Twin Life. Real life.
Journeying through the Americas, you get to really understand your campervan!
In April 2025 with an Adria Twin Plus - 640 SGX to travel through Canada, the USA, Mexico, Guatemala,Belize, and then up through Alaska. To comply with seasonal regulations, visa requirements, and insurance, we put the van in storage and returned to France from time to time to see our family before coming back to continue our adventure.
We are Joseph and Sylvie, a couple of young retirees living in Provence, France. From 2018 to 2020, we travelled through South America, but the Covid crisis meant we had to put some of our trip on hold. We were missing a chapter of our journey through North America and part of Central America.
During our trip to South America, we had a coach-built motorhome that we brought from France. It was equipped with a large storage area, which allowed us to bring too much stuff, like two spare tires, which was unnecessary. It was also equipped with an absorption refrigerator, a drawback regarding the stability of the cold.
We decided on the Adria 640 Twin Plus SGX model.
You might ask why this choice?
It’s always a difficult choosing a leisure vehicle, with so many factors involved but these three reasons sold us on the Twin and the SGX layout:
- The electric bed allows for a large storage area accessible from inside the vehicle.
- Unlike our trip to South America, the 640 Twin Plus SGX is equipped with a large compressor refrigerator, ensuring consistent cooling, important on long trips.
- Another factor, the WEBASTO diesel heater. Gas isn't always easy to find abroad. To further enhance our self-sufficiency, we have 440W of solar panels and a 190Ah lithium battery.
In April 2025, we shipped our Twin from Antwerp, Belgium, to Halifax, Nova Scotia and began our journey till 2027. As with any trip, especially long ones, we experienced both highs and lows.
Highlights include memories of wonderful landscapes that are etched in our minds, such as the icebergs of Newfoundland, our visit to New York City, Niagara Falls, the desert regions of the American West, and the wildlife, including bears, bison, quetzals, and crocodiles.
Then there was Mexican culture with its Pacific beaches and the kindness of the Guatemalan people towards the various Mayan communities where we are traveling at the moment.
But we also had some difficult moments, not related to safety concerns or the Adria campervan itself, but rather to the vehicle's engine. In Baja California, we had an alternator failure. That's the risk you take on a long trip. We brought air filters, oil filters, fuel filters, brake pads, but no spare alternator! We placed an order in Europe for delivery.
what we like and don't like, and advice for adventurers considering a similar adventure. We've been traveling through the Americas for 15 months now. What we appreciate is the onboard power supply with the lithium battery and solar panels, as well as the 12/220 pure sine wave inverter. It makes the interior very comfortable.
Another thing we appreciate is the storage space, because for a trip like this, we had to bring warm and lightweight clothing. Another positive point is the shower system in the Twin. Having 16-inch wheels and an air suspension system is also a definite advantage!
Of course, not everything works out and somethings you don’t realise until you spend months away in the van! We wished for more powerful burners in the kitchen, as we cooked – a lot! If we were to do it again, we would have chosen a more powerful lithium battery to be able to use an induction cooktop. And we could have managed when traveling, with just half the bench seat, it would have been sufficient, allowing for easier movement.
Overall, our Twin was terrific, it coped with months away, covering many kilometres and all the challenges of daily living, away from home.
Still on their trip till end of 2027, you can follow Joseph and Sylvie’s adventures here: www.kokopellienbalade.com
You can explore the Twin SGX models here:
