Hi Everyone, I'm new to this forum
My name is Jelmer and I'm from the Netherlands. I have travelled Europe the past holidays my Jeep XJ, sometimes with an Eezi-Awn on top of it. But I've sold the Roof top tent because this was the first year we used my work van as a sort of make-shift camper.
It's way more comfortable travelling with this than the Cherokee... allthough the Jeep is way more capable and got me to places the Express would never reach. You can't have it all I suppose. However the thread is called 'Long way from home' because this USA van Is something like an unicorn here in Europe. that can be frustrating sometimes when you are in need of parts... There are some of them in my country, but none in the rest of Europe.
A little bit about the vehicle: After owning a 2006 VW T5 LWB cargo van for 8 years I bought the Chevy in 2018 like this:
This was definetly not what I was going for. But it was a good base for my intentions, let me explain: The tax regulations here can be rather complex if you want it registered on a firm (lots of tax benifits). Short story, if you don't want complex it's just going to cost you a lot. That's why there's a wall between the passenger area and cargo space. You might also notice the 160 liter LPG tank, it runs on propane. This is because a gallon regular gas will run you more than $8,- in europe. LPG is less than half of that.
So I was looking for a five seat passenger with a none windowed cargo space. It also just had to be an AWD, and close to 15 years of age (avoiding some 'firm car - private usage' taxes again, bla bla bla).
This is where we at 3 years later:
Modifications so far:
-Skoda Steel Grey paintjob, welded in new rockers too
-Morimoto Projector retrofit
-Method NV305 18x9 wheels
-Sound system upgrade
-Silent coat (sort of dynamat) everywhere
-Webasto panoramic roof
-Victory Offroad roof rack with custom mounted 50" Strands Siberia lightbar
Plans:
-Quigley bumpers
-Lift kit
-Engine/transmission overhaul. 280k miles at the moment....
-Numerous 'camper' modifications
More about it later! Hope you guys like it so far
My name is Jelmer and I'm from the Netherlands. I have travelled Europe the past holidays my Jeep XJ, sometimes with an Eezi-Awn on top of it. But I've sold the Roof top tent because this was the first year we used my work van as a sort of make-shift camper.
It's way more comfortable travelling with this than the Cherokee... allthough the Jeep is way more capable and got me to places the Express would never reach. You can't have it all I suppose. However the thread is called 'Long way from home' because this USA van Is something like an unicorn here in Europe. that can be frustrating sometimes when you are in need of parts... There are some of them in my country, but none in the rest of Europe.
A little bit about the vehicle: After owning a 2006 VW T5 LWB cargo van for 8 years I bought the Chevy in 2018 like this:
This was definetly not what I was going for. But it was a good base for my intentions, let me explain: The tax regulations here can be rather complex if you want it registered on a firm (lots of tax benifits). Short story, if you don't want complex it's just going to cost you a lot. That's why there's a wall between the passenger area and cargo space. You might also notice the 160 liter LPG tank, it runs on propane. This is because a gallon regular gas will run you more than $8,- in europe. LPG is less than half of that.
So I was looking for a five seat passenger with a none windowed cargo space. It also just had to be an AWD, and close to 15 years of age (avoiding some 'firm car - private usage' taxes again, bla bla bla).
This is where we at 3 years later:
Modifications so far:
-Skoda Steel Grey paintjob, welded in new rockers too
-Morimoto Projector retrofit
-Method NV305 18x9 wheels
-Sound system upgrade
-Silent coat (sort of dynamat) everywhere
-Webasto panoramic roof
-Victory Offroad roof rack with custom mounted 50" Strands Siberia lightbar
Plans:
-Quigley bumpers
-Lift kit
-Engine/transmission overhaul. 280k miles at the moment....
-Numerous 'camper' modifications
More about it later! Hope you guys like it so far
from Ireland, I think you guys are the only ones with worse vehicle taxes than us, but we don't get American stuff cos we drive on the wrong side. Van looks great, love the Skoda primer colour
