Mercedes Vario – Roaming About

Readers of this blog probably know that Mark and I have been looking for a very specific van as our new home on wheels. With this vehicle, we hope to explore Europe and beyond – Asia, Africa, and the Middle East when safe again.

A 4×4 Vario in Germany

This next stage of our lives requires a robust, reliable, fixable, durable, and yet comfortable camper. That’s why we are looking for a 4×4 Mercedes Vario, as it ticks all those boxes. The living area and the cab are connected, the engine is almost bulletproof, and these vehicles are known to be resilient. The 4WD part is non-negotiable for us (there are plenty of 2WD versions available) as we plan to venture off the beaten path and know the importance of high clearance and four-wheel drive from our previous overlanding experiences.

But… this particular vehicle is extremely popular and difficult to come by and that’s why I am asking for help. If you know of anyone who might be thinking about selling their Vario or you have one for sale yourself, please get in touch.

Mark and I are interested in just the empty van (to build out ourselves/with a company) or in one that’s already converted into a camper.

The Vario we checked out in Pichilemu, Chile

This is the Vario we put all our hopes on, eight months ago in Chile

You might remember that we have been looking for this type of Vario for a long time. I’d say for almost an entire year. First the research, then pursuing a few options in Chile (which all failed), and then in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Another Vario we checked out in Chile

Scrutinizing this Vario near Santiago, Chile

Mark inspects the grey 4×4 Vario

We had hoped to switch from one camper into the next while in Chile and concluding our three-year overland adventure in South America.

We have followed leads in Peru, Chile, Bahrein, Dubai, Germany (we just returned from a 12-hour drive to check one out that has too many issues and rust), and the Netherlands. It has taken a lot of time, effort, focus, and energy and we are running out of steam… Soon, we will need a different plan and approach.

We made a very long drive to check out this Vario in Germany. This company has one 4WD version and three 2WD ones!

Close-up of the most recent Vario we had put our hopes on.

Checking the engine of the German Vario van

Thank you for sharing our quest and spreading the word, especially if you are a fellow overlander or someone who knows these kinds of vehicles or owners.

This is how our future camper would look like. This is NOT a 4WD version, though.

Happy May!

Warning: This is a summarized yet long story about what we have really been doing the last four months.

I’m trying to remember when this crazy idea first emerged. At least six months ago, Mark was researching campers in Europe, since we thought/think this will be our new overlanding location. He must have stumbled upon a Mercedes Vario campervan, thought it looked cool and roomy, remembered our German friends Sabine and Michael having one, and focused his research on the 4×4 kind, only to discover that in Europe you need a special driver’s license for this “more truck than van” vehicle, prices wavered around a steep US$100,000, and there are many rules regarding registration, yearly inspections, insurance, and so on.

Driver’s side view of a Vario

It seemed like the Vario idea dead-ended right there. But on June 3rd (I checked my diary), an available 4×4 Vario appeared on the South America Overlanding Facebook page. There were only two problems: it was for sale in Peru with Peruvian plates and it was not converted yet. We inquired at a shop in Uruguay — the only place in South America we knew about — about how much it would cost to build out a van. More research followed and from the moment we realized that a vehicle can only leave Peru if it is owned by a Peruvian resident and that a new build would cost close to US$90,000, the idea was discarded again.

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

The 4WD Vario in Peru

The owner had bought insulation, but never installed it.

The empty van in Peru

The Peru van came with some gear

He also bought fans to build out this van.

Fast forward to sometime in August when Mark discovered that Chile had imported hundreds of 4WD Vario vans from Europe to use in the mines as passenger transportation vehicles. Another problem arose: these vans had been well used and came with a bus door instead of a passenger door. Replacing that with an RV door would prove almost impossible, let alone dealing with the paperwork, the language, and other crazy logistics.

Bus door

Closed bus door

The bus door from inside

Soon after, Mark had a revelation. For months, he’d known about a Vario van that had been built out by a Chilean and had been for sale for a couple of years. It was located along the Chilean coast, four hours south of Santiago, but he hadn’t been interested because the camper section was poorly built and unattractive.

His revelation was this: it had a normal door and two seats in the cab, it was already registered as a camper (as opposed to a company vehicle), and becoming the owner of a new vehicle in Chile was straightforward and popular. It’s why many new overlanders buy a car or camper in Santiago to start their South American overland travels. Why not buy this crappy camper, gut it, and rebuild the living space from scratch?

Passenger side view of the Pichilemu Vario camper – with a normal door

By then, we had found out that there was a company in Santiago — Suzie Santiago CTW — that built out vans for a much better rate — but inferior quality — than the expensive shop in Uruguay. More research and communications followed with companies regarding the build and the paperwork. So many months of work and focus went into this pursuit! It’s pretty much all we did during our five weeks in Paraguay. We even drew up the perfect layout. Fun!