Before living for a long term in Europe, I never intended to buy a bigger vehicle, such as an MPV or a Van/Minibus.
In the country where I was born and raised, or in other central Asian countries, most big families wouldn‘t even want to fit themselves in such a multi-purpose vehicle or a minibus. There was no camping culture at all until recently, emerging among young people of millennials.
Like any other man, I liked sports cars and luxury autos. I drove some of the best. I had never heard of a VW “T”, Mercedes “V”, or similar things.
I bought the T6 only after a few years of living in Germany. The purpose was plain: to transport goods for a building project, which we were about to start. I did not think of transforming it into a camper at all. And that’s also why I choose a T6, not a more beautiful design like a Mercedes V. On the other hand, as it would be used as a transporter (by its mean), I looked for a cheap – robust car, which should have been very popular with cheap and easy-to-find auto parts.
Source: Polizei Bochum/Presseportal
I believe VW builds such cheap – robust cars. At least, that was my belief. The local “Polizei” (Police) uses it. The “Bundespolizei” (Federal police) uses it. Emergency forces use it too. VW design is also a classic work. It never gets old (because it’s already old-fashioned!). Although I have driven many Mercedes, BMW, and Porsche (all three are German brands), I never drove any VW before. My daily car, whenever I need it, is an Audi.
After all, it’s a German auto. German auto couldn’t be a wrong choice!
Besides that, it’s a cheaper option than others.
I went to the auto dealer one morning, signed the documents, then went back to Munich, waiting for the necessary documents to take care of the registration process and license plates. Everything happened very quickly. I only needed to return to the auto dealer once with the new license plates, attach them to the car, and drive back home.
The VW T6 I bought was owned by the federal. Registered in 2018, it was used almost every day to transport documents back and forth. When I purchased it in 2022, it reached 142,000 km. Still, everything looks good. Other than many scratches inside the cargo space, there is no sign that the buddy had to do much hard work. The engine ran well. Some parts were replaced. A fresh primary inspection was done. I took it home worry-free.
It turned out that driving in such a (bigger) vehicle brought me so much joy. Slowly, I went with the new buddy almost daily, leaving my fancy auto alone at home. Unlike smaller cars, I could load up as much stuff as I wanted. The field of view is broader. It even has a parking heater integrated. Definitely worth it in the cold winter of Germany!
Other functions are pretty basic. There was no fancy V6, V8, or V12 Turbo engine, just a pure 150ps diesel heart. No big display screen, Android Auto, or Carplay. No multi-function steering wheel. Manual adjusted A/C. No B&O speaker. Seats can be adjusted in a few directions using human energy. At least I could connect to Bluetooth, and I didn’t have to bring a portable speaker if I wanted to hear music.
After all, that’s a transporter – a work vehicle. I was happy with it!
One day, not long after I got my new friend, I decided to try something new with him. Later on, I found out that was a stupid thing.
It was late winter, and spring hadn’t come yet. I missed the days with my big SUVs. And suddenly, I got a crazy idea to drive my T6 through our meadow. I got a feeling that it would end up badly. My gut “Bauchgefühl” feeling (lit. belly feeling) was right. The T6 wasn’t equipped with 4WD or a strong engine and did not even have offroad tires. To none of my wonder, my big, strong, good looked T6 got stuck in between the muddy, wet winter meadow.
Look at that little tiny red dot in the middle of the meadow…
I tried a hundred ways to get it out of the marsh – None worked. Even my neighbor came to help. I tried for a few days longer. I waited until the morning, expecting that the sunlight might help. In many cases, father sun would help. Except, that is winter in Germany; Father sun went somewhere else, shining on the naked sunbathing people and leaving us desperate in the rain and cold. There was no sun at all!
I didn’t want to call for car rescue and pay a few hundred bucks (euros, in fact) for such a stupid thing. I always hate to give up on anything. Yet I had to decide I shouldn’t waste more time rescuing it anymore…
Sometimes in life, problems arise, and you may try every possible way to resolve them. But the harder you try, the deeper you get stuck. Sometimes, you only need to turn your head over, rest, and wait; the problems will resolve themselves. I also believe the same in my case. Not because I believed in any miracle but because I knew that the sun would come, sooner or later, and harden the ground so that I could drive away.
The sun finally visited us back in a few days. I waited until the ground was more stable, and when it was, I started the engine and drove out, did not look back once. We were out of the marsh, the meadow, and the problem disappeared as quickly as it came. That was the first time my T6 got dirted. That’s its destiny. That’s what it was made for. But no more meadows, at least without offroad tires!
And was a big mess…
Yes, it was stupid. But it was fun!
So did my T6 start his journey.
And he would be one of the main characters of “Highway Happiness” for a while. He will tell you stories about the roads he traveled, the memories, and the friends he has met along his trips.
He will tell it all.
