Which van would you choose for camper

tclarkie

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Hello All, Which van would be a better conversion for a camper. Please consider the reliabilty of the vehicle and any faults they are prode to.I have the option of a V reg Ford transit 2.5td lwb high top, which is a company own and has reach 90000miles on clock or a fiat ducato xlwb high top, S reg, which has had new engine at 50000miles and has only done 90000 has had a recent major service at 82000miles. I cant seem to make my mind up. I started to convert the transit putting side windows in and put swivel seats in (which came out of a mercedes sprinter),it has been plyline inside and roof has been done aswell, only thing is it does require bodywork on wings and the usual things. But i dont know much about fiats and i like the driving of the fiat as it it 10 times quieter then my transit. Plus it is bigger abit longer and wide so they be more room in the van. The van was previous owned by a garage which use it as there maintence van, it does look better them my tranny but i havent had a fit before so help please with which one would you choose.
I am sorry for the long post but this week i have to make my mind up as i need to get started and get out there camping...
 
i'd go for the tranny for ease of maintainence/repairs and availabilty of cheap spares. the diesel engine can be converted easy to run of veg oil (cheap fuel!) the noise can be sorted with sound proofing (10mtrs for £25) i know cuz i've just done my transit engined ldv convoy(these are better than any other van in my book!) the engines etc are so simple to work on and theres thousands about!!!!;)
 
Ford Transits are very noisy vans. I would never buy another.
The Fiat is quiet and has a lovely large and panoramic windscreen with its high seating position. They have been the most popular van for motorhome conversion for a reason. The Fiat rear doors are on a very poor hinge system which are prone to problems. Hope this helps.
 
I really don't know anything about Fiats but I can tell you transits can have an appetite for clutches, gear boxes, rear brakes and aren't nearly as well built/as strong as they used to be....
 
thanks for the repiles guys, i fancy the transit myself as it is cheap to maintain. I did replaced the timing belt on my boyfriends van has timing had slip due to frozen water pump over winter. Anyway when i did this it seem to be quieter and did actually ran better them before. I think i do the same on my. I know mine van has has a bit of welding done but i need to underseal my yet. Most of my camper friends has transits so i think i may stay with the tranny. Cheers.
 
Engine noise insulation

n8rbos said:
i'd go for the tranny for ease of maintainence/repairs and availabilty of cheap spares. the diesel engine can be converted easy to run of veg oil (cheap fuel!) the noise can be sorted with sound proofing (10mtrs for £25) i know cuz i've just done my transit engined ldv convoy(these are better than any other van in my book!) the engines etc are so simple to work on and theres thousands about!!!!;)
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Hi there, can you tell me more about how to insulate the engine noise on my Tranny conversion. It is kind-of noisy and would be good to quieten it. Thank
 
Goaskalys said:
Hi there, can you tell me more about how to insulate the engine noise on my Tranny conversion. It is kind-of noisy and would be good to quieten it. Thank
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car acoustics,soundproofing 6mt on eBay (end time 15-Apr-10 17:13:16 BST)

this is the item i purchased, really good prices and you can choose different sizes/prices. ready sticky :) i took the dash out of my van and insulated everywhere i could, then before putting dash back i insulated inside that and its made a tremendous difference, also have you got insulation under the actual bonnet and in the engine bay? the stuff above is only suitable for interior use, but i highly rec. it and best price i came across.
 
I have all the sound proofing under bonnet, if i put extra soundproofing under bonnet on bulkhead would that help? or is that just a silly. My friend owns a van breakers so i have got all my parts for nothing. Just one more question does anybodyy know where i can get a semi hitop rear off side door prefer with a window in, as i can`t seem to get hold of one anywhere even at my friends yard as my is rusted at the bottom.
 
number of options regards door, the transit forum 's a good place to join and look for cheap parts. if your close to dudley west mids then there's the transit ctr who do cheap parts.

you could possibly weld a new piece into the bottom of the rusted door or fibreglass it after removing rust.

as for the sound proofing can't see no reason why you can't put another piece of transit soundproofing in the engine bay, its water proof!:)
 
Hi. I have a peugeot boxer and the father in law has a transit, couldn't tell you the best van but my van certainly has more floor space and has a bigger area to work with.:)
 
transit all the way ,the real cause of a over noisy tranny is the fact that when the timing belt has been replaced the pump timing is out slightly another thing is they smoke aswell .i used to work for a guy that sold vans and must have changed more timing belts than have had hot dinners if you know what you are doing you dont even have to take the radiator out less than an hours job when you are used to it . they are so easy to maintain unlike most of the front wheel drives vans. a clutch can be changed in a laybie if needs be i have done one on my own in less than an hour try that on a ducato or the like ,they can have noisy diffs at high milage but then again a simple fix diff change just maintain them and they will last a long long time all in all a decent tranny is a safe bet .so why do i have a bedford cf ? they are basicaly the same as a transit but a dam site cheaper :D:D
 
tclarkie said:
I have all the sound proofing under bonnet, if i put extra soundproofing under bonnet on bulkhead would that help? or is that just a silly. My friend owns a van breakers so i have got all my parts for nothing. Just one more question does anybodyy know where i can get a semi hitop rear off side door prefer with a window in, as i can`t seem to get hold of one anywhere even at my friends yard as my is rusted at the bottom.
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you can buy repair panels for the doors either pop rivit or weld on
 
Thanks mandrake for info, well the next thing i am going to do is replace the timing belt as i did this on my parters van and it made his van 10 times quieter and ran better too. Well i in the progress of repair bottom of door at the moment. I go with the transit as i done abit of work to it already inside. Not quite sure what oil to use in the rear diff, if i replace the oil with new in diff would this stop the whine which i have,it is only a light sound but i think it still needs doing.
 
Diff gears are hypoid bevel gears and if they whine, it is down to wear. At one time, you could adjust them but I do not think you can do that now. If it is only a faint whine then try new oil and see if there are any additives on the market for a diff. Differentials are often neglected for routine maintenance so the oil might be low or like water.

Unscrupulous dealers used to put sawdust in them. It quietens them down but I would only recommend you do it if you are selling it (and then move house):D
 
Just to let you know I did a bit of soundproofing today with abovementioned Flashing Tape. Van is a VW T4 and used 4 rolls of 10cmx10m Flashing Tape from B&Q at £8.50 a roll..... Did a few layers over the front wheel arches and a couple on the cab floor....

Gotta say I'm impressed with the results.... quieter on the motorway too.... so a pretty good improvement for 35 quiddish really..... tunes sounds much better too...... :)
 
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