A Month of Vario Projects in Germany (And Our September 2026 Expenses)

Vario/T2 Work in Wettenberg

In September, Mark, Maya, and I stayed another ten days at our friends Sandie and Karsten’s property in Wettenberg, Germany, to continue Vario truck maintenance.

(As always, hover over or click on the photos to read their captions.)

Projects included: sanding, taping, and painting behind the removed bumper, greasing the nipples underneath, changing oils and other fluids in the engine, replacing the fuel filters and coolant, installing an RPM gauge in the dash, dealing with air leaks, cleaning the cockpit, replacing air system gaskets, and disposing of old oil, torn-down wood, and metal pieces.

The biggest task was removing the radiator to replace the 33-year-old original belts and the alternator with a bigger one for camper charging reasons. We had to move pulleys for this job and, while the engine was taken apart, I decided to treat existing rust spots with primer and paint.

Breaking out the dinette area was another enormous – and sad – task. Who likes to destroy a perfectly built interior and cause damage while at it? But this had to happen as the existing space was assembled for a single person and wouldn’t work as a seating and sleeping area for two (three).

Mark and I have had numerous layout discussions over the past months. We knew this would be the trickiest part of buying this half-built camper. How do we fit a two-person bed in a defined space that is technically too narrow?

For the longest time, we came up with ideas for an adjustable and adjusted lifting bed. But this system would take up too much space under the ceiling, so we’d lose headspace in the kitchen, or it would have to be an intricate design with a bed that had to be pulled out and converted as well as lowered down.

Because removing existing furniture was to be kept at a minimum to prevent more damage to the inside of the fiberglass box, we seemed to be out of options. We needed to keep the existing upper cabinets. My one rule of not having to make the bed before going to sleep had to be revisited no matter what. In a space that’s only 120cm wide, an always made-up 140cm bed would NOT fit.

Being able to park both campers next to each other saved us the time and hassle of having to move and commute every day. We developed a daily routine of using the bathroom at the nearby cemetery, filling a 10l jug of potable water there, taking Maya for hour-long forest walks, distributing our trash over different garbage bins around town, and cooking dinner at home.

Once a week, we hunted down facilities to empty our cassette toilet, which would be the day to run other errands that were only possible by car. A decent grocery store – and our friends’ house to pick up packages – was only a ten-minute walk away. Our trio was quite happy in Wettenburg. 

A highlight was the visit of our American friends Heather and Jon, who also took advantage of our communal friends’ property to do truck maintenance. The scene reminded me of past boatyard stays – hard days of work with social times in the evening – but this setting was more comfortable than a mosquito-ridden tropical boatyard without facilities.

Of course, while fun, having company made the days longer and the nights shorter, which was exhausting. It was nice to share the space and be in work mode, though. We treated ourselves to one pizza dinner out together and when Sandie and Karsten returned from their camping trip, the six of us had an amazing last dinner and evening together in our “yard.”

After Heather and Jon’s departure, we focused on household tasks, socializing with our hosts, and wrapping up our time on their property. Since the dinette area was now empty, we had to block the water tank, battery, and inverter with tools and parts, so nothing would slide on the ride. It was a live game of Tetris!

Quik Stop in Freudenberg

On our drive back to Much, where our builder Mirko’s workshop and company Premiumcamper is located, we decided to stop in Freudenberg for the weekend. It was nice to take a little break from Vario work, but we kept mulling over our potential dinette/sleeping area for hours and hours. We needed a plan before meeting Mirko on Monday.

On Sunday, an idea hit me when I woke up and we redrew our layout yet again, including a slide-out bed and reducing our seating space. More design obstacles and alterations followed later, but this new drawing ticked more boxes than any of the previous ones and for once, things started to make sense and our feeling of desperation eased.

Vario/T2 Work in Much

The last three weeks of September (and still) our Vario has been parked in front of Mirko’s Premiumcamper workshop and we’ve been able to use his tools and quick expertise when needed. But he has been extremely busy, so the new build has not materialized nor have the detailed plans been drawn. Hopefully soon!

What we did take care of were a lot of small and bigger projects, like installing a new diesel heater (which was a two-week ordeal), running electrical cables and plumbing, receiving packages (new toilet, water tank, washing machine, roof vent, …), meticulously cleaning the headliner and door panels inside the truck, picking a color for our new living space, creating cardboard mockups for a potential grey tank and bathroom sink (two tricky installations without a current solution), adding door magnets to keep the doors securely open, installing water filters, fixing more air leaks, testing appliances, and having a metal specialist take detailed measurements to build rails for extra frame support.

We’re also selling a few items that came with the vehicle and habitat box which we don’t have a need for. The extra money will be helpful but it all takes time…

In between Vario work, we have to take care of our dog and our lives, moving the camper every night to a free camping spot nearby and running errands like grocery shopping, topping up with drinking water, emptying the cassette toilet, going for dog walks and vet visits, cooking, dishes, admin, and so on. Multiple hours a day are spent doing research regarding the purchase, installation, or operation of products we need. That’s what we do in the evenings.

We had promised ourselves we’d take the weekends off, but our first week in Much was so frustrating and unproductive that we kept working away on that Saturday and Sunday, with a quick walk in the actual center of town.

The idea was to end that crappy week on a positive note by “quickly” installing door magnets. Well, one of the springs seemed to be missing and we searched everywhere around the truck for an hour on Friday and another hour on Saturday morning, without success. We hadn’t seen or heard the spring escape, but we were sure the magnet device had one.

When we later asked an employee of a hardware store if they sold springs, he had no clue about what we were talking. So, Mark opened up one of the other magnetic devices we had brought to show the man this particular spring… That’s when we discovered two springs were nested in the doorstop!!!

A Weekend Off in Nümbrecht

The second weekend was more fun as we camped in the cute town of Nümbrecht and focused on walks to the castle (Schloß Homburg) and in the woods, besides doing heaps of research of course. And laundry at a fuel station.

We also had another social highlight, when our friends Sandie and Karsten (yes, the couple from Wettenburg) swung by for an enjoyable evening.

Once our low-profile 12-volt air conditioner from the US arrives (it’s been underway for two-and-a-half months!), we can start our next big project: organizing the roof space and installing the six solar panels, bathroom vent, and AC. Mark has done a lot of prep work (wiring) already. Hopefully, the good weather will hold. 

Expenses for September 2026

I am very happy to report that we had a great month, financially. We were super careful and mostly worked on our next camper, so there was not much time for paid entertainment or to drive.

Our grocery bill was quite impressive at just over $300 for an entire month. We mostly cook our own meals and only ate out twice in thirty days; once we ordered pizzas in Wettenburg with our friends Heather and Jon and once, Mark and I grabbed take-out Chinese in Much when we really didn’t feel like cooking and doing dishes once again. As most of you know, after a full day of physical and mental labor, the last thing you really want to do is cook from scratch.

Maya needed an annual shot, which was pricey: $80 for five minutes of the vet’s time! And, believe me, I shopped around. Other vets in the area charged $120 for the same vaccination. Crazy!

The faux leather of our Duke, which is a nice Bürstner camper that is almost ten years old, is wearing and peeling off just from normal use. We can’t do much about the dinette area, but we did order seat covers for the driver and passenger seats ($147). Maya loves them!

We bought random tools for the Vario, a towel rack, and a long-anticipated work light for a total of $113. These expenses are included here – as opposed to our separate “Vario build” report, because they are useful in our day-to-day life.

Mark had a biopsy done in Belgium, which was part of last month’s expenses, but the pathology report (which, luckily, was benign) arrived this month for $94.

We swapped our German propane tank for a full one at a hardware store ($37), paid for our monthly data plan ($15), and filled up with water for $1. Now that we “live” at Mirko’s workshop, we grab 10 liters a day there and top up Duke’s tank for free once a week.

September was the month to renew two domain names for our websites and our email service for around $30. We didn’t buy much wine as we’re very focused on work now ($28). Our friend Sandie invited us to do laundry at her place once, I managed to wash a few pieces in our new machine for the Vario, and we drove to a fuel station with self-serve machines to do a big load as well ($11).

I finally gave in and bought ear plugs ($10). It’s ironic that I never wore them in South America, with its screaming motorcycles, loud music, and late-night parties. Yet in Europe, I feel like I really need them. This might have to do with having to focus on our new camper at least eight hours a day, and having sleepless nights does not allow for that. 🙂

Another thing to note is that we didn’t spend money on fuel in September. The prices in Germany are going through the roof at $10 a gallon for diesel, so we’ve been milking our tank in Duke and staying close to the workshop to camp. We had heard from Sandie that on October 1st, the government would subsidize the fuel prices, so we managed to postpone our latest fill-up until then.

As usual, we managed to camp for free the entire month.

Our frugal efforts were rewarded with a low-expense month of $1,046.

Here is the breakdown:

• Groceries: $315
• Pets (food: $76; vet: $84): $160
• Car (seat covers Duke): $147
• Household supplies (random tools Vario, towel rack, work light, …): $113
• Medical (pathology test): $94
• Dining out (Lava and Wok Mei): $84
• Utilities (propane: $37; internet: $15; water: $1): $53
• Computer (two domain names and email service): $31
• Alcohol (wine): $28
• Laundry: $11
• Health and Fitness (ear plugs): $10
• Fuel: $0
• Camping: $0

TOTAL: $1,046

Next up: Probably our October 2026 update and expenses, unless something else is worth reporting on earlier.

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