Opinions on camper van / motorhome

Just to give you an idea there is a Fiat scudo New venture Rio on ebay , everything in it and I would use it as my everyday car , ebay no . 321358663232 , or can anyone ad the link please ,have a look , if I was looking I would be going to look at that one myself , Chris.
 
Thank you all, and Shawbags and toon . How is it possible to fit so much into that small van? It does look really good, and I see what you mean. It is true that the more space there is, the more you fill it. I still like the swift 590 size, but of course it depends on the cost, as usual.
You have all been very good to me, with your advice, and I do so much appreciate it.
I couldn't.t find anything from Sharon the cat, about damp problems. Does anyone know where the post is please ?
When buying a used motorhome, from a private buyer, ( we do still have our. T4 to sell ), how long can you really be trying it out, and examining it ? Bet they say someone else is interested etc. to be honest Hubby and I have only a little idea what to look for, and that is all learned from you nice people. Hubby has a good "nose" on him, will that help with finding damp?
 
We have an elderly motorhome chosen because a camper van generally does not have a toilet. We go out for days, supermarket shopping (just park out of the way!) We overnight in a car park when we go to concerts in Bury and have it parked outside the house as we have no drive.
We have given up our cars now that we are retired so use it for everything - unless we use our bus pass
It gets down lanes - if you're careful! and if we are visiting friends/relatives we do not need them to have a spare room!
 
Sand55 said:
Thank you all, and Shawbags and toon . How is it possible to fit so much into that small van? It does look really good, and I see what you mean. It is true that the more space there is, the more you fill it. I still like the swift 590 size, but of course it depends on the cost, as usual.
You have all been very good to me, with your advice, and I do so much appreciate it.
I couldn't.t find anything from Sharon the cat, about damp problems. Does anyone know where the post is please ?
When buying a used motorhome, from a private buyer, ( we do still have our. T4 to sell ), how long can you really be trying it out, and examining it ? Bet they say someone else is interested etc. to be honest Hubby and I have only a little idea what to look for, and that is all learned from you nice people. Hubby has a good "nose" on him, will that help with finding damp?
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don't rush , maybe you could look around this year and look to buy after the season , you have better chance of bargaining and don't be scared to be cheeky on your offers , and having cash available helps , never buy from you heart buy from your head , if your not sure walk away , and yes there's always someone else coming to have a look :rolleyes:, so they say , your the buyer so you have the upper hand , all the best , Chris.
 
Hubby and I think an upgrade to a motorhome will be a good idea.
As we need to save or find some money, we will keep our eye open for something we may like.
Trouble is, I am worried sick I may buy a damp and rotten one !
I doubt we can afford to buy from a dealer, so no warranties to be had.
We were so lucky to find our camper van in good condition, and a good price.
 
shawbags said:
don't rush , maybe you could look around this year and look to buy after the season , you have better chance of bargaining and don't be scared to be cheeky on your offers , and having cash available helps , never buy from you heart buy from your head , if your not sure walk away , and yes there's always someone else coming to have a look :rolleyes:, so they say , your the buyer so you have the upper hand , all the best , Chris.
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It all depends on what you have to spend , I got my romahome at a good price £1000 but it needed work , spent £1500 on it and that was with my son doing most of the work , it's probably not worth a lot more now but I have the piece of mind in knowing what's been done and travel with a smile on my face , do your homework there is a lot more to a motorhome than a standard van or car , damp is one thing and remember they are like houses on wheels , cooker , fridge , heating , seating ect ect ect the list goes on , gain experience , ask questions , speak to people you see in their campers most will be glad to help and of course there are plenty on here that will do their best to help , between us lot on here there's probably thousands of years experience .
 
I'm the odd ball

I am the spanner in the works ,the odd ball, the weirdo call us whatever you want but give me a camper van anytime we downsized to one from a long wheelbased ford to a T4 and would never go back to a MH its just more fun for us not bothered about showers and for a toilet Use a wizz or a shewee or a portable urinal or a ports potti or just have a wazz in the woods. Whatever you descide have fun.
 
It's a van for us (at the moment!)

There have been lots of posts so probably not really adding anything but we started with a Citroen C25van which we self converted and loved and decided to upgrade to a Pilote A class when our daughter got bigger. Then she stopped coming away with us and we downsized too much to a Bongo which was fine for site camping in the sun but not for the year round camping we used to do. We've kept it (unconverted and fixed low roof) as it's a great workhorse and cost very little. But we have now bought a fantastic van again fully converted on much the same base as our original E reg (1986?) panel van. We had our desired spec well thought out - fixed double bed; space inside for all our kit (2 bikes, inflatable double kayak) and toilet and we found it in a Globecar Globescout. It's a veritable Tardis; we've used it for day trips; wild camped and site camped and are looking forward to many years of frequent use. Basically I think you need to note what you want and don't rule out any possibilities. We'd never even heard of Globecar before. Go to a show and browse!
 
damp is probably the most worrying thing. as has been suggested use a damp meter but also use your eyes. look along the roof and in lockers and below windows for any sign of discolouration. we have a swift and recently I have noticed a change of colour on the roof. I hav"nt examined it closely yet:scared::goodluck: to be honest if I had the funds I would probably go for a large van conversion.
 
campervanannie said:
I am the spanner in the works ,the odd ball, the weirdo call us whatever you want but give me a camper van anytime we downsized to one from a long wheelbased ford to a T4 and would never go back to a MH its just more fun for us not bothered about showers and for a toilet Use a wizz or a shewee or a portable urinal or a ports potti or just have a wazz in the woods. Whatever you descide have fun.
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Yup you always have to stick tha oar in.;) Must admit I quite fancy the idea of doing a van conversion, layout EXACTLY as I want it, so long as it has a loo, that for me is one thing I wont compromise on. Shewee? no thanks it would be all down mi leg, especially when I'm sat freezing round a campfire at 3 in the morning.:lol-049::lol-049::beer::giggle:
 
yorkieowl said:
Yup you always have to stick tha oar in.;) Must admit I quite fancy the idea of doing a van conversion, layout EXACTLY as I want it, so long as it has a loo, that for me is one thing I wont compromise on. Shewee? no thanks it would be all down mi leg, especially when I'm sat freezing round a campfire at 3 in the morning.:lol-049::lol-049::beer::giggle:
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Hi have you found one yet ? Take your time as every one wants to sell a van in the trade . Just think of what you want and hire one for a day to see if it does all you need. A good size would be between 18 -24ft easy to handle and with a fixed bed . One gets older not younger and making up a bed every night gets a pain . Ours is 18ft with toilet shower and wash basin with hot air heating to the bath room ,Nice and cozy first thing in the morning . Hot water and heating is in with fridge cooker and oven . double bed drops down fro the roof . Ours is a Hymer 29 years old now and have had no trouble just keeps going .
 
We used my parents caravan for years & it was great for family holidays. Now our children are grown up & we've recently retired we bought a Renault Tempest van from Devon Conversions two years ago. It's the size of a transit van and has revolutionised our lives. We absolutely love it & some days I take a cuppa on to the drive just so I can sit in the van! We use it all the time and although we still have a car, we use the van for day trips as it gives us so much freedom and comfort. Our daughter now has the caravan & loves it, but I wouldn't swap our van for anything. For us it meant less space, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantage of slightly less room to move around in.
 
I've converted a few vans you can design as you go , I have drawn a rough picture and changed it on the way through the build , a basic build is so easy just take your time and its more satisfying to see the end product and use it , look at other people vans for ideas .
 
shawbags said:
I've converted a few vans you can design as you go , I have drawn a rough picture and changed it on the way through the build , a basic build is so easy just take your time and its more satisfying to see the end product and use it , look at other people vans for ideas .
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Having a MH, thats what appeals with a van conversion, we use MH in different ways as hubby does paramotoring, sometimes we need storage space, others times we don't, it seems a shame having a garage space left empty, when with a van conversion I could make it usable for various things and when not needed for storage make it part of the living area, a friend had a van with a large awning that could be attached which I thought would be really handy when attending flying meets, but could be left at home when wilding. Hope this makes sense as I am a little pished at the minute.:rabbit::banana: (port and lemon, pint of! loverly).:lol-053:
 
Have a good look around your local dealers first, it will give you a good insight to the different styles of vans, layouts (and there are many) living space ect. We bought ours from West Country motorhomes in 2008, out of about 30-40 vans to choose from we both said our Suntor 100 was the one for us. Now 6 years on we went for the first time to the motorhome show at Chepstow, (very wet day and disappointed on the turnout of vans and trade stands) Every van we went in, new and old...... was compared with our own 2004 van and we both said we wouldn't change! You will know which van suites you when you see it, and if you want to buy privately you can search for that particular one. We bought a 4 berth because of kids, but now it's just two of us the extra space comes in handy for storage. I wild and walk with my dog where ever the mood takes me and have never had a problem of any sort, to come back and be able to have a shower, cook food or just make a cup of tea is a real bonus and makes your time away enjoyable. At the end of the day it's down to you to be sensible as to where you park and or wild camp, if it feels right and your out the way of general view, you'll have no problems. Make the van secure, hide valuables and pull the blinds you will have as great a time as we have. Regards Tony. :rabbit:
 
van was used today to take family out,not enough room in car.it is now parked next to daughter's van at the end of the garden ,both full of drunken revellers,loud music playing and a large bonfire going . these things have many uses ! later tonight they become guest bedrooms .
 
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