lancscamper
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Hi all, new to the forum here, hoping to get some advice from people with some hands-on experience with small self-builds.
I'm currently looking to get a small van (Partner/Berlingo/Kangoo size) with the hopes of turning it into a small basic camper. Been hoping to do this for years but now in a position to do it financially. Looking to keep it super simple, just a bed down one side and a small kitchen/storage unit along the other (no plumbing, just a power station and a basic camping stove). Maybe one day I'll embark on a bigger project but for now this small camper is all I'm looking for and will allow me to do some extended fishing/camping trips.
Thought this would be pretty simple but of course this is the UK and there seems to be several bureaucratic hoops for me to jump through that I naively didn't consider.
I recently spoke to a rep from Just Kampers about getting a quote on a Partner and was looking to check some of the information he gave me and ask a few other questions. I was told that I would need to reclassify the van as a camper conversion through the DVLA but that looks to be impossible with the height of the van being what it is anyway. I've seen elsewhere though that I can put some windows in and some decals on the side and instead get it reclassified as a 'van with windows' instead, is that correct?
Do some people not bother reclassifying it at all, and would I still be able to get camper insurance if I didn't? Do some people even get by with just standard van insurance and hope they don't get caught?
On top of which the campervan insurance quotes I've been getting seem incredibly high for what I'm trying to insure, with most being between £600 and £800 a year. Still waiting to hear back from Howdens who I've heard good things about but can't see them being able to go too much lower. Trying not to get too disheartened about all this as I've wanted to do this for years, I was about to go and view a van today or tomorrow that looked perfect for what I wanted too.
I'm currently looking to get a small van (Partner/Berlingo/Kangoo size) with the hopes of turning it into a small basic camper. Been hoping to do this for years but now in a position to do it financially. Looking to keep it super simple, just a bed down one side and a small kitchen/storage unit along the other (no plumbing, just a power station and a basic camping stove). Maybe one day I'll embark on a bigger project but for now this small camper is all I'm looking for and will allow me to do some extended fishing/camping trips.
Thought this would be pretty simple but of course this is the UK and there seems to be several bureaucratic hoops for me to jump through that I naively didn't consider.
I recently spoke to a rep from Just Kampers about getting a quote on a Partner and was looking to check some of the information he gave me and ask a few other questions. I was told that I would need to reclassify the van as a camper conversion through the DVLA but that looks to be impossible with the height of the van being what it is anyway. I've seen elsewhere though that I can put some windows in and some decals on the side and instead get it reclassified as a 'van with windows' instead, is that correct?
Do some people not bother reclassifying it at all, and would I still be able to get camper insurance if I didn't? Do some people even get by with just standard van insurance and hope they don't get caught?
On top of which the campervan insurance quotes I've been getting seem incredibly high for what I'm trying to insure, with most being between £600 and £800 a year. Still waiting to hear back from Howdens who I've heard good things about but can't see them being able to go too much lower. Trying not to get too disheartened about all this as I've wanted to do this for years, I was about to go and view a van today or tomorrow that looked perfect for what I wanted too.