Which one?! HELP

i started off with a sierra estate,sleeping bag,blanket and dog:)loadsa room to sleep! loads of travellers/festival goers use cars to sleep in ! so maybe an estate car would suit! i was given a word of warning whilst abroad wild tenting with my motorbike, theives were operating that slit the bottom of your tent and stole your belongings. try an estate car and if you like wilding then get a panel van and convert!!!!:) i have an 02 ldv convoy conversion easy to work on ,parts are plentiful and fitted with the good old trusty 2.5 non-turbo transit engine, these newer vans you can do nowt with yourself and dealers will have great pleasure in helping you lighten your pocket.

good luck with whatever you choose:)also worth looking at the sbmcc,costs £10 yr but you'll get that back easy on your ins. loads of useful info regards self-buiilding.
 
why not buy a small ish van and a tent camping stove porta pottie you can always sleep in the van to wild camp or if weather is bad.and a tent is cheaper on campsites park van next to tent best of both worlds we all started somewhere you will learn what you do and dont need as time goes
 
have a look at . ultra leisure . web site they got a camper for £2500 i have nothing to do with this company but have bought 2 vans of them and am very happy but remember to haggle even when van has price drop
 
hi

i have just bought a 1988 fiat motorhome, and had no problems getting breakdown cover for europe , got it with my insurance compeny, so i would look in to that go with a compeny who insure motorhomes happy camping
 
As always some good advice from all corners. We have all been camping in tents and slept in the back of the car when we had too!

My point of view is you have to decide what you want. If your heart is set on a motorhome (however old) for £2500, then that is what you should get. It depends how much you want to 'rough it', I have slept in the back of a plasterers van in a sleeping bag and the back of the car, but prefer my motorhome.

It will be old, but doesn't mean it isn't what you want. It may be unreliable, but there again it may fly through next years MOT with no problems.

I picked up my present motorhome on a whim in Germany a couple of years ago and have no regrets atall. It was a gamble but thats life!

Check out Mobile.de (in English) for plenty of vehicles around £2500. If your going into Europe I would recomend ADAC for breakdown cover.

Best of luck and above all, enjoy!:D
 
Which one ?! HELP

If you ring Kampers and Kars in Poole I think you will find what you are looking for.
 
fatgaz said:
i have just bought a 1988 fiat motorhome, and had no problems getting breakdown cover for europe , got it with my insurance compeny, so i would look in to that go with a compeny who insure motorhomes happy camping
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Hi Bud
Which insurance company is that with? We will be renuing soon :)
 
My first campervan was an air cooled VW pop top and it cost me £600.

It took me all over Europe with only one breakdown, a fan belt!

I sold it after 5 years for more than I paid for it.

I have owned several VWs and my latest is a VW T4, they are well made and very reliable. So are the Ford Transits.

Don't worry to much about breakdown cover, I never used to have it, when I did break down (a couple of times in my water cooled VW T2) I simply asked where the local garage was and they fixed it.

Mechanics in Europe are as good as anywhere, I have usually found that labour costs are better than here and a tow to the garage doing the work is not to bad. Motorway breakdowns can be expensive, only certain garages can do motorway recovery.

So if you buy something buy a Ford or a VW, check it very carefully for mechanical condition, body rust and water ingress on the camper side of things. The motoring organisations do a good mechanical and body report, it is well worth the extra cost, also have a full habitation check done by an independent in your area.

Sometimes a bargain can be had because a vehicle needs some work to make it A1, so if you are a bit handy you can save quite a bit.

With your budget you will have to make some compromises , but whatever you buy make sure you get a proper written full warranty if buying from a
dealer, and a full MOT whatever.

Hallii
 
Hallii said:
With your budget you will have to make some compromises , but whatever you buy make sure you get a proper written full warranty if buying from a
dealer, and a full MOT whatever.

Hallii
Click to expand...

I suspect for the budget the OP states and tales around here on warranty issues. I suspect the warranty will be 5000 miles or 5 minutes whichever occurs first.

I would agree the VW product is good news, However they seem to hold their value for my money....which might get the lass a bit less.

I would look at Iveco.

Ford/ Fiat joint venture with a strong European network. and labour costs possibly not as high as VW in theor network ?

Someone a few weeks ago posted something re ex utility crew buses etc ex Network rail. Perhaps that might be an option ?

Channa
 
Hallii said:
Mechanics in Europe are as good as anywhere, I have usually found that labour costs are better than here and a tow to the garage doing the work is not to bad. Motorway breakdowns can be expensive, only certain garages can do motorway recovery.
Click to expand...

I like your spirit Hallii and I'm really pleased that you have been so lucky,

Can I tell you a true story?

We met a couple on the Ferry last year who were 3 - 4 days into a months holiday and on the way home without their Motorhome, They had blown up on the motorway, the tow to the garage had been near 700 euros and then they had to get a taxi 800 km to the ferry to get home. The van had stayed in France as it needed an engine rebuild and they could not afford to stay in a hotel whilst it was done, When we met them they had been awake for the best part of 2 days. Somehow they would also need to go back to get the MH when fixed including a 2 way trip on the ferry or pay for it to be profesionally repatriated. On top of this they were worried that the garage actually new what they were doing and would the work be garanteed, but they did not have much choice.

Believe me I have never met 2 more depresed people, all it would have taken was for them to have good breakdown cover.

I would urge anyone travelling abroad to get cover, its insurance you may not use it but everything above would have been covered including a stay in a hotel if needed. I would also urge you to check what your cover actually gives you. Just like the cheapest RAC / AA in the UK some European cover is just simple tow you to the nearest garage, the one I was offered free with my insurance gave good UK cover but minimal European, other cover you can get is comprehensive.

Of course as always we each have to make up our own minds about these things....... :)
 
dutchcoles said:
Hi all

I am looking to buy a campervan up to £2500 so that I can start my travels. I am hoping to travel to europe in the summer so I need something reliable. I have been given some advice from a mechanic friend of mine who says that I should only be looking at certain Fiats, Ford or VW but only the newer T4's with water cooled engines. He has discounted alll others and has said that I should only be looking at newer models. However my budget will find difficulty getting there.

However, he has also admited that he knows nothing about campervans and actually dosen't even like them and prefers caravans so I'm guessing his advice may not necessarily be the best.

Any help would be very much appreciated. Is there a year I should go no older than? Which make? What I should be looking for? And anything else you may think useful would be great.

I have been looking at a Ford Glendale but its from 1985 - does that may it a no go and is there certain questions I should ask the seller?
Many Thanks
Stacey
Click to expand...
look on ebay at item no 290388088515, its a transit, looks ok too.
cheers, pete
 
Last edited:
biggirafe said:
I like your spirit Hallii and I'm really pleased that you have been so lucky,

Can I tell you a true story?

We met a couple on the Ferry last year who were 3 - 4 days into a months holiday and on the way home without their Motorhome, They had blown up on the motorway, the tow to the garage had been near 700 euros and then they had to get a taxi 800 km to the ferry to get home. The van had stayed in France as it needed an engine rebuild and they could not afford to stay in a hotel whilst it was done, When we met them they had been awake for the best part of 2 days. Somehow they would also need to go back to get the MH when fixed including a 2 way trip on the ferry or pay for it to be profesionally repatriated. On top of this they were worried that the garage actually new what they were doing and would the work be garanteed, but they did not have much choice.

Believe me I have never met 2 more depresed people, all it would have taken was for them to have good breakdown cover.

I would urge anyone travelling abroad to get cover, its insurance you may not use it but everything above would have been covered including a stay in a hotel if needed. I would also urge you to check what your cover actually gives you. Just like the cheapest RAC / AA in the UK some European cover is just simple tow you to the nearest garage, the one I was offered free with my insurance gave good UK cover but minimal European, other cover you can get is comprehensive.

Of course as always we each have to make up our own minds about these things....... :)
Click to expand...

Insurance ???/....Better to have it and not need it ? or need it and not have it ?

In 1999 we had a transit lease vehicle blow up in belgium ...Not much change out of £4500 then repairs repatriation etc.

Perhaps it explains why UK rental companies that ALLOW you to take vehicles abroad ( a lot dont) charge quite a hefty premium over and above the insistance of breakdown cover.

Of course whether to insure and to what extent is a personal choice.

I too prior to getting a 2002 van found that older alternatives were problematic in terms of getting more than 6 months cover and that included the CC..( who have just changed their T&C's )

Channa
 
You should also check on what you are getting covered for as it might not be what you think & they won't always bring you home. Read the small print.
We had a breakdown just north of Toulouse, the clutch slave cylinder went. On the Renault master the slave cylinder is part of the thrust bearing (didn't know this at the time). All I knew was the clutch pedal went to the floor in the middle of a small town, I managed to keep going & got onto a supermarket car park. We called the breakdown & a guy with a breakdown truck arrived, couldn't speak English (my French was very limited) but after getting through to him what the problem was he had a look & give it a try & it did seem to work a bit. In the end he called somebody from the service who was English. He said as it was Saturday they would tow us to a garage where it would be looked at on Monday. I made the mistake of telling them the truth in that our ferry back wasn't for a couple of weeks. He said what was likely to happen was the vehicle would be repaired at the garage they took it to, if it was going to take a while we would be repatriated then one of us sent back to pick it up when it was fixed. If I had said our ferry was due before the Monday then they would have taken us home (if you breakdown & think its bad change your ferry to an earlier date then maybe wait before you call out the breakdown company if you can) In the end we decided to take a chance to see if we could get closer to home & hope they would at least get us back to the ferry & the UK, most of the route was either motorway or good roads. Eventually changed the ferry & I drove all the way home 900+ miles, found that I could even pull away by pushing the gear lever into what would be first gear & the friction on the flat would just start the van moving then soon as it was rolling I could get first gear, after that changing up through the gears was relatively easy. It still cost about 500 quid to get it fixed most of the cost was in labour charges.
Talk about nightmare trips this one was our worst & this was the final straw, we were in a SWB home converted Renault Master. I got the nora bug & was ill on the first night & the wife had to drive. We got on a small aire we knew with free electric hook up & I was in bed (or the toilet) for about 3 days. We had a nightmare drive down to the Spanish border. Crossing over Spain blew a fuse & flattened the leisure battery (never found out the cause). Got our tyre slashed in Spain & we were robbed. On our way home through Andorra van started to churn out smoke & sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders, managed to keep going over the mountain at about 5 - 10 miles an hour (problem cleared after some injector cleaner) in southern France while I putting the chocks under the van saw one of the driveshaft boots had gone, cost about 150 euros to get it done & then the next day we had the clutch problem. All this & in between we didn't have a particularly good time.:mad: I am convinced that that van was cursed in fact we bought it in Nov. 2007 (about the time the economy was going into freefall :rolleyes::rolleyes:) We also had a lot of other problems with it & I was in & out of hospital so we were glad to be rid of it, sold it to a gipsy (Irish tinker) & since then everything seemed to get better :)

Rant over now, just can't wait to get away again on our next adventure.:rolleyes:
 
Kontiki said:
You should also check on what you are getting covered for as it might not be what you think & they won't always bring you home. Read the small print.
We had a breakdown just north of Toulouse, the clutch slave cylinder went. On the Renault master the slave cylinder is part of the thrust bearing (didn't know this at the time). All I knew was the clutch pedal went to the floor in the middle of a small town, I managed to keep going & got onto a supermarket car park. We called the breakdown & a guy with a breakdown truck arrived, couldn't speak English (my French was very limited) but after getting through to him what the problem was he had a look & give it a try & it did seem to work a bit. In the end he called somebody from the service who was English. He said as it was Saturday they would tow us to a garage where it would be looked at on Monday. I made the mistake of telling them the truth in that our ferry back wasn't for a couple of weeks. He said what was likely to happen was the vehicle would be repaired at the garage they took it to, if it was going to take a while we would be repatriated then one of us sent back to pick it up when it was fixed. If I had said our ferry was due before the Monday then they would have taken us home (if you breakdown & think its bad change your ferry to an earlier date then maybe wait before you call out the breakdown company if you can) In the end we decided to take a chance to see if we could get closer to home & hope they would at least get us back to the ferry & the UK, most of the route was either motorway or good roads. Eventually changed the ferry & I drove all the way home 900+ miles, found that I could even pull away by pushing the gear lever into what would be first gear & the friction on the flat would just start the van moving then soon as it was rolling I could get first gear, after that changing up through the gears was relatively easy. It still cost about 500 quid to get it fixed most of the cost was in labour charges.
Talk about nightmare trips this one was our worst & this was the final straw, we were in a SWB home converted Renault Master. I got the nora bug & was ill on the first night & the wife had to drive. We got on a small aire we knew with free electric hook up & I was in bed (or the toilet) for about 3 days. We had a nightmare drive down to the Spanish border. Crossing over Spain blew a fuse & flattened the leisure battery (never found out the cause). Got our tyre slashed in Spain & we were robbed. On our way home through Andorra van started to churn out smoke & sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders, managed to keep going over the mountain at about 5 - 10 miles an hour (problem cleared after some injector cleaner) in southern France while I putting the chocks under the van saw one of the driveshaft boots had gone, cost about 150 euros to get it done & then the next day we had the clutch problem. All this & in between we didn't have a particularly good time.:mad: I am convinced that that van was cursed in fact we bought it in Nov. 2007 (about the time the economy was going into freefall :rolleyes::rolleyes:) We also had a lot of other problems with it & I was in & out of hospital so we were glad to be rid of it, sold it to a gipsy (Irish tinker) & since then everything seemed to get better :)

Rant over now, just can't wait to get away again on our next adventure.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

betchya got rsi now!!!!!:)
 
My breakdown cover is no longer available in \europe as the MH is more than 15 years old, My breakdown cover is with Insurance Choice so beware. Good for UK cover as i used them last year, So read your small print guys and dolls, And if your like AJ there is no refund for 21 days leave.:D:D
 
Kontiki said:
You should also check on what you are getting covered for as it might not be what you think & they won't always bring you home. Read the small print.
We had a breakdown just north of Toulouse, the clutch slave cylinder went. On the Renault master the slave cylinder is part of the thrust bearing (didn't know this at the time). All I knew was the clutch pedal went to the floor in the middle of a small town, I managed to keep going & got onto a supermarket car park. We called the breakdown & a guy with a breakdown truck arrived, couldn't speak English (my French was very limited) but after getting through to him what the problem was he had a look & give it a try & it did seem to work a bit. In the end he called somebody from the service who was English. He said as it was Saturday they would tow us to a garage where it would be looked at on Monday. I made the mistake of telling them the truth in that our ferry back wasn't for a couple of weeks. He said what was likely to happen was the vehicle would be repaired at the garage they took it to, if it was going to take a while we would be repatriated then one of us sent back to pick it up when it was fixed. If I had said our ferry was due before the Monday then they would have taken us home (if you breakdown & think its bad change your ferry to an earlier date then maybe wait before you call out the breakdown company if you can) In the end we decided to take a chance to see if we could get closer to home & hope they would at least get us back to the ferry & the UK, most of the route was either motorway or good roads. Eventually changed the ferry & I drove all the way home 900+ miles, found that I could even pull away by pushing the gear lever into what would be first gear & the friction on the flat would just start the van moving then soon as it was rolling I could get first gear, after that changing up through the gears was relatively easy. It still cost about 500 quid to get it fixed most of the cost was in labour charges.
Talk about nightmare trips this one was our worst & this was the final straw, we were in a SWB home converted Renault Master. I got the nora bug & was ill on the first night & the wife had to drive. We got on a small aire we knew with free electric hook up & I was in bed (or the toilet) for about 3 days. We had a nightmare drive down to the Spanish border. Crossing over Spain blew a fuse & flattened the leisure battery (never found out the cause). Got our tyre slashed in Spain & we were robbed. On our way home through Andorra van started to churn out smoke & sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders, managed to keep going over the mountain at about 5 - 10 miles an hour (problem cleared after some injector cleaner) in southern France while I putting the chocks under the van saw one of the driveshaft boots had gone, cost about 150 euros to get it done & then the next day we had the clutch problem. All this & in between we didn't have a particularly good time.:mad: I am convinced that that van was cursed in fact we bought it in Nov. 2007 (about the time the economy was going into freefall :rolleyes::rolleyes:) We also had a lot of other problems with it & I was in & out of hospital so we were glad to be rid of it, sold it to a gipsy (Irish tinker) & since then everything seemed to get better :)

Rant over now, just can't wait to get away again on our next adventure.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Better hope the tinker is not a member on here or he'll put an irish gypsy curse on you for selling him a piece of S**T.:D:D
 
Was in the same position waaaay back in the 70s. I had the chance of a job in the south of france. I wanted a motorhome but couldnt afford one, so I bought an old Bedford CF van threw camping gear in the back and i was off. All was OK except when I pulled on to campsites and said I was a camper, I was, to say the least, not welcome.
The next year I got the same offer. This time I used a ford cortina estate, stripped out the interior put a load of camping gear in and painted the back windows black, plus a small tent. When I went into camp sites I paid for the tent, which I used for cooking. When on the road I just crawled into the back to sleep.
With your budget of £2500 buy a £1500 estate, some basic camping gear and save the rest of your money for the disasters that will happen.
 
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