Camper van owners

[Dexter101]

Hi guys,

just wondering if anyone on here owns a camper van?

Thinking of getting a Honda Stepwagon after Christmas which can be used as a weekend camper (front seats swivel and rear seats all fold flat into a bed).

Always wanted one and with the new baby holiday funds will be less than normal.

Just wondered about anyones experiences

 

[VW911]

Yep - me...

A 1978 Devon VW - love it more than my wife!
We've got a double rock 'n' roll bed in the back, two hammocks in the roof, and a baby size hammock that slings across the front seats.
A drive -away awning is always a good idea for extra living space.
I've lost count of the weekends away/holidays that we've had...
Couldn't say much about more modern ones - my inlaws have a Fiat, but it seems a bit dull to me.

There are a couple of others on here @Braziliain is one...

 

[Dexter101]

So incredibly jealous! I will continue to dream of a classic vw.

Driveaway awning is already on the shopping list.

I will have to have it as my daily driver so wont be fully converted,

 

[Chippy_Tea]

A guy at work has a Toyota windsurf (something like that) basically a converted van he got it because he has to park on the street and it's no wider than a transit, it's well laid out inside for the size of it and it didn't cost him a lot of money like decent VW's (not rusty) go for its also got a modern engine so it's no slouch.

 

[Dexter101]

Thanks chippy will check them out too!

 

[Druncan]

Had a vw 2.0 pet T25 new+ till Tiree ate it. Brilliant surf bus, cute, but thirsty, rusty and slow.
The way to go seems to be buy a van next size up from Citroen Dispatch and do your own conversion. Just hope that now we are going out of EC the conversion laws may be easier? Good luck. I may do it next if the house build goes downhill,,,

 

[Dutto]

After six years of ownership and 62,000 miles we sold our 1998 AutoSleeper Duetto in August and went back to a caravan+car combination.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

MOTORHOME
For - It's easy to drive. It can be parked up overnight almost anywhere. It is cheaper to go on a ferry. Everything is with you.
Against - There is a lot less space for the amount of money you spend. (The engine, gearbox and driving seats take up a lot of space.) You have to take it into town if you want to go shopping. It's high and won't fit (or be allowed) in many car parks. It uses fuel all of the time. It can take up an enormous space on the drive but putting it into storage requires major "winterisation" to ensure that the batteries and engine don't suffer from the lay-up.

CAR + CARAVAN
For - You can leave it and go shopping in the car. The car fuel only increases when towing. It can be stored away from the house relatively easily. (Ours is currently in France.)
Against - It takes a different skill set to drive and park a car & caravan combination. It usually requires a campsite in order to park up for the night. It requires two sets of insurance.

We took our motorhome "Petal" all the way up to Sodankyla in Finland above the Arctic Circle in order to see the Midnight Sun. We drove all the way down to Gibraltar one winter chasing the sun and visiting friends who lived in Spain. We spent another winter visiting Venice and Northern Italy. We spent an Autumn cycling from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean (Bordeaux to Agde) to celebrate our 70th birthdays. (We did the journey both ways because obviously you have to come back to the motorhome every night.)

When we got a bit older we slowed down a bit and decided that we wished to be a bit more static. Hence the caravan and car combination.

I wish you well and hope that this is a bit of help in deciding what to get.

Either way, ENJOY! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thanks chippy will check them out too!

I cannot find the model he has but its similar to this - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...s=1500&postcode=la129by&price-from=500&page=7

 

[Dexter101]

Thats similar to what I am looking at!

 

[bigbud78]

We have a VW cali Beach, love it but tbh we've not camped much the last couple of years in it. We found that its great for longer periods away but for the weekend its a pain, loading up the van and leaving after work on a friday with everything required for a family then arriving late at a camp site with two children that want to be asleep. Then unpacking, putting up awnings, setting up beds.

To go anywhere you have to then pack all the beds away & tidy up, refit car seats ect. For a weekend its just not worth the effort and we are toying with getting a caravan. But then when you work out how much its costs for everything a few weekends away in a B&B seems cheap lol.

If it was just the two of us it would have been amazing, with two kids its hard work.

 

[AlanManley]

I have a 6 berth caravan. Absolutely love it and go away most weekends.

We bought ours as we have a 2 year old (who loves it) and a 2nd on the way so holidays abroad are out for a while.

Always a ball when we go and once settled rarely need to leave the site we're on unless we want to take in the local area.

Whatever you go for, enjoy it!

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[pms67]

I have a 6 berth caravan. Absolutely love it and go away most weekends.

We bought ours as we have a 2 year old (who loves it) and a 2nd on the way so holidays abroad are out for a while.

Always a ball when we go and once settled rarely need to leave the site we're on unless we want to take in the local area.

Whatever you go for, enjoy it!

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Me too mate, can’t beat it 👍
And I still brew there!

 

[dad_of_jon]

worth having a look at a mazda bongo frendee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Bongo#Bongo_Friendee_(1995–2005)

check for rust though, some of the first ones are rotten

 

[AlanManley]

Me too mate, can’t beat it [emoji106]
And I still brew there!

You brew at the Van?! Amazing!

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[pms67]

You brew at the Van?! Amazing!

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Yeah, if we are there for four or five days in the summer with the kids and swmbo is reading or something boring that isn’t brewing, it’s got to happen, plus it’s in my bike shed/container out the back so no one can complain about the smell 😁
It’s a seasonal pitch so it’s all set up waiting 👍

 

[Dutto]

"Petal" was an AutoSleeper 1998 Duetto which was built on a Ford Transit chassis.

Good News:
All of the older AutoSleepers are built like the proverbial outhouse and for two people the Duetto is a perfect motorhome.

Bad News:
The words "Ford Transit" and "Rust" are synonymous and we had a real fight on our hands to keep the rust at bay with new cills, new wheel arches, chassis welding etc.

When you finally buy a motorhome make damn sure that the vehicle itself is in perfect shape. You can replace fridges, cookers, beds etc but you can't replace the base vehicle and even some models of Mercedes and Volkswagen are not rust free!

Enjoy! Half of the fun is deciding what to buy! :thumb:

 

[AlanManley]

Yeah, if we are there for four or five days in the summer with the kids and swmbo is reading or something boring that isn’t brewing, it’s got to happen, plus it’s in my bike shed/container out the back so no one can complain about the smell [emoji16]
It’s a seasonal pitch so it’s all set up waiting [emoji106]

Ah I see. I thought you meant you go away for the weekend (saw it was a tourer) and brewed ad hoc.

Either way it's still cool. [emoji16][emoji106]

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[Druncan]

60 years old and I have spent the last 6 years living in a static caravan while we let out our home for the summer tourists. I never considered that I would; a) be still doing it and b) love the life!!!! There's some part of us must be traveller related, we even have a lurcher and 2009 dispatch van with a R&R bed.