To buy or to build?

Polar Bear said:
To buy or to build?



I have taken a deposit on my villa in Spain, so at the end of next month will no longer have a base there.
I sold my Hymer b544 because I could not get it on the drive without much shunting.

I am now looking for a smaller van.

My dilemma is whether should I buy, or should I build a campervan. I am looking to have a compact or van conversion with a lounge that can be two singles, and a shower room/toilet, at 72, and having a wife that visits the loo many times each night the twin singles seem a good idea to me.

I can see the cost saving in self-building one, but does that also mean the conversion won’t hold the value you put into it?

Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks.
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I converted a small van 5 years and have just purchased a new one built by a professional. It’s not that I could not build another one because I am a carpenter and joiner who the turned to kitchen and bathroom installation 18 years ago. It’s just very time consuming. If you have the skills to do it, you will still come across challenges. My first one took 6 months to make it useable and then I was constantly improving it as I went along.
If you can find a ready built one, you and your wife can use it straight away. That’s the route I would try first. If all else fails then look at building one, but try and use professionals for the difficult parts.
 
Most forums have a clique or two but that one takes it to extremes, you can ask for help but if your face doesn't fit you won't get much from the regulars, that's why Listerdiesel quit and I left shortly afterwards
 
Just thought I’d mention the new Crafter also gets narrower toward the end of the van,in other words it’s fatter in the middle and streamlined presumably for aerodynamics to the rear end.
 
guerdeval said:
Just thought I’d mention the new Crafter also gets narrower toward the end of the van,in other words it’s fatter in the middle and streamlined presumably for aerodynamics to the rear end.
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Just like the Merc.Sprinter that is basically the very same van as the Crafter and indeed the very different Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano which is why they are buggers to convert!
 
Millie Master said:
Just like the Merc.Sprinter that is basically the very same van as the Crafter and indeed the very different Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano which is why they are buggers to convert!
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Thats not the case since 2017/18 when the new Crafter was introduced. Thats a VW van,( and the MAN TGE) nothing in common with a Sprinter.

The next generation Master will share the current Sprinter platform (front wheel drive version) introduced in 2018, it being a joint development.
 
trevskoda said:
There wont be much development within the next 7 years as we go all electric.
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Personally speaking, despite owning a hybrid car, I honestly believe that the headlong pursuit of the worlds governments for electric cars is going to get seriously derailed and it won't be all that long before it starts to happen!

Hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines are patently the way to go and as the technology behind extracting/converting/creating Hydrogen becomes ever more advanced and efficient (i.e. far less reliant on electricity) as by the day it is becoming more possible, then as all the internal combustion technology is already there along with vehicles that can easilly accommodate the storage tanks and all the infrastructure is already in the main already there, then surely it is the only way to go?

Ross Braun the engineering head of Formula 1 believes this is the only route to follow as does also JCB
and as heavy freight road transport and buses are not really practical users of electricity................ then surely it has to be the way to go?

Phil
 
It should be to allow vehicle to be used as normal but without killing people just by driving past them, only down side I can see once the system is fully sorted is in winter the roads may become lethal.
 
I don’t think the ‘big plan’ is to get everyone into electric cars,it’s to get most of us into ‘no car at all’, can you imagine how much electricity needs to be generated to supply cars,vans,trucks mostly overnight when the sun don’t shine, I’m not a conspiracy theorist but this idea just won’t fly.
 
There is a big backlash as many folk are now turning away from electric cars in the uk, remember we vote in those who should do as we say.
And the timed restricted zone cr-p which the gov has tried to impose wont and will not work in cities, the whole lot of the noncence is about to fail.
 
Apart from nuclear Hydrogen give the best bang for your Pound.

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Hydrogen gives 120 Mj/Kg more than twice that of petrol or diesel.

And it so easy to make too albeit you need a drop of power to do it, but at a very basic level childs play, the main issues are storage in the vehicle and during transportation 1000bar, in a very very strong tank, and distribution to the user.

 
So the build begins.
All stripped out, sound deadening in. Unistrut roof bars on. Windows are in, Maxx fan is in, looking for tanks, and Renogy solar panels, (3 x 175 watts) going on this week. I am looking at full electrical and no gas. I have bought two 200 Renogy lithium batteries but, see this video so, asked Renogy what the BMS of their batteries are and not getting a straight answer. Has anyone more information on BMS amperage, please?
Trying to get all the ancillaries done before doing the inside. Any advice is willingly accepted, thank you.
 
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