Bongo as a camper

[bristolracer]

In view of the insane prices of VWs (why?) are there any owners of Mazda Bongos on the forum?

Do you use it as a full on camper and if so what do like dislike etc about it?
Any thing i need to pay close attention to when buying?

Cheers

[egor110]

I've had my bongo for 7 years.

It's not converted when i stay over at bike races i just fold all the seats down so have a full length bed, all clothes etc go up in the roof or awnning if were staying longer.

The bongo is narrower than a t4 so once you've got a side conversion the seats need to be cut down and the bed is snug.

If your buying one the main problem area is the cooling system/overheating.
Check the header tank for dirty water, if you take it for a run temp guage shouldn't go over half way.

Mines been fine never broken down, but it's a n reg so i had radiator,water pump, cam belt replaced this year as a precaution.

You can run them on veg oil too or lpg the petrol v6.

Bongofury.com is the website for more info or looking at your name there are loads of bongos bristol/western super mare and i'm just in somerset if you want a nose around.

Edited by egor110 on Monday 19th November 16:21

[smegmore]

I've got a 2.5 TD, great machine once it was sorted. The electrics and cooling system are a bit quirky, to date I've changed all the belts, new water pump (the seal was leaking when cold), fitted a low coolant alarm (essential in my view), fitted a manual override switch for the cooling fan so I can switch it on in traffic.

I bought mine in May this year and have covered 26k kms to date including 2 trips to Spain and numerous bike race meetings, mine has a rear kitchen which IMHO is better than a side fitted one as the rear seat can be used as a full width bed. If you are considering a newly imported one then buy from one of the established conversion companies or you could end up with a lash-up, cost? for a new conversion I would estimate 9-10k, not much when you consider some of the prices asked for clapped-out VWs.

The Bongo Fury forum is the place for info, a very helpful crowd they are, if you need to know more feel free to email me.

[bristolracer]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I've been looking at a couple and will probably end up buying private/bona fide dealer

There is a couple of rather dodgy looking ones on ebay at the moment near me which they keep reselling on a one day auction. So i figure i may get one from an honest owner rather than through an import scheme. I also dont want HMG presenting me with some huge bill.

I have read cambelt and cooling need attention so i will look out for this.I will also fit a fan override

Also your comment on the rear kitchen, I have been looking at that and it seems to be the best use of space, I also am not a fan of the side/rock and roll conversion as i will need to carry children and crash tested r/r beds are very expensive (£2000) and have to be fitted by an approved centre. Also the r/r beds are short on headroom.

Must admit the looks are growing on me and they do look sharp with nice wheels

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

4 or 5 of my feriends have them and love them. In fact my sister ahs one and she has a baby due in January. She says she doesnt want to sell it, but as she also has another car she might find that the financial and practical sides of having the baby force her to so Ill find out a bit more about it and price etc.

[Chicken Chaser]

These have found themselves on my radar too but then I keep ruling them out due to ridiculous low mpg. I hear the diesel is doing well to get anywhere near 30mpg. How bad is it?

[smegmore]

Chicken Chaser said:

These have found themselves on my radar too but then I keep ruling them out due to ridiculous low mpg. I hear the diesel is doing well to get anywhere near 30mpg. How bad is it?

Auto box and rev limit of 2500 (68 mph on o/s 16" tyres) will normally give you 26-28 motorway mpg. However, the 2.5TD (Ford Ranger) lump has way more power than a VW diesel so acceleration and hill climbs are no problem. I'm also looking to have an aftermarket electronic cruise control fitted (approx. all-in cost £180) will also improve cruising mpg. You can easily use 50-60% veg oil in this engine for reduced fuel costs.

[Chicken Chaser]

How come they're so thirsty? I wouldnt have thought they would be as theyre not the heaviest of vehicles.

Is the manual TD any better? I have heard that getting hold of one is like rocking horse st.

[bristolracer]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

4 or 5 of my feriends have them and love them. In fact my sister ahs one and she has a baby due in January. She says she doesnt want to sell it, but as she also has another car she might find that the financial and practical sides of having the baby force her to so Ill find out a bit more about it and price etc.

Thanks for that I would be interested in any details assuming she wants to sell it! Would prefer as said to buy face to face rather than evilbay or unseen off a boat etc.(we have the funds ready to go for right vehicle)

Re the mpg am not overly worried as will only be used for weekends away and holidays not as a daily.
I have heard that the diesel was dropped in the early noughties and all since then have been petrol which then opens up LPG as an option. Also i think when you add in value for money the diesel price is not that much of a pain.
eg year 1998 bongo for say £4000 against £4000 worth of T4 (yeah well its slammed veedub innit mate -- er no its an old clapped builders van)Also most VWs are still registered as vans and therefore not LEZ compliant The bongo will be classed as a car/mpv and therefore exempt. (i dont think ill be driving in London much but i bet LEZ will soon come to a city near us all in the next ten years esp a 'forward' thinking city like Bristol)

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

OK, Ill message her and see what her plans are.

[egor110]

Chicken Chaser said:

How come they're so thirsty? I wouldnt have thought they would be as theyre not the heaviest of vehicles.

Is the manual TD any better? I have heard that getting hold of one is like rocking horse st.

There 2.5 tons, 4x4 and have a autobox so pretty much everything that's bad for mpg, however they are so easy/comfy on long drives.

Also it just keeps going thru the mot with no advisories and got me thru floods, snow and off some really bad muddy fields.

[egor110]

bristolracer said:

Thanks for that I would be interested in any details assuming she wants to sell it! Would prefer as said to buy face to face rather than evilbay or unseen off a boat etc.(we have the funds ready to go for right vehicle)

Re the mpg am not overly worried as will only be used for weekends away and holidays not as a daily.
I have heard that the diesel was dropped in the early noughties and all since then have been petrol which then opens up LPG as an option. Also i think when you add in value for money the diesel price is not that much of a pain.
eg year 1998 bongo for say £4000 against £4000 worth of T4 (yeah well its slammed veedub innit mate -- er no its an old clapped builders van)Also most VWs are still registered as vans and therefore not LEZ compliant The bongo will be classed as a car/mpv and therefore exempt. (i dont think ill be driving in London much but i bet LEZ will soon come to a city near us all in the next ten years esp a 'forward' thinking city like Bristol)

With the petrol go for the v6 , the 2.0 doesn't have the power needed to lug the bongo around and going up hill you'll be slow.
The petrol cambelts are harder to fit compared to the diesel too, a v6 lpg'd sounds a good idea.

[bristolracer]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

OK, Ill message her and see what her plans are.

Thank you

[smegmore]

egor110 said:

Chicken Chaser said:

How come they're so thirsty? I wouldnt have thought they would be as theyre not the heaviest of vehicles.

Is the manual TD any better? I have heard that getting hold of one is like rocking horse st.

There 2.5 tons, 4x4 and have a autobox so pretty much everything that's bad for mpg, however they are so easy/comfy on long drives.

Also it just keeps going thru the mot with no advisories and got me thru floods, snow and off some really bad muddy fields.

This, you have 2.5 litres of diesel power rated at 130+ bhp compared to a 2 litre T4 with 80-odd bhp (power figures from memory, don't quote me!) hence the good hill climbing potential, the autobox is a doddle as previously said. I've had quite a few campervans in my time and the Bongo is the best all-rounder by far.

[Chicken Chaser]

smegmore said:

egor110 said:

Chicken Chaser said:

How come they're so thirsty? I wouldnt have thought they would be as theyre not the heaviest of vehicles.

Is the manual TD any better? I have heard that getting hold of one is like rocking horse st.

There 2.5 tons, 4x4 and have a autobox so pretty much everything that's bad for mpg, however they are so easy/comfy on long drives.

Also it just keeps going thru the mot with no advisories and got me thru floods, snow and off some really bad muddy fields.

This, you have 2.5 litres of diesel power rated at 130+ bhp compared to a 2 litre T4 with 80-odd bhp (power figures from memory, don't quote me!) hence the good hill climbing potential, the autobox is a doddle as previously said. I've had quite a few campervans in my time and the Bongo is the best all-rounder by far.

Thanks for the insight. Have you ever owned a T4? I'm still toying over the idea of buying one or the other but just cant seem to make my mind up. I had toyed with the idea of just buying a caravan (as kids might be just around the corner) but then thought of the roads I like to drive on in Scotland and thought that a van still was the better idea of the two.

[smegmore]

Chicken Chaser said:

Thanks for the insight. Have you ever owned a T4? I'm still toying over the idea of buying one or the other but just cant seem to make my mind up. I had toyed with the idea of just buying a caravan (as kids might be just around the corner) but then thought of the roads I like to drive on in Scotland and thought that a van still was the better idea of the two.

I've had a couple of T4s, gutless rotboxes, not a patch on the Bongo IMHO.

[ehonda]

I've got a bongo with a side conversion, as said the R&R bed is a bit cramped for sleeping 2, but we're both on a diet so maybe that'll help I sleep better in the awning on my own with the Mrs and kids in the van.
I'm a bit concerned about the comment up there ^^ about safety rock and roll beds as we lug our 2 little ones around with us. I had never heard of crash tested R&R beds.
Mine's a V6 petrol, so far totally reliable. I find it really comfortable to drive. I'd definitely recommend one.

[egor110]

Chicken Chaser said:

Thanks for the insight. Have you ever owned a T4? I'm still toying over the idea of buying one or the other but just cant seem to make my mind up. I had toyed with the idea of just buying a caravan (as kids might be just around the corner) but then thought of the roads I like to drive on in Scotland and thought that a van still was the better idea of the two.

Both my brothers have t4's , they are vans at the end of the day and very basic.

The bongo is quite narrow but for day to day use this is good as it fits in carpark spaces (not under height barriers though) and can turn on a six pence.
The bongo has dual zone air con (front/back) auto gearbox, 2 rows of seats all with seatbelts in the back, those extras alone would cost you a fortune to spec on t4.

For 2 people it's fine to sleep in but anymore would be cramped in my opinion.

When i go to watch superbikes i just get there sat put the roof up to store stuff and just fold all the seats flat, at the grand prix when i stay longer i put a drive away awning up.

Re conversions most people seem to cook outside on a bbq/cadac and just seem to use the indoor cooker to boil the kettle so i'd rather have big bed.

[egor110]

ehonda said:

I've got a bongo with a side conversion, as said the R&R bed is a bit cramped for sleeping 2, but we're both on a diet so maybe that'll help I sleep better in the awning on my own with the Mrs and kids in the van.
I'm a bit concerned about the comment up there ^^ about safety rock and roll beds as we lug our 2 little ones around with us. I had never heard of crash tested R&R beds.
Mine's a V6 petrol, so far totally reliable. I find it really comfortable to drive. I'd definitely recommend one.

The rock and roll beds aren't crash tested so illegal to use to transport people around, the converters usually mention this on there websites.

[ehonda]

egor110 said:

The rock and roll beds aren't crash tested so illegal to use to transport people around, the converters usually mention this on there websites.

That's a bit of a worry then.