So, the weekend started with a bit of a lie in as we didn’t need to get to Bob until about lunchtime. The drive over was very exciting as we were soon to pick up our own VW Camper.

On arriving we went through all the details and checked over the things that had been due to be finished on her, and with much pleasure drove her over to my Dad’s where we were going to stay for the night.

I’d driven a few campers before but usually only test drives around the block or on a short bit of A-Road, so the 35 mile drive along motorway, dual-carriageway and through towns was something the driver in me was really looking forward to. First impressions of Bob was that she drove very nicely. The gearbox isn’t as vague as some I’ve driven (although it’s still very VW Camper obviously) and I was able to relax and cruise along at 55-60mph easily. I was caught out a few times though by what I thought was me being in the wrong gear (I’m glad the Mitsubishi on the roadabout had good brakes – I accelerated and nothing happened!) but ended up not being me. I also found the steering to be a little heavy at times, but found that if I breathed in it became suddenly much lighter – another reason I could maybe do with loosing a few inches from my waist!

On this first drive we also experienced the VW-effect for the first time as groups of children on the pavement stopped and pointed and grown men walked along discussing us.

At Dad’s we looked her over and he took it out for a test-drive. Being a mechanic he was far more able than I to give it the once over, and although VW Campers are very much not his vehicle of choice he knows a fair bit about them. As my cousin S (also a mechanic) has a ramp in a workshop nearby we decided to take it over and have a look underneath. Also joining us was S‘s friend M, who has restored and repaired a number of VW Campers over the years. We all looked over Bob and decided that she was a fine example of the breed but she needed a bit of finishing off to make her right, and so when we got back to Dad’s I called the garage and went through what we felt needed sorting.

The garage were great, and were almost as disappointed as we were. So we agreed that Bob would go back to the garage on the Sunday, be sorted out Monday & Tuesday and then be returned to us Thursday.

Sunday morning we had a late start and at around eleven went to set-off for home via my Nan’s to show off Bob, the garage to drop Bob off and my Mum’s to say hello. Bob wouldn’t start. Dad fiddled around a bit with the engine cleaning out the distributor and making sure the leads were on properly and eventually she started. We set off for Nan’s and when we got there the VW-effect kicked in again. On the way a T5 VW flashed and waved and when we’d arrived a group of boys from up the road came over and with big grins started taking pictures of Bob on their ‘phone. We were told this would happen but…!

From Nan’s it started second flick and we had been driving for all of 5 minutes when the engine died whilst I was about to change from third to fourth. We tried to get her going but with no success. So we called the RAC and waited for a bit in the Picasso before heading back to Nan’s where it was warmer and equipped with facilities.

It was during this time that we pondered whether the VW Camper had come about because of its legendary reliability. Presumably there were lots of people breaking down in them and thinking “If only we could make a cup of tea of have a sleep whilst we’re sat here waiting for the breakdown van.” and so decided to put a cooker and some beds in the back. I know I’m being a bit harsh, but I wonder how much so! Time will tell.

When the RAC man arrived he got in and she started first time. It must be the orange jacket… He played with the engine a bit and found that by adjusting the timing a little he was able to stop it from being so lumpy at lower revs and when idling.

After a time making sure the engine was running well, an explanation of how the automatic choke worked and a comparison of our vans’ shades of orange we were on our way again with the RAC man following to make sure the engine didn’t die again. Mum was called to say that we’d have to give her a miss because it was getting late.

The drive to the garage was great. Despite being wary of further problems the way of driving is wonderful. There’s none of the urge to rush and overtake that there is in the Smart Roadster or MX-5. Roundabouts and junctions are places you wait until the absolutely right moment rather than seeing an opportunity and going for it. It’s all so sedate wafting along in Bob. Despite the inevitable crosswind wobble and my nervousness about driving her in the dark and rain for the first time it was just so relaxing…

We dropped her off at the garage and said farewell until later in the week. It was an odd weekend. In some ways it was a waste, but it did give us our first taste of Bob, and she’s very much under our skin now…