WHEN VAN LIFE GOES WRONG // S01E04

[@KombiLife]

Get your outdoor summer essential: JisuLife Pro1S handheld Fan bit.ly/4ctEo7E

[@NigelMarston]

I can't imagine anything better than to be lost and stuck somewhere remote with a wonderful woman and dog.

[@KombiLife]

To be honest, we both look back at this time with fond memories, partly for this reason

[@SSNaruto343]

that's a really nice perspective!

[@VanInhalin]

and some ear plugs....

[@jolawre6526]

Can beet the love of the Irish and the generosity ☘️ what a great man he’s a legend 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪 🇮🇪

[@KombiLife]

Yes Frank is an absolute legend, true Irish gent

[@zedlicious]

As a regular ski camper with a fitted out Merc sprinter I can’t imagine doing it is a flimsy Kombi without fuel for a heater. Certifable madness that requires some award, if not admission to the funny farm!

[@KombiLife]

haha agreed!

[@0HARE]

That “Kindness Of Strangers” thing kicking in again. You had it in spades in this episode. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been rescued by complete strangers. Looking forward to seeing you all emerge from this crisis. Happy Camping!

[@KombiLife]

Thanks - we're just working on part 4 of this mini desert saga which should be out to the Kombi Crew in the next few days hopefully. thanks for your continued support! 🙏

[@albertodiazpr]

Ben, tu español es excelente! Your Spanish is excellent! My wife is from Peru too, like Alaska. The only difference is that my wife doesn't bark... Or at least yet. 😅 Best wishes to you and Tamara, ohh and my favorite dog ever, Alaska ❤. 👍

[@KombiLife]

Thank you! 😃

[@TPBurrow]

Epic fun to watch guys, We love the Tetris Veg sequence and can't wait for the next one.

[@KombiLife]

thanks for tuning in ✌️

[@vanlifetipstech]

We can definitely recommend the Wallas XC duo combination diesel heater and cooker top. Not the cheapest bit of kit, but we’ve run it at -19c in Colorado and at 4700m above sea level in Bolivia. They are an amazing company and have gone out of their way to get us parts here in Argentina currently ❤️

[@KombiLife]

Thanks for the tip!

[@nxiong7074]

So happy that Alaska is getting along with your new girlfriend! ❤

[@pedreirojoaofaztudo]

Bom dia . Assisto todos os vídeos de vocês aqui do Brasil 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷 parabéns vocês são muito bons 👏👏👏👏👏👏 saúde sucessos sempre abraços

[@KombiLife]

Obrigado!!! 😄

[@camperdan1972]

Oh no... not the start to your adventure you will have wanted or ever anticipated. Really keeping my fingers crossed for you both to pull through this ok... 🤞🏻 I've a 1972 VW Kombi too... and so totally understand your love, and equal frustration with them. They are vehicles so full of charm and character, yet old and a bit cranky at times. Hope you manage to find and fit a new steering box soon. Looking forward to the next update... Keep the videos coming 👍🏻

[@KombiLife]

Thank you 😃

[@KombiLife]

▶NEXT EPISODE: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZKXXoJ3pddkhM0 🙏PLEASE JOIN THE KOMBI CREW TO HELP US CONTINUE THIS CHANNEL - www.patreon.com/join/kombilife 🙏

[@adriangallardo2635]

Muy buen español Ben 👏🏼

[@KombiLife]

Gracias 😀

[@jodymooney255]

Amazing episode! Stay warm and safe guys!❤

[@KombiLife]

Thanks for your support Jody, welcome to the Kombi Crew 🥰

[@roykale9141]

Thank you for the 4k. I can imagine how hard it is to upload it off grid

[@KombiLife]

You're welcome yep - pretty much eats the data plan up in one video, and sometimes takes days to upload. This one was 7GB+ - thanks for watching

[@roykale9141]

@@KombiLife 7GB yikes. No av1 out there 😆

[@MarcusTDM]

Wow, I bet that took some mental strength being out there with that uncertainty! Obviously you got through it though. Well done.

[@KombiLife]

It was definitely tough and had us thinking about how future travels might look…

[@stevenlapidus2902]

Ben - Big fan of Kombi Life as you know but a quick question: If I understand the algorithm, frequency of posting is important. So, when this excellent Spain series ends in a few weeks, do you have some additional content, ready or almost ready, to go for posting. Thanks. Steve

[@KombiLife]

Not at all but we are working on it every day though. editing hard. We will have plenty of content coming as frequently as we are able to post it.

[@stevenlapidus2902]

@@KombiLife Ben - I was remiss for not thanking you for your quick response, I was away. Looking at the response now I am both excited by the future content as it will undoubtedly be first-rate but also concerned that like it or not frequent postings is a requirement for channel vitality. As you know, Kombi Life will be very adversely affected if you go dark for a very long time post- Spain adventure. The current Spain series happened a while ago and I hope there are adventures since. Thanks as always. Steve

[@damirkvajo]

That veggie tetris was awesome, and so was Frank.

[@KombiLife]

Yeah Frank is such a legend! We love him!

[@sally_686]

Think you mean such😂😂​@KombiLife

[@KombiLife]

@@sally_686 hahah yes - yes I did

[@roberthardy2013]

I do that with the freezer bags too, saves loads of space in the freezer. The girls a genius. BTW, can she weld ?

[@KombiLife]

welding is something we are both keen to learn for our future projects

[@philipbechtle2828]

Not only do you have a talent for breaking down in cool (errmmmm…) places, but also in epic places!!! :-)

[@KombiLife]

this sure is an epic place!

[@tomsummers1137]

Ahh.. The old steering box dilemma. Every time someone drives my bus they say “oh you need a new steering box, mate”. No…not really. It came to me loose 25 years ago and 150,000 miles ago, and it hasn’t gotten any worse. Yours, however, appears to be completely buggered. I’m sure there are heaps of them all around you. Good luck.

[@KombiLife]

Hey Tom, not as many around us in Spain as there are around you in San Diego! What we wouldn't have given for some of that CA sunshine in this episode. Sending much love amigo from the other side of the pond 💞

[@bmpvw]

@tomsummers1137 Hey Tom! Fun to see a reply from someone I know in our San Diego Volkswagen community. Good luck Ben & Tamara! Sending sunshine your way from San Diego... -Brook

[@jestubbs69]

Keep the adventure coming. The pressure cooker is where relationships are made or broken.

[@KombiLife]

THIS!

[@MrGnjecko]

I was trying think of the worst possible thing to break down, and the steering box is probably about it. Funnily our kombi broke down close to Zaragoza 11 years ago. Some vw enthusiasts called Kombiman helped us out, wonder if he's still around.

[@KombiLife]

No way, strange. Yeah its got to be one of the worst things to go for sure

[@lsh3rd]

@@MrGnjecko transaxle would probably be worse, but he’s already done that!

[@renoflames]

When I had one the same thing happened in Germany. It took about an hour to replace it but I wasn't in the middle of nowhere. I was in the US Army then and a young whippersnapper. I was in Garmish when it broke down and behold a VW dealer was pretty close. The part was about 40 Marks. It didn't take long because I know and still know every part of any VW anything. I had the old style Porsche Motor in mine and it would run pretty good. My roof flipped up.

[@KombiLife]

Cool story, thanks for sharing - lucky you landed on your feet in a bad situation

[@miguelgomes8001]

Why am i just in a good mood watching this? Love the channel but hadn't been back for a while. Keep it up! (Cheers from a young corporate guy stuck in the rat race, but atleast I live in Spain 😄)

[@KombiLife]

You've come back at a good time, good vibes guaranteedfrom here on out.

[@icascone]

Haha actually glad you are dragging the episodes (I mean THIRTY SIX DAYS are long but great video)

[@HelloFromDawn]

you two are an inspiration!

[@KombiLife]

Thanks for sharing the journey with us 🥰

[@michaelsullivan1262]

Frank reminds me of Jester Bushcraft!

[@fvelaz]

great adventure, but ur publishing something from January in June?

[@KombiLife]

Thanks. We do release real time updates for the Kombi crew as bonus videos. So please feel free to join and support the channel, doing so will help us make better videos and more quickly 💪

[@misslindalou6479]

I think it's harder to get warm than it is to get cool.

[@KombiLife]

I think you're right

[@roykale9141]

Finally a new episode. Im exited!!!!

[@KombiLife]

let's go!

[@Kombiburner]

Boy, I can't believe that - after all these years - there still is a tool you don't have to fix that thing... 😉

[@KombiLife]

Imagine the size of the toolbox if we had all the tools needed 😂 would need to haul a trailer

[@wendywilson9760]

Ps love your videos, and I've been subscribed for a few years 😊

[@KombiLife]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@thegreenmachine.77]

I’m interested to see if you do the repair despite not having the tools for it! My inexperienced self would probably just try to pry that piece off 😂

[@KombiLife]

If you’d like to find out with early viewing, there are episodes 5 & 6 available to Kombi Crew members 😃 www.patreon.com/kombilife

[@williamoorejr]

Not letting a cat out of the bag, BUT There seems to be an event trail??? like stranded in Mexico for how long??? Totally getting the kombi ready for adventure and then needing a cv joint followed by alternator problem (ya all mine???) and having the chinese ele fot adjusters collapse -- and proving the posts about chinese stuff. BUT its a really good episode and can not wait for the next show. (PS new eyeballs - highly recommended)

[@bobsears4762]

This reminds me of your adventures in Copito.

[@tim42288]

Please do longer episodes

[@KombiLife]

Haha, it takes sooooo long to create a 20 minute video like this, but the next episode is maybe one of the longest we've done, so you will enjoy.

[@RayneCollects]

Let's Gooooo!!! Time to experience this disaster all over again. LOL

[@wendywilson9760]

I'm watching this and can't believe how much I love our diesel heater. It's a game changer for our cold desert winters in South Australia. Mind you, we have a VW T6

[@KombiLife]

We have one too, which we love....when it has fuel that is :)

[@icascone]

Also trying to think on where to share your videos... I am mainly into cars and local facebook groups... Let me think!! :P

[@KombiLife]

Oooh thanks, we really appreciate you giving that some thought, we very much need our viewers help with sharing. It makes a big difference

[@patrickmclaughlin6013]

Didn't you just replace that steering box in the last adventure? You put a new TRW box in?

[@KombiLife]

no we didn't, but we did have to make a repair to the steering coupler in Sardinia - this situation was much worse though

[@kombianalogica]

A bela Meseta Espanhola!!!

[@KombiLife]

Si 😍

[@jlate2362]

Ok, did i miss the part where you explained why you drove to a deserted location with a barely functioming vehicle?

[@KombiLife]

No you didn’t but we will answer your question in a q&a video in a couple weeks time.

[@RocketDog73]

Brrrrrr 🥶

[@carolgoergens9275]

Wait you leave Alaska outside at night ? She doesn’t have a place on the floor or the front seat like everywhere you go she sleeps outside.

[@Alex-fy7sc]

no ... alaska doesn't sleep with them in the bed. that's usual how things stand in the van. alaska sleeps on the front seat usually. Now they take her in bed so they get warm and by "living outside" probably meant because they stay stationary ofc they let alaska roam and play outside

[@KombiLife]

Yes, that's correct Alex, thanks for clarifying.

[@oldgadfly8398]

How was the cell signal for 36 days?

[@KombiLife]

We had something, but it was minimal!

[@oldgadfly8398]

@@KombiLife Exciting times!

[@CliveWebbAustralia]

If you can't fit your food in the fridge, in that weather just put it on the roof and it will be fine...

[@jimmyjames215]

🥶

[@vwcamperinteriors]

Can you upload another video tomorrow please 😊😂

[@KombiLife]

Sorry we're busy editing tomorrow, but you can lock some extra episodes right now if you join the Kombi Crew 🤪

[@onelucky84]

Aren’t the Irish great? ☘️

[@KombiLife]

they sure are!

[@tk1201]

Isolate from under: Putting layers on top doesn't do the trick.

[@KombiLife]

Thanks for the tip! Seems like we are the only ones who didn’t know this 😂

[@ThefamousGLP]

Well done hard working man whilst you fanny about. You must be embarrassed

[@KombiLife]

🤨

[@bryancohn9406]

I’m going to be very honest, I’m baffled why you didn’t get on finding the new steering box online and the tool required, then ordering them for delivery as quickly as possible. I did a search and found the box for your Kombi at at least six different online stores that ship worldwide. Have your parents ship you the tool from home. Then it comes down to what freight are you willing to spend on, over night, 2nd day, etc. Bottom line is this repair, using video how-to and the new tool should have seen you down for a week, 10 days if a weekend was involved and you were cheap on shipping. I buy parts worldwide and receive them in Topeka, Kansas USA, center of flyover country. If I’m able to get parts in under 7 days from Europe I’m not buying 36 days, except you wanted/needed to create drama. You’re better than this Ben. Sorry but I am not buying it.

[@KombiLife]

you know what Bryan, you came to exactly the same conclusion as us. This will be a week to fix, we got this! You will see in the next parts, what happened and why it ended up taking so long (much longer than we had hoped)

[@peasenhalljesus]

Well wish you both the best on your travels Little critical point I would like to lose and get on to watching your stories Rehearsal is a little over done and the talk over for me seem Unnecessary Ok It makes it clean a tidy but somewhat unnatural I I personally don’t think you need it

[@KombiLife]

Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it!

[@NathanielMiller94]

"A beautiful place to be stranded" sounds an AWFUL lot like what you were saying when you were stuck in Mexico for 3 months rebuilding Capito, Ben. 🤨

[@KombiLife]

it was, just much colder this time 🥶

[@SSNaruto343]

honestly why don't you purchase a new van (latest model) and renovate.. i get that the van I sentimental but, change is part of life and think of how adventurous the videos would be if there was less about the kombi and more about people and places.. think about how many relationships and self peace you'd get if you had one less thing (major thing) to worry about.. anyways this is just a suggestion, I'm sure that I'm not the first person who might've told you this and this is just my personal opinion - i don't like to watch two things on youtube 1. mental breakdowns 2. car breakdowns....

[@patrickdoherty8701]

Everytime I see you your with a different women 😅

[@ozzycool1000]

What’s going on with the sound? It’s ai? Sounds terrible

[@KombiLife]

Yeah we agree, the audio enhancements didn’t render very well in this episode.

[@adriansmall2824]

You are hardly stranded and not really in a desert

[@KombiLife]

🙄

[@franknorton5036]

Well, technically, by measurements of rainfall etc, it actually falls within (maybe only just 🤭) the definition of a desert…Ben and Tamara are brave and charming people I had the pleasure to be able to help and the privilege to get to know a little in there stay round Chodes 😀