Here, you will find information about how we specified, bought and converted a Volvo N10 expedition truck. For our truckin’ adventures, see the Truckin’ About page.
On Friday 13th December 2019, Boris Johnson swept into Downing Street with a decisive majority, crushing all hope of a second referendum or soft Brexit. It heralded the end of Freedom of Movement for UK citizens in the whole of the EU Schengen Visa Free Zone. The 90/180 rule would seriously limit our ability to travel for extended periods within the 26 countries currently members of Schengen.
“I’ve had enough of Britain. Let’s go to Mongolia!” I said to Mark.
I wasn’t joking.
A month later, on Monday 13th January 2020, the day after Mark’s birthday, we put down a deposit on The Beast. It was a shame that Sterling had dropped so much as we enter our new golden era of British Introversion Independence, otherwise it would have been a much sweeter deal.
The Beast is a Volvo N10, 6 x 4-wheel-drive, ex-army truck. Here is a link to her specification.
And here’s an article about the N10 posted on Miltary Today.
We intended to convert her into our new home, ready for our travels outside the EU and Schengen in 2021, although a few things conspired against us.
Before even collecting her in March 2020, our journey was eventful. Follow our progress as we work out how to get an unregistered Belgian truck, bought in The Netherlands back home to the UK when we were in Italy and Mark’s LGV licence expired in four months previously because, “We won’t be needing that, will we?!”
And then in March 2020, the world went into lockdown for the coronavirus pandemic…
Building The Beast
A. The Purchase
Our Brexit Busting Plan
In St Lucia on my 40th birthday, a local told us, “I wish I had a French passport, like they do on some other Caribbean islands, then I would be able to travel freely, wherever I want.” Effectively, he couldn’t leave the island. To travel almost anywhere…
Carbon Footprints & The Beast
‘Let he who is without carbon footprint cast the first stone’ If you follow my blog, you will know that the environment is high on our agenda. Travelling overland in a caravan or motorhome is already more eco-friendly than most methods of living, travel, or holidaying. Mark…
The Birth of The Beast – How To Source & Spec. an Overland Truck
With the election of Boris Johnson as UK Prime Minister and the prospect of Brexit becoming inevitable, we formulated a Brexit Busting plan. “Let’s go to Mongolia!” With Big Blue & Kismet, we truly did courageously split our infinitives and ‘Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone…
Squaring The Circle – How To Import an Unregistered Belgian Truck from Holland into the U.K.
Decision made; we found the vehicle of our dreams; paid the deposit; specified a few extras that we wanted the dealer to install before we collected her… All that remains is to get her home. When you buy a twenty-four-and-a-half tonne truck on a whim, there are…
Collecting The Beast, Our New Expedition Truck: Part 1 – Staffal to Rotterdam
Monday: Staffal – Pont St Martin As part of our Brexit-Busting plan to abandon Europe for Mongolia, Mark and I have bought a 24.5 tonne truck to convert into our new home. She is a Volvo N10. She is HUGE, so we named her The Beast. We…
Collecting the Beast, Our New Expedition Truck: Part 2 – Rotterdam to Bournemouth
Tuesday: Rotterdam – Calais (By Accident) Mark was in Rotterdam. This was following THE most ill-fated, 26-hour overland journey from high in the Italian Alps to The Low Countries to collect The Beast, a 30-year old ex-army truck that is to become our new, all-terrain mobile home.…
MOT Misery & The Beast – Importing & Registering a Truck in the UK
My clothes smelled of diesel, my stomach was churning and my knuckles were white. For the first time, I’d heard the roar of The Beast, our new truck. I’d had a sleepless night. Storm Alex had raged and pounded us with torrential rain. Worry Number 1 was…
Trial by TRILEX – Coming to Terms with Split Rim Wheels!
In 1973, the Welsh rock band, Budgie, sang about being in the grip of a tyre fitter’s hand. Part of the soundtrack of my teenage years, I could never have guessed how prophetic this song would become one day, almost half a century later. The occasion was…
B. The Conversion
Building The Beast: Expedition Truck Conversion Stage 1 – Insulation
Everyone knows Miles. On our way to Romania, we stopped at a campsite in rural Hungary. The owner was British. He knew Miles. One evening, as we were watching Ben Fogle’s documentary Harbour Lives on TV, Miles popped up on our screen.…
Converting an Expedition Truck Slideshow
Mark and I have finally finished converting The Beast into our new home. To see how we did it, check out Building The Beast, an animated slideshow on YouTube. The Beast was on show alongside many others, at the late summer edition…
The Costs of Converting an Overland Truck
I promised to give a roundup of the costs of converting The Beast, a Volvo N10 truck, into our new home. So here goes: To follow our rationale and decision process in choosing a Volvo N10, please see The Birth of The…
C. Have A Look Around The Finished Product!
A Preview of The Beast: Our New Expedition Truck!
You might notice that I have been rather quiet of late and this is the reason. We have sold our main residence and packed up our life once again to hit the road in The Beast, our newly converted expedition truck. Due to Covid travel restrictions, our destination currently looks more Manchester than Mongolia, but…
The Adventure Begins…
Volvo Means ‘I Roll’: Moving Into An Expedition Rig
Finally, after a coronavirus lockdown that saw Mark and I trapped ‘in the brick’ for eight months, we are back on the road in The Beast, our new Volvo N10 expedition truck.…
See more adventures in The Beast on the Truckin’ About page.
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