Campervans

Are they worth the money?

Personally I would love to be able to travel around in a campervan park up and spend the night somewhere different. If I could I would live in a campervan overlooking the cornish coast, or in the middle of a forest somewhere

I have viewed a few campervans and I love how they work. My dream camper would be a VW campervan and although they are quite expensive to buy they are a classic and very sought after. I'd love to take the dogs away for a weekend in one.

I am also very tempted to buy a cheap van and kit it out myself, maybe a little project for my dad and I on the weekends. A little van with a bed, cabinets and cooker would be perfect.

Does anyone have a camper and if so is it worth the initial cost and then the running costs? i have contemplated a caravan but would need a towing licence and somewhere to park it.

 

thats what I thought. I want a pink or purple one with pawprints and tinted windows with leather seats and chrome fittings inside :blush:

 

I just want something really girly but stylish

 

At least buy a TDi Landy!!!

 

I know they cost a lot of money!!! We have a lot come from the garage next door that muggins here ends up taking for MOT for them...someone estimated the last one i drove as being worth 50k, i was very careful as thats most likely what my house is worth!!!

 

May all your dreams come true

 

My dad has a '71 vw camper van....all I can say is unless you have bottomless buckets of money to throw at it..I really wouldnt reccomend them!
Dads spends half its time in the garage for one thing and another and has cost him thousands over the years!

My dad and brother are VW enthusiasts, my brother has/ had a '63 beetle and is soon going to bring it back from the dead after being written off in a crash they were involved in a year ago.
Thats another point- IF you do go down the classic VW route, please please please get seatbelts and safety glass fitted, they arent mandatory but if you could have seen the state in which my brother and father were in a year ago you would understand.
(My brothers nose was ripped off and he will be scarred for life, and my dad broke numerous bones and slit his throat on the glass...both were VERY lucky to get out of that car alive!)

Sorry for rambling on but I would hate for anyone to go through that too.
Realise iv waffled on a lot..oops...
I would defo love to have a campervan though, albeit a modern van..I can see the attraction

 

We bought a long wheel based Mercedes Van some months ago for £3000 - Hubby has been slowly fitting it out we're about 80% there and have spent a further £2-3K and have probably got another £500 to spend on finishing it off
Ours is quite large has a double bed/seeating area, kitchen area and toilet and shower,

I can't wait until it's all finished and me and the OH can go off for weekends etc - we also plan to tow the smart behind it so we can set up camp if we're staying in one place and still get out and about.

Old neighbours of ours had a lovely camper with 2 small mopeds on the back - they would travel to the south of france for 6-8 months of the year set up camp on the beach and travel about on thier mopeds

 

Mum and dad had campervans when we were kids,it was a fantastic childhood.

Dad finished work on a Friday night and after tea we set off,we drove through the night to loads of different places.

Me and my brother would fall asleep before we arrived and when we woke up in the morning we were parked up somewhere new and exciting.

This was in the 60's and 70's when you could park anywhere,now it's a bit more difficult just to do that as most places don't allow overnight stays unless you stay at a caravan site.

When me and my brother stopped wanting to go with them they then got a caravan so they had to go on sites with that anyway.

 

we had a converted minibus (see pics below) originally converted to a go-kart racevan, no bed, and seating 6, it had a compressor fridge (better than a 3 way) and nice fittings, i fitted Honda seats

However, unless you intend "stealth" camping (off site/in the wild/laybys) the price of sites is anything from £10 to £25, it soons becomes cheaper to have a B&B unless you "stealth"...

I worked out that as we only used it 20 days in 12 months and it only gave 27mpg, a B&B and my 50mpg car was cheaper, not that we didnt enjoy the experience

i dont like towing (took a trailer tent to Spain once)

I would consider a 4 berth tourer stored on a site and brought out to use on the site maybe

 

We have a Duetto and love it. It is about 12 years old now and last year OH had some work done on the body and new sky lights in the roof. It is like new now and goes like a bomb.
It has an oven, grill and hob top, a toilet and shower room, a fridge and wardrobe space.It is just right for us two and Holly, very cosy when it's cold and airy in summer.
As we are both retired we can go away at a moments notice without any bother.
There are lots of campsites open all year. We would not be without it now

 

I will say this, never had a VW campervan but have friends who have had them and met alot of people with them when we have been camping, most have been worked on constantly while on campsites, repairing engines etc. if you are into maintaining such things etc then go for it otherwise think twice.

As for wild camping, just parking up somewhere, we do that a lot and it.s fabulous

 

I couldnt have anything I couldnt stand up in (6ft) and if theres a next time it will have a fixed double bed, not a put up/put down, mine needed 2 new batteries (main and leisure), smart charger, bed, cabin floor repaint+welding, and being a P reg LDV was always a worry, MOT's were "testing" times, BUT....as we had no kids, it woulda been great except im tied to school timetables for holidays, 20 days useage a year wasnt enough

 

wow at that price I'd happily pay someone to weld my car to it

thats a super price, can we have piccies?

 

Pixie, you do NOT need another license in order to tow the caravan. It is a commonly misunderstood thing since they bought in the new regulations but

As long as the combined weight of the vehicle towing and the towed item do not exceed 3.5tonnes and the towed item does not weigh more than 85% of the vehicle towing then you are within the law

Towing and your driving licence - The Camping and Caravanning Club

https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/driving-licence-rules-and-what-you-can-tow


To give you an idea, my mums lovely 4 berth caravan weighs about 900kg

 

sorru i didnt answer the original question

yes I would LOVE to have a campervan and hope to in the next couple of years