Bankruptcies, bad luck and Polish workshops - that bitter end of my VR6
Every vanlifer knows the romantic side of traveling: freedom, lonely pitches and the feeling that the whole world is open to you. But the truth is that the joys and sorrows of living with an older vehicle are extremely close together. My T4 VR6 was my pride and joy - perfectly developed, self-sufficient and ready for countless kilometers. But sometimes a single wrong turn - or in my case a visit to the wrong workshop - is enough to abruptly end a dream.
The unused luxury: The Webasto mystery
The VR6 actually had everything you could wish for. There was even a Webasto auxiliary heater in the rear. An absolute premium feature for anyone who wants to be self-sufficient even on colder nights. The strange thing about it? I actually never used them. To this day I don't even know if it even worked. We got through it perfectly the entire time because the rest of the setup was just right. The bus ran, had space for six people and was my faithful companion - until that fateful stop in the workshop.
The workshop nightmare after a Year
After just one year full of beautiful moments and successful road trips, fate took its course. I ended up with the car in a workshop, which in hindsight turned out to be an absolute bad decision - I now look back and call it the “Polish treatment”. What started out as a routine service or minor repair ended in absolute disaster. After the first visit to the workshop, nothing was the same: the proud VR6 engine was completely gone. Total loss.
The shock was deep, and the VR6 project was history from one second to the next. But those who have vanlife in their blood don't give up so easily. As we all know, every ending is also a new beginning. The VR6 was history, but the passion for the T4 was awakened. And this much can be revealed: the journey was far from over here. After the VR6 the change came - and the story really started with my next T4, the red one, until I finally ended up with the blue one...
See you soon and always have a good trip,
your Tussy 💛