What's your name, how did you meet Fleur, Michael, Julie and Given, how long ago?
Hello! My name is Manfred. I’m a Mercedes SK 1722 4×4, from 1993. Before Michael found me, I was
used as a snow plough by the German authorities. I had only 58,000 km on the clock. I turned out to be the perfect base vehicle for their future expedition truck, suiting all the family’s needs. Michael found me in 2017, near the German-Denmark border.
Are you the first truck in their lives?
No, I was actually the third. First they had (and the family still have it in the shed at home, they will never sell it! 😊 ) a Toyota Land Cruiser HJ 45 from 1978. They travelled in a rooftoptent with it. Julie went on adventures with it too when she was still a little baby. However, for their longer journey they wanted something more comfortable. Also, Given was on the way and their would be no space for him in the Land Cruiser.
The family decided to travel long term in a Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ78, a so called ‘Busch Taxi’. Michael found one in Hungary. They were planning to convert it into an off road camper, and they visited several builders in The Netherlands and Germany. However, in the end there couldn’t be four seats legally on the cars document, so they had to come up with a different plan. Fleur always liked the idea of travelling in a truck, because of the living space. That’s when I showed up. It took Michael 6 months to find me on the Internet. He was searching for trucks every single day, and I was the chosen one to travel the world with them! 😊I was named after the Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ78, which name was Manfred (from the Mammoth of Ice Age). I think it suits me well, I’m also quite a giant 😊
For about a year, Michael spent all his free weekends in his workshop, working on me.
Changing parts, upgrading the truck, adjusting the back axle tires from four to two tires. He has also built the whole air system into the chassis so he could make two big fuel tanks on the left-hand side of me, and several stainless steel boxes on the right-hand side to store a lot of stuff. He moved the three air valves (4×4, diff locks, low gear) into the dashboard, so they have more room for the kids in the cabin.
Furthermore, Michael completed lots and lots of little projects, such as making outdoor lighting, making a bull bar, a sun visor, a music system and a CB radio, a rear and side camera system and a water separator filter amongst other things.
The living unit has been built by a Dutch company called Twiga Travelcars. They did an amazing job!
The living unit is equipped with a kitchen, cabinets, a bathroom with a Separett Tiny toilet, shower and a 3 kg washing machine. They have U-shaped seats around the dining table. A double bed above the seats and table can be lowered with electric motors. Bunkbeds have been built for the kids and a lot of storage space.
I also have a water purification system with two filters and UV lamp on board. I have four solar panels on the roof that provide us with sufficient power. These are connected to four batteries to store this energy. I carry 350 liters of water and my fuel tank capacity is 470 liters of diesel.
The family can crawl through a hole between the living area and the driving cabin, so if we are ever at a place we don’t feel comfortable at, Michael can drive away without having to go outside first.
I was completed in 2019. The family has uploaded a video to YouTube with a full tour of the living unit for anyone interested.
Where have they taken you and where do they want to take you?
The family’s initial plan was to fly to Halifax, Canada on the 30th of April 2020. Flight tickets were bought, bags were packed, and the boat for me was booked. They were planning to drive to Alaska to spend the summer there. After that, they wanted to make our way south to discover Canada and the rest of the lower 48. However, Covid-19 cancelled it all… We travelled in Europe for two years fulltime instead, discovering 22 countries.
This year, we still made their dream trip together. We’re so happy to finally be here. We drove from Halifax across Canada to the Yukon. Afterwards we discovered Alaska. We also drove all the way to Tuktoyaktuk, where the family jumped into the Arctic Ocean. Afterwards we drove south again, and we are currently having great fun in Utah. We will go back to the Netherland in March 2024. The family is not sure where we will go next, but that we will go on new adventures is certain!
Do they plan or improvise?
They do a little bit of both. They plan the trip broadly, with no details, and we usually stay at one place for one night and then drive further. We all love the driving part of the day, however, when a certain place is really really nice we’ll stay longer.
The evening before we leave, Michael and Fleur search for places to stay for the next night. They used to always use Google Maps and look for open spaces in a forest or along a river. That could be a bit difficult and sometimes we had to drive to five different places and arrive after dark before finding a good spot. Before they had kids, that wasn’t a problem.
Nowadays, situations like that are a bit more unpleasant, so since 2020 they started using the apps Park4night and iOverlander. They are a great help and we never have to check out five places before we find a good spot. So much better!
Because we planned to go to remote areas (in Canada and Alaska for example), Fleur completed a first-aid course for children. In addition, they have a Garmin InReach Mini for when we wouldn’t have cell phone reception and would be in need of help.
Naturally, they also carry a well equipped first-aid kit with us. They hope they never have to use any of this, but it feels better to be prepared.
Michael can fix a lot of things himself. It’s why the family wanted to buy a truck with old mechanical construction, so they wouldn’t need a computer to fix it in case it breaks down. They carry a lot of spare parts with them, such as a waterpump, an alternator, a head gasket set, a fuel pump revision set, two spare tires and lots of small parts. We have custom made wheels which make it possible to take off the tires from the rims ourselves if we need to repair them.
When he doesn’t have the knowledge, they have a few friends they can fall back on. Of course there will always be things that can only be fixed by mechanics in a workshop.
…just being together discovering the world is what’s is all about!
What hobbies, passions, neuroses... are your travel companions?
The family loves exploring the places where we arrive: hiking and just being outdoors The kids love to play outside, just playing with a stick and a rock 😉
Also they love me: they cuddle my tires everytime they haven’t seen me for a few hours. I became like a person for them, a true member of the family. The family also loves outdoor cooking, and most days they therefore sit around a campfire by the end of the day. Priceless memories for them all.
They teach their children theirselves, to write and read etc, and that has become a daily ‘hobby’ too. They really enjoy doing this! But just being together discovering the world is what’s is all about!
Any scare or breakdown?
We had a few break downs, also on this trip. However it where just little things so far (an air hose that was blown up and a mudguard that were ribbed off) that Michael could fix himself, and within half an hour we were back on the road again, thankfully!
Manfred says goodbye sharing a lesson learned along the way.
Life is too short to just stick with dreaming!!
Respect for nature, the environment and the regulations of each country
See you on the way!
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