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Tools and Equipment
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This is not a complete list, so when you break down and haven’t got a seventeen-millimetre ratchet driven inverted oogeemaflip because I didn’t include it in this list then tough luck! Oh damn, I just have haven’t I? Ok well anyway, just use common sense.
Hammer
Jubilee clips come in very handy, especially if ‘fashioned’ with a hammer.*
13mm spanner
Duct tape (that wide silver stuff with webbing in) holds things in place really well if you’ve got the grime off first.
Cable ties.
Another 13mm spanner
Complete set of spanners.**
Complete set of screwdrivers.**
Swiss army knife – you know the big one with a hook thing, a reamer, a magnifying glass, a pin and a magnifying glass. Ok so that might come in handy in getting splinters out, but if it’s got loads of screwdrivers, a little metal saw and file along with a pair of pliers, you’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve without having to hunt through your tool kit for the bits that you’ve already lost.
Hammer.
Pliers, adjustable spanners and anything else that can hang onto that really stubborn imper-metric-worth bolt that some replaced thirty four years ago
A jack (that works and can lift higher than you normally need) and if you’re even thinking of going off the beaten track a shovel would be useful, not just if you get caught short at two in the morning, but also for when you get stuck in that olive grove
Some more 13mm spanners
Bits of pipe to replace or at least patch any fuel, air, gas and water pipes you’ve got. Don’t forget you’re sink will spring a leak just as get to the most inaccessible spot of the route.
Cables and the like, really anything that’s likely to snap and connects you (at the front) to the engine and gearbox (at the back).
If you didn’t realise that the engine was in the back, may I suggest a fairly intensive car-mechanics course, a large moor of lucky heather, the feet from the cast Watership Down and a fairly wide and passionate belief in religion (I’d recommend not limiting you’re self to just one Supreme Being as he may be busy when you need his assistance)
Assuming you did know the engine is in the back, than the heather, rabbits feet and religion aren’t quite so vital, but don’t discount them entirely.
Maybe another 13mm spanner?
Replacement distributor cover, H-T leads, spark plugs, points, condenser and any other bits of your electrical system that make the bus go.
Don't forget a fan belt.
Have I mentioned taking a hammer with you?
Have you got a collection of nuts, bolts and screws you can take? If so take them so you don’t spend half an hour looking round your van for a non-essential one that fits the missing one.
Check before you go, but things like fire extinguishers, first aid kits, warning triangles (two in some countries), reflective jackets for everyone in the vehicle and a complete set of spare bulbs are all compulsory in one combination or another across Europe. Oh yeah, and a tow rope, not that you'll need it of course - where'd you put that lucky rabbits foot?
The most important thing to take with you is a collection of VW catalogues and some phone numbers, remember they can ship stuff pretty much everywhere (thank you VW Heritage!). Yes it might cost a bit in postage and a few days waiting, but it’s better than coming home on a transporter!
A length of pipe to help the spanner with those particularly stubborn nuts.Though make sure it doesn’t come across as an offensive weapon when you get searched for drugs (oily finger and hand prints look better than blood stains).
Insurance – Check you’re covered in Europe.
Breakdown cover – Sometimes included in standard insurance, but check the details. Now that’s something I really must do one day…
Two credit cards from different companies, so if an unusual spending pattern occurs at 10pm in a Swedish petrol station, there’s a good chance your other card won’t be locked out as well.
Service the beast! Oil, grease, air-filter, fan-belt, ignition. Sad git here, but personally I service it before leaving, when I get there and a final check over immediately before starting the return journey. Or every 1500miles for the grease and 4000 miles for the rest if it’s a longer trip.
And make sure you've got a hammer and a 13mm spanner,
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* ‘Fashioned’ means to belt seven bells out of it against a concrete block, then bend it again with the biggest pliers you can find. Just watch for flying masonry as it’s a bugger if you get half a pound of concrete in your eye.
** They won’t be complete sets when you need them though.