Changing our van

We started hunting for a new van – the Emina is getting a bit too cramped as we gather more and more toys! We took a look through Taupo, Rotorua, Hamilton and Auckland and vans were few and far between.

However, just after Christmas we got a call from Jason saying he had found us a van, so we drove down to Taupo to check it out. It was a lovely clean high roof Nissan Homy with a tow bar that is running well so we quickly shook on the deal and trotted off to the bank.

After spending an afternoon cleaning up the Emina we drove both vehicles up to Auckland and checked the Emina into the Backpackers Car Market. After just a few hours patiently waiting a very tired and jet lagged Austrian arrived in with his son looking for a van that he and his wife could sleep in at night, but that they could also transport their two children in with them by day. Our shiny van stood out and suited them perfectly and so, happy with the $200 profit we were making on the van, we waved goodbye to the Emina and happily went back to the bank. As a tip for you all – shine up your vehicle before you try to sell it! Well worth the effort.

Having sold the Emina we turned our attention to the new Homy. We got tinting for the windows in the 25% off sale in Supercheap Autos, saving a few more pennies, and spent a day putting it on. It’s hard work but well worth it. We discovered that putting sudsy water on the tint and the windows works really well – next boat I put contact on is going to be brilliant!

Before getting the van we’d spread the word that we were looking for one, so our friend Greg who is a builder thought of us when his company were about to throw out some lovely plywood. We used that wood to make our bed in the back of the van. Another friend who is building a house also had some off cuts of wood around and we used them to make a chest and shelving as well.

The next step was putting in curtains, so we bought some great material for $3 per metre and I got down to sewing.

After all that, we’re pretty happy with the new van and happier still that we were able to buy some bikes (nicely discounted due to being “earthquake damaged”) and fit all our clothes, boats and bikes in the van!