Small basic camper - advice, please!

thriftwizard

I'm in a position where I need to sell my little car & buy something bigger; I'm a "vintage" market trader and one of our daughters has gone into business doing something similar, trading at the same markets & events, but doesn't yet drive & couldn't afford to run a car anyway. We've been using my OH's C4 Grand Picasso but it's creaking at the seams now & we're both frustrated that we just can't get enough into it. As our main trading base is in a fairly-cramped city centre, we don't really want to get into towing a trailer or carrying a top box. We also go off from time to time on buying trips and occasionally do events that go on for more than one day, & could do more of them if we didn't have to fit a load of camping stuff in too. I'm expecting a small inheritance any day & IMHO it makes sense for me to invest in a small camper, which could also be used for getaways, because it will enhance our earning power & extend our "season". Due to space constraints on our driveway, it will also have to be used as my main vehicle, so running costs are a concern.

So the choice really comes down to two vehicles; a minimally-converted (i.e. end kitchen, no wardrobe or rock & roll bed) 2WD Bongo/Friendee type of thing or a hy-top Citroen Romahome. Both vehicles have enough space/suitable layout for stall infrastructure and a reasonable amount of stock, and enough power to haul it. An elderly Bongo is cheaper, and I know from friends' experience that Mazdas are generally very reliable until they die, but the kind of one that's coming up inside my (original) budget is clearly getting towards the end of the road. But a Romahome is cheaper to run... however my experience with my smaller car (a slightly-cantankerous C3) tells me that that doesn't necessarily equate to cheaper to maintain! It's also likely to keep its value better than an elderly Bongo; once my daughter's running her own car, I won't need so much space, but it'd still be useful to have camper capability. To buy a Romahome with the ability to seat 4, I'd have to borrow some extra money, but I can do that on an interest-free basis.

So I'd be interested to hear from anyone owning either vehicle, or something similar (a converted Vito, perhaps?) about their experiences with running costs, likely life-span, rust issues etc. We've owned campers before (VW T25s) so I know that we really don't need very much in the way of facilities, just somewhere to sleep, cooker, fridge/coolbox & sink, really! Being able to stand up is also useful, but preferably not at the expense of ever using a car park like a VW high-top. And I prefer to drive automatic, but don't have to.

downshifter

Honda stepwagon campervan conversion with proper elevating roof. Honda reliability, not much bigger than normal car for everyday use, less than 2m high. 4 wd. Automatic. Better than Bongo, without annoying thing between front seats so it's easy to get into back without going outside. Gorgeous!

thriftwizard

Thanks, downshifter - any idea what sort of MPG it gets? 2WD Bongos seem to be 38-40, the Citroens 45-50.

downshifter

No idea, sorry, not something I've bothered to look into. I'm sure there are online checkers but it would depend on all the usual things, age, how well it's been serviced and tuned, urban or motorway and so on. I bought it for convenience as everyday car and comfort as camper. In both cases it's great.

Dogran

I've owned a 2 wheel drive diesel Mazda Bongo for 5 years and there is no way you will get 38 to 40 mpg. Its probably more like 30 mpg, less if you do a lot of city driving. I understand the petrol versions are even worse. Google Bongo Fury to find the owners forum where there is a wealth of information on Mazda Bongos.

Don't get me wrong, they are great and very versatile. We use ours as a weekend vehicle so the mpg isn't so much of an issue for us.

forgotmyname

Beware scammers, campervans and motorhomes etc are expensive and scammers know that the right vehicle will get lots of interest.

Do not give anyone any money until you have checked the vehicle and there in person to get the keys.

thriftwizard

Thanks all! In the end I decided on test-driving a couple that the Romahomes haven't got the welly to be able to haul our kit up hills, and there are a fair number of those around here! Lovely little campers, and still on my long-term hit-list when I no longer need to haul so much stuff around, but not right for my purposes at present.

So a Bongo it is, and I'll just have to take the hit on fuel costs and maybe do a bit less local running-around - plan my journeys & errands better, probably. In the meantime, I've borrowed the extra money, so I'm going to go for a fresh import from a reliable & well-respected source, converted to my spec. so that it's easily adapted to whatever we're up to on each occasion. He has at least one suitable base vehicle already in the country, which he's sent an exhaustive bank of photos of (lots of pics of a nice clean rust-free undercarriage!) so I'm hoping to go & inspect it - and maybe some others - in person sometime next week, though it's a long haul up to the Midlands. But I've been up there & back for quilting & fibre exhibitions before in a day; this is potentially just as exciting!

ETA: Dogran, I do drive into the city once or twice a week, to maintain & restock my stall in a local Emporium. But mostly it's 30-mile journeys on A & B roads; we get pretty good MPG from our current vehicles and didn't do too badly out of our old Estimas, so I'll report back when I've been running it for a while. I'm going for a very lightweight conversion, and will mostly be running day-to-day with just one rear half-seat in (max 2 passengers) so should be able to keep it as low as can be done.

thriftwizard

Hmm - not quite so exciting - he's not actually prepared to convert to my spec, even though he has photos of exactly what I want on his website & the price he quoted was to include that conversion! Instead he's pushing a conversion that's not at all suited to our needs, or, basically, I can buy the vehicle & take it somewhere else to be converted. Not quite what I had in mind... he seems very concerned with "keeping value on the vehicle" but surely that's the buyer's concern?!

Needless to say, local converters prefer to use vehicles they've supplied, otherwise there's a fair old wait. Hey ho...

onomatopoeia99

Friend has a 4wd Bongo, it doesn't manage even 30mpg, and he's doing a 30 mile open road and motorway commute in it at the moment, so optimal fuel economy. It's old enough now that it's rusting underneath as well.

Still better than my t25 syncro, which I can't recall getting much better than 23mpg from (petrol engined).

Have you thought about something like a T4? They have the disadvantage of the Volkswagen tax on the purchase price (all used VW vans cost a lot due to the name), but that's balanced by the fact that they don't depreciate.

thriftwizard

I've thought about a T4; we've owned two T25s previously, one a camper & one an ex-airport minibus. But it's that bit wider (narrow driveway!) and I'd have to find a Caravelle to convert to our needs rather than a basic panel van, as I haven't the resources to pay for insulation etc. or the knowhow or time to do it myself. But the Bongos are cheaper, and very reliable; I'm aiming for a 2WD & am going to inspect a couple tomorrow, having found a much closer specialist who's a bit more sympathetic to our needs & can see why the "old-fashioned" mid-conversion will work better for us!