Campervan newbie
Discussion
that operates from a caravan park with horses heads on the gate posts. 
nagsheadwarrior said:
Honestly as a Motorhome dealer interesting that is ia struggle to trade that put for a third of that on a good day if I got offered it in px, £20k gets you something modern, my own family motorhome is a tag axle 2005 Burstner Active 748 bought for 22k tho admittedly that was a good buy but 5 years ago and worth 28k today, you can still pick up an 02 ish 747 or big tag Euramobil for that price thats way more modern and more saleable.
edited for terrible typos
Ok so the 747 Burtsner Vans seem to be 25k plus on ebay.edited for terrible typos
Edited by nagsheadwarrior on Sunday 14th August 08:12
I did find this Eura mobil for 19k
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255650727519
I'm just driving it around now to get used to the size. At first it felt massive but I'm starting to get my bearings now. Obviously its slow compared to most cars. I bought the SWB because I didn't want something too big. This is the smallest Sprinter you can buy. There are some width restrictions near where I live but I have not been brave enough to try them yet.
It has AC which blows colder than most of my cars. It also has cruise which works fine. The special security locks need to be unlocked with a key every time a door is closed which is already getting annoying. The radio is a bit rubbish with patchy signal and the speakers sound awful.
Engine
I have no idea if the engine is working well or down on power. Occasionally I hear some whistling noises from the turbo or whooshing but then these go away. So I'm just trying to ignore noises and assume all is well until something major happens - like it breaks - or I get some lights coming on the dash. I believe these Sprinter engines are quite bullet proof even though it is quite small for the size of the Van.
Gearbox feels OK. Clutch seems fine. Brakes I think are a bit spongy but no idea if that is normal for a van like this.
Tyres
I decided to put 40 psi in the front tyres and 50 in the rears. The sticker says 44 front and 60 rear I think. But I have no weight in the van so I've adjusted down a bit. They are BF Goodrich All Terrain but the front are the older KO and the rears newer KO2. No idea if this is a problem mixing. Fronts are starting to show some signs of age but look fine and seem to grip OK although I've not tried any wet weather yet or grass or mud. Handling or ride feels a bit better than when I first got it and it had 60 in the rears and 45 in one front and 30 in the other. Generally my rule with cars is always put the better newer tyres on the rear so I am sticking to this.
It has AC which blows colder than most of my cars. It also has cruise which works fine. The special security locks need to be unlocked with a key every time a door is closed which is already getting annoying. The radio is a bit rubbish with patchy signal and the speakers sound awful.
Engine
I have no idea if the engine is working well or down on power. Occasionally I hear some whistling noises from the turbo or whooshing but then these go away. So I'm just trying to ignore noises and assume all is well until something major happens - like it breaks - or I get some lights coming on the dash. I believe these Sprinter engines are quite bullet proof even though it is quite small for the size of the Van.
Gearbox feels OK. Clutch seems fine. Brakes I think are a bit spongy but no idea if that is normal for a van like this.
Tyres
I decided to put 40 psi in the front tyres and 50 in the rears. The sticker says 44 front and 60 rear I think. But I have no weight in the van so I've adjusted down a bit. They are BF Goodrich All Terrain but the front are the older KO and the rears newer KO2. No idea if this is a problem mixing. Fronts are starting to show some signs of age but look fine and seem to grip OK although I've not tried any wet weather yet or grass or mud. Handling or ride feels a bit better than when I first got it and it had 60 in the rears and 45 in one front and 30 in the other. Generally my rule with cars is always put the better newer tyres on the rear so I am sticking to this.
ATM said:
Nice loud looking van. 
5hit parking thread over here.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Cool! It might take a while to suss out how it works for you, stuff like the best place to store things, what you need and what you don't, but stick with it, after 6 months of using ours it's a 10 minute set up when we get on site.
I hope you take to it fella, it's been life changing for us.
I hope you take to it fella, it's been life changing for us.
We have a SWB VW Transporter. It is a great camper and family car. It is under 2m high so fits it most places, yet takes a ton of stuff for holidays. Being car sized means it can be used day to day and on day trips on holiday. It goes where a car can so no need to worry about parking.
RosscoPCole said:
We have a SWB VW Transporter. It is a great camper and family car. It is under 2m high so fits it most places, yet takes a ton of stuff for holidays. Being car sized means it can be used day to day and on day trips on holiday. It goes where a car can so no need to worry about parking.
My new Yellow Monster Truck is a bit big for day to day duties but I enjoy the Mad Max feeling so I am just driving it around anyway. Being the smallest Sprinter you can buy it will [almost] fit in a car parking space but I am still struggling to judge where the white lines are in relation to my corners so Yes bad parking thread OCD types will be twitching nervously every time I drive into my local super market. I've let a couple of my friends have a go and they all think its great and drives surprisingly well. I am going on my first camping trip this weekend so fingers crossed. It is a music festival so I wont be doing much camping camping but I will be sleeping soundly in the back of it. I might even get a 12v cooler box for chilled cheap priced pre bought lager cans which should help offset the purchase price massively or just result in me consuming more lager than usual.ATM said:
RosscoPCole said:
We have a SWB VW Transporter. It is a great camper and family car. It is under 2m high so fits it most places, yet takes a ton of stuff for holidays. Being car sized means it can be used day to day and on day trips on holiday. It goes where a car can so no need to worry about parking.
My new Yellow Monster Truck is a bit big for day to day duties but I enjoy the Mad Max feeling so I am just driving it around anyway. Being the smallest Sprinter you can buy it will [almost] fit in a car parking space but I am still struggling to judge where the white lines are in relation to my corners so Yes bad parking thread OCD types will be twitching nervously every time I drive into my local super market. I've let a couple of my friends have a go and they all think its great and drives surprisingly well. I am going on my first camping trip this weekend so fingers crossed. It is a music festival so I wont be doing much camping camping but I will be sleeping soundly in the back of it. I might even get a 12v cooler box for chilled cheap priced pre bought lager cans which should help offset the purchase price massively or just result in me consuming more lager than usual.I have a Merc Vito, my reg plate is 2 digits different (last two) so they must be cousins lol
So this truck completed it's first camping trip this weekend. I did get turned away from some snotty sites due to this not being a real camper snd some waffle about regulations and not sleeping in a vehicle. Eventually I found someone a bit more realistic and we stayed at his campsite. I do have some questions please lads if thats ok
1. The eberspacher night heater was on. At first I thought the warm air was good. Then as it got colder I started to think does it get hot or just warm. Felt like a hairdryer to me rather than what I would call hot. In fact no because a hair dryer can feel like it's burning your scalp. This only ever got a bit warm as I had my foot very close to the air vent. So is this normal or do I have a weak unit or does it need a service or something?
2. As it was a bit chilly I closed the roof vent. In the morning we had a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the windows. Ok that's to be expected. But what's the general advice with roof vents or ventilation in general when sleeping at night with heater on and it's chilly?
1. The eberspacher night heater was on. At first I thought the warm air was good. Then as it got colder I started to think does it get hot or just warm. Felt like a hairdryer to me rather than what I would call hot. In fact no because a hair dryer can feel like it's burning your scalp. This only ever got a bit warm as I had my foot very close to the air vent. So is this normal or do I have a weak unit or does it need a service or something?
2. As it was a bit chilly I closed the roof vent. In the morning we had a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the windows. Ok that's to be expected. But what's the general advice with roof vents or ventilation in general when sleeping at night with heater on and it's chilly?
ATM said:
So this truck completed it's first camping trip this weekend. I did get turned away from some snotty sites due to this not being a real camper snd some waffle about regulations and not sleeping in a vehicle. Eventually I found someone a bit more realistic and we stayed at his campsite. I do have some questions please lads if thats ok
1. The eberspacher night heater was on. At first I thought the warm air was good. Then as it got colder I started to think does it get hot or just warm. Felt like a hairdryer to me rather than what I would call hot. In fact no because a hair dryer can feel like it's burning your scalp. This only ever got a bit warm as I had my foot very close to the air vent. So is this normal or do I have a weak unit or does it need a service or something?
2. As it was a bit chilly I closed the roof vent. In the morning we had a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the windows. Ok that's to be expected. But what's the general advice with roof vents or ventilation in general when sleeping at night with heater on and it's chilly?
Most proprietary roof vents are not hermetically sealed so should allow air in and out even when closed.1. The eberspacher night heater was on. At first I thought the warm air was good. Then as it got colder I started to think does it get hot or just warm. Felt like a hairdryer to me rather than what I would call hot. In fact no because a hair dryer can feel like it's burning your scalp. This only ever got a bit warm as I had my foot very close to the air vent. So is this normal or do I have a weak unit or does it need a service or something?
2. As it was a bit chilly I closed the roof vent. In the morning we had a fair bit of condensation on the inside of the windows. Ok that's to be expected. But what's the general advice with roof vents or ventilation in general when sleeping at night with heater on and it's chilly?
I don’t know where you’ve fitted your heater but I’d make sure there’s a fresh air drop on the unit enclosure, I’m assuming it’s either externally mounted or within sn enclosure. Likewise you need air drops throughout the van to encourage air change/flow.
If you haven’t got one yet I strongly recommend you fit a carbon monoxide alarm, simple household battery type one is normal/fine. Fit it in the middle of the roof.
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