Rudi - a symbol for sustainability?

A few of you might already know him – Rudi, our Toyota Landcruiser. We bought him in Germany after realising during a trip in Australia just how much we love camping in a 4x4. We first gave it a go in Tassie, and we still think back on that amazing time. Back then we rented a 70-series with a rooftop tent, and that’s exactly what we aimed for. After some searching, we found one close to Stuttgart and made our dream come true. Looking back, though, Rudi never quite settled in – when it got too cold, he’d sometimes refuse to start, and he’s definitely got a personality of his own. After all, he’s 32 years old now...

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Sustainability of an oldtimer

32 years is quite a lot, and in Germany, we could’ve considered registering him as a classic car. That is, if he hadn’t been modified so much – the registration offices don’t really like that... But we’re happy, with or without the status, that we can keep driving this former UN medical vehicle (the stickers are still on the windows). We didn’t want to leave him behind when we moved to Australia, so we just had him shipped over. Is it sustainable to ship a 32-year-old vehicle to Australia? My dear colleagues who deal with environmental impact assessments could probably work that out. For us, it was absolutely worth it – Rudi’s loving the sunshine and warmth here, finally amongst his own kind. And over the next few days, we’ll be celebrating a very special milestone: we’re about to hit 300,000 kilometres! Marcus bought the matching sticker a while ago (300,000 high mileage club) – let’s see where in Australia we’ll end up sticking it on. :)

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An ongoing project

Having an off-road camping vehicle is a great hobby, too. After buying Rudi, we kicked off the first phase of upgrades and built our own storage cabinet to stash food more easily. But after watching heaps of Instagram videos and getting ideas, we realised it’s not all that simple... It turned out well and served us for a few years. But now – in the land of campers and Landcruisers – we’ve decided to treat Rudi to a new fit-out for his anniversary. So, everything’s been stripped out again, and the fun begins all over! Stay tuned – I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.

Guess what we will change in the car

• Add a rear bar
• Add some storage boxes
• Add a 270 degree awning