[cha1n]

Hi

From mid July my girlfriend and I will begin a climbing trip around Europe. On top of specific advice, I'd appreciate any general advice you have. In theory we don't plan to stop traveling until April next year, when we'll leave for Canada. I realise that this is a long time to spend in a van and may not be possible.

My first question is regarding the van itself. I already have a SWB T4 that I've ply lined only so have my work cut out to finish it before July, though I am only working part time at the moment! Do you think this van will be big enough? I plan to get a pop top or hardtop fitted. Financially, a hardtop is more desirable and I like the idea of permanently storing things in the roof, etc. My only concern about the hard top is if it will restrict my access to free camping spots which people regularly use at the European crags. Can anyone elaborate on this?

I will no doubt post many more questions before I go but these are the pressing issues for now. Thank you in advance for any help given.

[cha1n]

A really key decision I need to make is if I should keep the van or not. The van is worth around 2k and I've budgeted a self build conversion at 2k, so if I sold the van we'd essentially have 4k to spend on something else. Perhaps a cheap motor home which will be much more comfortable for a long trip but may have implications for just parking up any old place if we had to.

[Bonjoy]

I doubt you could get a reliable proper motor home at 4k. Have a look on ebay/autotrader to get a better idea. You'd get most for your money by buying someone else's home conversion. Basically home conversions tend to sell at less than the cost of the base vehicle + the cost of conversion. The reason is that people don't have great trust in the DIY skills of other random people. IMO your best bet would be to use the time and money you would have spent on van + conversion to look at home conversions being sold by others. It might take a bit of effort (but still much less than doing a conversion!) to get a good one but you will end up with something better than you could produce by yourself within your budget (especially if you factor in the cost of your own labour) and you should be able to sell it on at or near the price you got it.

[Ali]

We have a hightop T25. You're right that the storage is a big benefit. It means all your climbing gear can be out of the way, leaving the living space clear so you're not constantly having to shuffle stuff around. It's also good that the gear is not on open view to anyone looking in the windows. And being able to stand upright in the van is good. We've had a few trips to France, totalling around 8 weeks, and the only issue we've had with height barriers was at Mazet Plage parking in the Ardeche.
There is a cost disadvantage to the hightop in that tolls on French motorways are 50% higher, but on a long trip you can probably avoid a lot of motorway travel. I expect the fuel consumption will be affected too but no idea how much by.
T4 size is good as you can fit in normal parking spaces and can squeeze through the narrow streets in the old towns and villages. A motorhome might be more restrictive.

[SA Chris]

How reliable is your T4; mileage, work needs doing etc? I'm of the opinion a conversion is only as good as the base vehicle; you don't really want to sell your reliable van and end up with someone else's one legged dog. If you have time to work on your existing van and it's a good runner that's what I would be doing. IMO.

[cha1n]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

The tip about the French motorways is handy, I'll definitely avoid them if in a hightop.

My van is mechanically sound, the mileage is high (140k) but it's the 2.5tdi and it's not unusual to see people selling them on 300k. Also the van is an ex Thames Water van from new that had been regularly serviced so I know it's been looked after mechanically. Only problem is that it's a bit tatty externally, with quite a few dents and scratches. That doesn't bother me at all but it may be a problem when I go to sell on and it would be a shame to plow a lot of money into a conversion and not get much back on it because of the bodywork condition. It's possible that I may have enough time to get treating the rusty bits and filling the dents before we go though.

I'm actually struggling to find someone that can fit a decent hightop at a good price! There's someone on ebay doing it for £500 fitted but it's a weird shape and other companies are charging near £1k! Lots to think about but I need to decide next week really. Decisions!

[Duma]

Ross, a SWB T4 would be pretty small for 2 of you to spend a lot of time in, I'd say too small unless you got a high top to help with storage, would make it a lot nicer to have the headroom too. Do you know Jason and Claire? They're currently about 6 months into a Europe bouldering road trip in a LWB T4 (low top) and that van is pretty stuffed.

[cha1n]

Hey Duma

Yeh, I've definitely conceded that I'm going to need a high roof van, whether that means fitting something to mine or buying a new one. Length wise, the LWB T4 is only 400mm longer than the SWB so I think it's the height that's going to help the most.

I'm struggling with insurance policys at the moment, Campton insurance said they can't insure me because I won't be employed...

[SA Chris]

Downunder used to be the "go to" for Antipodeans doing extended extended van trips, many of whom didn't officially have jobs in the UK, might be worth trying them?

http://www.duinsure.com/sites/duinsure.nsf/homepages/homepage