Small Camper for 1 and a bike

[aaron_2000]

I'm looking at buying something to put a small bed in and room for the pushbike. I had an Alhambra that I was ready to convert that ticked all the boxes but the bottom end went on that. I'm looking at Kangoos now but the back seems slightly too small. My criteria was:

Something around £1k or under
Comfortable on a long drive from here to Europe
Big enough for me and the bike inside
Not awful to drive on twisty roads although this isn't a huge factor
Acceptable fuel economy which rules an ML500 out
Reliability is the main factor and something that any old garage on the continent could mend off the shelf
Don't want a Vauxhall unless it was an Astravan but that'll be too small to live in for 3-4 weeks.

So a summery would be something cheap to run for around £1k or under that's big enough to live in for 3-4 weeks and is liveable on a long drive. My shortlist now is really the Kangoo, a Berlingo/Partner wouldn't really interest me unless it was a cheap local example. Any suggestions?

[aaron_2000]

I'm about 5'10 so I could just about fit in a Kangoo if I folded the passenger seat flat to extend as sleeping space.

[brman]

I think in the current climate you might struggle to get anything decent for £1k. From what I can tell everyone is buying them to either deliver parcels or convert to a camper!

Ignoring that, something from the Expert/Dispatch?Scudo range? Still car sized, reasonable to drive (if a bit rolly) but with that little bit more space than a kangoo or whatever.

Our 2003 Scudo is big enough for me and my wife (48" wide bed with shelving one side) so should be good for you and a bike.

[saaby93]

This Reliant was in the cars you didnt know existed thread



there's always one of these subaru but outside your budget
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1284951



convert this Mia EV one seater van


mid engined bedford rascal for £2k

Edited by saaby93 on Tuesday 8th December 18:48

[brman]

saaby93 said:

there's always one of these subaru
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1284951

at only 9 times the OPs budget

[brman]

btw, to give you an idea, this is my scudo part built.
That is a small double (4 foot) matress cut in half. When it is all flat it comes to the edge of the ply box so a reasonable space for shelving etc.

[aaron_2000]

brman said:

btw, to give you an idea, this is my scudo part built.
That is a small double (4 foot) matress cut in half. When it is all flat it comes to the edge of the ply box so a reasonable space for shelving etc.

Yeah I've been looking at them, not too many for sale around here though. I have noticed a lack of vans under £1k but I don't really wanna spend more as I want to minimise the loss if I have a repeat of the Alhambra.

[brman]

How good are you at mechanics? To be honest, any van at sub £1k is likely to be one step away from the scrap yard (a bit like your alhambra??). I think you either need to spend a lot more than that or accept that some fixing will be needed. Or you need to be very lucky

[bristolracer]

Berlingo multispace ?

[ColinM50]

I know it's bigger than you asked for, but any garage can mend a Transit and they're cheap as chips

[aaron_2000]

ColinM50 said:

I know it's bigger than you asked for, but any garage can mend a Transit and they're cheap as chips

I'm looking more towards the Chrysler Voyager and Kia Sedona now. Ever Transit I've seen under £1500 is just too ropey

[loggo]

brman said:

How good are you at mechanics? To be honest, any van at sub £1k is likely to be one step away from the scrap yard (a bit like your alhambra??). I think you either need to spend a lot more than that or accept that some fixing will be needed. Or you need to be very lucky

Absolutely this. A £1k car may be ok to drive to the chip shop but for crossing Europe ??
If you have the money to fund such a trip you owe it to yourself to set off with something reliable- or be able to do your own repairs

[A500leroy]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/teardrop-caravan/224270...

Any use?

[aaron_2000]

loggo said:

brman said:

How good are you at mechanics? To be honest, any van at sub £1k is likely to be one step away from the scrap yard (a bit like your alhambra??). I think you either need to spend a lot more than that or accept that some fixing will be needed. Or you need to be very lucky

Absolutely this. A £1k car may be ok to drive to the chip shop but for crossing Europe ??
If you have the money to fund such a trip you owe it to yourself to set off with something reliable- or be able to do your own repairs

Completely disagree. A good number of the eastern Europeans I know take their sub £1k Passats, ML's etc on euro trips 3-4 times a year, some as often as once every 2 months. I've never had an issue finding a reliable car for £1k, I just made the mistake of buying a spares Alhambra in an attempt to sort it. £1k isn't a budget, it's roughly the area I want to spend whether that be higher or lower.

[aaron_2000]

I have looked at stuff around £2k-£3k but I'd rather minimise the risk if it blew. I'm pretty much set on a Grand Voyager, Sedona or a Kangoo depending on measurements. Reliability wise they all seem solid and I can find a decent one for £1k-£1500. I'm off to measure some cars on Monday so that list might grow. I was keen on a C15 Romahome but they don't exactly look comfortable for a long journey

Edited by aaron_2000 on Sunday 13th December 16:55

[saaby93]

aaron_2000 said:

I have looked at stuff around £2k-£3k but I'd rather minimise the risk if it blew. I'm pretty much set on a Grand Voyager, Sedona or a Kangoo depending on measurements. Reliability wise they all seem solid and I can find a decent one for £1k-£1500. I'm off to measure some cars on Monday so that list might grow. I was keen on a C15 Romahome but they don't exactly look comfortable for a long journey

Edited by aaron_2000 on Sunday 13th December 16:55

what year
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/lancia/voyager...
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/chrysler/voyag...

[aaron_2000]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It's why I'm looking at the larger MPV's, the Kangoo I think is slightly too short. The Kia Sedona seems about right, I'm looking to measure a few up tomorrow

saaby93 said:

what year
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/lancia/voyager...
https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/chrysler/voyag...

The leg limper

[anonymous-user]

An original shape Previa has to be worth a look if you can find one.

[aaron_2000]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The plan with a car would be to cut some of these foil insulation to shape. I've spoken to a few micro camper owners who rate it highly

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DOUBLE-ALUMINIUM-BUBBLE-I...

[anonymous-user]

aaron_2000 said:

The plan with a car would be to cut some of these foil insulation to shape. I've spoken to a few micro camper owners who rate it highly

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DOUBLE-ALUMINIUM-BUBBLE-I...

We use that in our conversion, it's great.