Type 2 or modern camper?

[XitUp]

Fair enough.

Just to rub it in, I'm buying a house that's a ten min walk from the beach.

(I won't say which beach, as you won't be so jealous.)

[VidalBaboon]

Vladimir said:

They really are superb fun and only seem to attract any negative attention from the slightly sad weirdos on PH.

Oh right, so the fact that I don't get why people buy them over conventional campers makes me a sad weirdo. Riiiight.

[Vladimir]

XitUp said:

Fair enough.

Just to rub it in, I'm buying a house that's a ten min walk from the beach.

(I won't say which beach, as you won't be so jealous.)

We're not far from an estuary - taken from our bedroom window - which sort of has beaches on it but no surf.



But this was after a fantastic surf a few weeks back. Heater on, coffee made, etc

[Watchman]

Vladimir said:

Watchman said:

I think it's really clever but a friend of mine bought a Fourwinds 35ft motorhome with slide out side pod, 10 months old for £50K. That's got some proper space inside.

And outside too when trying to drive it along Cornish lanes! Honestly I see far too many big motorhomes stuck on narrow lanes. They are VERY hard work on anything smaller than major A roads.

Not with it's 7-litre V10 petrol engine it's not. You'll never find my friend at the front of a queue.

[Vladimir]

Watchman said:

Not with it's 7-litre V10 petrol engine it's not. You'll never find my friend at the front of a queue.

I'm talking size not power. Driving a near lorry around narrow lanes is simply unpleasant. Ask our neighbour who bought a Hymer and promptly got it wedged up a tight lane near us.

Fine for big roads across Europe, tricky on rural UK roads. But whatever takes anyones fancy - they'll still be 100 times easier to reverse than a caravan.

[anonymous-user]

Vladimir said:

GreatGranny said:

Modern for me.

I don't particular like pottering along at 50mph being hassled by HGVs just so I can look "cool".

Another California owner? Great aren't they?!

My old neighbour had one of these and it was loaded with kit. I'd have one if I was looking for a camper type vehicle. The old ones, whilst they look cool are quite frankly rubbish. A mate of mine had a split screen one which he paid a silly amount of money for and he ended up hating it. Does anyone remember the Jamie Oliver series when he had his old camper van rebuilt with a Porsche engine? Even after a rebuild it was constantly breaking down.

[Vladimir]

St John Smythe said:

My old neighbour had one of these and it was loaded with kit. I'd have one if I was looking for a camper type vehicle. The old ones, whilst they look cool are quite frankly rubbish. A mate of mine had a split screen one which he paid a silly amount of money for and he ended up hating it. Does anyone remember the Jamie Oliver series when he had his old camper van rebuilt with a Porsche engine? Even after a rebuild it was constantly breaking down.

Our mates borrow their parents Bay Window sometimes. It's had many thousands spent on it on a regular basis and has the apparently "good" 2 litre engine. It does 15-18mpg, it's incredibly slow, has almost no brakes (which are upgraded) it reeks of petrol, it's spartan inside, it breaks down a lot and it needs de-rusting every couple of years. It's a very tidy example and kind of fun for a day or two but after that, it's tricky. My parents also had a Bay too but sold it fairly quickly. They look good (to many) but you have to be seriously committed to run one!

A fair number have had 911 engines fitted. Some work well, most don't. Dad's mate did a couple - the most petrol headed petrol head I know, Nick Butler.

[Timbo_S2]

I want one for race weekends, A VW trasported kitted out with a basic bed, sink, fridge and table and capable of towing my bike and kit in a trailer behind seems the perfect choice for a weekend at a race track without spending silly, silly amount of money...

[Watchman]

Vladimir said:

Watchman said:

Not with it's 7-litre V10 petrol engine it's not. You'll never find my friend at the front of a queue.

I'm talking size not power. Driving a near lorry around narrow lanes is simply unpleasant. Ask our neighbour who bought a Hymer and promptly got it wedged up a tight lane near us.

Fine for big roads across Europe, tricky on rural UK roads. But whatever takes anyones fancy - they'll still be 100 times easier to reverse than a caravan.

I think you're mistaking me for criticising the van in the OP. I'm not. It's really cool but for the amount of useable space is bloody expensive. If the point of it was to negotiate Cornish lanes, then I agree that it looks nimble enough but from years of holidaying in Devon and Cornwall, and visiting my GF in Saltash (and going further South), I have never seen a motorhome of any size or a caravan actually stuck anywhere. Some are slow, yes, and I concede that a caravan isn't a simple operation to reverse but how often is that necessary anywhere other than on the camp site itself?

[Vladimir]

Watchman said:

I think you're mistaking me for criticising the van in the OP. I'm not. It's really cool but for the amount of useable space is bloody expensive. If the point of it was to negotiate Cornish lanes, then I agree that it looks nimble enough but from years of holidaying in Devon and Cornwall, and visiting my GF in Saltash (and going further South), I have never seen a motorhome of any size or a caravan actually stuck anywhere. Some are slow, yes, and I concede that a caravan isn't a simple operation to reverse but how often is that necessary anywhere other than on the camp site itself?

Sounds like I've been unlucky but in 18 years driving, much of it down here in Cornwall, I've had to reverse a long way many times for motorhomes that can't (or won't) reverse on tight lanes, seen two actually wedge themselves in, etc.

Depends where you go I guess - around Polzeath and much of North Cornwall as well as the more remote parts of South Kernow, their are loads of single lanes with very few passing points. The ability to reverse more than 5 feet seems to elude many motorhome and SUV owners. Then many seem to "forget" to wave to thank you when you've reversed several hundred metres because they can't. Do a street map on anywhere near Treyarnon or St Mawes for examples.

[Bill]

Vladimir said:

Sounds like I've been unlucky but in 18 years driving, much of it down here in Cornwall, I've had to reverse a long way many times for motorhomes that can't (or won't) reverse on tight lanes, seen two actually wedge themselves in, etc.

Depends where you go I guess - around Polzeath and much of North Cornwall as well as the more remote parts of South Kernow, their are loads of single lanes with very few passing points. The ability to reverse more than 5 feet seems to elude many motorhome and SUV owners. Then many seem to "forget" to wave to thank you when you've reversed several hundred metres because they can't. Do a street map on anywhere near Treyarnon or St Mawes for examples.

Having moved to a tiny lane in Dorset (3 miles from the beach) I've concluded that very few people can reverse. Even out of season when I assume the traffic is all locals you see all sorts of numptyism, including one guy I saw who reversed his car completely off the road and up a bank into a hedge while trying to go back 20 yards to a passing place.

[Vladimir]

Bill said:

Having moved to a tiny lane in Dorset (3 miles from the beach) I've concluded that very few people can reverse. Even out of season when I assume the traffic is all locals you see all sorts of numptyism, including one guy I saw who reversed his car completely off the road and up a bank into a hedge while trying to go back 20 yards to a passing place.

I've seen some shockers - one couldn't reverse literally ten feet into a lay-by so I had to back up about 100 yards. Another did kindly reverse his brand new Mondeo but literally bounced off both side of the road (dry stone wall) and must have done some terrible damage to his car! I don't mind reversing if i get a wave or some form of thanks. But when I do so and don't get acknowledged, the red mist descends.

[a11y_m]

doogz said:

My mate uses his Renault Trafic for that exact purpose. Bench seat behind the front seats, microwave, bed that sits on runners above the bench seat, and a bulkhead splitting the rear so that tools, wheels, etc can go in there.

It's no VW transporter, but it's a 56 plate with low mileage and he paid £1300 for it.

VW's command MENTAL money compared to the competitors. The T5s are the nicest vans I've driven but IMO that doesn't justify the premium. Certainly an image thing (I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about appearance - I'd not have pimped the exterior if I didn't) but partly for me it was the greater options for conversion. Initially we expected to self-build ours and there's much more off-the-shelf kit options compared to other vans. Funnily enough the conversion company we used also now specialises in conversions on Fiat Ducato's as a cheaper/bigger option.

But you've just got to look at car parks at surf beaches or mountain-bike trail centres and count the most popular van

[Watchman]

Vladimir said:

Ours is AWD

Now if you'd have told me this... This makes it incredibly useful to my eyes. It's the sort of thing you might take on a round-the-world tour, where normal paved roads might not always be available, and (if you're really adventurous) snow-covered roads are a possibility.

I dream of hitching up a Spinifex caravan to our ML and just taking off with the savings in my pocket, to see all fouor corners of the earth. My wife's totally disinterested in this but the dream lives on in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcfLof4GZfI

[a11y_m]

Watchman said:

ow if you'd have told me this... This makes it incredibly useful to my eyes. It's the sort of thing you might take on a round-the-world tour, where normal paved roads might not always be available, and (if you're really adventurous) snow-covered roads are a possibility.

I dream of hitching up a Spinifex caravan to our ML and just taking off with the savings in my pocket, to see all fouor corners of the earth. My wife's totally disinterested in this but the dream lives on in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcfLof4GZfI

Curse you for posting that - that's about the first caravan I've ever wanted...

[Watchman]

a11y_m said:

Watchman said:

ow if you'd have told me this... This makes it incredibly useful to my eyes. It's the sort of thing you might take on a round-the-world tour, where normal paved roads might not always be available, and (if you're really adventurous) snow-covered roads are a possibility.

I dream of hitching up a Spinifex caravan to our ML and just taking off with the savings in my pocket, to see all fouor corners of the earth. My wife's totally disinterested in this but the dream lives on in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcfLof4GZfI

Curse you for posting that - that's about the first caravan I've ever wanted...

Tempting isn't it. Have a guess at the price though. I found one second hand/nearly new on the net somewhere and was frankly surprised... shocked really.

[Vladimir]

Very cool. Not looked but I'd completely guess at £40k?!

[Watchman]

The 2nd hand one worked out at 65.

I love the design but I absolutely cannot see where 65 large went into a caravan.

[Vladimir]

Watchman said:

The 2nd hand one worked out at 65.

I love the design but I absolutely cannot see where 65 large went into a caravan.

Jesus H shi**ing christ!!

Think I'd get a Merc G Wagon and a roof tent!

[redstu]

How do the t4s compare to the t5s?
Cheaper of course but what of the reliability and driving experience?