Buying a used motorhome

bartman100

Thinking of taking the plunge...my daughter finishes school this summer and will be taking a gap year. Thinking about taking 3 months off and touring UK and Europe with her before she starts temporary work.

I could stretch to £15k but may potentially sell it when Autumn comes around to recoup losses.

Favouring a VW modern conversion though privacy will be a little stretched - perhaps it's the kind of vehicle you'd only want to share with a partner rather than a teenage child. Obvs I would need 2 separate sleeping spaces.

Any advice on tips, experiences, pitfalls welcome......

Garry H

Could always buy a suitably sized van and have it converted. Not sure about the costs of that v an off the peg model though.. Did same to an old escort van many moonsago, but that was just for me. Lived in it for best part of six months in the alps.

mercia_man

I'm now in my fifth year of camper van ownership and did a lot of research on what is available on the used market before I ended up buying new thanks to an unexpected inheritance.

A 15K budget is too low for a modern VW Transporter conversion. VW's own California is 50K-plus, a new van conversion from a reputable converter like Bilbo, Bodans, Rolling Homes etc is 40K-plus while a new interior conversion on a two or three year old relatively low mileage donor van will be 30K-plus.

A cheaper way to get a new conversion is from somewhere like Salop Vans where you pick your donor vehicle, from around £15,000 plus VAT with about 80,000 on the clock and have them convert it for £11,000-plus. You can drop to mid to low £20,000s by getting a higher mileage converted van privately or from a motorhome dealer. Below £20,000, you are looking at pretty high mileage older vans or amateur conversions.

Most pop-up roof camper vans use the justifiably popular VW-style side kitchen and rock and roll double bed layout. You could get a van with an additional roof bed which would give you the sleeping arrangement you desire. You can also get camper vans with a two single bed layout but these are pretty rare and the sleeping surface may be a bit lumpy as it involves folding down the driver's and passenger's front seats. High roof vans cost more on toll motorways and won't go under car park height barriers. Ideally, you want a roof under 2m high for ease of use.

There are some great alternative donor vehicles. The Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault Trafic/Nissan Primastar is favoured by Sussex Campervans. Wellhouse Leisure do award-winning conversions on the Hyundai i800 (which is what I have), Ford Transit Tourneo, Mercedes Vito and also the Toyota Alphard, which is only slightly above your budget. The Alphard is an MPV body on what is effectively a Lexus engine and rolling gear and is very quick and well equipped. Wellhouse imports pristine low mileage examples from around 2002 from Japan and converts them with a side kitchen layout from around £16,000 all in. Wellhouse's workshop manager told me they are fantastic to drive, if a bit thirsty.

You can also get cheaper conversions on smaller vans like the Nissan NV200, VW Caddy, Fiat Doblo or Fords but living space for two over three months would be cramped. You can also pick up low mileage smaller coachbuilt motorhomes which would give you single beds and a proper enclosed toilet and shower room for around 25K from a dealer, cheaper privately.

I would recommend joining the Caravan Club. Not only do you have a network of high quality sites around the UK but you have thousands of members only certificated locations for just six units. These range from a field with a tap and waste disposal drain to hard standing pitches with electric hook-up and toilet from around £8 to £15 a night. The CC also does discounted ferries and Red Pennant medical and breakdown insurance for Europe. It has a useful website forum.

For holidays in France, I am a big fan of aires. These are normally free overnight parking areas only for motorhomes/camper vans provided by the local council or sometimes privately in most towns and villages. I tend to stay at these while travelling and then stay perhaps a couple of nights at a municipal campsite to recharge my leisure battery, use the shower facilities and do my laundry and drying on communal washing line. A good guide is All the Aires of France from Vicarious Books.

A solar panel is good for keeping the leisure battery charged while camping off grid. A swivel front passenger seat makes things more comfortable in the evening. A small oil-filled electric radiator will keep the interior warm on cold evenings with the roof down. We keep all our nesting cooking pots and pans, plastic rubbish and food bags, cutlery, torch, hand washing liquid, washing up liquid, cloths etc in one of those cheap clear plastic lidded storage containers you see for sale everywhere and the wheel levellers, hook-up lead with European adaptor, water tank hose, cab blinds in an old canvas postal bag. Then we just chuck the storage container and bag in the van when we set off - saves time packing.

Sorry this is so long. Hope it's useful. Here are some websites:
www.wellhouseleisure.com
www.bilbos.com
www.vwtransportersales.co.uk
www.sussexcampervans.com
www.caravanclub.co.uk
www.rolling-homes.co.uk
www.vicariousbooks.co.uk

bartman100

Wow thanks (both): what fantastic advice. Much appreciated.

Obvs I have a lot to consider and this is the start of my investigation. Of course, I've done the usual idle surfing after a few beers and come up with what might look like contenders, though they may well be crocks of shite that will cost more in repairs:-
https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motor ... -t4/922325
http://motorhomes.autotrader.co.uk/used ... 543d944248

I will digest the info you've given and will have a good old think.

Cheers!

gethinceri

This is my good pal Dayne's business, he is a T5 conversion specialist, award winning. He has very good contacts and it may be worth you giving him a call:
http://www.toctrim.co.uk/

mercia_man

bartman100 wrote:

Wow thanks (both): what fantastic advice. Much appreciated.

Obvs I have a lot to consider and this is the start of my investigation. Of course, I've done the usual idle surfing after a few beers and come up with what might look like contenders, though they may well be crocks of shite that will cost more in repairs:-
https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motor ... -t4/922325
http://motorhomes.autotrader.co.uk/used ... 543d944248

I will digest the info you've given and will have a good old think.

Cheers!

Those are older vans than I thought you were considering. They are both fairly high mileage T4 models. This is a 1990s design, loved by enthusiasts, but more of a "classic" vehicle with corresponding performance, braking etc. If you are mechanically confident, both those above look like a potentially good buy. The conversions look pretty nice. But you can spend a lot of money getting an old T4 up to scratch.

The T5 Transporter 2003-on for pre-facelift and 2009-on for post-facelift gives a more modern driving experience, from what I have heard, but the engines and electrics are more complex. You are more likely to get air con with a newer
T5 - I would think that is virtually essential for summer touring in Europe. The latest Transporter is the T6, very expensive.

Another cheap possibility is a Mazda Bongo conversion. They were imported from Japan in large numbers and converted by people like Wellhouse. They are no longer made and have been superseded by things like the Toyota Alphard. But enthusiasts love them and there are quite a few around still.

I would definitely recommend getting a camper van. They are fantastic fun. It's great being able to use one as your ordinary daily car for shopping and commuting and yet you can pack up in a matter of minutes and live in it for months on end for that big European tour.

bartman100

thanks again for the advice. The T5's do look lovely but man they're expensive.

The Mazda Bongo looks to be a great alternative. Would prob need a hi-top for aforementioned privacy issues!

@Gethinceri - many thanks, that looks useful.

TheBigBean

If you live and work in the UK, how much do you get to use a campervan? I was assuming it would just be for a three week trip in the summer, or am I missing something?

Also, how does the cost of rental compare?

mercia_man

TheBigBean wrote:

If you live and work in the UK, how much do you get to use a campervan? I was assuming it would just be for a three week trip in the summer, or am I missing something?

Also, how does the cost of rental compare?

A camper van is fine to use as your only car for commuting, shopping, family visits etc. They have a similar road footprint to a Range Rover and will fit in normal car park spaces, although height barriers can occasionally be an issue.

The VW T4/5 conversions are based on the familiar tradesmen's Transporter vans or the Caravelle people carrier/taxi. My Hyundai is based on the i800 people carrier, sold in this country as a big family car or airport run taxi etc. Most other camper vans are based on small or medium sized vans and people carriers and you can even get conversions on 4x4 MPVs like the Ssangyong Turismo.

So they are easy to drive for daily use like a regular car on everything from motorways to single track country lanes, unlike a big coachbuilt motor home or a car and caravan, and have the performance to keep up with normal traffic speeds. But you have the advantage of being able to head off for a weekend break or a long European holiday at a moment's notice. I'm retired and take my van for two or three holidays to France each year plus short breaks in the UK. As competitive runners, my wife and I find the van to be a convenient warm base and changing room at races. It's also handy for taking friends and bikes for a car assisted cycle ride.

Hiring is a good way to try out the camper van life. For example, one of my local Shropshire firms, Bodens, charges £560-£750 for seven nights in a high spec VW T5 conversion. You can hire Bongo campers from around £360 a week.

TheBigBean

Many thanks for the reply. It's amazing what you can learn on a bike forum!

bikes`n`guns

Forget VW as they are far to expensive for what they are.

Try a Jap import Toyota Hiace Hi top camper.
Buy a great big Kyam awning and crack on. Get most of your cash back when you sell it as well.

bartman100

Thanks again.

I am indeed looking at using the campervan as my sole motor vehicle. I can get 6K for my current car and bolt on the same again and hopefully get a decent ish Bongo.

slowbike

we have a PVC conversion - so bigger than you're intending - we decided on that because we wanted the option to be independant, onboard facilities in a separate area but still be able to fit it on the drive - otherwise coachbuilt would've come into play.
We had a similar budget - but blew it because we didn't like the look of anything that was available.

We ended up with a Trigano Tribute - with a fixed double bed at the back & 4 travel seats - which is a really nice van (although still budget!).
We've been away for up to 2 weeks at a time - and now we have a toddler to take with us too.

It's quite small inside - so if the weather is crap there isn't the space to stretch out - not so bad for adults - rubbish for toddlers - hence we bought a driveaway awning to give us a bit more living space.
I wouldn't do without the separate toilet/shower compartment.
Heating was handy in Italy - despite it being height of summer we hit badweather and used the Webasto deisel heater.
Hotwater (gas powered) was nice - meant showers could be had onboard
Shorepower (you can tell I came from boating!) is excellent - just makes life easier if on a campsite
Cruise control is ace!

I love our van - and love driving it - there are a few things I'd love to change but haven't go the time/energy/money to do it yet.
I'd sort out SatNav - we just use an old Garmin - it's ok, but not ideal.
We will fit solar panels - just haven't got the money to do it (to my spec) yet.
I'd love to sort out the battery charger and integrate with an inverter so we can easily use 240v off grid
I will be fitting a mifi/wifi boosting device - haven't sorted out what yet.

slowbike

Ah - I wouldn't use a PVC as a sole motervehicle - parking can be a bit of a pain.
Although, bike racks on the back mean that we can park away and ride in.....

bartman100

Slowbike wrote:

Ah - I wouldn't use a PVC as a sole motervehicle - parking can be a bit of a pain.
Although, bike racks on the back mean that we can park away and ride in.....

Exactly. I've aspired to being car free for a while. I can't see a Bongo being too cumbersome for essential trips and more excuse to cycle.

slowbike

have you looked at motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/ - friendly bunch over there - although you do need to pay £15 to post (beyond a few free)

DeVlaeminck

Bikes`n`guns wrote:

Forget VW as they are far to expensive for what they are.

Try a Jap import Toyota Hiace Hi top camper.
Buy a great big Kyam awning and crack on. Get most of your cash back when you sell it as well.

We had a blue Hiace camper when we were kids as there were 5 of us plus our parents - my nan bought it us brand new in 77 - fond memories of going on holiday in it - unfortunately it rusted through in no time and my dad replaced it with a Cortina estate.