One of the best things about this job is having the opportunity to own and enjoy so many cool classic VW's. I don't often get the chance to enjoy them for as long as I'd like and when the time comes to let one go it always seems too soon. Although I've had the 84 Trakka Campervan for nearly 18 months it's still seems too soon to let it go.
I've had some great trips away in the old Trakka. The first time was down to Wollongong for a long weekend to see Xavier Rudd perform. It must've been fate that I got to take the trakka cause all the other cars were off the road at the time and I had nothing else. This was the first serious drive I did in it that was more than just 5 mins round the block. What can I say though, it performed fantastically!! We got all the way down and back without a problem. By the time I had passed through Sydney and had been driving for an hour I had settled right and felt confident it was going to make the trip.
The beauty of owning a T3 trakka is they drive like a modern vehicle, yet still look really cool on the road and decked out as a full camper means you can just pull up, climb into the back and crash out on the rock-n-roll bed. Since the beds sit lower in the T3 than the T2 and they are a fair bit wider, even a 3/4 bed is plenty of room for two.
My first night I pulled up at Sharky's beach just North of the Gong. This is a great spot to stay in your van and there are always others camping out in their vans as well so it feels a bit safer. The wind was howling that night but I find it quite pleasant just listening to the wind and the waves as I crash out in the back of the van.
We also took the T3 up to old bar beach festival late last year. We had a crew of four which included three baywindow Kombis. It was an interesting drive since we had to take a detour round the buckets way due to an accident. The road was washed away with potholes everwhere due to the heavy rain and floods earlier in the year. Needless to say we made it up and back without a hitch and the T3 did the trip beautifully,
It's now time for me to say goodbye to the T3 Trakka. It's going to a new home just up in Newcastle so we will hopefully see more of it around the place.