Tribute to Jimmy

On the 11th of October 2012 it finally happened: My campervan has found new owners in the shape a lovely couple from Scotland.
I guess it’s like a lot of good things, my time in Australia sadly did have to come to an end. A country that has sort of become a home for me and touring in my little camper was a secret dream that had become true. Revisiting spots that I already had come across over a year earlier added to the melancholy. Our final trip ended in Brisbane where Laura and I got the Jimmy back to his former glory.


To many it will probably sound strange how you can get this emotionally attached to what is basically nothing but a machine. However this was so much more. It was my gateway to freedom, my home, a lifestyle and a dream come true. Furthermore this van had something that I respect in a vehicle, it had very strong character.




It felt warm and welcoming just to be inside, when lying in bed it didn’t feel like a metal tin box. On a personal note I think, a lot is down to the time I spent with and in this car and a lot of time brings with it memories and experience. It’s this experience that united me with Jimmy. After so much use and abuse it needed to be looked after and by servicing, repairing and upgrading him myself I learned to know every corner and cranny, every squeak and rattle. What I will probably remember the most will be my position behind the steering wheel.


It certainly wasn’t the easiest car to drive: If the lack of modern driving aids such as ABS, ESP or even Power Steering wasn’t enough, a height of 2.4m meant it was quite top heavy, susceptible to cross winds and while to short wheelbase made it agile, in combination with rear wheel drive it was also quite tail-happy. Furthermore the aerodynamic properties of a brick wall and a lack of sound proofing meant that driving any faster than 90km/h was only possible with a good set of speakers and exceeding 130km/h was only possible on a step downhill run.


This lack of luxuries did have a couple of upshots. It made the whole car very light, simple and in turn gave it a very mechanical and pure driving feel. With little between you and the ground you could feel the slightest of changes in the roads through the steering wheel. This came in quite handy on my favourite surface, loose gravel. With its extraordinary high ground clearance, rear wheel drive and the ruggedness of a cockroach it was a very capable car indeed. So in 2 ½ years we encountered every road surface imaginable: Tarmac, snow, ice, gravel, dirt, you name it. In total we covered over 6000km of partially rough, corrugated roads and crossed countless creeks – some of which were more than 60cm deep and even defeating some purpose built 4x4s.


I would be lying if I would say that nothing ever broke. It was nonetheless an aged car and traveling these huge distances through difficult terrain simply asks for things to go wrong. So, of course I did have to do few repairs. But, this is what made me love this van so much and defined a lot of its characteristics. Not once has it been unable to continue under its own power. I had sheared through washers that support the shock absorbers, had a stuck throttle, a rattling brake, worn wheel-bearings, flat tires and a few more little calamities, all of which I either managed to mend by the side of the road or continue until I found a place to fix the issue properly. It gave you the impression that it wanted to keep moving. I could adapt something that Richard Hammond once said: “There might be a more comfortable car to get you there, but a Toyota will always get you home”.


Maybe I should have given it a different name? In fact I have had a number of names for this amazing van: “Jimmy”, “donkey”, “mountain goat”, “the old war horse”, "the Trance Van", someone once suggested “Mary Poppins Handbag” (because of all the things that were inside). If only I knew what I would be up to with this van when I initially bought it in Melbourne, especially after all the worries and problems I had in the early beginnings. What it would look like inside and out towards the end, what kind of adventures we would encounter, where we would be and what sort of people we would meet. You have been a car, tour bus, delivery truck, people carrier, recovery vehicle (I did tow a couple of others), offroad machine, electricity supply (I had a 600W power inverter + battery on board), workshop, shelter, home, office, kitchen, viewing plattform, dj-set, rave truck, cinema, but most importantly a reliable companion.