Hallo!
I´m writing in english, ´cause my german is enough only to get milk & eggs from Norma!
I am new in this forum, so maybe a little introduction...
Finnish, 39yrs old, wife, six kids, working as a missionary in Steiger http://www.steiger.org/2013-01-22-15-38-06/what-is-steiger .
Volvo B10M, -92, Berkhof Exellence 2000 HLE, with only 15000km´s in the clock! The thing came to Finland from Belgium in 90´s, and I am the second Finnish owner. The previous owner was a bus company, and the guy said they didn´t drive too much with it during the years he had it. He thought the real kilometerstand would be somewhere around 800 000. They changed the tacho in some point, hence the 150000+ there.
Nothing fancy, no original toilet or A/C or coffeemaker-nmt-dvd-whatever-five-stars-stuff. And it is ugly, but drives 18, has fixed beds for nine, extra beds for seven more, three dinettes for altogether 12 eaters and it´s winter-proof! 20-50mm urethane insulation, heat-pump and an Alde. 30Kw Webasto (which we never use). Almost all the other gadgets, like water-tanks and kitchen appliances have been in the trunk, just waiting for some time for me to install them.
I bought it in may -13, had only two weeks time to rip out all the seats and whack in some beds and kitchen stuff and leave. Drove 2000+ kilometers (Kausala-Helsinki-Tallin-Via Baltica) to Krögis, Saxony, where we stayed for few months. Having a base-camp here in Krögis, it was easy for us to visit all the places in central europe. Then in beginning of september we drove back home through Germany, Belgium, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Sweden and Finland. Not the straightest road! But a lot of fun! Altogether 10 000km´s and 10 countries in three months. That´s what I´d call a test-drive!
We spend few months in Finland packing up our life, tearing down some temporary things in the bus, putting in some new temporary things, and then jumped on the road again. We left after christmas, spend new year in Warsaw, and on 2nd jan. were back in Krögis again. We are staying here until may-june, and then drive back to Finland for a couple more months, and after that fly to New Zealand. We´re going to stay there for a year - few years, God only knows ;), and then come back to Krögis and bring the bus here again. I´m already dreaming of having a new bus of somekind in NZ!
I´ve been trying to look for a parts-shop (not original Volvo, €€€!), that sells stuff for Volvo here in Germany or even better Saxony, but they seem to be rare as hens teeth. If you guys have any ideas, where I could find something, used or new, I would be more than happy! I just found out today, that my rear-axle air-suspension failed. The upper "plate" (I know only the finnish word for that and that translates as a plate! ) had corroded so that you can push your fingers though it! Air is escaping before doing it´s job. Bad, not good.
I´m also interrested in meeting you guys in person and seeing your vehicles live, so any gatherings around? Oh, I have to fix the thing first...
Thanks!
Neppi