Cheap vans for weekend use!

Runningfast

Hi, Thanks for the replies.

Sorry not replied individually .

In reply to Custardy: My day to day vehicle is an estate (4 years old). Great car, great to drive and lot of room for gear and day to day life but still has significant limitations for what I need from it.

wgl2014: Thanks will check out that other forum and the Toyota Hiace

AdrianC: I was looking at the running costs and they do look more expenisve and one of the reasons why I am not fully convinced a van is the right ideas just yet. I am exploring the option at the moment. I definitely need two vehicles though. It isn't the motorway mileage that is causing the damage it is the use of the vehicle for the activities I do i.e lifting canoes and kayaks on to the roof bars (the largest Open canoe is 17tf and the sea kayaks are 14ft), bikes, skies etc etc. Scratches and dents are showing, internally the seats often get wet and very muddy due to having to leave gear in the car, or taking refuge in from a storm. A couple of days up on the North Face of Ben Nevis ice climbing in winter can pretty much soak everything. The car can smell of dampness for weeks in winter.

A few years a go it was completely buried under a snow drift in Cumbria for several days, when it was eventually dug out water ingress played havoc with the electrics. In Scotland I had to abandon it for several days due to snow on a highland pass. Had damage to the suspension/tracking/balance etc from hitting potholes covered in snow not just in the UK but also on the continent. The car is needed for day to day life such as work and family use so why I am thinking of a van/second vehicle for the hobbies. Not a problem in itself but certainly an issue if the car is in a garage 500 miles from home and it is needed for work in a few days time etc.

AndyL: Lots of trips are not planned. I hired a van the other Sunday for personal use (picking up a shed) it cost me £40 for the day. That would be expensive for every time I wanted to go out and save damage to the car. The 2 weekends a month is away from home that doesn't include evenings after work when we stay local. The other week we did a 6 day trip putting near 1500 miles on the clock etc. We are planning to drive to Bulgaria skiing and climbing this winter etc.

Fat Walt: No I do not have second insurance policy so I would have no no claims for the 2nd vehicle. Good shout and something I need to consider.

Nebulous2: Thanks for the heads up on the day van description. I will check out ebay etc. and see what is about. Can I ask what sort of conversion did you do? did it have be signed off by anyone?

Prowla: Cheers, good to hear the other side from someone with multiple vehicles and that it doesn't necessarily have to cost the earth etc.

AdrianC

17ft - even 14ft - canoe quite simply isn't going to fit inside anything this side of a big truck. Not even a LWB Sprinter-size van.

And forget a roofrack on even a normal-height full-size van or sprogbus, unless you've got some stepladders in the boot...

TBH, from what you describe, I think I'd start thinking Landy 110 or similar LWB 4x4. I'd probably be looking at a pickup with a truckman top, so you can lob the wet stuff in the back and lock it up, and the long stuff on the roof. Crewcab's going to give you some inside space, but sleeping/changing might be cramped.

Runningfast

AdrianC wrote: »

17ft - even 14ft - canoe quite simply isn't going to fit inside anything this side of a big truck. Not even a LWB Sprinter-size van.

And forget a roofrack on even a normal-height full-size van or sprogbus, unless you've got some stepladders in the boot...

TBH, from what you describe, I think I'd start thinking Landy 110 or similar LWB 4x4. I'd probably be looking at a pickup with a truckman top, so you can lob the wet stuff in the back and lock it up, and the long stuff on the roof. Crewcab's going to give you some inside space, but sleeping/changing might be cramped.

The canoes/Kayaks/bikes/Skies etc would be on a roof rack not inside the van. I can certainly lift the canoe on to a transit connect size vehicle I have done it multiple times on my mates VW Caddy. Just need to rest the front on the vehicle the back end on the ground and then lift the boat and slide it forward etc.

I have owned a Land Rover Defender, great car but expensive to run it was changed for my current estate. Good shout on the pickup truck idea, never considered that before though the van gives more options for bad weather being able to sit up, move around, get changed etc.

AdrianC

Don't forget that a Transit Connect/Caddy is really just a car. The first generation Connect was on the Focus floorpan/mechanicals, the Caddy is a Golf or Polo, depending on which generation. So if you're using the thing on roads that are causing problems to a car, they're going to cause problems to this kind of car-derived van. Bigger vans - Sprinter, full-fat Transit - might be more robust, but that brings in the height issue I was referring to, especially if you go with longer wheelbases, which tend to come with higher tops.

Runningfast

AdrianC wrote: »

Don't forget that a Transit Connect/Caddy is really just a car. The first generation Connect was on the Focus floorpan/mechanicals, the Caddy is a Golf or Polo, depending on which generation. So if you're using the thing on roads that are causing problems to a car, they're going to cause problems to this kind of car-derived van. Bigger vans - Sprinter, full-fat Transit - might be more robust, but that brings in the height issue I was referring to, especially if you go with longer wheelbases, which tend to come with higher tops.

All valid points and something I am considering. My thinking is that yes the issues I am currently also reporting would affect the van (connect) also however, having to leave the van in a snow drift for a few days won't cause me too many issues from a family or work or day to day point of view. In reality my initial thoughts for the van is not quite bangornomics but also not that expensive that I would be upset to scrap it if I had too due to being uneconomical to repair etc.

Rolandtheroadie

Fat_Walt wrote: »

And that was with zero no claims?

Adrian Flux "mirrored" my NCB on a second car. All I had to do was send them proof I had 9 years NCB that I was using on another policy.

Nebulous2

Fat_Walt wrote: »

And that was with zero no claims?

Yes it was, though I had a full NCB on my car. I can't remember the deal - I think it was 40% starter no-claim on the strength of my car history.

The main point though is that insurers like campervans. They don't do a lot of miles in the main and they tend not to be thrashed like a works van. That causes problems for lots of people, who want to use it as a van during the week and a recreational vehicle at the weekend.

Nebulous2

Runningfast wrote: »

Nebulous2: Thanks for the heads up on the day van description. I will check out ebay etc. and see what is about. Can I ask what sort of conversion did you do? did it have be signed off by anyone?

Our base vehicle was an LDV convoy long-wheelbase, high roof 17 seat minibus. It was an ex-army vehicle. We bought an old caravan for £300 and stripped it of anything useful for a donor vehicle. We ended up with a four-berth camper and also bought a driveaway awning to get more room.

There are a list of requirements you need to have to change the registration to motorcaravan. We thought it would be inspected, but it wasn't. All we had to do was provide photos to show the requirements had been met.

There is a forum which helps people with technical aspects. There was a membership fee but it was worth it.

In the main it was a family vehicle for holidays. It was surprisingly useful even for day trips, stopping to make some food and being able to sit round the table. It doubled as a hobby vehicle for me cycling which has some similarities to what you want.

The whole thing was done on a shoe string, but we should have bought a better base vehicle. Merc Sprinters are seen as one of the better ones for self-builders. The big incentive is the cost of campers. A thirty year old 'real' motorhome, which is just a bucket of rust is likely to fetch at least £5k.

Day van seems to be a bit of a catch-all description for vehicles that don't meet all the standards for registration. They range from £30,000+ custom conversions for surfers to a van with a mattress bunged in the back.

Runningfast

Nebulous2 wrote: »

The main point though is that insurers like campervans. They don't do a lot of miles in the main and they tend not to be thrashed like a works van. That causes problems for lots of people, who want to use it as a van during the week and a recreational vehicle at the weekend.

Interesting post. Do you know what conversion works would be needed to class the vehicle as a camper/day vehicle? If it was to make insurance cheaper etc. then I would certainly consider it.

*Update* just found it on the Gov.uk website for anyone else who may be interested:

In order for a converted vehicle to qualify as a motor caravan it must have certain minimum features, as
follows:
 a door that provides access to the living accommodation
 a bed, which has a minimum length of 1800mm or 6 feet. This can be converted from seats used
for other purposes during the day but must be permanently fixed within the body of the vehicle
 a water storage tank or container on, or in, the vehicle
 a seating and dining area, permanently attached to the vehicle. The table may be detachable but
must have some permanent means of attachment to the vehicle. It is not good enough to have a
loose table
 a permanently fixed means of storage, a cupboard, locker or wardrobe
 a permanently fixed cooking facility within the vehicle, powered by gas or electricity
 at least one window on the side of the accommodation

Nebulous2

Runningfast wrote: »

Interesting post. Do you know what conversion works would be needed to class the vehicle as a camper/day vehicle? If it was to make insurance cheaper etc. then I would certainly consider it.

*Update* just found it on the Gov.uk website for anyone else who may be interested:

Hi Running fast. There is a link to the document in my post immediately above your one. There is also a link to a forum which helps people to build their own van.