All ready for new van pickup

You did the right thing Marie, no good buying if you werent happy with it. It would only prey on your mind afterwards
 
Shame Marie, cos it looked like a good workeable space and sounded to be well cared for and was a good price. However it would be wasted money if it's not what you want. At least you have had to think hard about what you do want, so not a total waste of time.
 
Sorry to hear that it’s turned out like this. Better though in the long run to get just what you want. I took 5 years to find the van I wanted!
 
Best walking away if it didn’t feel like the one, better wish you had a van than regret getting on. It is out there waiting somewhere :)
 
Marie, glad you enjoyed your trip down, it was a shame the weather was rough Sunday, better luck next time.
 
are you looking just at Motorhomes and 'official' conversions? or have you considered your own PVC build?
 
Leto cakes-01.jpgLeto cakes-02.jpg

There are some lovely foodie places in London, harrow.

Called at a place called L'eto (gather it's a chain store?) on way back from the V&A museum yesterday & bought couple of cakes to eat on the bus back north.
They were a proper treat as mucho expensivo! £6.50 a slice - steady on! Is that Yorkslass & Woo I can see picking themselves up off the floor?! :scared::lol-053:

Neil had some sort of cheesecake with passion fruit, I had a pistachio & rose petal cake.
Got to admit they were the best cakes I have ever tasted and OK as a one off ;)

It's freezing here and currently raining/sleeting. Hope you're all tucked up warm & dry.

Venturing out to do some grocery shopping and call in on some friends shortly.
This weather is no bl**dy good for earning any gardening money! Boo! :p :(
 
wildebus said:
are you looking just at Motorhomes and 'official' conversions? or have you considered your own PVC build?
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Interesting you should ask that, David. I am re-assessing everything I've been thinking about what sort of camper would suit.

Open to all sorts of ideas just now... everyone knows all campervans are a compromise, so I need to apply myself even more seriously now. The right one is out there, or can be made so!

Maybe we should do a 'Debs; and get a really good Iveco van or truck base and go to town on a conversion of some sort? Got to admit the Iveco engine and chassis on the van we just walked away from were as good as you'll get anywhere.

My five most important van requirements:

1. Plenty of storage, including decent externally accessible (garage-type?) storage for garden tools - doesn't have to be massive, but big enough to stash (short) petrol hedge trimmers and a leaf blower as well as the normal hand tools & a couple of plastic drugs. TRUGS!! Not drugs!!! Blinkin' predictive rubbish! :) :)

2. A decent loo/shower facility. The shower ideally should be separate to the loo/washbasin. (I rather liked Debs' shower set up as it's a very simple solution without taking up van space).

3. A decent food prep area and plenty of storage for pots/pans & foodstuffs. A fridge with small freezer, or does that make it 6 requirements?!)

4. Preferably a drop down bed of some sort that can be left permanently made up, or, if it has to be a fixed bed, it has not got to be at the expensive of other requirements.

5. Decent comfy seats & 'lounging about' space for during the day take priority over a fixed bed all day long.

PS. nasty big snowflakes just starting outside in last 5 mins! :(
 
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hairydog said:
There are plenty of off-the-shelf motorhomes that meet all those requirements. There may even be some PVCs that do.

Doing your own conversion is always a possibility, but it is a lot of work: far more work than finding a van which meets your (fairly usual) requirements.

The advantage of a self conversion is that you know how it works and know that it was done properly (assuming you did do it properly!)

It will save you no money and you can lose many of the benefits of clever detailed design of good vans. In particular, the importance of well-fitted vapour barriers and ventilation gaps.

You do get the van designed to your specification, but unless you need that, or you will enjoy doing it (or can pay someone good to do it), I'd suggest that you buy one, not build one.
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Thanks for that. Good advice! :)

There are some vans out there that almost fit the bill, or enough for a compromise to be more than acceptable, but they tend to be more recent models and therefore way out of our price range, hence the catch 22.

Having said that, the layout I want I can't find in any of the vans I've looked at so far, so my 'fairly usual' isn't quite so usual ;) :)

I agree completely about the self-conversion route (not ruling it out entirely, mind!) and we will still be looking at off-the-shelf campers, be that coach built or van conversions.
 
If you only need a fairly large garage for gardening equipment, have you thought about a small trailer, have a word with Phil as he is in a much better position to tell you about the pros and cons...
 
hairydog said:
There are plenty of off-the-shelf motorhomes that meet all those requirements. There may even be some PVCs that do.

Doing your own conversion is always a possibility, but it is a lot of work: far more work than finding a van which meets your (fairly usual) requirements.

The advantage of a self conversion is that you know how it works and know that it was done properly (assuming you did do it properly!)

It will save you no money and you can lose many of the benefits of clever detailed design of good vans. In particular, the importance of well-fitted vapour barriers and ventilation gaps.

You do get the van designed to your specification, but unless you need that, or you will enjoy doing it (or can pay someone good to do it), I'd suggest that you buy one, not build one.
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I actually agree with HD! (well actually, I agree with a lot he says TBH, but don't tell anyone ;) )

I think a Motorhome over a PVC would be the best fit looking at that list. One of the most awkward aspect of vans are the way the sides curve in. It makes a shower room awkward due the way it encroaches, unless you fit at the back - but then you loose external access to a decent "garage" space (unless maybe add in a big rear external box for tools?)
 
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mariesnowgoose said:
View attachment 69537View attachment 69538

There are some lovely foodie places in London, harrow.

Called at a place called L'eto (gather it's a chain store?) on way back from the V&A museum yesterday & bought couple of cakes to eat on the bus back north.
They were a proper treat as mucho expensivo! £6.50 a slice - steady on! Is that Yorkslass & Woo I can see picking themselves up off the floor?! :scared::lol-053:

Neil had some sort of cheesecake with passion fruit, I had a pistachio & rose petal cake.
Got to admit they were the best cakes I have ever tasted and OK as a one off ;)

It's freezing here and currently raining/sleeting. Hope you're all tucked up warm & dry.

Venturing out to do some grocery shopping and call in on some friends shortly.
This weather is no bl**dy good for earning any gardening money! Boo! :p :(
Click to expand...

You heard the bang as I hit the floor???? :lol-049::lol-049::lol-049:
 
yorkslass said:
You heard the bang as I hit the floor???? :lol-049::lol-049::lol-049:
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Marie knows how to live it up, she is not careful with her brass, she is coming back to London next week when she can afford a cup of coffee !
 
yorkslass said:
You heard the bang as I hit the floor???? :lol-049::lol-049::lol-049:
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harrow said:
Marie knows how to live it up, she is not careful with her brass, she is coming back to London next week when she can afford a cup of coffee !
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Yeah, but I only live it up once in a blue moon :)
Won't be due back for the coffee until at least next year, harrow!! ;)

:lol-061: :rolleyes2: :lol-049:
 
Whatever you buy will sooner or later show up downsides to the design, Mine does but it still does me.
 
mariesnowgoose said:
Morning all.

So.... update!

Back from Londinium, but NO CAMPER!

After lots of agonising & discussion over the last few days we decided that particular model was not what we wanted after all, so didn't go ahead and buy in the end.

Lost deposit, obviously, but dealer says if he sells it on for their full asking price we will get it back, also if we find any other camper from them in future that fits our bill then the money will go towards that. Not grumbling at all about this, because I knew they were terms and conditions right from the off, and better to have lost that amount than spend a much bigger irreplaceable chunk of money on something that definitely wasn't right and regret it longer term.

Fairly sure we are both due a tax rebate of some sort come April. Now thinking we could use the extra money to get a van that does suit what we want. My fault really as we should have waited, but I get very impatient at how slowly everything moves round here at times.

So the search is still on, meanwhile back to the grindstone :hammer::)

Anyway at least enjoyed trip to Londinium, no way would want to be there full time, though ;)

Sorry for the anticlimax, peeps, after all the build up!! :cry::mad1:
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Sorry it didn't work out for you but it you'll get there in the end. When we went to see the Dethleffs van that turned out to be a Rapido (long story) we would almost certainly have bought it if the seller hadn't listened to her son in law and increased the price which took it out of our price range but now we realise that at nearly 7m long it wouldn't suit our style of motorhoming even though it had everything you would want. So looking back that was a lucky escape :scared: Di always says that everything happens for a reason and we may not see the reason straight away.
Good luck in your search and try not to rush into something just because you've sold your old van.

Regards,
Del
 
Buy in haste repent at leisure is an old motor trade saying ...but nevertheless true. Having had a van you are well aware of what you want rather than the newbie who gets carried away and has a shopping list 12 months down the line.that puts you in a strong position

Home conversions are really all well and good but you need to ask do you have the skillset or the dosh to pay someone,? Odds are a coachbuilt / A class will come pretty near your wish list then a case of living with the compromises, bide your time the right van is out there.

Good luck in the hunt

Channa
 
AWW marie....im so sorry.....after all that excitement...what a dissapointment for you.........however, as others have said.......its best to walk away.....than buy it and be unhappy with it.............
my father always used to say....when in doubt..do nowt.... ...those words always come to mind when i am undecided or are having second thoughts......and i think you were having doubt and second thoughts before going to london. better a disappointment now than years of regret.
hope you find one that suits you soon........take care trixie........at least you got a special cake treat.......
 
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