Blogging at 09:30 on Friday 23rd August from N 50.97291°, E 01.83278° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:50.97291%2C01.83278
That's it, then. It's been good.
We didn't set off with any intention of racking up a tally sheet but - for the record - we've done about 3,800 miles and were fairly surprised to have visited as many as 14 countries during the course of this trip including six new-to-the truck ones.
The 14 countries were, in order of appearance: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, BiH, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. The only real regret is - having managed to reach it - not spending at least two more days in Albania. I can see me going back there sooner rather than later, but most likely in my Delica. As before, large vehicles and terrifying mountain roads are a (very) bad combination.
The truck - after those first two petulant days of spitting it's exhausting and then blowing a tube - has performed flawlessly. The swivelling cab-top seat (which I've had in mind for a while but only just fitted) has been a great addition. It offers excellent panoramic and elevated views and has become the undisputed favourite perch for wildlife watching.
The above numbers set us counting. We've owned the truck for nine years now and been using it regularly - post conversion - for just over seven. In that time we've covered 46,000 miles and lived out of it for a total of about 350 days. We've done 34 countries to date plus a few 'awkward' territories like the Åland Islands and the Outer Hebrides. The lorry has just simply been incredibly good to us and performed exceptionally well in all manner of terrain, through all seasons and in different climates. It's basically done everything ever asked of it.
Though it's now pretty much honed to our very personal specific requirements, there are still a couple of modifications I think would further improve things.
If I go ahead with the tweaks I have in mind, I'll (eventually) post them - and the rationale for making them - to the Trip Truck website.
Anyway, as always, I hope my website and twaddle-based blogs have, in some-or-other way, proved of net worth.
Thanks for reading and bye for now.
Sent from my Nexus 4
