Build or buy?

[Skyedriver]

I keep getting this desire to carry out a camper conversion on a T4/5 or Vito, to use mainly for days/one night away and possibly towing a small race car if I ever get back into hillclimbing.
But would I be better off just buying something, similar vehicle or possibly slightly larger motorhome?
For motorsport, prob just me, but if the whole family it's 3 of us and two dogs....
Cost is a major consideration, couldn't exceed about £8-10K max.
Am I just being unrealistic with the budget?
Thanks

[Sonie]

I have a T6 Kombi. I looked at kitchens, pop tops etc, in the end I settled for a 5 seater which we fold the seats flat, stick a mattress in and have the luxury of a big bed plus a vehicle I can use anytime as a car.

For me, I could not sleep comfortably on a small double bed trapped both sides which most set ups have, even the VW California.

Work out what you want/need, sleeping needs to be comfortable, cooking, possible and the driving experience enjoyable

[task]

we spent a while looking at either building or buying a VW camper and decided to build as we wanted something with a few key differences and would likely have ended up modifying something pre-built.

Is that price for the conversion or for everything? Conversion price will be decided by what features and fixings you want, pop tops and crash tested seat/beds account for a large part of the cost.

It also depends how handy and confident you are with electrics and general DIY skills, cutting holes for windows isn't hard but you need to be confident! That said, there are 100s of tutorials and youtube videos available along with companies that will do that work for you and allow you to cuts costs by doing other work yourself.

[geeks]

Plenty have gone down the selfbuild (myself included) expect 300 or so hours of work and there is a decent saving to be made if you can put in the work yourself.

Vitos aren't as good for this apparently (there was a thread here not so long ago discussing it)

T5/6 is a well done path, see Chicken Chaser and LeighW threads, loads of info and stuff to guide you. Tampons Vauxhall Vivaro as well (although he has moved onto a Relay build but not put anything up for a while)

I went for the Citroen Relay on mine bigger van overall but I wanted to be able to stand up in mine. The bed hasn't ended up ideal but its good enough for the type of use and something I may redevelop next year when I have some more time, although my build thread is less detailed feel free to ask questions/pick my brains as the principle is the same...

geeks - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
LeighW - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Chicken Chaser - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Tampon - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... (Vauxhall Vivaro)

[Skyedriver]

geeks said:

Plenty have gone down the selfbuild (myself included) expect 300 or so hours of work and there is a decent saving to be made if you can put in the work yourself.

Vitos aren't as good for this apparently (there was a thread here not so long ago discussing it)

T5/6 is a well done path, see Chicken Chaser and LeighW threads, loads of info and stuff to guide you. Tampons Vauxhall Vivaro as well (although he has moved onto a Relay build but not put anything up for a while)

I went for the Citroen Relay on mine bigger van overall but I wanted to be able to stand up in mine. The bed hasn't ended up ideal but its good enough for the type of use and something I may redevelop next year when I have some more time, although my build thread is less detailed feel free to ask questions/pick my brains as the principle is the same...

geeks - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
LeighW - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Chicken Chaser - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Tampon - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... (Vauxhall Vivaro)

Thanks for that, had already read LeighW thread from beginning to end, possibly what started my thoughts going a long while ago. Will read the rest at leisure