Since the last edition of the Journal the EAST Winnie battle bus has clocked up over 2000 miles.  From the South Coast of England to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and return.  As I wrote in the Editors Comment on Page 5 of this edition, “This Journal has been created electronically from the Isle of Skye in North West Scotland”.  We parked up on top of a mountain near the town of Portree, with sweeping views and only highland sheep for neighbours and went to work in the great outdoors far from the stresses of city living. The Hughes Data Storm satellite communication system on the Winnie roof with broadband, sat phone; and all singing and dancing bits; performed flawlessly, thanks to the sterling efforts prior to the Winnie’s maiden voyage of Ged Van Der Vliet at PC MEDIX limited. Sometimes bedding in a cutting edge 21st Century communication system can be fraught especially when installing laptops, Wi-Fi etc by other manufacturers into the mix. And so it proved with the Winnie communication package installation. Three weeks of hair pulling, screaming and starting again! But now it works like a dream. Slick, quick and reliable. Thanks Ged.
When you live, work and travel in a 10 metre, 7.5 tonne motor home with your family, one of the things that becomes important is fuel (and fuelling stations, as the Winnie is 3.6 meters high and doesn’t go under all filling station roofs). On July 4th 2006 (Independence Day co-incidentally) when we took delivery of the Winnie we took her to Tesco’s filling station near the dealership to fill her up with petrol. £352 later she was full. Ouch! You will be pleased to know that after 2000 plus miles, the petrol tank is still full with that original fill. We haven’t used a drop.
The entire maiden voyage was run on LPG. At £70 a fill on LPG for the same range as petrol it’s a no brainer which fuel you would use. The Winnie averages 8mpg on LPG (I’m told about 10mpg on petrol) but at 42 pence a litre (average national price) and LPG filling stations everywhere you wouldn’t use anything else. The industrial strength LPG engine conversion done by AFS in West Sussex on the Winnie’s 8.2 litre Chevy engine runs beautifully. The Winnie starts first pop on LPG, runs as smooth as silk and climbed the Scottish Highlands; fully loaded; with ample power to spare.

Another problem that you will find in a 10 metre battle bus is that it is not easy to go to the local supermarket or shopping centres. There is simply no parking. So replenishing the on board fridge/freezer and kitchen cupboards was initially a real headache.

Yes, you can ride your bicycle to the shops to get supplies and keep fit. You get really fit in the Scottish Highlands riding home from the shops with a bag of potatoes, a case of beer, a bag of tinned goods, milk and groceries etc. all balanced on your bicycle and hanging off your arms. In fact my middle age spread has disappeared completely and my pants keep falling down as I’ve run out of belt holes. But boy we are all fit, (even if my muscles ache 24/7 and I see spots with fatigue) sleeping like logs and eating like horses. However the resupply of family feeding needs on a continuous basis could not be sustainably met unless a platoon of marines on bicycles could be dragooned into the task.

What to do? Fortunately Powerbyke Ltd in Bath imports a Tiawanese electric scooter that cruises at 30mph, has a 30 mile range, takes 4 hours to fully charge and has a large luggage carry box. A phone call later and an EVT 168 electric scooter was delivered for trial to the Winnie.

What a lovely machine. It’s frighteningly quick, absolutely silent, light and manoeuvrable and can carry enough essential supplies for a family of four to maintain dietary needs in the Winnie. The EVT pays no congestion charge, is exempt from road tax, in most towns gets free parking and

charging costs, out of a conventional 240 amp plug, work out around 1000 mpg against petrol.

You will not be surprised to know the EVT 168 electric scooter now hangs on the back of the Winnie, under the four bicycle rack, where it is always fully charged and ready for all supply missions, thanks to the 70 watt solar panels on the Winnie roof. Oh and the solar charging is free. A true 21st Century sustainable solution. And we can still all ride our bicycles for family outings and excursions to keep fit.

Many readers have contacted me regarding the Winnie sustainable living world tour experiment. Most have been supportive, some critical (see page 7 letters to editor). The outstanding benefit of this life style change is the sheer pleasure of being a family 24/7 and being able to ply our chosen trade i.e.: The Journal, professionally anywhere in the world. To be able to go where the environmental action is and report on it, comfortably and sustainably in an environmentally advanced vehicle for minimum cost and outlay. It’s very enjoyable.

You will find the travelling and camping in a Winnie is the same cost of travelling in your family car and camping in a tent. Why? Because all camp sites charge per person per night. So, if you and your family of four camp up in your tent at a recognised full services campground you will be charged per head (usually around £3 per head). Further EU regs say that all motorhome, caravan, camping sites; for health and safety; must be 10 metres x 10 metres in size and leave a 6 metre space between vehicles or neighbours. And if I park up on the next plot to you in the Winnie (which fits easily) with four people, the cost is the same i.e.: £12 per night. Quite frankly you would rather live in a Winnie than a tent, especially when it rains.