[Omar15]

So me and my friend are going to switzerland and maybe zillertal in august for a month (and font on the way) to check out magic wood/sustenpass etc and I'll need a vehicle of some sort. But I'm not sure if i should buy a car, a small van, or something bigger. It'd be good to be able to sleep in the back, but we'll have tents so im not sure how much it'd help. At the moment my dilemma looks something like this:

Car - would probably be an estate like a skoda octavia. Not bad mpg, insurance not horrific, would be possible to sleep in it but not ideal. Probably just enough space for pads, hairdryers etc. Comfy ride.

Small van - like a peugeot expert. Not bad mpg but insurance for vans seems to be pretty high. Loads of space in the back for all our crap and could sleep reasonably comfortably if we couldnt find somewhere to camp or whatever.

Larger van - like a vw transporter. Juicy and quite expensive initially too, insurance id imagine is quite a lot but there'd be loads of space which could negate the need to camp. And we'd be in the cool club.

Also, I know im only 21 and thus a hooligan, but so far the quotes for insuring a small van have been 2k - 12k! Does anyone know anywhere particularly cheap not on price comparison websites?

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Paul B]

T4's aren't that 'juicy'

[underground]

I quite fancy this for the summer but the insurance might well get a bit steep...

[underground]

In serious mode: I've often heard people talk about owners club insurance and low mileage as a way of dropping the price - so if you could do some searching based on a camper manufacturer (bet there's plenty for VW of all types) with an OC and say e.g <8k miles a year and see how that goes....

[Paul B]

In serious mode: I've often heard people talk about owners club insurance and low mileage as a way of dropping the price - so if you could do some searching based on a camper manufacturer (bet there's plenty for VW of all types) with an OC and say e.g <8k miles a year and see how that goes....

Owners clubs don't seem to do anything much these days. Some forums have agreements with insurers (FiatForum springs to mind with Chris Knott Ins. [worth getting a quote from]) but I've never found these able to beat the likes of Brentacre, E-van, Adrian Flux (check the Campervan Knowledge for this and more). Van insurance shouldn't be too bad unless you want to go for more than 90 days.

Which vehicle you decide on very much depends on your budget and how close you want to be with the person you're travelling with.

However, Switzerland is one of the most difficult places I took our van and places like magic wood don't cater well for them (life would be more comfortable in a tent than crammed in the car park).

Zillertal seems to have a nice looking climbers campground (maybe free but I don't know), down the road from Ewige Jagrunde before you get to the tunnel (@ Ginzling [skipping the lights on this isn't a good idea unless a local goes first!]). Austria is much better for van life. Take a top tip from Zangerl and seek out the local cake which looks like Swiss roll but is packed with nuts, Cinnamon and goodness. Its also socially accpetable to drink shandy here even if they do call it Radler.

[Omar15]

Awesome, cheers guys. I decided on a white peugeot expert paedowagon so im going to spend today getting a load of insurance quotes. I'm with adrian flux for my bike so im holding out hope for them! We'll be taking tents too so we'll be able to camp at magic wood with the benefit of a fridge in the van.

[butters]

Awesome, cheers guys. I decided on a white peugeot expert paedowagon so im going to spend today getting a load of insurance quotes. I'm with adrian flux for my bike so im holding out hope for them! We'll be taking tents too so we'll be able to camp at magic wood with the benefit of a fridge in the van.

Be aware that a fridge is going to be pulling a fair degree of life out of your battery - I certainly wouldn't advise running it off the main battery for any extended period of time.

[Paul B]

just run it off gas...

[Norton Sharley]

whatever happened to the lost art of hitching?  When I were a lad .... 

[Paul B]

yes, because the Swiss are well known for their hospitality... especially towards boulderers. For heavens sake they pass on your details to the police when you stay on the Magic Wood campsite as standard practice.