Converting a van into a motorhome? Is it viable/worthwhile?

Lomast

one thing to bare in mind though is that that 10-15 year old motor home may not of done that many miles whilst buying a van to convert is a bit of an unknown quantity, cheap vans are likely to be high milage and who knows how well they have been looked after

AdrianC

Lomast wrote: »

one thing to bare in mind though is that that 10-15 year old motor home may not of done that many miles whilst buying a van to convert is a bit of an unknown quantity, cheap vans are likely to be high milage and who knows how well they have been looked after

...and a low-mileage van will probably have been clocked...

BeenThroughItAll

AdrianC wrote: »

Given that they go on to ask about converting vans...

Well yes, I realise that - but if one wants 'a motorhome', but can't afford it, converting a van may be your only 'viable option' (it isn't, there are many perfectly good motorhomes available for 12-15K); but it won't get you a motorhome. It'll get you a campervan.

Hence I suggested OP should clarify what they want. What they can create isn't necessarily the same thing...

jaybeetoo

Here's an example of somebody who converted a van. It will give you an idea of what's involved.

http://deepredmotorhome.com

forgotmyname

If you cannot DIY and know the latest rules about gas fitting etc then your looking at paying someone and that wont be cheap.

Then you need to be careful you dont find someone like the ones that appeared on watchdog. Poor workmanship and long wait times. Vans that leaked afterwards etc.

fred246

I really just need to ask if you have thought of a caravan instead. We have a caravan and go away with friends who have a motorhome and I wouldn't touch a motorhome with a barge pole. To me caravans are superior in almost every respect. On a MSE site you have to say that caravans need no insurance, road tax, MOT. You need to have new tyres on the caravan and check the brakes, wheel bearings and stabiliser. A caravan needs to be dry too. So the age of the caravan doesn't really matter. You then just have to have a towcar but that doubles as a family car when not towing. When you arrive on site with a caravan you set up home and have your car for normal use. Our friends won't leave the site because they can't park the motorhome anywhere. They are now talking about towing a car behind the motorhome to solve their problems. Their initial outlay was massive, their running costs are massive and it just doesn't work.

BeenThroughItAll

fred246 wrote: »

I really just need to ask if you have thought of a caravan instead. We have a caravan and go away with friends who have a motorhome and I wouldn't touch a motorhome with a barge pole. To me caravans are superior in almost every respect. On a MSE site you have to say that caravans need no insurance, road tax, MOT. You need to have new tyres on the caravan and check the brakes, wheel bearings and stabiliser. A caravan needs to be dry too. So the age of the caravan doesn't really matter. You then just have to have a towcar but that doubles as a family car when not towing. When you arrive on site with a caravan you set up home and have your car for normal use. Our friends won't leave the site because they can't park the motorhome anywhere. They are now talking about towing a car behind the motorhome to solve their problems. Their initial outlay was massive, their running costs are massive and it just doesn't work.

Your friends need to MTFU and open their eyes when looking for spaces or learn how to park. Don't ever have a problem parking our 4.5T, 7.2m van anywhere. Maybe it means walking an extra few hundred yards but that's just exercise. If for any reason we don't WANT to take the van, we use bikes, or take a moped in the garage.

And I don't have to faff about with Aquarius and Wastemasters.

Each to one's own, though.

Aubrey_Thicket

Hi all


Thanks for the info up to here...
Funnily enough we once owned a Bongo but sold it on Ebay a couple of years ago.
To answer the question on what ideas I have I would say that we want a motorhome. Something with a sink, Toilet & possibly a shower. Somewhere we can make a Bacon butty in a field. Somewhere we can sleep comfortably in at night. So, the obvious answer is...A motorhome is what we want. But.... We just don't have the cash for one. So, I was browsing the web and saw some videos of people who have converted vans into motorhomes etc. I was drooling! In my tiny mind and in an ideal world I would buy a long wheelbase Citroen Relay or similar for about £8,000 and then spend £4,000 having it converted into a 4 berth motorhome with a toilet, sink, possibly a shower, a small kitchen etc.

AdrianC

Right... As I thought, there's some confusion over terminology here...

BeenThroughItAll is drawing the line between "camper" and "motorhome" at the physical construction/shape of the outside. If it's got a van bodyshell, it's a camper. If it's got a van cab and a big square purpose-built rear, it's a motorhome.

Aubrey Thicket's drawing the line in terms of internal fittings. A Bongo is a camper. Something with bog/shower is a motorhome, even if it's a van conversion using a completely van bodyshell.

Gotta admit, I'm with Aubrey here.

Aubrey - As far as bog/shower etc goes - are you going to be wild camping? Realistically? Have you looked into the availability of wild spots? Are you mainly going to be in the UK, or across the continent, using things like aires in France? IME (of 18mo in a VW around Europe...), many people with even "proper" motorhomes never go past campsites, because the physical size of the shower is too restrictive, together with the need to fill/empty water tanks - and dragging a plastic box of poo around to tip down a drain is somewhat unappealing...

Aubrey_Thicket

Some great information here, thanks guys.
So, maybe I am getting confused with terminology here...
What we would love is one of these...
http://www.justgo.uk.com/images/motorhomes/Discovery/discovery.jpg
but we simply cannot afford one. So, we sort of wanted to get the best of that and end up with one of these
https://www.autohausvw.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/autohaus-kingston-citroen-relay-campervan/autohaus-kingston-citroen-relay-campervan-02.jpg


Now, I believe if one was to select a long & high top van you can cram in enough sleeping room for 4 adults along with a Toilet, Shower, Fridge, stove etc.


With regards to camping again, my terminology may have been misleading. The idea I have in mind is us booking a Campsite in a beautiful part of the UK (Say Cornwall for example) and us driving there on Friday morning. Spend one night there and move to another (pre-booked) campsite the day after and so on.


Does that give any clearer indication of what we're after?