Vanlife is amazing, and at the same time it comes with its own challenges. We loved the two months we had living on the road with Trev. The best thing about being on the North Island during winter is the hot pools! Soaking our troubles away and easing sore muscles after a cold night in the van or a long hike is absolutely amazing.

The worst thing about living in a van in winter is its COLD! We had thought we’d be able to freedom camp for most of our travels. Whilst it’s definitely an option here in Aotearoa, we’ve found it difficult to do in winter. Without power to turn on our heater, we wouldn’t be sleeping through the night. So whilst vanlife gives you freedom and is a cheaper way to see the country, it definitely has its setbacks. Don’t listen to the people who say it’s amazing all the time.

We are a cautionary tale of how it can be anything but amazing…

After two months of vanlife with Trev, Tiff picked up some work in Hamilton. We figured it was the perfect time to get Trev serviced and a quick once over to stay on top of any minor issues like a couple rust spots on the roof.

Buckle up…

This is where our vanlife dreams started to fall to pieces…

A full service and repairs for the rust were set to cost us an estimated $2000 (Yikes!). After a week and a half at the mechanics we got a phone call setting us on a path that has only just been (unsatisfactorily) resolved 16 months(!) after the fact. Those small rust spots we had spotted were quite literally the very tip of the rust-berg. Trev was riddled with the stuff. They were shocked that the vehicle had passed its Warrant of Fitness (WoF) and told us to pursue legal action. We were quoted about $8000 in repairs. This left us without a vehicle and without our home. We needed Trev fixed before Tiff finished working and we lost our accommodation. Luckily, she could add on an extra few weeks to her contract to buy us some time. Not to mention earning us the money to fix Trev. We had hopes that we would get some of that cost back from the person who sold it to us and/or the people who carried out the WoF and pre-purchase inspections. Following the mechanics’ advice, we submitted forms to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to investigate how Trev passed his WoF. For some reason, the NZTA won’t deal with any monetary problems that arise if they rule the WoF shouldn’t have been issued. Ridiculous if you ask us… Not only will they leave you with an unroadworthy vehicle, but they won’t do anything to see that the vehicle is fixed or you are compensated. Seems logical…

After NZTA inspected the vehicle, the WoF got revoked on the spot…

The inspector informed us the work needed to fix it was much bigger than initially thought and would have to be fixed by a certified panel beater. The parts that had been ordered to fix Trev could no longer be used. Somehow that became our problem too, and we were out of pocket for the parts. We managed to find a certified panel beater to inspect the vehicle again. They quoted us around $15,000 to repair Trev. This didn’t include the cost to remove the interior fit out and put it back in. Something which has to happen to be able to safely fix the exterior of the van. Whilst they could give us a quote, they didn’t have the time to fix Trev. No one else would even look at Trev. They were all too busy and said it was a waste of time. Thus began our waiting on NZTA reports, before trying to find a lawyer and then waiting on tribunal hearings and verdicts. All the waiting around meant extending Tiff’s work again so that we would have somewhere to live whilst we figured out what to do with our no longer roadworthy or liveable van.

We also had to decide how, and if, we were going to continue our dreams of vanlife in Aotearoa

We were lucky to find ourselves a well-riced lawyer to help us out. The timeframe for this kind of stuff is crazy. From finding the rust to getting back the NZTA report and then just finding a lawyer who would take us on took us over 3 months. Added to that, the stress of finding ourselves a new van/home all whilst Tiff was working full time. To say it was a crazy 3 months is a definite understatement.

Our lives were consumed with legal advice and multiple phone calls

And by ours I mean Nathan’s. It was an incredibly stressful and uncertain time. Thankfully, the people at Tiff’s work were absolutely amazing, and we made some fast friends who helped us through it all immensely. Everyone was so understanding and helpful in giving us lifts to work dinners, quiz nights, game nights, you name it. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without them. Looking back on my diary entries from that time, it’s just filled with thoughts on how stressed, anxious and scared we were. There were many a sleepless nights and walks around the nearby lake to try to clear our heads. We followed all the legal advice we could but still had to deal with contacting all parties involved with the vehicle prior to the sale.

Nathan was abused over the phone, laughed at, told it wasn’t their problem, and received threatening emails. The uncertainty it all brought to our lives was tough

Tiff’s parents came to visit for two weeks during this time, which gave us a nice break from work and stressing over the van. They hired a car and together we drove around the North Island, showing them around and taking in the sights. It was so good to chill and travel a little in amongst all this stress and it gave us the push we needed to recommit to our vanlife dreams.

After seeing them off at the Auckland airport, we had a look at the second-hand motor homes being sold by RV Super Centre. This was to possibly be our solution to continuing vanlife. Obviously we couldn’t afford a new motorhome, nor were we ever going to trust a private sale of a refurbished van again, so we were left with few other options. A couple weeks of indecision later (on if we could even afford the second-hand motorhome) we concluded that we could manage it. Buying a refurbished ex-rental motorhome was a whole other ordeal. We aren’t so sure we’d recommend it as the company was hard to deal with, trying to get away without fixing things as much as they could. Don’t worry though, by this point we’d had enough and didn’t let them get away with anything. It would have been nice not to have to fight for it, though.

We managed to get our new motorhome during Tiff’s last week of work. We then had to fly back to Australia for a funeral the day after she finished work. Thank goodness for the friends we had in Hamilton or we would not have gotten through all of this. We had to leave our rusty van Trev at a friend’s place because of our on-going efforts to try to negotiate for some form of compensation. We had hoped something favourable would happen whilst we were away, but unfortunately, we didn’t have much luck. Almost 5 months after we first discovered the rust issues with Trev, we met with our lawyer again. After no successful negotiations with all parties involved, she advised we no longer had to hold on to Trev. We said goodbye to Trev and started our new vanlife travels in Vandalf the White, our new to us motor home. Unfortunately for us, this wasn’t the end of our Trev drama. We submitted our Tribunal application (much cheaper than going to court, which we resoundly could not afford) to hopefully see some form of compensation. The tribunal brought additional stress, collating evidence and presenting it at multiple ‘hearings’. The first of which was held in Hamilton and the remaining two over teleconference. It took 11months for a verdict to be reached. Whilst we technically won, as we did receive compensation, it was nowhere near the cost of the vehicle or the cost of completely repairing it either. We’d go into more detail, but honestly, it’s exhausting. We are still upset about the loss of money, time and energy we spent on a vehicle that never should have been on the road. We get mad and upset every time we delve too much into that side of the Trev drama. We did learn a few lessons over this whole saga that will help us in the future and perhaps help you, too.

For one, when life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Tell life to take that damn lemon back!

We fought hard over our lemon of a van, and whilst we didn’t get the outcome we were hoping for, we came off better than if we’d just tried to make lemonade. In fighting the lemon, what’s the worst that could happen? You’re left with a lemon. Either way, you’ll know you tried your hardest to give it back and you’ll not have to think about what if’s for the rest of your life. Lesson two was a bit harder to swallow. We were astounded to see how easy it is for people to do the wrong thing and get away with it, or get nothing but a slap on the wrist.

It’s so much easier in this world we live in to be a complete and utter asshole than it is to care about the impact your actions have on others.

It was wild to see it play out during the tribunal and it’s been showing up in everyday interactions, too. All we can really do about that is to keep meeting the world with unrelenting kindness and love. Because we have no other way of fighting this disregard for other people than ensuring, we aren’t one of those people. We know how it feels to be walked over and taken advantage of, and it’s not worth it just to make a quick buck or make your life slightly less inconvenient. And lastly we learnt to always, no matter what you are doing, GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. What stands out the most when we look back at the stress, uncertainty, and sadness of this period of our lives is that we are so unbelievably grateful for the friendships we made in Hamilton. We got through it all because of the incredible people we met and the support and friendship they so easily gave us. Hamilton turned into our home in New Zealand. We have since gone back there for another stint of work because we love it so much. We know that we will end up there again before we leave New Zealand.

Our money, time and energy all took a colossal hit over the course of the ‘Trev drama’ and we are still feeling the monetary fallout. But now we have a new motorhome and we can’t wait to keep exploring the beauty of Aotearoa. Many a hiking trail, beach and mountain are calling out to us and we still, even after all of this drama, feel so lucky to stay here and continue on with our vanlife dreams.

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