Guest pelmetman Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Glad to be of assistants JayKay:D as for particular vans that have problems question, I think with vans of this age its all much of a muchness, but I suspect vans with a lower number of owners would indicate a vehicle that has had few problems;-) The fuel economy is down to your right foot, as I posted earlier I can get 31mpg out of the camper, but I don't get anything like that in my newer works Transit.......................Diesel vans will be more economical, although if you want to go to London and some other European cities petrol might be a better bet, you can easily check if any potential vehicle is low emission zone compliant by putting the reg into the LEZ website. As for motorways, I tend to avoid them as their boring, and they tend to make you drive faster and hence use more fuel, to us our holiday starts as soon as we leave home and the getting there is part of the fun;-) Beware though............. this hobby can become addictive:-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Jas.. Personally,I'd be concentrating on getting the tidiest,best cared for vehicle,with the most suitable layout you can..and not bother too much whether it's diesel or petrol... I should imagine with the mileage you're likely to be doing,any(IF any),difference in mpg/running costs would be neither here nor there... (..although I fully expect to be corrected... ;-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Jason - In the end, the mpg of the van you buy will be whatever it is. Unless you are doing starship mileages, it ain't really the big issue. Work out the cost difference between 25pmg and 30 mpg over (say) 3,000 miles per year....it ain't massive, compared to insurance, MOT, Road Tax, Camping site fees........to my mind the condition of the vehicle will be far more important than what fuels it, and how much it drinks. Like other commenters, I'll stress again that by FAR the biggest issue affecting fuel mpg is SPEED. These vans are not overpowered (don't go below a 2.5td engine if you every want to get to any UK destination in less than 27 weeks) and they have the aerodynamics of a housebrick. At 50mph your mpg is gonna be possibly 50% better than at a foot-to-the-floor-everything-is-falling-off 70mph. It's an old-dog of a van......be gentle with it and drive slow and smooth, and look out at the scenery. You'll always have a brilliant view ahead with nothing in front of you, so enjoy it (you will of course have a queue a mile long in your rear mirrors of Mondeo-Men cursing you into their mobile phones and trying to get past on blind bends.......but you're legal, you're on holiday, you're chugging sedately and as economically as you can, you're whistling a happy tune; and you're in front of them!!!!) Don't worry; be happy. For venerable MH's in the UK trundling around on salted roads I guess it's rust which is the big killer - get down underneath anything you're thinking of buying, and really check all over the chassis and front body panels (although replacement body panels are still readily available and cheap, according to several UK Talbot owners clubs). Odds are that anything you look at will have "soggy bottom" syndrome - saggy rear as the leaf springs have spent 20plus years holding up all that bodywork.....coil spring assisters from Grayston engineering are a doddle to self-fit, cost (I think) about 300 quid, and completely transform the ride and stability of these old Talbot/Peugeot J5/Citroen C25 van-based MH's (they are all the exact same vehicle from the one PSA assembly line, just badged differently for different European markets)......you can always haggle the price down by 300 quid if soggy-bottom cure is needed. One other thought - for us at least, more space inside the MH is better than less. We've got what is laughingly called a 6-berth 1992 A-class, which is just dandy for the two of us. It's a bit like buying a tent - only an idiot would buy a "two-man" tent for two people. In the real world you buy a "four-man", and then the two of you can actually move inside it!) At the age of the MH's that you are in the market for, I don't think there's any price premium payable for a 5 or 6 berth over say a 4 berth - it's all about the condition of the MH.......................so it might be worth looking for the longer bodied MH's to get more internal space for your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 A pal of mine bought an ex BT Linesmans van ans sorted the interior himself, a sturdy vehicle to be sure. From others suggestions it looks like there's plenty of choice. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaykay2011 Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Well, some really great and reassuring replies there. Thank you. My plan is to try and get something for the Lincoln show, and maybe camp there. If not, I may even pick one up at the show. In the meantime, I will continue to read the forum, and may even contribute where I can. Many thanks, keep em coming. jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaykay2011 Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'm watching this one on ebay and wondered if anyone had any experience or thoughts on this van ? I dont mind lhd as I am comfortable driving anything. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330601369020&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Well,it's certainly a tidy looking van,with plenty of "space" and the all important rear seatbelts... Certainly worth a look..and a "sniff" (..don't forget,don't be fooled by any recent application of Fabreeze ;-) ) Goodluck,if you bid on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemoss Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Looks good to me, too, but as Pepe has said - double check for damp, and then check again. Other bits and bobs, both mechanical and bodily, can be relatively easy to fix but damp in the coachwork could be much more difficult (and expensive). Definitely worth a look, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 It certainly looks good especially................ at that price8-)I'd be tempted to ask if I could have a look;-) If it is as described;-) and goes for 4 and a half k, it will be a cracking bargain:-D The only fly in the ointment is that its not uk registered, I expect it will need some mods before it will get a V5...........I don't know if anyone on the forum has brought a 2nd hand van abroad? I know several have bought new:DI doubt its a major issue, I brought a car back from Gibraltar in the late 70's, and it was just a paper exercise, don't know whats involved today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 jaykay2011 - 2011-08-17 7:56 AM I'm watching this one on ebay and wondered if anyone had any experience or thoughts on this van ? I dont mind lhd as I am comfortable driving anything. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330601369020&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT LHD is good - 'cos once you're bitten by the bug you'll be trundling all over the Continent in it. The 2.5td is a very simple engine, cheap to maintain and cheap for spares. Our first MH was similar (but a four berth).....it came from Germany, was in awesome condition, with no rust at all....I don't mean a bit, I mean NONE. Previous owner said this was due to chassis being wax-oiled from new, and the Germans not using salt on their roads. Seller is a dealer, who seems to import these old-dog German MH's regularly. Fair enough so long as it's been completely imported, has UK plates and a UK reg and V5 now. Here's a bit on the legals: MAKE SURE it has been fitted with UK headlights, NOT JUST beam benders. AND speedometer showing miles per hours, NOT just some dots painted onto it's KMPH speedo. If it only has beam benders, and doesn't have a MPH speedo that can be read in the dark, it DOES NOT comply with the UK Construction and Use regulations, and thus is NOT legal to be driven on UK plates in the UK. This could come back to bite you, VERY hard, if you ever tried to make an insurance claims, or were involved in any accident......as non C & U compliance means your MH is illegal to be used on UK highways, and thus is a reason for any insurer to refuse any payout at all. It matters not whether it's got a UK MOT - the MOT checks are different to the C & U regulations. If it hasn't got a VOSA Engineers report as part of it's import paperwork, confirming it's compliance, it ain't legal on UK plates. If Mr Dealer argues this, he is WRONG, he's just trying to flog the MH without proper importation The big gas bottle compartment is a boon - it is much better if you can get two big bottles in, one in use and the other as a spare. Seller doesn't say whether it has power steering or not - if it hasn't, I'd STRONGLY advise you to test drive it round a lot of wiggly roads, and try reversing it, parking it etc, to feel just how damn heavy the steering it at slow speed. For me, lack of power steering on a van this big and long would probably be a deal breaker. Go see it, check that every single system is working, take millions of pics, crawl all over and under it, get up on the roof looking for cracks, check all the paperwork and then ring VOSA to double-check its pukka, and see what the seller says when you say you want proof positive that it complies with UK C & U regs.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 The only things I would want to add are that , A) from personal experience, I would insist that the Camper came with a V5, dealer promises are not shall we say reliable. B) the Electric sockets will be German so unless you want to change all your plugs it will need a little work with a screwdriver and a continuity tester for reversed polarity etc. C) the Gas supply will be at 50b so it will be necessary to get a German/UK adapter for the pressure regulator, 50b regulators with UK fittings are as rare as hens teeth. but I am willing to be corrected.Looks from the pictures as if there is room under the Fridge for an oven. I would be very surprised if it goes for £ 4500.The only niggle doubt is why it was necessary to rebuild the engine at 106000 Miles. The 2.5Td usually has P.A.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 From the photos looks like it's been well looked after, just make sure there isn't any damp. I roger meant to so 50mb when referring to the gas pressure 50 bar would be enough to run a power station. German vans before about 2000 ran propane at 50mb the UK used 37mb. Now everyone uses Propane & Butane at 30mb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retread24800 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 lennyhb - 2011-08-17 7:49 PM From the photos looks like it's been well looked after, just make sure there isn't any damp. I roger meant to so 50mb when referring to the gas pressure 50 bar would be enough to run a power station. German vans before about 2000 ran propane at 50mb the UK used 37mb. Now everyone uses Propane & Butane at 30mb. Not having a good day today. :-) Yes 50 milli bar, trouble is all the jets and other gubbins are set for this much higher pressure and so a change to a 30mb would entail a change of appliances or the services of an ace fitter if you can find one. PS as a drift is anyone aware of a conversion Kit(s) for the water boiler, Blown air heating, Fridge and hob for my van so that I can utilize a 30mb setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.