So, the best van for camper conversion is……..
Hold on there,
I’m afraid life just ain’t that simple!
Choosing the correct van, is a HUGE topic with a lot of variables,
Everybody’s needs are different,
from families of 5 kids, to the wealthy Lone Ranger,
But,
there are certain things to think about
when making your decision that will be common to everyone.
So,
Here’s my guide to choosing the best van to convert based on your needs!
Here’s a little tour of my own campervan conversion:
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Firstly;
you have to ask yourself what your needs actually are! in Any Given situation?
Take a simple camping trip.
Where do you envisage staying for the most part:
In a campsite with access to full amenities
OR;
have you an ambition to live in the wilds with every facility inside your camper van.
or can you see your future travels incorporating a little of both.
You see,
How you use you van has implications for the type of van to convert.
Thoughts for your van conversion budget:
Heres the deal;
The amount you have to spend will greatly affect the type of van you get.
(as I found out!)
It would be great to go out there and buy a Brand Spanking New van.
But alas, no chance for me!
So,
In this article I am going to lay out my experience
in buying and converting my first campervan.
The constraints that I had,
and how that affected which van I chose.
Including all the criteria that I needed to meet in my build:
- purchasing the van itself,
- the utilities I needed,
- the mistakes I made,
- the bad advice I got,
- and how I would have done things differently given the chance.
What was my budget?
My overall budget for completed campervan what about €5,000 ($7000)
with approximately €1,000 of a contingency fund.
And there is my first serious piece of advice:
No matter how expensive you think your build is going to be – it will be more expensive than that.
I guarantee it.
You can’t possibly think of every expense, which is why a little extra cash should be set aside to cover these unexpected costs.
For example;
I had no idea how expensive timber is before starting out,
or how incredibly expensive insulation is,
So it would be good advice to take a walk around your local hardware store or builders providers and get familiar with the prices of equipment.
Or even better again,
write up an estimated materials list ( No matter if you don’t include everything )
then, get a quote from your local builders providers,
Then you will know exactly how much everything costs,
and you will limit the possibility of any big surprises.
Surprises like the one I got the first time I bought 4 sheets of half inch plywood,
the bill came to €100 when I expected it to be €50!
Before I began,
I estimated my build cost to be in the region of €3,000 all inclusive.
That left me with about €2000 to buy my van!
So, whats the best van for camper conversion when you only have 2000 to spend!
I found out,
by answering one question – how much do I have to spend on a van?
it threw up a lot more questions,
- what is the newest van I can get for €2,000
- what is the largest that I can get for €2,000
- what is the most reliable that I can get for €2,000
the list goes on.
Personally, I wanted the largest and the most reliable van that I could buy.
I knew I needed a large van because I’m 6ft 4ins tall!
And,
my van need to accommodate my wife, our three kids ages 10, 4 and 2,
myself and our dog (Note: ranked in order of importance!!).
Here’s a short video on how I chose my van:
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So I hit Google hard!!!!
checking out all the forums,
listening to every Tom, Dick and Harry’s opinion and opposing opinions,
In an effort to figure out all my options.
I boiled down the list to five possible makes, in no particular order:
- Mercedes / Dodge Sprinter / VW LT
- Renault master /Nissan Interstar / Opel Movano
- Fiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer / Citroen Relay
- Ford Transit
- Iveco Daily
Before I begin,
I must say my findings are in no way scientific.
Plus, of all the vans that I mention, someone else has converted one, and is having the best of fun right now!
I’ll start with my worst and work my way back.
Iveco Daily for a campervan conversion?
I ruled out the Iveco Daily immediately,
despite having the size and look in the bag!
It had a seemingly endless litany of problems ranging from rusting chassis,
to fatal engine and gearbox faults.
I even asked a few owners that I met in fuel stations etc.
and each one told me to stay away!
ps. You’ll won’t find better advice than from an owner, so don’t be afraid to stop and ask!
I found people to be most accommodating,
One guy kept me talking for almost an hour with tales of motoring nightmares!
That left me wondering why he still drove it ?
Fiat Ducato as a campervan conversion?
The next off the list is Fiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer / Citroen Relay.
All three vans are essentially the same (“same man different clothes” as my father would say).
The word from the owners is simple, these vans were hit and miss.
some people loved them and more hated them.
The problems varied from sometimes confusing electrical faults, fuel issues etc.
To be fair, almost all said they had good engines.
But, other niggly things were leaving them stranded on the side of the road!
From a camper build point of view, they have the largest cargo space out of all of them.
What about the Renault master as a van conversion?
The Renault master / Nissan Interstar / Opel Movano, are all simal vans. and again I was hearing the same issues.
The engine seemed to be reasonable, with no major faults to report.
Although, there were some fuel pressure / injector issues and electrical faults also.
The main problem here seemed to be with the transmission with almost everyone pointing to the problem, not a cheap fix either.
Ford Transit seemed to be a good choice as a van conversion.
but like all of us,
not without their faults!
The transit is undoubtedly a great van,
The only thing to keep in mind is oil pump failures with no notice,
Oil lights should not be ignored!
If seen, pull over and turn off your engine immediately.
Another common fault with the transit is the dual mass flywheel,
But this fault is not with Ford alone, many brands fit dual mass flywheels now.
Whilst the engineering intentions (to provide a less aggressive take off on clutch release) are good,
it is just another component to fail!
I found fuel consumption to be a little on the high side also, but don’t rule the Transit out it is a good contender.
What about the Mercedes / Dodge Sprinter as a viable campervan conversion.
Last but not least by any means is the Mercedes or Dodge Sprinter / VW LT
And, this is the van I choose for my first camper build, and here are my reasons.
After weeks of research,
I found the 1995 – 2006 2.2l diesel was the best, most reliable engine and transmission on the market in my price range.
The high roof and extra-long wheelbase, provided me with ample space for my build.
In hindsight, after buying and building my camper,
I would have no fear going back and do the build with any of the above mentioned van makes.
The reason?
– Every penny you put into your van can be recouped on resale of the van.
– Evan The best brands have their faults
(when you are only spending €2000 on a van you’re not getting the cream of the crop)
And on top of that, youre going to have so much fun no matter what the van.
If you want to know about the problems I had after buying my van, Check out the mistakes I made building my van conversion.