Our first van...

[mariesnowgoose]

I went out and bought this old Merc converted snap-on van from a remote farm in Yorkshire (without telling Neil!) back in 2010...

The look on his face was priceless when I got back home with it

This was us parked up in the C&MC site looking over to St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay.

Sold it on to a guy from Devon. I wonder where it is now... ?

 

[RichardHelen262]

They are good old vans, not fast but ultra reliable

 

[mariesnowgoose]

They are good old vans, not fast but ultra reliable

Also very expensive to maintain as I - most definitely like many others before me! - discovered after succumbing to the romantic notion that we would be able to afford to "do it up" at the time .... er, no! ,

Being a truck as opposed to a van the price of spare parts was eye-watering - hence the reluctant decision to part with it.

Maybe if we'd been any good at mechanics, knew how to mess about with engines, welding, other important DIY skills etc. etc. - and more importantly had the spare time and enough money! - then it might have been possible, but if you don't have those skills yourself you need very deep pockets to pay someone else to do the work for you

 

[Robmac]

Love those old Mercs Marie.

I haven't got any pictures of my first van which was a Citroen Dispatch with a roof tent, but a few would be familiar with my last one which was a Compass Drifter on a Ducato. I can't find any pictures of the outside apart from this one in Scotland

Humble as it was we loved that van and went all over the UK in it. Happy days.

 

[REC]

Our first van, slowly converted from a builders van.... still in use by our son, who is patiently waiting for us to next gift him the newest van! He is completely hooked on camper vans...

 

[Scotia]

I went out and bought this old Merc converted snap-on van from a remote farm in Yorkshire (without telling Neil!) back in 2010...

The look on his face was priceless when I got back home with it

This was us parked up in the C&MC site looking over to St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay.

Sold it on to a guy from Devon. I wonder where it is now... ?

View attachment 136024

My first van was a 508 merc converted to take a sidecar and a solo. We had to remove the bikes to put the mattress down, the baby belling twin hob grill and oven was put in the awning for cooking. We pulled it out of a scrap yard for think £450 and it cost £26 for a brake cylinder to get it through an mot. Windows were removed from the same caravan we got the cooker from we didn't have to spend another penny to keep it going for three years apart from filters and oil.

 

[barryd]

It seems a lifetime ago from when we got our first van (Hank the Tank mk1). early 2008. Hard to believe we had it 16 years.

Couple of early photos. One is down near Perpignan in France near Spain and the other is a wild spot high up in the French Alps near the Italian border. There were wolves howling in the middle of the night there.

Our old (And the original "Pig) 2 stroke Peugeot Speedfight two stroke as well. Loved that little bike.

 

[Nabsim]

I am still in my first van lol

 

[n brown]

lost my pics , but first camper was one of these gown vans . i paid £40 for it ,put in 4 windows and went ''abroad '' to the Isle of Wight .

 

[caledonia]

Suzuki Super Carry, Bedford Midi, and a Transit were vans we had for Sharon’s work and playing in at weekends but our first real camper was a T5 we got 16years ago. We feel lucky to have done it young enough and before all the hype.
Still see our van now and then and it’s the new owners pride and joy.

 

[The laird]

First van / multi purpose veh was Renault especially had three up to phase 3 model Toyota space cruiser then the Mazda bongo ,hymer b544 then hymer 572 then rapido and present hymer exsis I 562

 

[barryd]

I suppose I could class this as my first van except it wasn't mine. My dear old pal Denis bought one in 1985 after he retired. Denis, his sons and me and sometimes others went all over in one of these. We called it "The Beast". I was in my late teens. I sometimes was trusted to borrow it for odd weekends. Blimey we had some great times in it. Fishing and boating holidays in Ireland, the Lake District, Scotland etc. You could actually sleep five in it. The roof popped up so there was a hammock up there, Two in the made up double, one in the front and there was room for a mattress on the floor at the back (That was my bunk).

 

[mark61]

First around 1980 second van 85. Second one never got converted though,

 

[trixie88]

I went out and bought this old Merc converted snap-on van from a remote farm in Yorkshire (without telling Neil!) back in 2010...

The look on his face was priceless when I got back home with it

This was us parked up in the C&MC site looking over to St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay.

Sold it on to a guy from Devon. I wonder where it is now... ?

View attachment 136024
[/QUOT

wow ...what a lovely pitch there marie........fancy waking up to that view in a morning...

 

[Robmac]

First van / multi purpose veh was Renault especially had three up to phase 3 model Toyota space cruiser then the Mazda bongo ,hymer b544 then hymer 572 then rapido and present hymer exsis I 562

Looks like my old Compass Drifter in the second and third pictures Gordon.

Was that Otter Ferry?