[Baron]

Off to look at this one with tailgate door tomorrow:

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/makemodel/make/toyota/model/hiace/price/min/6999/radius/30miles/stock-item-id/at8a62863029858ccf012987be20955a11/advert

Price was a factor - cheaper than VW for comparable year/milage. And that The Works Hiace is still going strong, I believe.

Planning to insulate with kingspan, then plyboard and carpet walls (as seen earlier in thread). Putting something more water resistant/wipe clean on floor to deal with wet surf kit.

Might invest in one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pull-out-rock-n-roll-beds-fit-all-vans-inc-VW-T4-T5-/260455991398?pt=UK_Campervan_Caravan_Accessories

But get a slightly narrower version so I can stick in simple storage/gas ring down the side. Or make something from ply. Defo want storage underneath tho

Plan to add electric/other bits I might need in the future, but all I'm looking for at the moment is somewhere to doss so I don't have to keep driving back from the east coast on a weekend if the surfs good.

Cheers for the advice.

Paul, could you post the link to the T5 please? That sounds like a right deal.

[Paul B]

sorry I missed a few notes which make it less appealing... The punter button is on the left. I'll try to redeem myself by searching a little harder. I'm absolutely convinced you can do better than the toyota for that budget.

Is there any particular reason why you want that mileage or year? The t4 was 10 years old and had done 130k by the time I'd finished with it. Similarily my Caddy is an '06 and is now pushing 97k.

Be wary of the Cannons forge beds, they have a bit of a mixed reputation.

[Baron]

No worries. Found this:

http://www.kcvansales.co.uk/vans/8075/volkswagen_transporter_t28_tdi_pd/

I just presumed lower mileage/newer year equals better? (dings etc permitting of course)

[SA Chris]

Fatboy Slimfast has an RnR bed he would probably get shot of for a few pounds (in the for sale section somewhere). We butchered ours to make a table an a front panel for the new RiB Bed,  but have the cushions still. May sell for a few pounds, but we're a bit far away to make it worthwhile. Probably end up as (very expensive) padding for bouldering wall.

[Paul B]

I can only speak for T4's but from what I've seen if the engines are serviced at reasonable intervals and get their timing belts changed as and when then they go for ages. A few forum members have been pretty happy with ex AA vans and although they service them more regularly I can't see them having had an easy life.

(There's a place in Rotheram that makes R+R beds, I used them to weld a frame for the back of my caddy, their beds are a bit different in design as they have a higher back support to remove the need for the rear shelf you get leaving more space in the van. These kind of things aren't cheap though and I think we saved a fair bit doing the uholstering of van and bed ourselves).

[SA Chris]

No worries. Found this:

http://www.kcvansales.co.uk/vans/8075/volkswagen_transporter_t28_tdi_pd/

I just presumed lower mileage/newer year equals better? (dings etc permitting of course)

You reckon?

Be aware with the 1.9l T5s. There is a 104 BHP and an 85 BHP. I've not driven one, but the 85 BHP is apparently a bit sluggish and needs rechipping for a bit more life in the engine, which is fine, but invalidates any existing warranty. Unless they say it's a 104 BHP, it probably isn't. Just something to be aware of. Depends what you are used to driving though, it might be fine.

[Baron]

Cheers for the knowledge.

How about this cheeky number?:

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/price/min/6999/radius/30miles/makemodel/make/volkswagen/model/transporter/stock-item-id/at8a65fb2f2a1d9020012a21f61b224914/advert

[butters]

Cheers for the knowledge.
How about this cheeky number?:

Depends whether you want a T4 or not - they are starting to fetch stupid money now and with some judicious searching you can probably turn up a T5 for the same money. Probably not the best time of year to be buying one either as the prices have steadily risen over the last 4-5 months - usual supply\demand thing with summer and people buying one to convert out.

[Paul B]

The 2.5 Tdi is a pleasure to drive and we topped ours right up in Dover and pootled down to Ceuse avoiding all motorways (tight bastards) to arrive in Sigoyer as the fuel light came on.

Crawl all over it and try not to be sold by the alloys alone 

[Baron]

Will let you know how I get on tomorrow.

By the way, what exactly is a 'cloned' van?

[Paul B]

In this particular scam, which saw 11,000 vehicles given false identities and sold to unsuspecting consumers, blank log books were stolen from a contractor employed by the DVLA to shred the batches concerned because of a printing error. They are used to make duplicate V5s of existing cars and make stolen cars with theses V5Cs appear genuine. They even show up as genuine in car history checks.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/legal--motoring-advice/2010-02/how-to-avoid-a-cloned-car-on-a-stolen-v5c

i.e. a HPI check isn't enough

[account_inactive]

Joe buy a VW.  Give me a bell if you want a chat

[abarro81]

Sorry if this is covered elsewhere:
What insurance companies do people know that don't have a 90 day limit on trips to Europe? Most of the ones I've looked at seem to have this, which aint very helpful when you want to go away for a long time...
(Plus same question again for european breakdown stuff?)
Cheers

[Paul B]

eVAN seems to be a popular choice but they insure vans not campervans.

Brentacre will negotiate if you ask nicely.

I believe that insurance companies are obliged to cover you to the minimum extent required under the law in other countries, i.e. you're covered 3rd party outside of the 90 days. This could be incorrect.

[Skinny Pete]

Random info from my experience that may or may not be useful...

I've got a T5 (1.9, 104BHP, T30) which I bought as a 2nd hand window van and had pro converted by Jerba - they did an awesome job and were a pleasure to deal with but aren't the cheapest around.

As Chris says, the 85BHP vans are too sluggish - fine as a work van for short distances, but a pain on long trips.  104 is adequate but still needs a run up for overtaking.  The 2.5l ones are fast but rarer and more expensive.

Also worth keeping an eye on the loading weight.  T5's come as T26, T28, T30 and T32 which correspond to laden weights of 2600 - 3200kg.  A full camper conversion and four people is pretty weighty and might be pushing it in a T26.

My van came with (virtually brand new) winter tyres on the front - previous owner in Aberdeen.  Makes a massive difference on soft ground and well worth it IMHO.

[abarro81]

eVAN seems to be a popular choice but they insure vans not campervans.

Do you know at what point a van becomes a camper van?

[ChrisC]

Do you know at what point a van becomes a camper van?

The DVLA has a strict list of stuff for it to be reclassified as a "motor caravan".

My insurance company (Adrian Flux, underwritten by Marker Sure - no good for extended Europe trips though I don't think) wanted Sink, Bed, Cupboards and Table, all in a permanent fixing.  Though the bed could be a RnR bed seat thing obviously, I can't remember what they said about windows or fridge.

Edit - This should have it all in from the DVLA perspective: http://www.caravanwise.co.uk/motor/diycamper.html

Also if you turn up any 12month Europe insurers can you post back here as I'll be needing them in a few months?

[SA Chris]

converted by Jerba

We just got roof done and RiB bed in from Simon (expanding the van with the family!) and confirm he is great to deal with.

When I went to see him in June to chat about conversion, he had a van in that a guy had shipped over from Australia for him to convert. Said he couldn't find anywhere in Oz who could do the conversion to a standard he wanted, so got it shipped to Edinburgh and back again once converted.

[SA Chris]

http://www.caravanwise.co.uk/motor/diycamper.html

They weren't even that specific with ours - all we showed them were a few digi photos printed on A4 paper, and they issued the new log. No inspection or anything, didn't even look at the van.

[abarro81]

Cheers for that ChrisC; looks like I should be a normal van.

Continuing questions from someone who knows bugger all about all things motorised:
If I were to insure a van with my mum as the no. 1 driver and me as an extra driver, is there any requirement that she actually uses it or anything similar? This comes out cheaper, but she wont actually be using it, or even in the same country as it most of the time.

[Skinny Pete]

abarro81: Unlikely to be anything specific about how much she actually uses it, other than you have stated to them that she is the main driver.  It is therefore reasonable for them to assume she drives it over 50% of the time.  One thing insurance companies are expert at is wriggling out of paying out when you need them!  Be very wary of giving false info - in the event of a major claim they will check everything!

Chris:  Agreed, happy to sing the praises of Jerba to anyone who will listen!!  Lots of little details like swapping the mossie mesh in the elevating roofs for finer stuff to cope with scottish midges.

[SA Chris]

If I were to insure a van with my mum as the no. 1 driver and me as an extra driver, is there any requirement that she actually uses it or anything similar? This comes out cheaper, but she wont actually be using it, or even in the same country as it most of the time.

Also if she has a car already, then she can't transfer her no-claims over to a second vehicle, unless the insurance company allows cloning of no-claims, which very few do. And while it's in her name you won't accumulate any no-claims of your own.

[SA Chris]

Lots of little details like swapping the mossie mesh in the elevating roofs for finer stuff to cope with scottish midges.

Indeed. We also bought some netting from here http://www.midgie.net/

The "large" is big enough to cut in thirds, and use a piece closed in the front doors so you can leave the window open and not let the bastards in. You can seal it along the bottom with a fridge magnet. Works great in all except high winds, when you won't need it anyway.

[Baron]

All the vans I looked at had been hammered by builders, so I went to a place selling Ex RAC transits:

T330
140k
Fully wired up with extra interior lights and spots/additional battery with switcher etc
Black smoked glass tailgate
Bright orange (but will respray for £500)
Excellent condition
£4300

Liked the look of the pre-installed electrics - anyone had experience of adapting something like this for camper use?

[account_inactive]

Don't buy a transit it will rot