Roman & Ioana from switzerland are two explorers who enjoy freedom and living life to the fullest. After a long search for 4×4 they came across Leni, a Volkswagen LT 35 old bus and they knew it was the one for them.
We are Roman & Ioana, two explorers who enjoy freedom and living life to the fullest. We’ve met in Switzerland back in 2014 and immediately discovered that the biggest thing we have in common is our dream to travel the world and not being tight up to a place.
While most of people prefer stability and having specific plans for the future, we enjoy taking risks and not knowing what tomorrow will bring us. And so we started researching the different ways of travelling to understand what is the best option for us.
It didn’t take long to become obsessed about the idea of an endless road trip and the van life movement. We took the first step by buying a trailer to go with our SUV in the Summer of 2017.
It was a great option for the Summer but we quickly understood a van would give us much more flexibility and space. In November 2017 we bought our current Volkswagen bus Leni and started restoring it to our needs.
It is now a fully off-grid hippie camper-van and our tiny home on wheels while we started exploring Europe. Last summer 18.08.18 we got married and of course our wedding vehicle was Leni who got as much attention as we did.
Actually we were looking to get a 4×4 and at least 150hp van which is just few years old, planning to convert it into a motorhome ourselves.
But after a long search with no success we came across Leni, a Volkswagen old bus, rear wheel drive and already built into a camper van. Nothing as we initially thought of but from the very first moment we knew it was the one for us.
Love at first sight you may say. The first owners converted it by themselves back in 1991. It was very well maintained compared to all the other vehicles we have previously seen and the same day we decided to buy it.
We think Leni is perfect for the two of us. If later on our family will grow bigger, probably a self converted Mercedes Unimog or a similar truck would be great. Roman likes driving trucks and we could explore even more remote places with such a vehicle.
It also comes with extra space, load capacity, and safety feeling.
As we mentioned before Leni was converted by its first owners back in 1991. After purchasing it we did started adjusting for our needs. We started by building an inside shower and installing a cassette toilet as for us these were top priority.
Afterwards we installed two roof ventilators, a 200Ah Lithium LifePo4 battery and 460w solar panels. We also rebuilt the Bicycle rack and converted the bunk beds in the back into a storage space.
There is not much we would change about Leni. Maybe a bigger sink in the kitchen would be great.
But if we would have to build a motorhome from scratch then the heater, stove, and water heater, would run from diesel as a safer and more comfortable option than LPG gas.
It took us about a month to build the shower/toilet room and for small repairing in a service. The rest of adjustments we did while on the road.
There’s always a mix of opinions. We heard things like “That’s such a cool idea, you guys are crazy” or “You’re doing what???”. Most of our friends and family are happy for us and encourage our decisions.
So far Leni has brought us to 11 countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania.
We have an inside and an outside shower. We prefer the outside one in the summertime.
When the weather allows us we grill and make bonfires. Otherwise we are using our cute small kitchen inside.
Once we started this journey we realised how little we need to be happy. Vanlife is closely tight to the idea of minimalism and for us it was a relief to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff and stop the impulse buying.
It has brought us closer to nature by pushing us to spend most of our time outdoors and also to being more aware of our consumption and waste. Travelling with a van allows us to be spontaneous and discover places while we are on the road without always having a destination in mind.
Also, as everything we need is inside the van, we can decide to do the things we love at any time. We often go paddle boarding, cycling, rollerblading or hiking without having had this planned in advance.
And perhaps the best thing is the surprise factor – what view we will have outside our window today, what new people and stories we are coming across…
Our monthly expenses depend a lot on the country we are at. For example our expenses in Switzerland are twice or sometimes three times higher than what we spend in other countries like Latvia or Romania.
It also depends on how much we are driving each month and what time of the year it is. In Summertime our 70l LPG tank lasts for three months and in Wintertime it is barely enough for two weeks.
Our average monthly bill is around 2k CHF which increases in winter time.
For those of you who are just putting together the idea and don’t have a van yet we would suggest buying a second hand one or try renting for a week or two to experiment and understand exactly your needs.
For some people an average size van is sometimes too big and for others it may be way too small. Some people are totally fine without a shower and toilet inside while others can’t imagine to live without them.
It is just a matter of experimenting and finding the right balance between comfort and practicality for yourself. As for the best tip we can give is to just go ahead a try it. Don’t try to answer the million questions you might have beforehand.
Like everything else, the best is to learn by doing. If this is what you wish to do, take the first steps towards your dream and don’t let any fear drag you back.
In the last year we have met so many travellers on the road and with some of them we became good friends. It’s so nice to meet same minded people, to share tips and great locations or just great stories gathered from the road.
