Nestled in-between news about the hospital car park and a local slurry leak, Frome Times have written a lovely little article about us.
Read the article at the Frome Times site.
Thank you!
Month: May 2016
So having bought a 4WD car we thought it might be a good idea to make sure that the 4WD actually works. We had obviously tested that the switch worked but hadn’t taken Totty over anything higher than the odd kerb or two. After a bit of internet research we found a 4WD centre just an hour or so from Tokyo. We decided to book a place and also to take advantage of the camping that they offered too. The place is called Bronco (ブロンコ) (http://www.bronco4x4.net).
Japanese is a cool language – it looks good, it’s fun to learn and it’s what they speak in anime – but unfortunately virtually no-one outside of Japan speaks, reads or writes Japanese. On that basis, when you plan to take a Japanese car out of the country, a little bit of preparation is required to ensure that you have the relevant documentation in a form that can be read by the rest of the world. The following bits and pieces are required:
- Translated vehicle registration document (登録証書 – toroku-shosho)
- International number plate (国際ナンバー – kokusai nanba)
- International driving permit (国際運転免許証 – kokusai-unten-menkyoshou)
In true Japanese style we got some (slightly tounge-in-cheek) meishi made up to hand out to folk we meet along the way. This’ll be a lot easier than trying to find a pen and paper if someone wants our details. It’s also comforting to know that we’ve never had a business card for work…..the first time we get some is when we’re both leaving work. Nice:)
This post is the follow-up to Vehicle electrics: Design….. and I’m afraid it’s going to be equally boring! More of a reference for others trying to solve the same problem, than swash-buckling tale of international travel.
In this post, I’m going to concentrate on the bit that lives under the bonnet….
As the person responsible for the ‘installation’ there were a few questions that immediately popped into my mind:
- Where do I put the sodding second battery?!
- Where do I put the other under-the-bonnet components (circuit breakers + isolator) and how do I mount them safely to the car?
- How do I wire it all together?
Months and months ago we set our hearts on the idea of fitting an awning to the car – for relatively little weight we will always have near-instant access to our very own shelter from either the sun or rain.
After a bit research we also set our hearts on the 2m long ARB model – it looked good and every review was glowing. And that was were we hit the problem – we could not find anywhere to buy this thing locally! To cut a very long and arduous story short, we eventually imported our awning from America incurring a huge postage cost! Luckily it arrived safely in the last week. And today I had some time spare to have a go at attaching it to the car!
Once again my friend Ollie was able to help out – there’s no way I could’ve got this thing fitted on my own, both in the brawn and brain department – so a big thank you to him!
As usual we were stuck doing the job on the side of the street.
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