Drivers Diaries

Rob Hawkins joins the DD roster with his VW camper, while Aaron McKay updates us on progress with the Mk3 Escort.

Several people have said I should just bin the old Dodge and buy a newer campervan, after it developed an infuriating habit of sometimes driving reasonably well and then sometimes randomly not starting. However, I was not keen on this plan.

The first point in the Dodge’s favour is that the van was built for Canada, so it was completely smothered underneath in sprayed plastic foam from new to insulate it for use in temperatures 30 degrees below zero. This also keeps it cool in summer. I am never, ever, ever, going even glam- camping in any temperature lower than welcomingly California or Okanagan Valley fresh, but the irrelevant-to-me underside foam has also meant that there is no rust in the 1984 van. Another bonus is that an in-period infection of emissions-related electronics has been cured during assorted attempts to get the engine running better.

Mostly, I just don’t fancy buying a newer but still inevitably oldish utility vehicle, because it will have many unnecessary and aging electronic components from the Atari period, just biding their time before they fail. This is why I turned down a Bentley Turbo R for $6000. Which I admit I have since regretted – I should just have bought it and enjoyed myself until it failed to proceed.

The campervan is a very comfy and pleasant way to travel, and even weighing 8000lbs or so, it manages 14mpg on a run. There’s cruise and dash aircon, a propane furnace heater with a thermostat, a proper cooker, microwave, fridge and freezer, a cappuccino machine, a hot shower, a drinks cabinet, a library and telly, plus a towbar. Having experienced a trailer

crash, I now only use towing vehicles that weigh at least twice what the towed object weighs, and as I mentioned, the van weighs 8000lbs+.

The Dodge has never run super smoothly, but it was usable. When it started behaving really badly, I went through the usual series of checks for fuel/spark/etc without anything conclusive emerging. The four-barrel carb was rebuilt by a friend who

The van lives in the garden, so Iain had to wait for the grass to dry out and the ground get solid enough for him to use his 4WD Jeep Cherokee in low-range first gear to pull the van up to where it could be loaded on to the flatdeck.

As you can see, the van is a useful size – not too big and clumsy, but it can carry engines, moulds, bricks, planks and chassis beams, as well as people and dogs on mountainous ambles.