My Vito and I prepare for our next UK trip…

My new-to-me 2017 Mercedes Vito 116 gets better as I get to know her more and I start to work out all of the clever tech that she has onboard. For instance I now know almost all of the functions on the dashboard (and there are loads) and I am really enjoying the excellent combination of performance and fuel economy, the fuel consumption is far less than my old V6 3.0 and the performance is quite similar, I have lost about 40 horses and 2 cylinders but gained 2 gears (this one is 7 speed auto).

Since I collected her from Slough in November 2022 I have made the following changes:

1. Swapped over to my old steel wheels with trusty winter tyres. This followed a long personal debate because the weather was very mild indeed in December but I went ahead, luckily JUST in time for a very cold and wet spell to hit us in January. I understand that the winter tyres are more effective in the cold (below about 10 degrees) and of course in the wet as they have a much softer compound so stick to the road AND dispel water very effectively. The motorway speed needs to be kept down a little.
2. I managed to get my new Bike Lift motorcycle wheel holder fitted in the rear of the van, fotos below:

3 I also had 2 new Fiamm horns fitted as the standard horn was pathetic, now at least I can warn other road users of my presence without them looking round for a moped!!

4 Just booked DFDS ferry tickets. Open is always better as I cannot be sure when I arrive in Calais.

5 Purchased and fitted a Garmin dash cam. Problem was the wiring cos the Vito has only one 12V plug so the cable runs down from the top of the screen to the bottom of the dashboard. Now wires hidden so problem solved plus I just purchased a new multiplug so I have 3 12V plugs as well as 2 USBs.

More to follow, watch this space….

The old Yamaha FZ1 is now loaded into the van….