Travis is a medium wheelbase Ford Transit, he is neither too big nor too small. He accommodates me and everything I need with ease and yet I can drive and park him most places with no great difficulty. He is, at the time of writing, seven years of age and has travelled 120,000 miles or thereabouts. Sometimes I wonder about all the places he has been.
Before I settled on Travis I did a lot of research into different vans and conversions and the different layouts and options available. I soon became convinced that I wanted a fixed raised bed at the rear with plenty of garage space underneath because I really wanted to be able to fit a mountain bike in a way that I could get in and out without too much difficulty. I knew that I wanted solid off-grid capabilities for working remotely so solar panels and a reliable backup power option were a must. And if possible I wanted something quite stealthy looking if possible so I could park and go about my daily life without attracting too much attention (in hindsight this last is way more useful than I realised). Travis ticks all those boxes and comes with the bonus of clearly having been well taken care of with regular servicing medical check-ups. He has everything I need and nothing superfluous that I don’t and I couldn’t be happier with him. I think he’s the perfect van for me.
He is so comfortable and homely to sleep in, it’s like being in a cocoon that’s big enough not to feel claustrophobic but small enough to feel comforting and secure. I took to it immediately, so much so that when I returned back to London with him after spending a few days bringing him home from collecting him in Wales, I really didn’t want to sleep in my ‘proper’ bed. I just wanted to go back out and be in my new home.
I acquired Travis from a lovely lady and ‘best van seller eva’ known as Scout, who’d been out and about doing cool conservation stuff in Scotland with him and her dog for a large part of last year. So cool in fact, that we are writing a song inspired by her. I had planned to post a link to that, but it’s not finished yet so I can’t. Coming soon! Anyway I like that I was able to buy him from someone I liked and got a good feeling about and also who had been using him in the way that I intended to, as a full-time home for an extended period, as you’d hope that any niggles with everyday usability had already been discovered. She was also responsible for giving Travis his name and character, for which I am now very grateful as I doubt I would ever have done so and I like that he has his own identity.
It’s so ingrained in me now that I always refer to him as exactly that, him. Whether I’m talking to someone I know well, someone I don’t, or even when booking him in for his MOT I still can’t refer to him as an it, as some kind of generic object. Because he is and always will be more to me than that and who cares if the rest of the world thinks I’m a little crazy. I think I’m a little crazy, so it would be churlish to deny anyone else the same opinion.
Incidentally Travis had his MOT yesterday and was pronounced fit and healthy for another year. Apart from needing a single indicator bulb he was the picture of fitness and vitality, capering about nipping at the mechanics’ heels as they poked and prodded him with various instruments. Clearly my understanding of what actually goes on during an MOT is a little sketchy but he passed with flying colours and that’s the main thing.
I’ve never named a vehicle or any other object in my life. When I was little I had a fluffy red mouse cuddly toy that went everywhere with me (and ok yes if I’m honest is travelling with us to this day)! Anyway, in a fit of imagination I called it Mouse. Sometime later I acquired a cuddly frog (since lost) and called that, wait for it, Frog. So it’s just as well that my predecessor had the wherewithal to give Travis a good name otherwise this blog would no doubt be called Doru and Van. Needless to say I didn’t come up with the name Doru either but that’s another story, One that if you’ve been paying attention you already know!