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| Photo by Clint Hudspeth |
After two tedious weeks of dealing with the insurance company in regards to our trailer, the tow truck came and pulled it away. The frame was bent into a 'diamond condition' which in the end translated to it being totaled. We were in Portland at the time considering our options on how to continue our trip, which in the end proved to be a great opportunity to re-dream our adventure.
With hesitation over the size of the vehicle but with much excitement, we ended up buying an 84' VW Westfalia. We drove it back home to deal with registration and a few repairs. What we thought would be one week of work on the van slowly turned into six weeks!
Our time was extended by: waiting for parts, discovering new problems and projects taking much longer than expected. With the exception of a few repairs we had a mechanic do, we did all the work and upgrades on Jadey ourselves. Including: fixing the fridge, installing and auxiliary battery system, sanding and repainting rust damage and upgrading the alternator harnessing wire to name a FEW! Some unexpected problems included not passing smog and needing to replace the eleven year old tires, one of which turned out to be defective and needed reordering!
In the end, it was really great learning how to work on our car. Although summer and money seemed to slip away during our time home, it was great spending time with family and friends and of coarse eating those famous California burritos again!
After two tedious weeks of dealing with the insurance company in regards to our trailer, the tow truck came and pulled it away. The frame was bent into a 'diamond condition' which in the end translated to it being totaled. We were in Portland at the time considering our options on how to continue our trip, which in the end proved to be a great opportunity to re-dream our adventure. 
With hesitation over the size of the vehicle but with much excitement, we ended up buying an 84' VW Westfalia. We drove it back home to deal with registration and a few repairs. What we thought would be one week of work on the van slowly turned into six weeks!
Our time was extended by: waiting for parts, discovering new problems and projects taking much longer than expected. With the exception of a few repairs we had a mechanic do, we did all the work and upgrades on Jadey ourselves. Including: fixing the fridge, installing and auxiliary battery system, sanding and repainting rust damage and upgrading the alternator harnessing wire to name a FEW! Some unexpected problems included not passing smog and needing to replace the eleven year old tires, one of which turned out to be defective and needed reordering! 
In the end, it was really great learning how to work on our car. Although summer and money seemed to slip away during our time home, it was great spending time with family and friends and of coarse eating those famous California burritos again! 
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