Maintenance Is a Journey Too

Over the last few weeks, the van has been through what I thought was a complete round of maintenance.

The rear brakes were changed. The oil was changed. The glow plugs were renewed. For a brief and optimistic moment, that completed the maintenance round.

Then came the second round.

The van received a new steering rack and new brake pipes. Next Friday—9 October—the gearbox and clutch transmission system are due to be refreshed.

The electrical system has had some attention too. The old lead-acid leisure battery has been replaced with a new lithium battery: not simply a repair this time, but a useful upgrade.

Still on the list

The rear door lock needs repairing, and the charge controller still needs replacing. Neither job is scheduled yet, but both are now firmly on the list rather than lurking somewhere at the back of my mind.

It is tempting to think of van maintenance as something you finish. In reality, it seems to arrive in rounds: one collection of jobs is completed just in time for the next one to introduce itself.

A box on wheels is still a box full of moving parts.

The list is getting shorter, though, and the van is becoming more dependable. That matters when the plan is to point it towards somewhere new and expect it to get me there—and home again.