Advice - van, caravan, tent..???
Discussion
My partner and I and the dog currently go on a few trips away a year in our huge tent. It is nice and comfy, but we want to be able to go away for shorter periods with less notice, i.e. leave on a Friday after work, grab a few bits and go sort of thing.
We would ideally love a van, but we are both 22 and insurance seems ludicrous on a van conversion at our age. What else should we consider?
I have looked at Bongo's, but have been scared off by horror stores of reliability. But that sort of size would be ideal really. (Budget of £3k-£5k for a finished one)
Not sure what else to consider.. I looked at old Romahome's, but I don't fit in the driver's seat.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
We would ideally love a van, but we are both 22 and insurance seems ludicrous on a van conversion at our age. What else should we consider?
I have looked at Bongo's, but have been scared off by horror stores of reliability. But that sort of size would be ideal really. (Budget of £3k-£5k for a finished one)
Not sure what else to consider.. I looked at old Romahome's, but I don't fit in the driver's seat.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Camper van sounds ideal really. You'll just need to scour the classifieds to find you you want for you budget. Years ago I really liked the sound of the Bongos but I wouldn't buy one now. Too old, parts hard to get hold off, too much potential to go wrong.
As a caravan owner I probably wouldn't suggest on for the scenario you outline as we don't really use ours at the moment for weekends. Just seems like too much hassle, we store ours on a compound so by the time we'd get over there, load up, hitch up and get to wherever then it could be getting late. Then it all takes a while to set up when you get there. That said if you have room at home to keep one a compact caravan like an Eriba could work well for 2 + dog.
As a caravan owner I probably wouldn't suggest on for the scenario you outline as we don't really use ours at the moment for weekends. Just seems like too much hassle, we store ours on a compound so by the time we'd get over there, load up, hitch up and get to wherever then it could be getting late. Then it all takes a while to set up when you get there. That said if you have room at home to keep one a compact caravan like an Eriba could work well for 2 + dog.
I've seen this mk6 transit https://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/2005-mk6-ford-trans...
the MOT history shows a few signs of rust, seller says it has been sorted and has sent photos. For £1500, is it worth a punt? They are accepting offers too. Mileage high at 171,000 I suppose, but has already had some conversion work done, so less for me to do.
the MOT history shows a few signs of rust, seller says it has been sorted and has sent photos. For £1500, is it worth a punt? They are accepting offers too. Mileage high at 171,000 I suppose, but has already had some conversion work done, so less for me to do.
mikal83 said:
Cheap as chips and it it all goes tits up.....youve not lost a lot. We are after a decent campervan conversion as well.
MOT until 01/21 too, is it worth a punt for say £1200? Even if when the MOT is due next year if it is too far gone, i'd have had the whole rest of this year of camping in it and it must be worth £400 to anyone spares or repairs...Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 10th March 10:36
Edited by gman88667733 on Tuesday 10th March 10:36
I'd go Campervan at your age.
I am 47 with a wife and 5yo son, we have a small Eriba caravan, it's great and all that but the main problem is storage, we keep it in a compound, so have to go and get it the night before any planned trips like that, then load it up and go after work/school.
Only problem then is you hit the rush hour, towing any vehicle is slow, and many sites have a cut-off time by which you must arrive by, so we are limited in the radius of where we can go for short weekends away. You've also got the whole rigmarole of awning set up etc, with a campervan it is far easier to just roll up and pull the handbrake on.
I am 47 with a wife and 5yo son, we have a small Eriba caravan, it's great and all that but the main problem is storage, we keep it in a compound, so have to go and get it the night before any planned trips like that, then load it up and go after work/school.
Only problem then is you hit the rush hour, towing any vehicle is slow, and many sites have a cut-off time by which you must arrive by, so we are limited in the radius of where we can go for short weekends away. You've also got the whole rigmarole of awning set up etc, with a campervan it is far easier to just roll up and pull the handbrake on.
gman88667733 said:
I don't know how much to spend is the big question! I would be happy spending £5k total to have a somewhat nice one. But when you see ones like that mk6 transit for £1.5k with all the hard work done, it is tempting...
Question is, worth a punt?
Still Yes. Could be an American serviceman. We had a yank in our air station and every one bought a car and sold it on. Plenty of spare parts around, cheap and easy to fix anything. Bit of self repairs/derust/paint etc on a quiet day (self isolate lol)......Question is, worth a punt?
Bill said:
A knackered van has potential to be a world of pain, and still needs packing up to go. If you're happy camping then stick with it and look at streamlining your kit so it's basically always ready to go.
That's what we did for a few years - 3 man tent with a porch for a bit of comfort and a plastic box with all the basic cooking stuff in, including food basics, tea, coffee etc. Camped most weekends from June to October, rather than once or twice a year when we used the big tent + faff stuff. Keep it simple 😊We have a T25 which we have owned for 8 years and love.
This one does not look too bad, no pictures of the arches though....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-T25-camper/324083276...
Edit - just looked at the MOT history. Major structural problems and reports of filler - give it a swerve. Sorry.
This one does not look too bad, no pictures of the arches though....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-T25-camper/324083276...
Edit - just looked at the MOT history. Major structural problems and reports of filler - give it a swerve. Sorry.
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