The adventures of keeping an old camper running

Written by Dave:  During our travels, we have run into a few issues ranging from small to large with our camper.  We started out with the camper using a bit more oil than usual.  Easily fixed with the purchase of two five liter containers of oil.  Keep checking the oil and top up as necessary.  Easy fix.

Throttle cable breaks

In the South of France, we had our throttle cable snap while on the Autoroute.  That was our first experience with a tow.  We spent two days in a small village waiting for the part to arrive and the repair shop to open back up.  In the mean time we enjoyed playing paddle ball in the parking lot, exploring the little village, and playing card games.  We drove off repaired and about $450 lighter.

Engine overheats, destroyed

In Switzerland, while climbing the mountains, a coolant hose ruptured.  This was the time I learned that our temperature gauge didn’t work, as the coolant was being lost beneath the camper.  The first sign of a problem was the car honking beside me as the engine seized up.  In spite of this setback we met many wonderful people, saw many beautiful sites we hadn’t planned on visiting, and had a great time in Switzerland that we wouldn’t have experienced without the breakdown.

The mechanic in Switzerland couldn’t understand why we were fixing the camper, but being American, we can’t just buy, register and insure a camper as we can in the US.  We could do this in the Netherlands, and in some cases in Germany, but we were in Switzerland.  It was fix the camper or go home.  We all discussed it, and it was unanimous that we didn’t want to go home yet.  The mechanic’s parting advice was to sell the camper as soon as possible.

Back on the road towards Italy, the camper was running great.  The new engine used no oil, our mileage improved significantly, and it felt great to be traveling again.  Then trouble started arising in Italy.

Camper won’t shut off

Our first sign of trouble was when the engine wouldn’t shut off.  This didn’t happen every time we stopped, but started getting more frequent.  Luckily, being a manual transmission, I just shifted into fifth gear and killed the engine.  Then the real problem started up.

Italy was quite hot in July, so I stopped frequently to check the oil and coolant as the temperature gauge didn’t work.  The oil was maintaining great, and coolant was staying right where it needed to be.  I jumped back in the camper, started the engine, shifted into reverse and pushed the pedal.  Nothing.  I pushed the pedal again, and nothing.  Manually moving the throttle from under the hood still produced no increase in RPMs.  After many attempts, the engine finally revved up, and we were off.  But this was a troubling new incident.

Throttle starts having trouble from idle

The few shorter trips we took through Italy were incident free.  No problems until we started our longer drive into Croatia.  Again a hot day, when we entered Slovenia I stopped to buy a vignette.  The camper wouldn’t shut off with the key, so I killed the engine with the clutch.  Getting back in with the vignette, I started the engine and pressed the pedal.  Nothing.  After about three to four minutes of pumping the throttle, the engine finally revved up.  We started our trip up the mountain towards Croatia.

This was high season, and the traffic was thick.  As traffic slowed going up the mountain, we came to a stop.  When traffic started moving again, I couldn’t.  I was completely blocking one of the lanes, so on went the hazard lights and the yellow vest.  Under the hood, I couldn’t get the engine to rev up at all.  This concerned me, as I was blocking heavy traffic on a narrow mountain road.  After about 15-20 minutes, the engine finally revved to life, I jumped in and drove off.

Keep your foot on the gas

I quickly formulated a plan to keep the engine running at nothing less than 2000 RPM in order to keep driving.  This was an interesting task up a mountain in stop and go traffic with a clutch, but I made it.  Going down the mountain, I let the engine drop to idle, and couldn’t accelerate again.  Since I was going downhill, I coasted up to speed, shifted into second, and my RPM’s jumped so I was able to drive again.

I was very careful again, and we made it to the border crossing without further incident.  While waiting for our turn to get the Schengen exit stamp, I lost concentration and let the engine slip to idle.  I was now blocking my lane at the border crossing.  Another 15-20 minutes of messing with the throttle under the hood, and the engine finally revved back to life.  Nancy had walked up to get our exit stamps while I was working to get the engine revving, so we were able to drive right through.

Injector connection fixed, throttle fixed

I spent about an hour and a half driving like this, but finally we made it to Motovun, Croatia.  This is where our refrigerator quit working for the rest of our trip.  We eventually made it to a mechanic, and discovered that there was a bad connection at the first fuel injector.  We had to see two different mechanics to get it fixed, and found both shops to be extremely helpful.

The first place spent about 20 minutes diagnosing the problem, but didn’t have the part.  They called around and found the other mechanic who had the part, gave us directions, and charged us nothing for their time. The connection was fixed for about $20, and now the camper shut off consistently with the key, and I never experienced the throttle problem again.  We were back in business!

Fuel pump leak

Then oil started leaking fairly quickly.  I looked under the van, but couldn’t tell where it was coming from.  We found a mechanic in Split, but they were too busy.  They directed us to another Ford mechanic about 24 kilometers away.  We arrived a bit before closing, and they took us right in.  Turns out the fuel pump was leaking, and they just happened to have the one we needed.  They ordered it about a year earlier for another camper like ours, but found bigger problems also, and the owner decided to junk the camper instead.  The part was waiting on the shelf for us since then.  We would have had to wait more than a week otherwise.  A little over $350 lighter, we were back on the road, and no more oil loss.

Another tow, alternator trouble

After a pleasant trip north, the engine quit shutting off with the key again.  Then as we approached Karlovac, Croatia, we turned off to find camping.  As I was just about to drive down a narrow road, a loud squeal started coming from under the hood.  I pulled over right away, checked under the hood, and found nothing.  I went to start the engine again, and the battery seemed dead.  I tried jumping the camper with the house battery, but couldn’t get it to go.  I hiked back to the toll booth, and called for a tow.

The man who showed up was a very interesting and thoughtful person.  As he drove us to the repair shop, he asked about our travels, and life in the US.  Then he started talking about his business.  He said he always found it interesting how people reacted after an accident.  If someone was hurt, then people were justifiably upset about the circumstances.  But if a car was destroyed, and everyone was alright, he felt people should be happy and thankful, not upset.  He said he would always try to tell people, “Hey, everyone is alright.  It is just a vehicle, you can get a rental or another vehicle.  The important thing is everyone is alright.”  When I thought about it, he was absolutely right.  Most of us look at it from the wrong angle.

But we had been through enough of these incidents, that I was already coming to understand this.  Before, when these things would happen, I would get scared or upset.  Now, we just say “Well, everyone is alright.  We all have good health.  We will figure this out.”

As it turned out, it was an alternator problem.  Another $500 or so for the tow and the work, and we were on our way again.  We have now been towed four times in Europe over the last year, and never needed a tow in the US.  Another new and unexpected experience for us.  But each time we have met new people we wouldn’t have otherwise met, and learned things we would not have otherwise learned.  Through it all, it helps us gather perspective, patience, and perseverance.

The end of the camper era

But it is time to sell the camper.  We sold the camper in Germany, and acquired a French lease car.  We now have a Renault Kangoo, with built in navigation and other modern conveniences.  We love it.  After doing the math, what it would cost us for license and registration for the camper for six more months, added with what we will get for the camper, the lease vehicle costs the same.  And we have full insurance and roadside assistance with no deductible all throughout Europe.  Getting 45 MPG is a big bonus also.  Kind of takes the mystery and suspense out of travel now.  We can move a lot faster, and now we can park in any parking lot.

We do miss our camper, however.  It was our home on wheels.  Lots of memories, laughter, and family game nights.  We had many adventures in it that wouldn’t have been possible without it.  And we had many encounters with wonderful people that wouldn’t have happened without the various mechanical issues.  We have learned and taken something positive from every situation that came along.  So were they really problems, or good experiences in disguise?

The adventures continue…