campervan hire

welshkev

hi guys and girls,

would/have any of you considered renting a camper van for a trip in wales?

does the idea appeal to you to pick up a camper equipped with bike rack etc that you can then spend a few days away in?

Chunkers1980

For sure - but my Mum has one though. Not sure I'd pay the amount it'd cost as I like camping.

welshkev

Chunkers1980 wrote:

For sure - but my Mum has one though. Not sure I'd pay the amount it'd cost as I like camping.

that's what I'm trying to gauge. the one's I've seen do seem expensive. but with a drive away awning included it'd feel like you were camping

BillyMansell

I would say it depends if someone's intending to do some touring between riding then a campervan's a good option but if you're intending to stay close to trail centres for a few days then camping with facilities, B&B or renting a cottage may be better options.

As well as the ease of touring the advantages to campervanning for me over other forms of accommodation is I can go from bed to being on the road in under a minute should you need or want to move on quickly and in Scotland and Wales there are plenty of opportunities for wild camping which offsets the cost of campsites plus with mine I can also stealth camp as it looks like an ordinary vehicle rather than a play bus.

welshkev

but does a campervan have advantages over camping in peoples opinion?

for example, Cwmcarn and afan/glyncorrwg have on site campsites. would it be preferable to just rock up in a camper and not have the hassle or faff of pitching a tent?

but yes, my idea was that people would pick up a camper and then tour various riding spots, walking spots, surfing spots, a mixture of all three? whatever floats their boat

Chunkers1980

What annoys me about camper vaning is one person cannot drink until you're settled for the night. I think it best to find a camp site closish to what you want to do and go out for the days biking or whatever and then come back and all be able to have a drink and meal ect.

Sansa85

I'd think about it, if it wasn't too expensive. It's a bit of novelty and maybe a bit easier than camping. I like the idea, but then I do really want a camper anyway. There seem ot be a lot of companies around though that do campervan hire and we went to a couple of weddings last year that had a campervan as their wedding transport.

Long_Time_Lurker

I would be interested.
I hate camping - even when I was over in the US where it was warm. I now refuse to 'slum it'.

I also like the fact that you have a wider range to explore. Riding a bike loaded with camping kit, or relying on public transport is too much hassle.

JBA

welshkev - hiring out a camper van is a fine idea but you really need to look in to the true cost of it. A camper van itself isn't cheap and you have to keep it maintained in tip-top condition. Insurance for a vehicle you intend to hire out is very expensive as well.

What type of camper van are you considering: a classic VW split screen or Bay or a more modern T4 or T5?

nicklouse

You will not make any money out of it.

How are people going to get to it with their bikes?

Sorry non starter for your mentioned client base.

welshkev

nicklouse wrote:

You will not make any money out of it.

How are people going to get to it with their bikes?

Sorry non starter for your mentioned client base.

This is what I'm trying to gauge.

People have bike racks do they not? My thinking was that people would like to have the freedom to travel together, pull up somewhere and sleep, then repeat. Without the hassle of 2 or 3 cars, b&b's etc.

BillyMansell

JBA wrote:

welshkev - hiring out a camper van is a fine idea but you really need to look in to the true cost of it. A camper van itself isn't cheap and you have to keep it maintained in tip-top condition. Insurance for a vehicle you intend to hire out is very expensive as well.

What type of camper van are you considering: a classic VW split screen or Bay or a more modern T4 or T5?

Off the top of my head, and assuming the OP doesn't already have a vehicle to hire, I know Danbury have the last of the Brazilian T2s which start at £37k converted and used T5s with a new conversion start at around £20k. They'll obviously be cheaper out there as well as second hand for considerably less.

To save a fair bit of money someone could look at doing a self build with a panel van but would need to be mindful that the DVLA have cracked down over the last couple of years on requests for reclassifying self builds to motor caravans and if they don't like the work and refuse to reclassify the vehicle it will be impossible to insure or hire as a camper.

Other vehicles for the OP to consider are Japanese imports like the Mazda Bongo, of which there are already some for hire in south Wales, and the Nissan Elgrand. They may be able to get vehicles imported and converted for around half the cost of a similar T5.

welshkev

Yes, something like the Mazda bongo I had in mind.

They're actually not too far away from me (the other people you mentioned) I'd never heard of them til I started to look for prices etc - which was last night

This isn't a thoroughly thought out idea guys. It was literally something I thought about yesterday after seeing a few bongos for sale at a local garage.

BillyMansell

Any questions you might have about Bongos or Ford Fredas (exactly the same base vehicle) feel free to ask over at the bongofury forum. They'll be able to advise you what's available and what to look out for, where to buy or not buy and why to avoid the quick sales on Ebay particularly by certain sellers in the Bristol area.

Ferrals

My gut feeling is it's not a great concept for domestic visitors, similar companies do very well in places like oz and nz with international travellers because they need transport and a place to stay.
For domestic visitors it's easier just to fill up the car you have with all the bike/hike/climbing/ surfing stuff you want and b&b, camp or sleep in the car as appropriate. If you are going to hire a camper you've got to get to the van hire place and transfer stuff accross. You'd have to determine if enough people travelling through Cardiff airport would want to hire a van I reckon and do pickup collection from there

welshkev

Ferrals wrote:

If you are going to hire a camper you've got to get to the van hire place and transfer stuff accross. You'd have to determine if enough people travelling through Cardiff airport would want to hire a van I reckon and do pickup collection from there

would it be a an option for travellers coming from Scotland or Newcastle do people think? I've flown to both from Cardiff and Bristol (I'm equidistant between the 2 airports)

welshkev

BillyMansell wrote:

Any questions you might have about Bongos or Ford Fredas (exactly the same base vehicle) feel free to ask over at the bongofury forum. They'll be able to advise you what's available and what to look out for, where to buy or not buy and why to avoid the quick sales on Ebay particularly by certain sellers in the Bristol area.

cheers mate, i'll take a look

Long_Time_Lurker

welshkev wrote:

would it be a an option for travellers coming from Scotland or Newcastle do people think? I've flown to both from Cardiff and Bristol (I'm equidistant between the 2 airports)

If I'm travelling by air, I tend to hire at the resort. And I don't know of any companies that will allow you to hire a decent bike for a week and take away while I go travelling, so that may pose a problem.
If I was to hire a van, I would want to pick it up in Newcastle and drive it to the trail centre.
The point of hiring the campervan would be to let me take my own bike and stay at camp sites - the whole thing would have to work out cheaper than the cost of flights, bike hire and B&Bs.