Simply priceless
Anna and Martin explore Europe with their lovingly built VW T3
Anna and Martin don’t care for package tours and all-inclusive holidays. They have completely different priorities: They need their freedom and never stay long in one place. Their faithful companion is “Schlumpf”, a 35-year-old VW T3 Camper Van with BILSTEIN suspension.
“We are adventurers to the core. Two weeks at one and the same campsite would not be a pleasure for us”, the two say. “We enjoy the wind in our face and love those moments when we pass beautiful places without having planned to. We spend a few hours on the beach to relax and have a delicious dinner with good wine. The next day we’ll head to another great place.”
“For us, travelling means discovering places we haven’t been before and seeing things we don’t know yet. That’s why we are always on the move pretty quickly and can’t usually stay anywhere for more than three days. A camper is therefore the perfect solution for us. We can come and leave when we want, are independent and get quickly from A to B.”
Anna
Anna and Martin have lovingly set up and rebuilt their van. There is nothing left of the old T3, which the two bought from a backyard dealer for little money in 2012. Technically perfect and visually appealing, the “Smurf” blends in wonderfully with the panoramas of Europe. Anna and Martin have already travelled through half of Europe in their van: from Northern France to Southern France and from the island of Fehmarn to Croatia and Italy, the three have seen a lot of Europe.
Anyone who travels so much needs a reliable and perfectly equipped camper. So it’s no wonder that the modifications of the classic car read almost like the equipment list of a new VW T6. Among other things, the “Swabians by choice” renovated the complete interior of the Westfalia camper and rebuilt the high roof. Anna and Martin also installed an additional battery with 120 Ah and two solar panels with a total of 200W on the roof.
As both never know exactly where the road will take them, the two camping fans raised the T3 front and rear and fitted a BILSTEIN B6 shock absorber.
“Since we like to be off-road and looking for somewhere to spend the night, this conversion was one of the most important for us. Having a robust yet comfortable suspension system is simply worth its weight in gold for us.”
Martin
Both obviously did everything right with their choice: “In our experience, the BILSTEIN B6 is a perfect all-rounder,” says Martin happily. “We were even able to drive on gravel roads with 70 km/h without the shock absorber getting too hot. We are very satisfied so far and would recommend the B6 to anyone who likes to cover distances on the motorway but also wants to leave the paved roads now and then.”
Anna and Martin don’t know yet where they will go next. But that’s exactly what their lifestyle is all about: “If we see a nice beach, we can make a stop and jump into the sea,” says Anna. “If we feel like it, we can drive off the road and wake up with a mountain panorama – that’s simply priceless!”
