We have sold our old van and have been looking for a replacment van. Thinking along the lines of a Transit type van, with permenant bed acrooss the backdoors, bit of storage underneath bed, basic cooker, cupboards and fridge. We are going to keep our caravan so will be tow car as well. Thought about the self build route but have got a job with "killer" hours, and a lack of space put us off the idea, plus we want it for the start of the season. We fancy the idea of sourcing our own van and getting it converted. A very basic conversion will do. Anyone any ideas of cost, where to get it converted, best vans to convert, etc. Comments and any input please.
There's plenty of used van dealers around, so finding a good'un at the right price shouldn't be a problem.
As for the conversion, I can recommend the work carried by Ashley Calverley, proprietor of Riverside Commercials in Mossley. He will build whatever you want, to whatever spec you want, and at a reasonable price.
Have a look in my gallery at his personal self-build camper (the big white one).
You can contact him on 07763 348 361 and tell him Phil gave you his number. If you decide to go and see him I'd be only too happy to show you the way, it's a bit awkward to find. We are also based in Bolton so it wouldn't be a problem.
All the best
Phil
------------- Our motorhome loves Rock'n'Roll... it rolls all day and rocks all night ;0)
Well Tom been there but didn't do it. We wanted a Van that would sleep 3 with shower toilet cooker fridge. We were looking for a van to convert and the cost of conversion for around £10k
1 First do you need a shower and toilet, these add a lot to the end price.
2 Try and find a good van, not battered, not easy. From what we looked at I would recomend the Relay, Ducatto, Boxer all basicly the same van or if you want a bigger van the Iveco. You are looking at £6k for a nice one then you will be lucky, vans get battered.
3 Then conversions we looked at many, with or without shower toilet is a big factor. Try this guy, http://hightop.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/index.html one of the cheaper converters and the conversions are good for the money. If you say basic without toilet shower £5k with Toilet Shower £7k plus the cos of the van. The web site is poor and only shows the high tops he does but he does a nice convertion
4 Based on the above you spend £11k to get a nice basic conversion and £13k for a full converted van and have a poor resale value due to it not being a branded conversion
5. We came to the conclusion cheaper to buy one done.
Thanks for your input, Caz we have looked the the link most interesting,we did some research on it and he is a one man band and snowed under with work, must have found a good niche market for himself.
We were going to buy a van to use as a tow car only, (Volkswagen transporter was 1st on the list) as our ageing Laguna is getting close to its sell by date. We thought a van could carry all the bits and bobs for camping, barbies, chairs etc. Then we came up with idea of a camper, to do the odd 1 nighter. We have had a camper before, a rather cheap and chearfull 96 LDV. We found it great for 1 night but did a mini tour of Scotland in it and decided, mainly due to noise and size factors, it had to go. I know vans are noisy but that one was deafening, 60 MPH and we were using sign languge. We had a ride in a Transit engined LDV and this seemed a vast improvement over our original one. To be honest we just want to invest the least amount of money on the "camper" side of things. We are going to stick with our caravan as our main method of camping. Even just to get it lined, insulated, some cupboards, the bed fixed, in will interest us. We are still looking round the secondhand market, but 6k for a 15 year old Transit/Renault that Noah fitted out, no way!!!!!!! Our tow car/van budget was 4k when we thought of the camper we increased to 6k, not a lot of money in camper van terms, but for the use we would get out of it we can't justify a lot more really, we might go to 8k, but the seller would have to be in tears when he handed the keys over!!!! We will keep looking and make some phone calls and see what happens, you never know.
try talking to Nu-Venture, both of them, near the canal at Wigan. Have heard good reports of their helpfulness, and it's not too far to travel, and you can always take a strol up 23 locks and back while you're waiting!
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But it´s all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can´t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself
Ricky Nelson
What about the Mazda Bongo? You can pick one up unconverted and get it converted when you have the funds perhaps? Imperial in Hamworthy Poole have a good range on their website.
my bf and i bought a swb fiat ducato may 05 for a self build,took us 4mths to convert,fixed bed across back doors,230v elecs,fridge cuboards,lockers,swivel seats,kitchen area and sink,we wanted a basic convertion,we have ended up with a luxury convertion all for under £14000 (van £12000 materials £2000.If you are able to buy brand new van its well worth it. Our van has not failed to please. Doing a self build means you get exactly what you want to your spec. we know we couldnt get the van anywhere for the price we paid. Few weeks ago we were offered £22000 for it but we are not selling its our home. Good luck to you if you go down that route it is hard work but worth it. when planning the simpler the plans the better.
hiya tom and gill, i work for a firm converting any van to any spec but it is very costly to do somtimes it is better to buy already done. someone mentioned bongos if you want som pics of one we have done let me have your e-mail add and i will sent you some finally try this www.adventurecampersandbongos.co.uk we convert bongos for him and he has other campers at reasonable prices good luck
try talking to Nu-Venture, both of them, near the canal at Wigan. Have heard good reports of their helpfulness, and it's not too far to travel, and you can always take a strol up 23 locks and back while you're waiting!
I think you will find their waiting times are 9-12 months so no chance for this season
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Topic: Basic van conversions
