Dipping my toe in to Campervan life with a Westfalia Nugget
Discussion
Sounds like a nice space upgrade.
The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
Edited by LincolnLovin on Tuesday 7th June 17:52
According to this https://www.gocaravanning.com/motorhome-specificat... I have a payload of 496kg which will need to include passengers, camping equipment etc, I'm going to to a test fit of all our stuff and head to a weigh bridge next weekend.
As we are traveling to Europe, there's no point doing a big foodshop before (just incase it all gets seized at the border), and I wont fill up the water tank until we get to the site. So that will save a decent chunk of weight.
As we are traveling to Europe, there's no point doing a big foodshop before (just incase it all gets seized at the border), and I wont fill up the water tank until we get to the site. So that will save a decent chunk of weight.
LincolnLovin said:
Sounds like a nice space upgrade.
The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
Sweet, pics of your trip please!The van is back from its trip to the garage and with a fresh MOT, new clutch, flywheel and slave cylinder - drives a treat! They’ve also sorted the small amount of rust nicely.
Next camping trip is this friday! Third in 2 weeks!
Now that the major work (hopefully) is now sorted - I'm thinking about storage, has anyone used one of these before:
https://www.agentfiamma.co.uk/fiamma-ultra-box-360...
It fits on our existing bike rack and seems to offer a decent amount of storage and convenience (i.e. you can take it off easily once you reach a site).
Edited by LincolnLovin on Tuesday 7th June 17:52
This is our second year of campervan ownership and I bloody love it.
I feel we paid strong money for our van (£10k for a 2012 Vito with 180,000 miles on the clock) but tbh after the past 2 years we just wanted to get out and "make some memories" (hate that expression) while the kids are still young. Just back from a few days over at Whitby and planning to head down to the Gower peninsula next week.
Also great just for days out, we've had lots of drives out to the coast and even if the weather's been bad, it's just nice to be hanging out in the van with fish and chips around the table.
One thing I've noticed is that whenever my children's friends see the van they just want to clamber all over it and play and invariably the next thing I hear is "dad can we get one of these".
Other point is the sheer amount of people who tell me they've always wanted to get one, but never have, or that "when they retire" they'll get one. Why not just do it, you only live once. Forget residuals and get out there.
CallMeLegend said:
Bugger, the research trip to look at layouts for our new camper build got expensive, we "accidentaly" ordered an Autotrail Expedition 68 Auto!!!!!
That looks very nice, enjoy.As much as I like my Vivaro conversion, I don’t think I’d ever go full camper as I’ve never really used it as a camper. It’s just a great base when you have days out if you want to eat something, wash your hands, make a coffee etc. Also great for chucking stuff in (ie, bikes) or doing a tip run. I don’t think I’d go back to a car now, it’s just such a versatile vehicle. However, I would like to try a VW at some point, maybe when the COVID prices start stabilising.
Richtea1970 said:
That looks very nice, enjoy.
As much as I like my Vivaro conversion, I don’t think I’d ever go full camper as I’ve never really used it as a camper. It’s just a great base when you have days out if you want to eat something, wash your hands, make a coffee etc. Also great for chucking stuff in (ie, bikes) or doing a tip run. I don’t think I’d go back to a car now, it’s just such a versatile vehicle. However, I would like to try a VW at some point, maybe when the COVID prices start stabilising.
That's my thought process. I've just bought a T6 conversion which should be with me next week. My theory is it will make a good family car/tip run/ikea run and day van for weekend hikes or trips to the coast. I work from home so don't need another "normal" car. I suspect it will only see very occasional overnighters. I can't help but think that my attitude will change on my first overnight trip when I see people enjoying the space and convenience of full on campers though ;-) As much as I like my Vivaro conversion, I don’t think I’d ever go full camper as I’ve never really used it as a camper. It’s just a great base when you have days out if you want to eat something, wash your hands, make a coffee etc. Also great for chucking stuff in (ie, bikes) or doing a tip run. I don’t think I’d go back to a car now, it’s just such a versatile vehicle. However, I would like to try a VW at some point, maybe when the COVID prices start stabilising.
toon10 said:
Richtea1970 said:
That looks very nice, enjoy.
As much as I like my Vivaro conversion, I don’t think I’d ever go full camper as I’ve never really used it as a camper. It’s just a great base when you have days out if you want to eat something, wash your hands, make a coffee etc. Also great for chucking stuff in (ie, bikes) or doing a tip run. I don’t think I’d go back to a car now, it’s just such a versatile vehicle. However, I would like to try a VW at some point, maybe when the COVID prices start stabilising.
That's my thought process. I've just bought a T6 conversion which should be with me next week. My theory is it will make a good family car/tip run/ikea run and day van for weekend hikes or trips to the coast. I work from home so don't need another "normal" car. I suspect it will only see very occasional overnighters. I can't help but think that my attitude will change on my first overnight trip when I see people enjoying the space and convenience of full on campers though ;-) As much as I like my Vivaro conversion, I don’t think I’d ever go full camper as I’ve never really used it as a camper. It’s just a great base when you have days out if you want to eat something, wash your hands, make a coffee etc. Also great for chucking stuff in (ie, bikes) or doing a tip run. I don’t think I’d go back to a car now, it’s just such a versatile vehicle. However, I would like to try a VW at some point, maybe when the COVID prices start stabilising.
toon10 said:
That's my thought process. I've just bought a T6 conversion which should be with me next week. My theory is it will make a good family car/tip run/ikea run and day van for weekend hikes or trips to the coast. I work from home so don't need another "normal" car. I suspect it will only see very occasional overnighters. I can't help but think that my attitude will change on my first overnight trip when I see people enjoying the space and convenience of full on campers though ;-)
We dived in with both feet for our first van, its transformed our holidays - I *hated* camping but love camper van life.LincolnLovin said:
We dived in with both feet for our first van, its transformed our holidays - I *hated* camping but love camper van life.
That's good to hear. I've always loved campervans and enjoy camping but hated the whole tent thing. I've bored my family for a long time now about getting a van and finally decided to just do it. We have anXC60 which will get Mrs Toon off to work and we can use when needed and hopefully the VW will be mainly used on weekends for fun stuff and a backup if the Volvo is being used. The advice was to hire one first and see if we liked it but like you, I jumped right in. Hopefully it won't lose too much value if we decide it's not for us but I'm hoping to also love camper van life! Enjoy yours.
100% they are always useful to have around imo, I could remove the rear seats/bed for extra storage but they way about 100kg so not likely to happen often.
I'm glad we've got the ferry booked and are not worried about plane travel this summer - sounds like its going to be a right pain for a lot of people.
I'm glad we've got the ferry booked and are not worried about plane travel this summer - sounds like its going to be a right pain for a lot of people.
Fitted a Fiamma ultra box 360 last night, installs onto the bike rack and gives about 35kgs of extra storage. We’re not going to be putting anything heavy in it but it’s great for light but bulky items such as:
Windscreen cover (big blue thing)
Water roller
Two large camping chairs
Installation was pretty simple but the guide holes supplied turned out to be slightly out for my older bike rack (Fiamma carry bike), so I had to make some extra speed holes. Typically I’ve misplaced my caravan sealant in the garage so will need to seal the holes at a later date. There was no torque settings on the instructions so I’ve done them reasonably tight and will go for a test drive in the next week to see how they do. I’ll likely install some heavy duty bungee cords to it to help secure it should one fail.
There’s still some space at the front for smaller items so might be able to fit our travel Webber there too.
Edited by LincolnLovin on Saturday 2nd July 07:32
I’ve been doing some further work on the van to get it ready for the upcoming camping season, even recorded it for your viewing pleasure!
Overall went well, and the van is feeling a lot smoother as a result! I also noticed the washer fluid bottle has cracked, so will need to replace that soon.
Overall went well, and the van is feeling a lot smoother as a result! I also noticed the washer fluid bottle has cracked, so will need to replace that soon.
I've been getting my parents' T4 ready, new caliper, full fluids changed, redoing some wiring, and adding some bits and pieces that would have been an improvement last season. Every time it gets used we figure out how to improve it or change things around to make it more user-friendly.
LincolnLovin said:
Cruise control is a game changer for the van, really extended how we'll keep it as the quality of life whilst driving has been massively improved.
I'm getting a small patch of rust near the steering column repaired this week that was identified during the chassis service last week. As it requires dropping the subframe and gearbox I am also replacing the clutch & flywheel at the same time.
Once thats done, we're off camping again this weekend (already did 3 nights away last week!).
Remaining items to tick off:
Replace spare tyre (current one is 20 years old)
Figure out some rear storage option to go on the bike rack
Fit a wind out awning
I'm looking to fit cruise control to my Boxer(van not dog!), could I be cheeky enough to ask;I'm getting a small patch of rust near the steering column repaired this week that was identified during the chassis service last week. As it requires dropping the subframe and gearbox I am also replacing the clutch & flywheel at the same time.
Once thats done, we're off camping again this weekend (already did 3 nights away last week!).
Remaining items to tick off:
Replace spare tyre (current one is 20 years old)
Figure out some rear storage option to go on the bike rack
Fit a wind out awning
'How much, mister'
Please.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff