First trips out and getting equipped.

We were so excited to have Tallulah and couldn't wait to try and get out in her before the school holidays were over and Simon was back at school.  First however we had to get her equipped.  A task that would take quite a few shopping trips and a fair bit more cash!

The plan was to make sure that she had everything in her that we would need so that we would always be ready to go.  We didn't want to have to be always loading her before we could set off and then unloading her when we got back.

This meant she needed everything from bedding to cups and plates etc.  We even made sure the washroom was equipped with toothbrushes , toiletries etc.  All that we need.  She has quite an inventory now.

It was great fun going to different shops and choosing things for her.  A bit like  furnishing your first home but on a mini scale.  

We made trips to Peterborough, where my friend Ed saw her for the first time and Coralie had her first ride.  There was a very quick trip to Leicester too so that Saskia and baby Morra could have their first go in her.  We went to a Caravan equipment shop in Crowland, and some more shops in Spalding.  Simon got pretty good at manoeuvring her in shopping centre car parks. We also went to a few more shows before the summer was over. 

She is now fully equipped with a Snooper Satellite navigation system specially designed for motorhomes and my favourite thing of all..... she has a MIFI device so we can get an Internet connection where ever we happen to be.  In theory!  It has worked so far. 

On one of our shopping trips we stopped by the river near Crowland for a spot of lunch.  Here are some photos.

One of the things that is so lovely when we are out and about in Tallulah is that we can just pull over wherever we want and get the kettle on. 

No to mention that there is no need to go in search of a loo!

*  For my Merikan friends a "loo" is a bathroom.

Adventures with Tallulah, The story begins.

Adventures with Tallulah, The story begins.

For some years Simon and I have wanted and planned to get our very own motorhome / camper van. We hired a very small one for a week back in 2011 and had a great time.  Well at least until Simon was taken ill.  That week was long enough to confirm for us that this would be something we would enjoy.

This is the tiny little Romahome that we rented for a holiday in Juy 2011

We talked about it often and hoped that we might be able at some point to save up and buy an older model.  My Dad knew of our plans and we would all talk about it when he visited. Sadly it is because Dad is no longer with us that has provided us with the means to purchase Tallulah.  I wish it wasn't that way but it is and I can't change it.  I don't feel badly about using Dad's money for this as I know that he would be thrilled by her. It is my belief that he is looking down and is just chuffed to bits for us.  He will always be along for the ride, wherever we travel.

Even though we had suddenly found ourselves with the funds, we hadn't initially planned to purchase anything very quickly. We knew we wouldn't be able to holiday in a van right now because of Loulou who is not able to travel.  What we did want to do was to take our time and do lots of research into what exactly would meet our needs, for a price we were happy to pay.  Simon was fairly sure that would be a VW T5 camper van.

We spent the spring months visiting dealers and going to various trade shows. It was exciting but also quite confusing.  The more we looked the more we didn't know for sure what we wanted.  We had thought it would be a brand new VW as previously mentioned.  We saw loads of them and began to research the possibilities of buying a new van and having it converted for us.

Then one day we visited the SMC dealership in Newark and saw a lot of bigger vans, conversions and coach builds. They were pretty good.  I particularly liked the little toilet, washroom areas that they had.  Not something you get with the VW.  I also liked the extra space,  It gave us plenty of food for thought and we continued to visit more trade shows.

As our thoughts became more concentrated we began to get a better idea of what would suit our needs.  We ruled out coach builds, lovely as they are, because we realised that we wouldn't actually be able to fit one on our drive!  That was essential as no way would we be paying for storage elsewhere.

All our research made us realise that maybe a VW was not actually the ideal vehicle for us after all.   They are very, very expensive, even secondhand and we had found out that we could get more for our money by going for a larger  van conversion.  This would give us lots more space and that all important on board toilet.   We had seen a few that we quite liked at the shows, one of which was made by a company called Wildax.

We checked out their website.  My goodness were they expensive?  See for yourself here: WILDAX  Way beyond our budget!  So we formed a plan to keep our eyes open for a secondhand one.  We thought it would take ages as they are few and far between.  Little did we know, but luck was going to be on our side.

One evening I decided to use good old Google to see what I could find.  I was browsing dealer websites and forums and suddenly came across an advert for a Wildax Aurora.  It was at a dealership called Fuller Leisure near Nottingham.  Hmm, not too far to travel.  It was a 4 year old van in our price range with only 13,000 miles on the clock.  Exciting!  I showed it to Simon and a plan was formulated to go and see it on Simon's next day off.

It took about an hour to drive there and as we pulled in we saw "our" van straight away as she was parked  right at the front.  I think we fell in love right then before we even got out of the car!  As we walked towards her (We already knew she was a girl!) our excitement increased.  She just looked so lovely.  Her champagne livery gleaming in the sun!   Goodness, listen to me, I am getting all poetic.

We stepped inside and afterwards we both agreed that we knew then that we were going to buy her.  We looked over her very thoroughly, checking out every minute detail.  This took around an hour and a half and several cups of coffee brought to us by a very helpful salesman.  He answered all our questions.

Despite both knowing that she was the "one" we did also look at 3 others that were similar in size and price but none of them came close.  We picked fault with each one. 3 hours after we had got there we looked at each other and said "OK, So are we doing this or what"?

Several more coffees later, all the paperwork was complete and we had paid a  deposit.  We had got a few concessions from the dealer too.  A new TV fitted in the "dining area" and a bike rack fitted to the rear.  They needed time to get those fitted and to get her serviced and ready so we agreed a collection date of 22nd August.  Ten days time.

We drove home feeling incredibly excited.  However in my normal way, it didn't take me long before I was questioning if we had done the right thing!  Simon will tell you that I always do this and question things and worry.  It was just that it was such a huge sum of money.   I have never in my life spent so much money on anything apart from our house and she cost more than our first house!  Plus, I kept worrying about what my Dad would think.  He certainly had never spent that amount of money on anything.

Anyway there were ten whole days to wait.  Ten more sleeps as my children would have said when they were little...............

Jilly