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).
Time to do a big load of laundry!
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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October 5, 2026 at 2:19 pm
You always make me appreciate how easy my life is! What a lot of hard work you have had.
October 5, 2026 at 2:36 pm
Hi Anabel,
It sure feels like a lot of (unpaid) hard work and little free time. I hope it’ll all be worth it when we are finished. And, I admit, I’m already looking forward to some peace and relaxation at some point in my parents’ little house in Belgium once we are finished in Germany.
October 5, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Good for you in figuring out how to best use your space in the Vario. I would be so over my head in terms of all the things you’ve done to upgrade it. Do you have a tentative plan for when you hope to finish it all and get back on the road?
October 6, 2026 at 1:53 pm
Hi Pete,
It’s been a real challenge to try and put a 140cm bed into a 120cm space, for example. The big issue with the half-built camper we bought is that it was built with one (short) person in mind: single bed, smallish bathroom, tiny fridge… Some of these issues can be solved easier than others, but every decision we make is related to what was already present, which makes this build much harder than starting from scratch.
It’s a big puzzle with lots of obstacles and I can’t wait to actually see some progress! We are way over our heads right now, to be honest. We had hoped to hire out more of the projects, but so be it. We are learning a lot and these months have reminded me of the boat life more than once.
We don’t allow ourselves to think too much about where to go and what to do when the Vario is finished (it won’t be totally done for a long time). We had hoped to head south for the winter (Southern Italy?) but we really would prefer to sell Duke before heading out, which would be hard in the fall. Now, I’m thinking we might store the Vario over the winter and take Duke south for a break. We really do not want to be working like this in wintertime. It’s already quite chilly.
October 6, 2026 at 7:28 pm
I know you aren’t looking for advice and you’ll figure this out on your own, but I like your plan about taking Duke out for a spin. Constantly working on something without a break can be hard mentally and emotionally.
October 9, 2026 at 3:41 pm
It sure is! If we don’t take an occasional break, we make more mistakes or hurt ourselves. Which is what’s been happening the last few days. Mark hit his head hard this morning, which caused a gushing gap in his forehead.
The pressure of winter looming is making us give it our all, though. But soon, we will have to make a decision: postpone finalizing the Vario project until spring and storing it in the meantime (which means more expenses and having to maintain and pay insurance and taxes for two vehicles) or pressing on until it’s at least usable to live and travel in for winter and continuing the jobs in the spring.
October 5, 2026 at 4:17 pm
Mark is definitely a WUNDERKIND when it comes to fixing things. (I guess you can’t be on the road with a van without some mechanical expertise.) I see he did take some hikes, a good thing.
Congrats on revealing a budget that blows my mind. You should be so proud, Liesbet! 😀
October 6, 2026 at 1:58 pm
Hi Marian,
You know how much work we did to maintain our sailboat, Irie, and a truck like this will be quite similar. Even when the Vario is ready to hit the road and live in, the ongoing maintenance will be never ending. I hope Mark knows what he’s getting into! So far, it’s been a bit overwhelming, but I’m confident we will figure it all out in the end. Hopefully, before wintertime!
On the other hand, I am happy with the budget of last month. To be honest, when it’s all work and no play, I guess life can be quite affordable, haha. Maya needs her daily walks, which has been a bit tough to combine with eight hours of Vario work and keeping our daily lives going, while the days are getting shorter.
October 5, 2026 at 4:21 pm
You guys are a pro level. You work hard and get results and that’s what’s important. Well done.
October 6, 2026 at 2:00 pm
Hi Beth,
Wow, “pro level”… That’s a nice compliment. It definitely doesn’t feel like that. We are in way over our heads and now we have to figure everything out, since there’s no going back, haha. But we are working hard and progress comes one step at the time, often one step forwards and two back! But we are learning a lot!
October 6, 2026 at 10:34 pm
baby steps!
October 9, 2026 at 4:02 pm
Yup. 🙂
October 5, 2026 at 8:13 pm
So much work! Almost like you had to gut the camper. Good thing you guys know what you are doing.
October 6, 2026 at 2:02 pm
I had to laugh at your comment, Alex, because, while it may sound that way, we actually do NOT know what we are doing. We have never done anything like this before. It’s like fixing past issues on our boats or campers but on steroids, where everything has to be done instead of one thing at a time. Sigh. One day, we will near the end of the tunnel and hopefully feel like it was all worthwhile.
October 5, 2026 at 9:52 pm
You and Mark have had a lot of hard work. I hope you’ll get to enjoy more fun outings in October. The town of Nümbrecht looks nice.
October 6, 2026 at 2:04 pm
Hi Natalie,
As winter is approaching, the focus is on Vario work. We haven’t taken a weekend off this month, but we can’t keep up this pace. I think we must take the coming weekend off, but it’ll be raining, so not much sightseeing – if any – might be possible. We’ve lucked out with the sunny weather so far but it is changing soon and we have a few outdoor projects left.
October 6, 2026 at 1:44 pm
Wow, that’s an amazing monthly budget! You’ve certainly worked hard for it, though. The thought of all your work, planning, and stress is enough to make me shudder. At least your camping doesn’t seem to have been as much of an ordeal as in the past… or are you just so used to the hardships that they don’t seem worth reporting anymore?
October 6, 2026 at 2:13 pm
Hi Diane,
I’m pretty proud of September’s budget and I’m not sure we will be able to match it later this year. Now, we need to buy fuel again, but maybe there won’t be any “extra costs”… Only then could we do as well. When you only work, there’s not much time left to spend money, haha. So, maybe these months will be good for the budget – and hopefully for my weight too. 🙂
Camping certainly has been less stressful and exhausting in Europe than in South America. We have a couple of familiar spots we keep returning to. There are still sleepless nights, because we want to be close to the workshop at times, but after one of those, we move the next evening to a quieter place.
To be honest, these same spots were actually quieter during July (Germany’s summer vacation and when we were here to deal with the inspection episode) than now, since we often stay at sports fields and the practices and games have resumed. But now that I have good earplugs, I think I’m golden. 🙂
October 6, 2026 at 4:30 pm
Unfortunately due to abysmal Wifi here in Montpellier, I wasn’t able to see any of your photos. Liesbet. I still found your van tales enthralling. I had no idea that you had so much work ahead of you when you bought the Vario. It seems overwhelming to me – I applaud you both for taking on such a massive project and hope you can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel soon.
October 9, 2026 at 3:37 pm
Hi Annie,
I guess France’s problems extend to WiFi these days… 🙁 Maybe you can check out the photos another day. Thanks for following along, regardless.
Yeah, when you first walk into the Vario camper we bought, you’d think it’s mostly done. We never thought there was so much to do still. But, it surely wasn’t finished. Or even liveable for the one person it was intended for. None of the systems were present and only half of the wiring was there and/or labeled for example.
The fact that we are trying to pull off all the maintenance and cleaning of the truck, redesigning and building of the furniture, adding all the systems, changing the fridge, its cabinet, and the bathroom, adding solar panels, hatches, and an AC on the roof, reinforcing the frame and suspension, … all in two months seems a bit unrealistic now!
October 6, 2026 at 8:04 pm
Liesbet, just reading this and looking at the photos made me exhausted. Wow! What a project. I recall you saying when you were considering this Van that it was going to be a shame to remove so much completed construction, but it was designed for only one person. What a blessing to have both campers parked next to each other . I love the photos of Freudenberg, just beautiful. Thank you for sharing all this and as I always say, your monthly expenses amaze me. Stay safe out there. Jim
October 9, 2026 at 4:02 pm
Hi Jim,
It’s one of those exhausting chapters of our lives. It’s not the first time and surely not the last time either, I suspect. They usually happen in “gap years”, when we are between two rigs or lifestyles.
We took on this challenge, because we thought/think it will be worthwhile in the end. We are saving tens of thousands of dollars (I’m not exaggerating) by, first, buying this particular vehicle and, second, doing most of the work ourselves. As you might know, hourly wages (and here they are in euros and come with added VAT – tax) are insane these days.
The issue is that we might have been overzealous, thinking that we had the expertise, patience, and determination to tackle these projects that we have never done before. Fixing a thing or two at a time on your camper or sailboat is a far cry from having to do “everything” yourselves every step of the way – from research, to ordering, to testing, to figuring out the install, to actually installing correctly. It’s been a steep learning curve, but at least we will be prepared whenever we hit the road again. 🙂
October 7, 2026 at 12:31 pm
Congrats on keeping your expenses low. I know you needed that.
We are in California, and we are seeing diesel prices close to $10. Thankfully there are enough Native American reservations that sell gas (they don’t have to pay federal taxes) that we have been finding gas for less than $6. Tomorrow we will go to the place that is selling it for $4.99!
I’m so glad that you got ear plugs! They may take a bit to get used to and don’t block all the noise, but sleep is so essencial.
I like that big grin on Mark’s face with his new light!
When we started building our van, we thought that we’d do some sightseeing in between workdays. But eventually they all became workdays. And we have more coming up! We have about 7 weeks of house sitting scheduled to fix things and add things—like an airconditioner.
You are doing such a great job on cleaning! Periplo is going to need some detail cleaning too.
I love that outdoor laundry mat. We’ve managed to synchronize laundry day with visiting friends for the last month and a half—so no laundromats for us.
October 9, 2026 at 4:11 pm
Hi Duwan,
It’s so nice there is a loophole in California to buy fuel. Here in Europe, some countries are cheaper than others (like Belgium and Luxemburg) but they are a detour, so we have to get it in Germany and watch the prices. Fuel stations take advantage of weekends and times of the day and they are officially allowed to raise their prices at noon every day, which they do. It really bothers me that the owners of gas stations are getting richer off this whole Iran nonsense, while the rest of us suffer.
Mark was happy with his new work light and I’m happy with my earplugs. The little things in life! 🙂
I’m glad that you finally decided to get an AC for Periplo. You won’t regret that in Central America! And, friends are a great resource for washing machines and dryers. But, for now we are stuck at the workshop, so we will have to find other ways to clean our clothes… There might be a little more hand washing in my future. Although a friend of a friend recently suggested doing our laundry for us.
I hear you about those non-existing weekends off. First, we thought we’d have plenty of time and now we want to use every available moment to make progress with the end goal of not being cold in wintertime.
October 10, 2026 at 8:48 pm
Wow, that seems like an awful lot of work. What made you change vans/campers? Such beautiful scenery, though. Seems like such a lovely place.
October 11, 2026 at 7:13 am
Hi JH,
This Vario project is an awful amount of work – and money. We are fortunate that we are finding free places to wild camp with our temporary European camper, while we work on our future home on wheels in Germany. We sold Bella in South America, because we didn’t want to pay $6,000 to ship it to Europe and it wasn’t the right camper for tiny towns. So, basically, we changed campers because we switched continents. 🙂
October 14, 2026 at 7:01 am
I love that Maya loved the new seat covers! She looks very comfy.
So much work, but it’ll all be worth it once you’re up and running. And don’t the best ideas come to you in the dead of night or as we wake up? Well, that’s what I’ve found.
Glad you got some social time in with your visiting friends. I noticed you were wearing a woolly hat in one of the photos, which made me wonder whether you guys will be moving south as winter approaches, since I know you both dislike the cold.
Fuel costs are shocking, especially diesel. I hope it starts to fall once you’re up and running, Liesbet.
October 26, 2026 at 7:38 am
Hi Hugh,
You are right. Many good thoughts – but also stupid ones – happen in the middle of the night. As a writer, this definitely seems to be the case. And then I’m too lazy to get up (or don’t want to disturb Mark) and write things down. I haven’t found a solution for this yet. By morning, I will usually have forgotten those brilliant ideas and solutions.
We just made a “quick” side trip back to Belgium to pick up our winter coats and some other items. We should be back at the workshop later this afternoon. The hope is still to head south for the winter. Probably Italy.
October 14, 2026 at 9:05 pm
Wow Liesbet, you’ve done very well with budget for the month! And what a dilemma about the bed. I’m glad you finally had a lightbulb moment and it really works out for you guys! 🥰
October 26, 2026 at 7:40 am
Hi Debby,
The bed as well as the living area and the bathroom are compromises, because we had to work around what was already present in this half-built box. The furniture is taking shape as we speak, but we have no idea if it will be comfortable and convenient enough or not, since it’s all been experimental. We’d have to live in the camper first… So, time will tell.