Well, we’re back from our 7-week, 3400-mile Sprinter road trip across the Pacific Northwest and north to my homeland, Canada, and the Gulf Islands. Longest trip for us in the Sprinter so far, and for the kids too. What did we learn?
- I LOvE our Sprinter camper van – Yes, I knew this already, but the trip was full of moments where we were glad to have everything we needed with us and at hand, a refuge from the heat and cold, cheap transport (compared to $3500 worth of airline tickets, at least!), being able to park and camp anywhere, it’s the best.
- iPod or other electronic diversion for the kiddos ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY – Not news to other parents of young ‘uns, but now emblazoned into our brains (and sorry to those people behind us in Utah that we nearly ran off the road as we all screamed at each other, before recognizing the solution at hand).
- It’s good to only carry what you really need – No point in bringing climbing gear, just the sea kayak. And we never read all of those dozen books we acquired along the way (don’t even ask about the 4′ x 5′ painting we bought – but it’s damn beautiful, like all of Leanne Hodges‘ work).
- A 2.4 cu. ft. fridge does not cut it for a family of 4 – I realize I was working from memory of a couple’s food needs when planning our conversion, not how much 4 people can actually eat. Mistake!
- Bjorn kiddie potty, a necessary evil – When your 3-year-old is terrified by the dark, smelly bathroom looming up out of dark campground, options are few.
- Two solar panels on the Sprinter create independence – we never needed hookups, we were never short of power. First trip I’ve seen the ammeter on the Sprinter solar system go to almost 12 amps. Thanks AM Solar!
The kids, us and the Sprinter are nary the worse for wear, other than some sunburns from the last few days across the searing wastes of the northwestern US desert, and a moment of panic (or several!) when we suddenly couldn’t do more than 40 mph, even with the accelerator floored, outside of Steamboat Springs. No warning lights or codes that we could see, but we feared the worst. We were on our way to the shady oasis of Strawberry Hot Springs, but that idea was put on hold, producing much wailing. At the next gas station, I popped the hood and looked for likely suspects – fluid levels seemingly okay (although the tranny fluid fill on the NCV3 Sprinter’s engine is way down below and has no fill stick, just a stern warning “Mercedes personnel ONLY!”), everything’s clean, no leaking oil or fluids, all hoses tight – wait, this hose here isn’t so tight…intake manifold held on by a plastic button at either end…ahh, now the slight pop and sigh I remembered hearing on one of the last hills made sense: that was three factors combining: hot day, steep hill, and having the cruise control set to 65 mph produces popped-off hose, and resulting instant loss of power (read the Sprinter-Forum thread I wish I had seen before the trip…). Got the hose tightly back into place and, voila, back in business! What a relief.
But all this road trip talk reminds me of important things I forget – we only have so much time on the planet, and we need to connect with our loved ones at least every year, not every 4 or 5 – we may just not have that much time, and they might not be around either. Go see them now, if you can!
Lastly – it seemed huge to us, but our trip was just a jaunt, really. There are so many places to explore and so many people out there exploring, many in Sprinters. Next post, I want to focus on some of these fellow Sprinter travellers, they’re amazing and inspiring!
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