Unfortunately, we Interrupt Your Regularly Schedlued Programming for a Bimobil Update.

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed . . .”  Oh, wait, that’s the wrong Kafka book.  I should have quoted the first line or at least some other passage from The Trial.  Oh well, that’s just the way things have been going lately.  And you thought you were going to be reading the latest about our cool bimobil build.    

I guess I should start with the good news, because there is good news (I think).  Despite some inspection delays due to COVID (it finally caught up with the build cycle), the build itself has gone well.  Our pick-up date was pushed back a bit, but that’s life these days.  The vehicle looks great and we should be able to finalize the purchase soon (unless of course Putin decides to invade Bavaria).  In short, the final payment is on its way and we’re starting on figuring out how to implement the next steps of the process.  Consequently, we get to illustrate this post with the latest photos we’ve received from our man Karsten at bimobil.  That’s it for the good news.

The front view of our completed bimobil EX420 showing our winch and off-road driving lights.

Now on to the Kafkaesque part of the post.  I suggest you pour yourself a cup of coffee (perhaps add a shot or two of your favorite strong alcoholic beverage), sit back and enjoy the horror ride.  It has not been fun.

The adventure began in mid-January, a good 6-7 weeks before our original scheduled pickup date.  We had a plan based on the advice everyone had given to us and it was time to implement it.  The game plan was that we were going to ship a pallet of goods to Germany - things like basic tools, kitchen stuff, bedding, winter clothes - for us to load into the bimobil to take a nice long (3-week) drive back from Germany to Portugal.  It was to be a leisurely photography trip, taking us by many of the locations we’d been scouting out on YouTube.  In fact, I’d planned a really nice route that included a few days in the Black Forest, a swing by Le Corbusier’s architectural masterpiece at Ronchamp, France, a few days in the Haut Jura (also in France), a drive through the Dordogne (you got it, France), fun in the vineyards of Bordeaux, then down into Spain for stops off in some lovely old forests, followed by the rocky north coast and a drive through the Picos de Europa, and finally back into Portugal.  It would have been quite the trip.  Note the conditional “would have been”.  

The passenger side view of the rig.

It all started off in pretty much Portuguese fashion.  We found a company that could pack stuff, put it on a pallet, wrap it and ship it.  Of course it took not one, not two, not three, but four contacts of companies (thank you good folks at DHL who gave us the contact of the company that could actually do the job) before we found it, but they seemed great.  We’d done the culling of what we wanted to ship, had it all in plastic containers stacked on a pallet dimension and sent them a photograph.  Good service, good price, fully insured.  We contacted bimobil, they notified us of bit of a delay with Iveco (they were behind on the main post-build vehicle inspection due to COVID . . .  so our first COVID delay), but that only put things back a couple of weeks.  We could live with that.  So we set a scheduled date for packing and shipping, and arrival to Bimobil.  So far so good, though not for long.

We then started down two paths that started making us think we’d become Wiley Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner.  The first had to do with where we would keep the vehicle.  Sr Gomes, our landlord (who owns and runs a construction company) had told us he had the perfect garage for us.  Well, when he stopped by a couple of days after we scheduled our delivery pickup, I asked him about it.  So he took me over to it.  It was perfect . . . sort of.  It was located under his house (great for safety) accessed via a different street.  It was not only enclosed, there was lots of extra room where we could spread things out to dry and prep for trips.  And given it was where he used to store construction equipment, it looked like it would be tall enough . . . well maybe.   The garage height was clearly tall enough, but the door opening was quite a bit lower. So we measured the garage door height.  When came back home I checked the EX420 height and it was a no-go.  About two hundred centimeters too short.  As you can see from the photographs so far, the bimobil isn’t nearly as squat as Beast was.

A rear view showing the spare tire crane and sand tracks in place.

That sent us out on a quest to find a garage/place to park the bimobil.

At the same time I started looking at insurance companies.  We joined the Portugal Autocaravan Association (I’m an Autocaravanista!) and through them were able to get good insurance at a good rate.  Most importantly, they would provide  comprehensive coverage for a 6-ton vehicle, even one that cost as much as ours (don’t ask).  We seemed good to go (and we will be but . . .) until we found out that the vehicle had to be registered and licensed in Portugal before they could issue the insurance for it.  Ok . . . .

About the time we found out that yes we can get insured but not until we’re plated in Portugal, we made contact with a potential place to store the bimobil - EuroCamping in Vila Nova Famalicão about 20 km from home.  We swung by there and had a chat with Pedro, who so far has been a god-send.  Anyway, yes, they have covered and open parking, and a covered space is opening up right around the time we need it.  Very reasonable rates.  While not ideal, we took it.  

Rear driver’s side view showing the under-body metal storage boxes and great graphics.

We also started asking Pedro questions about registering the bimobil.  He said to ask Karsten at bimobil if they had a specific number for the vehicle that appears on the title (he had one from a car he had just purchased from Belgium).  If they did, Pedro could check with the Portual IMT (DMV) to see if it’s in their system.  If it is, bimobil could send us the paperwork and we could get tags (and insurance!) before we went to pick it up.  We contacted Karsten.  As you might have figured given the way this story is going, no luck.  Custom builds don’t get such a registration number, so there’s no way for IMT to have on in their system.  On to plan B.

Plan B became getting temporary German export license tags to drive the vehicle back to Portugal.  Karsten said they’re good for two weeks . . . ok, we’ll cut our trip down by a week.  We’ll just skip Spain because that’s closest to us and we could get to most places in Spain on a long weekend.  When we asked about insurance with the tags we were told it comes with third party liability.  What about comprehensive?  . . . . Nope.

The under-bunkbed storage area with our extra fridge/freezer and water filter system visible.

So we started a quest to find comprehensive insurance for the two week trip back from Germany.  Four companies later, a call to Holland, emails to the UK and the US and . . . no luck.  We did have a guy (a few days too late) from the US say he could try Lloyds of London for us, “but they usually come at a price.”  And we’d have to pay for a full month, if not three. We did not follow-up.

So just over a week before our scheduled packout date, we had to revert to plan C.  I contacted the moving company and explained our situation.  “Do you guys transport large vehicles?”  “No.”  Ana, from the shipping company was great.  She asked me precisely what the problem was and then called one of her insurance contacts and e-mailed me back.  “You are right, nobody will insure a vehicle that’s being driven from one country to another to get registered.  I’m so sorry for you.”

The steps into the living cabin showing the hand rail and the shoe box.

So we set out on yet another hunt, this time to find a company that will transport our vehicle from Germany to Portugal where it can be inspected and registered.  By this point we are totally depressed because our plans for a lovely vacation have been toasted, the location where the vehicle will be housed is much farther away than we’d hoped, and we were going to have to go through the bureaucratic process of having the vehicle inspected and certified here in Portugal (as if the Iveco and German inspections weren’t enough to establish its roadworthiness) before we can get our tags (a process that can take an impossibly long time itself) and insurance.  

Fortunately, finding a transport company wasn’t as difficult as we’d feared, even though they need a special low-boy truck to transport the bimobil.  Sure it took contacting a few places, but we found a company.  Plus, they have insurance coverage for more than the cost of our vehicle.  At least it wasn’t going to be stuck in Germany.  A call with Pedro further helped settle our nerves a bit more.  He said the inspection station is about 6 kilometers from EuroCamping and that the drivers and/or transport companies he uses to get vehicles inspected all have comprehensive insurance coverage for whatever vehicle they’re driving (most Portuguese insurance is on the vehicle, not the person; commercial drivers get insurance for whatever vehicle the person is driving).  Maybe this would all work out fine.  Yeah, right . . .

A view of the lower bunk bed showing the Froli bed system, which is supposed to be super comfortable!

Just about the time that got settled, our 7-month ordeal for transferring our licenses decided it was time to mess with us after taking a several month vow of silence.  See, we need a class C license to drive a vehicle this large.  Now, in the US, a class C is normal and that’s what we have (well, had) on our Oregon drivers licenses.  In Europe, the standard is a class B license.  We filed our paperwork to transfer our licenses towards the end of last summer (plenty of time before vehicle pick-up, right?).  Our assistance agency said C to C should be no problem.  IMT told them that C to C should not be a problem (but C to C.1 (which allows you to also tow something)) would require drivers training.  When we filed our documents and the IMT processor found out that we needed a C license, they said we had to go through extra requirements.  So Ann and I went for a psychological examination and we got to play video games (or so it seemed) to test our reaction times.  We both passed.  We thought we should be good to go.  Things went dark with IMT for a few months.

So, while all of the above was happening, we finally got a text that IMT (DMV) had an appointment for Ann to get her license.  I asked where and was given an IMT address in Porto.  So I took a day off from work and we had a nice drive down to Porto on the designated day.  Having arrived early, because that’s what we do, we walked around a bit and appeared for Ann’s appointment.  They had no clue about it.  I contacted Carla (who has been helping us).  She asked where we were?  “Porto like you said.”  “Oh my god, I got a text yesterday saying it’s in Braga.  I didn’t notice they’d changed it.”  We drive back to Braga, but too late - Ann missed her appointment and needed to reschedule.

View into the kitchen/living area with everything in place.

So a few days later, Carla texts me and says I have an appointment in Braga (at least I know where IMT is here).  A few days later I go to my appointment.  I hand over my paperwork and duly note that I really, really need the Class C license.  “I can’t give that to you.”  What!?!?!?!  “No, I can only give out class B licenses.  You’ll have to wait and see if they give you a C.”  “When should I know?”  The clerk shrugged her shoulders.   I call Carla and hand over my phone and about a 5 minute conversation ensues.  It’s basically, why can’t you give it to him - IMT made him do a bunch of extra steps to get the class C license, blah blah blah.  The Kafka bureaucrat could do nothing. (In all admission, she seemed like a very nice person, but . . . .).  So I’m issued a temporary Portugal drivers license (a piece of paper) and, having handed over my Oregon Class C drivers license, can no longer drive the vehicle we’ve purchased.  Carla has contacted the head of IMT to press for them issuing me a class C license, but I may be returning to driving school before we get to go on any adventures.

Ann had her IMT re-appointment this week.  We didn’t even bother trying to press for a class C for her (although her paper work is in for it).  Well, Ann’s appointment went smoothly, I guess.  As we were walking out I looked at it and Ann made a comment that it was a 6-month temporary license.  I scratched my head and checked later.  Mine is good for 6 weeks.  Why is hers good for 6 months?   Plus, her temporary license has an extra stamp on it that says hers is good only within Portugal.  Mine doesn’t have that limitation (I think . . .  did the person just forget to stamp it with that qualification?).  I’m telling you, Kafka is writing this story for us.

Yes! An actual bathroom you can stand up in!

So . . . we still have to get our class C drivers licenses, either directly from IMT or after going through drivers school (that is a big deal here, though you’d never know it by the way folks actually drive).  We have to go to Oberframmern to check out and sign-off on our bimobil.  Our temporary licenses are not valid outside of Portugal so when we go to Germany we’re going to have to figure out how to get around without renting a car like we did the last time we went to bimobil.  While we’ll get to see the vehicle and get a full-day orientation, we won’t be able to test drive it.  We have to have it transported here to Vila Nova de Famalicão, get it inspected and then registered/plated, and get then finally get insurance so that we can at last use this wonderful machine we have been anxiously waiting two years for.  

Does that suck, or what?  As I said - it’s Kafaesque.

We were worried about the fabric pattern we chose, but pleased with the result. It’s colorful and will hide stains!

I guess I should really try to end on a high note.  

How about this?  It seems that Putin has not decided to invade Portugal!  And, I’ve heard nothing about a giant asteroid on its way to wipe out all life on planet Earth.  Could it be that things are looking up?  Oh yeah, and the vehicle is, in fact, ready and we’re coordinating our check-out and delivery dates!  Now if that drivers license issue would just resolve itself in a nice way. . . .

_________

On a more serious note (ok, I was being serious above, but I had to throw in some humor lest I blow a gasket), the folks at bimobil are great people.  Last weekend, 5 bimobil employees (to include our man Karsten) in conjunction with a first-aid training company they use in their off-road driving skills workshops took a short drive . . . to Ukraine and back.  They used bimobil vehicles to deliver 4.5 tons of first aid medical supplies and gave first aid training to civilians to help in their efforts to defend their country.  They all have my respect.