bed time set up. |
The best decision is to experience New Zealand with Campervan.
Bay max has a kitchen, living room, sleeping space, and everything else you need to go on a road trip.
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| Cooking utensils hanging on the cabinet. |
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| 12V deep-cycle battery system with 300W inverter to charge camera batteries and also my Macbook Air.Also built with voltage monitor and switches. |
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| Extra storage on overhead compartment. |
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| Equipment storage. |
Enjoy the life, the New Zealand way.
Immerse yourself with the mother nature. Wake up to a beautiful scenery, take a sip of hot boiled-coffee, cook and eat with your own schedule, without having to worry about the checkout time.
Need a break? no problem, stop and take a nap at any places you want to recharge. You have the luxury to spend your holiday at the slowest pace, which i really enjoy doing so.
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| Abel Tasman National Park |
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| Kaikoura Peninsular. |
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| Along the motorway AKL - Taupo. |
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| Vineyard at Blenheim - Kaikoura |
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Hanmer Spring
Have you ever travel in a campervan before? It's easy, any backpackers can do it, and so can you. If
you have any questions, leave it below the comment box.
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