July was one of the busiest months we’ve had in years. Mark and I barely had a moment to breathe. In my last (Vario) post, I mentioned that we finally managed to buy our future overlanding vehicle in the Netherlands.
We are a two-car family!
Our Vario progress
Unfortunately, it wasn’t and won’t be the easiest transition between campers for us, because we found ourselves in a complicated mess here in Europe. In the US, as US residents, the process has always been straightforward for us. We purchased a camper, registered it in one of the states, bought insurance, and were good to go.
Not so in Europe. But we knew this ahead of time, had researched solutions for every curve ball that might come our way (or so we thought!), and set out on our mission to legalize and personalize our 4×4 Mercedes Vario (technically a T2) from the moment we obtained it on July 1st.
First, we bought temporary export plates and insurance in the Netherlands. These would be valid for exactly 14 days. It started the clock and raised our stress levels immediately. Since we wanted to import and register this Vario in Germany—a country notorious for its rules and regulations but the only one where non-European residents can “easily” do this—we had no time to lose. Yet, I still thought we could take care of the entire process within a week and spend the rest of the month visiting friends and sightseeing in Germany. Ha!
Second, after buying motor oil with Duke and getting cash for the next step, the Vario was jump-started and we drove both vehicles to a battery shop, where Mark replaced the two starter batteries. The truck had sat unused for six years in a garage so lots of maintenance was due! Still, we had to prioritize because of our time constraints.
Third, Mark and I drove in tandem to a DIY garage, still in Zeeland, the Netherlands, to change the oil. Since it was our first time working on this truck, things didn’t go exactly as planned, but we did get the job done within our two-hour lift rental.
We did all that on the same day, falling asleep exhausted at a free camping spot in an industrial zone. This would become the norm. Since the Vario box didn’t have locks yet, we parked both campers facing each other’s doors. Not that there was anything to steal yet in our six-year-old-brand-new habitat box.
Our first night with the Vario, which didn’t have locks yet.
The following day, Mark, Maya, and I drove in convoy to Much, Germany, which would become our base for the time being. With lots of traffic and everything being new to us (including a fuel gauge showing “empty” which was confirmed), it was another stressful day. We had to discuss a few things with our builder, Mirko, and he was leaving at 1pm. Needless to say, we felt rushed.
I won’t report in too much detail what happened next, but suffice it to say that preparing our Vario to pass the German TÜV inspection—which, fortunately, was located across the street from Mirko’s workshop—did not take five days. We had to cancel seeing our first set of friends and delay visiting our second set.
Mirko was super helpful and generous, letting us borrow all his tools, giving us the keys to his workshop after hours, and allowing us to use electricity, potable water, and the bathroom facilities whenever we needed. What an angel!
