[chris666]

WANTED

A van conversion suitable for two people, spending six months travelling around Europe (April – September).
We are novices and would welcome any advice.
What we think we know:
• 2.3litre or bigger diesel engine (fuel economy is important to us)
• Needs to be 16-21ft (want to access some more remote places)
• Probably 2001 or newer (We are told that breakdown cover is difficult/expensive to come by for vehicles over 10 years old)
• Would prefer mid kitchen (with oven) and rear lounge (so if one is lying down, the other need not disturb them if cooking and access to the cab etc is easy)
• Swivel front seat(s) (So we could sit and eat up front if the bed is made up or if we choose to)
• We have approx £23,000 for the right vehicle.
• We will be taking two bicycles.

We are happy camping and do not require luxury but do want to be comfortable for six months.
We thought that the Fiat Ducatto (Tribute, Adria or Timberland) seemed a good option but have since found forums that slate the Fiat terribly. Reverse gear ratio leading to burnt-out clutches, gearbox problems etc seem not uncommon.
We are noticing vans of about the right size such as Mercedes Sprinter and long wheel base VW’s but these don’t seem to be converted – not sure why?. We do not have time to convert our own van.
We are back to the drawing board and are feeling we need some experienced van conversion owners to offer advice and would be grateful if anyone can spare the time to do this.

[lawnman]

why not just go and buy a used campervan from a dealer? simple!!

[chris666]

The question is really -Which one would you suggest that meets our criteria??? and why???

[lawnman]

[chris666]

Thanks but we've already done that. The question still remains!
We are really after advice from people who have experience of campervans and may be able to offer constructive and helpful pro's and con's.

[dw65]

well firstly its a great idea to but a campervan i have one and mine is for sale on here as for the type you want and the age i think your being a tad too picky there are loads of campers out there well over 20 years old fully insured and in a lot better condition that the newer ones infact if your looking for one thats economical then an older model that runs on vegetable oil is a lot far cheaper for you i would recomend a campervan rather than a big motorhome though when you buy one though even if they say its had a service put it in the garage explain tothe garave and ask them to give it the full works
i bought a van of ebay last year 400 quid passed mot 1st time i put it in for a full service and got the garage to check it over completly as i told him i was driving to bulgaria and back this was the best 400 quid i spent i sold it on and i bought a mazda bongo brawny which i have used and just put up for sale on gumtree it sounds perfect for what your looking for

[tamjak]

i would suggest a decent caravan and a decent vehicle to pull it with as whenever you get to where you are you have to keep packing everything away when you want to go out, also it easier to replace/fix car if anything goes wrong