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Vans - Camper Conversions...

great comments here and lots to think about. I've just taken the dog out and got chatting to some roofers doing some work opposite, both have vans - a Mercedes Sprinter, it's pretty battered with the guy living in it full time) with his mate having a Low Roof Ford Custom, which was looking lovely - all sound proofed and insulated, very much a work in progress - he was talking about a pop-roof which would cost him about £4k to be done. Having seen both, I'm leaning towards something more like the Ford - maybe a med-roof height and LWB, I think would be a lot more usable and easier to get around plus the fact, it would only really be weekends away or a couple of weeks at a time - we do need to factor in a crate for the dog!

My brother in law now living in Aus, had a converted school bus that thing was incredible and he travelled all over during the pandemic - I'll find a link to it - what a van that was!
 
CraShWilliams said:
great comments here and lots to think about. I've just taken the dog out and got chatting to some roofers doing some work opposite, both have vans - a Mercedes Sprinter, it's pretty battered with the guy living in it full time) with his mate having a Low Roof Ford Custom, which was looking lovely - all sound proofed and insulated, very much a work in progress - he was talking about a pop-roof which would cost him about £4k to be done. Having seen both, I'm leaning towards something more like the Ford - maybe a med-roof height and LWB, I think would be a lot more usable and easier to get around plus the fact, it would only really be weekends away or a couple of weeks at a time - we do need to factor in a crate for the dog!

My brother in law now living in Aus, had a converted school bus that thing was incredible and he travelled all over during the pandemic - I'll find a link to it - what a van that was!
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My pal with the converted Tranny Custom SWB says he would get the LWB if he were doing it again. That permits a bed lengthways and usable space at the front. His model gives the choice of a transverse bed that is only about 5ft 6 long, so he has to sleep diagonally, or a longitudinal bed and no space other than that. His is OK for 1 but when his wife comes too he has to sleep on the floor. They have 2 dogs but no crates.
The low/high roof choice is dictated by the number of car parks with a 2m barrier, there are more than you think.
 
Hi, you could spend a hour looking on ebay, nearly 6 thousand on there, all shapes and sizes, also if you are doing it yourself, plenty of ideas, just by looking what other people have done, me myself would buy one already converted, as i fear, this is not a simple job, and the saving could be wiped out very quickly,
Also if the camper van, was made as a camper, the chassis might be different, not sure about this, but could be worth looking into,
 
CraShWilliams said:
great comments here and lots to think about. I've just taken the dog out and got chatting to some roofers doing some work opposite, both have vans - a Mercedes Sprinter, it's pretty battered with the guy living in it full time) with his mate having a Low Roof Ford Custom, which was looking lovely - all sound proofed and insulated, very much a work in progress - he was talking about a pop-roof which would cost him about £4k to be done. Having seen both, I'm leaning towards something more like the Ford - maybe a med-roof height and LWB, I think would be a lot more usable and easier to get around plus the fact, it would only really be weekends away or a couple of weeks at a time - we do need to factor in a crate for the dog!

My brother in law now living in Aus, had a converted school bus that thing was incredible and he travelled all over during the pandemic - I'll find a link to it - what a van that was!
Click to expand...

Height is another thing to consider, standard transits and vivaros etc are low enough to get under car park barriers, work colleague does layby and carpark camping etc. so anything tall wouldn't be any good in that instance. If it is just regular campsites then it's not a problem.
 
I converted a new xl boxer van 7 years ago, best thing I ever did. Its got everything that's needed for summer and winter use, we go to france/Spain every summer for 6-8 weeks in it, it's been really good..
 
Roadtrek out of Cambridge, Ontario were a client of mine for some years. As lovely as the VW California is, to climb into a Roadtrek is to desperately want one. The last couple of times I was there, a trend had started to have a Toyota Corolla (built just down the road) with tow bar pkg, included, often in a matching colour to the van. Every time I pulled into the parking lot there'd be one of two of these rigs sitting ready for customer pickup, many of whom would fly into Kitchener airport and simply drive straight off to their new adventures.

Of course, the long wheelbase, fully loaded ones are pushing $USD 200,000 (plus Corolla runabout).

Roadtrek-Interior-Chestnut-Full.jpg
 
I’m thinking about converting a van, will likely be a newer type LWB sprinter. I’ll likely convert rather than buy converted to get the design and layout we want, full size shower in the rear, specific kitchen, solar and battery etc. We bought a camper new in 2018 and sold last year so have a good idea of what we want in our next van.

A couple of things to consider….

How long will you keep the van? Might be cheaper to buy and sell a ready made used van. Campers don’t depreciate like cars, so you might lose a few £k for a few years use. We were v lucky, bought new in 2018 for £60K, did 70 ish trips and sold back to the dealer for £55K as the van was approaching 5 years old. He then put it up for sale at £62k! This was peak post covid supply / demand time. A badly done conversion can lose a lot of money in comparison

Fords are know to be very easy to steal in the camper world

I rarely saw van awnings being used…wait and see before assuming you need one

Where will you go, how long might you be in 1 place? I originally had a larger van in mind, then went smaller to make it easier to get on the smaller ferries, backroads etc. my logic was Large Amazon delivery van size…they get everywhere without issues…also Must be a high top so you can walk around without issues. IMO a VW Transporter is too small, Goldilocks is in the length 6.5m range

There are some great ideas on YouTube. This is what I’m thinking about….
 
paulc said:
I’m thinking about converting a van, will likely be a newer type LWB sprinter. I’ll likely convert rather than buy converted to get the design and layout we want, full size shower in the rear, specific kitchen, solar and battery etc. We bought a camper new in 2018 and sold last year so have a good idea of what we want in our next van.

A couple of things to consider….

How long will you keep the van? Might be cheaper to buy and sell a ready made used van. Campers don’t depreciate like cars, so you might lose a few £k for a few years use. We were v lucky, bought new in 2018 for £60K, did 70 ish trips and sold back to the dealer for £55K as the van was approaching 5 years old. He then put it up for sale at £62k! This was peak post covid supply / demand time. A badly done conversion can lose a lot of money in comparison

Fords are know to be very easy to steal in the camper world

I rarely saw van awnings being used…wait and see before assuming you need one

Where will you go, how long might you be in 1 place? I originally had a larger van in mind, then went smaller to make it easier to get on the smaller ferries, backroads etc. my logic was Large Amazon delivery van size…they get everywhere without issues…also Must be a high top so you can walk around without issues. IMO a VW Transporter is too small, Goldilocks is in the length 6.5m range

There are some great ideas on YouTube. This is what I’m thinking about….
Click to expand...

We thought long and hard around going for a 6M van. Extra space and bathroom, great for longer road trips. Would have gone for a Hymer Grand Canyon, the Westfalia Sven Hedin is decent too. However, we use as a general car and felt they’re just too big for day to day use IMHO. Clearly, the California has compromises, but it’s an unbeatable package, for us that is. The icing on the cake is the total cost of ownership being so incredibly low.
 
Craig B said:
Roadtrek out of Cambridge, Ontario were a client of mine for some years. As lovely as the VW California is, to climb into a Roadtrek is to desperately want one. The last couple of times I was there, a trend had started to have a Toyota Corolla (built just down the road) with tow bar pkg, included, often in a matching colour to the van. Every time I pulled into the parking lot there'd be one of two of these rigs sitting ready for customer pickup, many of whom would fly into Kitchener airport and simply drive straight off to their new adventures.

Of course, the long wheelbase, fully loaded ones are pushing $USD 200,000 (plus Corolla runabout).

Roadtrek-Interior-Chestnut-Full.jpg
Click to expand...
Can you imagine trying to drive that in the UK? I'm not even sure that you can drive one on a standard car licence!
 
We had a VW T3 for eight years and enjoyed owning it.

But, one of the big disadvantages of any camper van is that when you have to make that supermarket trip, or have a day out from your base, you have to take your home with you. It can prove to be a bit wearing.

Good luck Peter
 
You need to think about spare parts , No good doing a LDV van and going to Africa
They would not have heard of it if it goes wrong.
 
Ponty said:
We thought long and hard around going for a 6M van. Extra space and bathroom, great for longer road trips. Would have gone for a Hymer Grand Canyon, the Westfalia Sven Hedin is decent too. However, we use as a general car and felt they’re just too big for day to day use IMHO. Clearly, the California has compromises, but it’s an unbeatable package, for us that is. The icing on the cake is the total cost of ownership being so incredibly low.
Click to expand...

Grand Canyon is the van we had. Def not as agile as a California.
 
We popped into a motorhome place just outside Exeter, off the M5 and they had several converted vans - around the £60/70k mark and whilst stunning, they're well above our price bracket; they were either VW, Fiat and may have been a Vauxhall. Having looked in to Fords there seems to be a massive issue around their wetbelt systems on the Ecoblue range - failing well before the recommended change resulting in several thousand pounds for a new engine.
 
I think I'm the only kitesurfer in the UK who doesn't have a van. Vw t4/5 and Mercedes Vito's are the most popular. Doing windows and TUV approved beds is a piece of piss on your own. A few bolts and a recip saw is all it takes.
 
AudioAl said:
You need to think about spare parts , No good doing a LDV van and going to Africa
They would not have heard of it if it goes wrong.
Click to expand...

To be fair an LDV can be fixed with some chewing gum and tie wraps so likely ok in some far flung corner of Africa. It would be anything more modern and digital that required plugging in thet would concern me.
 
CraShWilliams said:
We popped into a motorhome place just outside Exeter, off the M5 and they had several converted vans - around the £60/70k mark and whilst stunning, they're well above our price bracket; they were either VW, Fiat and may have been a Vauxhall. Having looked in to Fords there seems to be a massive issue around their wetbelt systems on the Ecoblue range - failing well before the recommended change resulting in several thousand pounds for a new engine.
Click to expand...

Might be worth you going to this. Could help with some ideas and firm up what you want.

Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2024

With over 400 leading exhibitors offering their latest and most innovative products and services across almost 20 acres of the NEC - it's the UK's biggest start of year leisure vehicle and camping showcase! Not only will you be able to research, step inside and compare the latest interior...
ccmshow.co.uk ccmshow.co.uk
 
Ponty said:
Might be worth you going to this. Could help with some ideas and firm up what you want.

Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2024

With over 400 leading exhibitors offering their latest and most innovative products and services across almost 20 acres of the NEC - it's the UK's biggest start of year leisure vehicle and camping showcase! Not only will you be able to research, step inside and compare the latest interior...
ccmshow.co.uk ccmshow.co.uk
Click to expand...
Or, look out for a summer Volksfest event, and be prepared to make an offer on something nice.
 
This was originally from Utah, so no rust, it had louvred side windows and reclining seats.
Our youngest son, bought it fifteen years ago, stripped it to a shell and with the help of his partner's brother-in-law who had a body shop, primed and painted it. He took out the reclining seats, found some bulkheads and original seats, had them recovered in cream leather with memory foam interiors.
She made the curtains on her sewing machine. He did all the woodwork in the interior.
So it was pretty much back to how it was in 1967. They've been all over Europe in it on holiday most years, even to Switzerland. They found it adequate for them as they always stopped and slept in it at recognised camping sites.
It's a "traffic stopper" even in Germany.

 
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