Campervans as your main car.

[Scramble]

Have a mad urge to get a campervan, but can't afford to run a car and a campervan.

Looking at a bargain basement ancient thing probably, will it cost too much to run day to day? I do about 140 miles a week on average. I want to be able to go off the od weekend here and there and use it for weekends away working through the summer.

[pirategirl]

weekends away working in the summer, oooh that sounds interesting in a nomadic way?

my ex wanted to have one as a main vehicle, i just thought it would be too slow!!!

He has one now, but its more like a converted bus, not a vw or anything.

I bet there are lots of forums you could have a look at. one things for sure the cheaper, the more they are going to fall apart, depends how handy you or a family member is with the haynes manual and a spanner!!!

[Wisteria]

I had one - it was lovely and I miss him every day (1972 with original pop up roof in ark green and white).

Honestly though, as a main car it is not practical. Mine was in absolute perfect condition (after 5 years of painful and expensive restoration) but finances decreed that he had to go and I regret it every day .

Pros : no tax and very low insurance

You are cool by default

They are lovely and every trip out is like a holiday

Cons: Astronomically high fuel bills

Pain in the arse for parking in towns (especially car parks with height restrictions

Slow on the motorway but somehow you don't seem to care

Would I have one again? Yes, like a shot, but not if you're skint

[pirategirl]

..'Slow on the motorway but somehow you don't seem to care'...

no becuase everyone can get a good look at the cool happy camper when they overtake as you sing 'we're all going on a summer holiday'!!

i would too if i had the money.

there's quite a few around here (devon, surfy types)and they are so lovely.

[Scramble]

It doesn't have to be a 1970's VW with surf boards on the roof, (although that would be cool ), just a wee one, probably not oo ancient, but that makes them more expensive to buy. A bongo or what ever they are called would be ideal, but they are going to be pricey I know.

I suppose it is a nice idea and all that, but I will probably end up with a fiat panda or something .

[yurt1]

Look at Bongos. Plenty of people use those as cars and they make good weekend campervans (I want one!)

[yurt1]

Bongos are cheap cheap cheap (as far as campervans go- for a fully converted one about 10 grand ish). We were looking at one which gave us 3 proper seatbelts in the back plus sink and bed etc- and it would have been about 11 grand.

Not cheap, but far cheaper than a VW.

Have a look at Bongo fury - and avoid the Bristol dealers- heard a few dodgy stories about them!

[Scramble]

MMh still a bit pricey for me I really need to be under £2000, something part converted that could be a project, or something to fling a mattress in even.

Wonder what thre MPG are for a vehicle like that, I do like the look of th bongos.

[yurt1]

You can get them unconverted from about 5 grand I think. Worth looking at other Japanese imports as well, as you usually get low mileage for your money.

[Mercy]

Dh had an old one when he lived in NZ. Apparently they are a nightmare when they break down and need parts replacing.

When I was a child my neighbours had one - it had one of those pull out roof thingies. They were hte envy of our street - they used to go to the south of France in summer

V cool.

[singledadofthree]

i've had 3 vw campers - 2 old aircooled bays and a type 25 watercooled. i wouldnt even consider an aircooled again as a main car - 55mph flat out and about 20 to the gallon. and you cant get a decent one for under £3000. the 25's are better, faster and do about 25 to the gallon. prices for a useable one from about £2000 but loads of rubbish about.
and its true - got stuck going into the multistorey in Stratford once

[Scramble]

LOL

[Spillage21]

I guess you're talking about a VW splitty/bay window.

As a long-time owner of several vans, I don't recommend them as day-to-day vehicles. They are waaaayyyy coool and you can have lots of fun in them at weekends/hols, but they are high maintenance, both money and time, and not awfully nippy and easy to park. In the winter they are very cold - we don't even consider using ours between October and March. Because they are popular, they are also very nickable, as we have found to our cost [towed in dead of night from out the front of our house and never seen again...sob]).

[Spillage21]

WTF is a bongo???

[Scramble]

Somethiing like this would be good I can cope with a doing a bit of a make over but nothing too mechanical. BIL and FIL will help out with basic mechanical stuff if req.

[funnypeculiar]

We had one as our main car when I was a kid (an upgrade from a 2CV when the family got too big to fit in that
From my recollection:

• motorway driving was pretty painful
• parking was a PITA

But being able to ship off for weekends away en famille in your own little house? Priceless

[Scramble]

So who can work out if I do 14o miles a week what would that be in £££ if it did 25 to the gallon???

[stealthsquiggle]

My DM had one as her main car for years and years - but I suspect times (and petrol prices) have changed a lot since then!

One thing I do still find funny is that I judged places on how far they took to get to ...in a camper van! I have a very skewed view of the geography of some parts of the UK

They are hugely practical for shipping large amounts of DC and their possessions around - and you will be very popular at football matches, etc when you can put the kettle on!

[singledadofthree]

£30!!!

[UnquietDad]

My parents had a VW Dormobile as their main car for years. Used to drive me to school in it!

[singledadofthree]

scramble - thats what i had last

[Scramble]

Argh £30 I spend about £10, but that is for a automatic fecking micra.

[singledadofthree]

ooo a micra - a real passion wagon

but they are cheap, thought petrol would scare you. i just kept pouring it in - we toured the south the first year - cost me £200 in fuel.

[yurt1]

for you spillage - bongos

[Scramble]

£30 is not toooooo scary, if I don't do extra runs into town my milage is about 70, so £15 doesn't seem to bad, I will just get MIL to take her car if we go into town .

Oh I really need a new car but don't know if I can afford that much right now, perhaps I should sell off the caravan I did up and kitted out but since being single and downsizing my car I can't fecking tow the thing anywhere.

[Scramble]

I waschecking to see how much a carvan likemine would go for and found this

WOW