josie gibblebucket Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 When you look at all the advertisements selling used motorhomes and campervans, it seems that there is quite a shortage of panel van conversions of a certain age. There are still some Talbots around in fantastic condition and of course various autosleepers, but what if you want something a little more modern than a Talbot, but can't afford something as recent as a Trigano Tribute for example. Is it that all the older vans have gone to the scrapyard, or didn't they make very many between say 1997 and 2002ish? When you are on a tight budget, it seems risky to buy a coachbuilt over a certain age because of the risk of water ingress, and in any case panel vans can be a more practical option for parking etc. :-| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaleg Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hi Josie, Panel vans were really popular back in the days of Talbot expresses, then, they started producing (cheap coachbuilts) and most people swapped, I did, but we only had a small coachbuilt and find it more than adequate for our needs, easy to park etc. But some switched back in recent years, but the cost of panel vans being so high, I think folk keep them longer, hence the shortage. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hello, I think this is a very interesting subject. I have wondered for a very long time why people don't get conversions done on used vans. We are a van rental company and when we replace our vans they have done between 120,000 and 180,000 miles. They are far from worn out, are in good condition and are currently selling for about £5000 for a four and a half year old. That is only £5000 for a 54 or 05 plate Fiat Ducato Maxi 2.8JTD. You can get them for much less but not necessarily in such good condition, and not only from me! I have sold vans to several individuals that have made their own 'van/tents' which is what I call the fairly Heath Robinson efforts but even these have brought their owners much pleasure at a riddiculously low cost. How much can it really cost to get a decent conversion done? And then you would have the satisfaction that it is exactly what you wanted in terms of equipment or layout. Could you transfer the internal fittings from an old, tired van into a newer one? I am sure it would be much simpler to buy a 10 year old ready made van but it makes you think; doesn't it? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Panel vans are becoming even more popular. I've been to two shows recently - Shepton Mallet and the NEC and you had to queue up to get into a panel van but all the others were easily accessed. I have placed an order for one and there is a 7 month waiting list. Because I use my van mainly abroad I find that a panel van is a great size for all sorts of reasons; you live outside and use it to sleep and its small enough to go sightseeing down roads that you might not go down in a normal motorhome. Panel van conversions, though expensive for what they are, do retain their value on the second hand market. They are excellent second hand buys because you do not have the concerns of water ingress which you get on coachbuilt/low profile models. As a former caravanner I have had my fair share of these over the years with replacement sides and floors costing a small fortune. I think one of the reasons why there are few older panel vans around is the dreaded rust and those that have good ones are reluctant to let them go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 That is exactly why I am so surprised that there are not more people converting used vans; you see the Fiat Ducato does not rust. It took me a long time to get my gead round that concept too! The bodywork on all 1996 vans onwards was galvanised and it works. No rust except for poor quality repairs. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I think they sort of fell out of favour and there weren't many people converting them, or doing different type of layouts, so the small coachbuilts, being cheap and cheerful, took a good chunk of the market. Swift stopped doing their Modial (?) as I suspect the cost of production was high and the profit from it was too small. It is really only with the advent of the Trigano Tribute in more recent times that van conversions started to get more popular. The Tribute was by comparison with a lot of van conversions at the time, much cheaper, by quite a way, more modern looking and offered a more spacious layout, now that a lot of other manufacturers have jumped on the band (camper) wagon the choice is massive, ranging form the cheaper end of the market to super-duper luxury ones costing as much as a house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Converting a panel van costs more to execute than building a coachbuilt as all the work has to be done from the confines of within and all furniture has to be hand fitted whereas a coachbuilt body uses square lines - mainly - and can be constructed in a factory and just 'plonked' on a chassis when made. Us consumers wanted more space and more luxuries for less dosh and so small coachbuilts, like the AS Nuevo etc, became popular as they were more spacious better insulated and with more goodies as well as costing less in an overall size not much bigger than a panel van. Supply and demand methinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 euroserv - 2009-10-27 2:15 PM That is exactly why I am so surprised that there are not more people converting used vans; you see the Fiat Ducato does not rust. It took me a long time to get my gead round that concept too! The bodywork on all 1996 vans onwards was galvanised and it works. No rust except for poor quality repairs. Nick There are several companies that will convert used vans but they are fairly small. There seems to be a lot of newbies nowadays that buy brand new vans and I wonder if thats why there's a lot of one year old coachbuilts being sold? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 colin - 2009-10-27 8:50 PM I wonder if thats why there's a lot of one year old coachbuilts being sold? I think it may have more to do with cheap and nasty build quality and dodgy gearboxes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobalobs Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 We have had Van conversions since the mid eighties and are totally wedded to the open sliding door style of camping. Current van is seven years old with no squeaks leaks or delamination and will be with for many a year to come if Fiat continue their current attitude. May have been expensive when new but they last so people hang on to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Euroserve. My original thoughts were always to buy a panel van and modify it for camping myself. I did woodwork and metalwork all my life including lots of auto work, it would have been a doddle for me. I still live in a semi house with little space and I've become rather ancient in my latter years. When deciding on a M/H I was beaten by a shortage of space and energy, and had by then accumalated spare cash, so that's the route I went for, buy one already made. I do admire those that are doo-ers and get on with life and make things happen, that's how business's begin. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 As to the question in Nicola's OP about the absence of used van conversions, seems simple to me. People buy a coachbuilt, and after a while realise it's too big/too thirsty/not used enough, so they sell it. People buy a van conv, and find it's none of those things, so they keep it and go on using it both for hols and as a main/2nd car, FOREVER. Here lies the path of wisdom which you, Nicola, like me, have found :-D ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie gibblebucket Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 I'll second that Tony, but re my original question, where are all the panel vans of that sort of age, we have used our van quite a lot this summer but don't even seem to see many on the road. I'd say that we see one panel van conversion to every 30 coachbuilts. When you consider how many VW Autosleeper Tridents (just as an example) were made, I find it hard to believe that they have all been scrapped, so where are they? Its not as if you even see them in supermarket car parks or on the school run, and when you come to look for used pvcs of any make for sale, there seems to be plenty of choice at the £20-30K price band and plenty at the £2k end of the scale, but not much in between. This is what made me wonder if they didn't manufacture many between say 1997 and 2002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 You may be right Nicola. Vans are seeing something of a resurgence at the moment, perhaps as people "downsize" or move to a single multi-purpose vehicle, but there was a period when all the emphasis seemed to be on coachbuilts and that may co-incide with your perceived shortage. Then again, maybe in spite of their versatility (see my post above!) people just don't take them out on the road very much after all - but if that were the case, I'd expect to see them put up for sale (like "Roxie's" twin sister, six numberplates away, which is in the MMM classifieds this month after doing only 6,600 miles - Roxie's done 25k!). In the end, who knows? BTW, are you still planning to come to Bury at the end of the month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Purchasers soon find that they can get more motorhome for their cash with a coachbuilt that with a Panel van. More space as well, more storage etc. Panel vans are expensive to convert compared with a coachbuilt. So today you purchase a panel van if you have important issues with size or bulk. Does that help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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