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.

[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.

[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

[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

[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

[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...

[aaron_2000]

Ruled out anything Berlingo sized as they're just too small. A Hyundai Tucson measures up big enough so I'll have a look at 4x4's that size/Subaru Foresters too. Still need to measure up a good number of others

[aaron_2000]

I just saw a Ssangyong Rodius in a car park which I hought looked spot on. Found out they're also dirt cheap, £1300 seems to buy a good one from a dealer. Only issue is they have that awful underpowered Merc 5 pot diesel, gonna have a look at them though

[aaron_2000]

I got it, a 95/6 Toyota Granvia 3.0TD. I paid £1400 for it, cam belt has been done and all the mechanicals and electrics seem perfect. I'm very happy with it but I won't be driving much until it's been looked over on the ramp. I'm very happy though

[aaron_2000]

Landcrab_Six said:

Nice choice - seems very cheap! Keep on top of the bodywork, those things can rot!

No mention of rot on any old MOT's so I think it should be solid. I'll snowfoam it and rinse it down underneath as I do with the Focus whenever I wash it. I can't see me owning it longer than 5-6 months depending on when I manage to get out of the country

[aaron_2000]

bristolracer said:

aaron_2000 said:

I got it, a 95/6 Toyota Granvia 3.0TD. I paid £1400 for it, cam belt has been done and all the mechanicals and electrics seem perfect. I'm very happy with it but I won't be driving much until it's been looked over on the ramp. I'm very happy though

I have had 2 of those, which were camper conversions, proper pop tops and conversions fitted, and far better than the overpriced VW stuff at that price point.
Both absolutely reliable, can cruise at motorway speeds.
Bit heavy on the juice, keep to 65 and it will give much more mpg. 3 speed auto with overdrive?

If you look at the front seats you may be lucky and find they swivel.
The rear seats can be removed but they are really heavy so you may need a mate to help you shift them.
If you haven't got one you may need a new radio aerial as the JDM unit they were fitted with will not pick up our higher frequencies.
Most mechanical parts are shared with the hilux pick up so normally easily available, most Toyota dealers will get parts in 24 hours
Plenty of 2nd hand spares on ebay, there is a facebook page also which is quite helpful

It wont comply with the London Lez so stay outside the M25

Good choice, just remeber it is JDM so watch for the rust, both mine were solid but many wont be

Think it's 3 speed with overdrive,been in the UK for years so the clocks have already been converted and the radio is a UK piece which works fine even though it's pretty old now. Seats don't seem to swivel which is heartbreaking. It seems to have real grunt, I spent a good half hour sat in the back with my feet stretched out in the petrol station whilst I did the tax, logbook and MOT. Never had any mention of corrosion on the MOT and it all seems solid, I'm gonna Waxoyl the sills. Did you ever have any issues with yours? Everyone seems to reckon they're pretty much bulletproof without the 2.4 head issues. I'm aiming to get out for Feb, I may go sooner depending on work thing I need to finish

[aaron_2000]

10126 Torino said:

Good luck getting away in February , maybe by then you can travel with a negative test on you .

I'm not planning anything .

I'm not holding my breath but I'm hopeful. as long as I can get a ferry I should be fine. I don't think it'd be from Dover so Portsmouth to Santander seems more likely or Hull to Rotterdam.

[aaron_2000]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Only one pic, and in the dark, but it looks quite a handsome thing. Nice work, seems a bargain.

I'll upload some in the daylight tomorrow. Need to give the interior a strong clean, smells a bit of weed and Lynx.

bristolracer said:

Never had much go on mine.

A battery on one, and the other needed a new gearbox mount but otherwise all good.

You may find the steering a bit vague, both of mine were, but its an mpv not a sportscar.
For what you said you want, I think it will tick your boxes,plenty of room inside.

Yeah the steering is a bit crap but it's nicely weighted and direct enough to feel car like to drive. It drives just as good as any people carrier or 4x4, it doesn't feel commercial in the slightest. As long as it'll sit happily on the motorway in relative comfort then I'm happy, and being Japanese it should hopefully avoid headaches, I'll still have it all gone through just to be sure

[aaron_2000]

neutral 3 said:

I was going to suggest either a 94 - 99 300Tdi Discovery, a 99 - 04 TD-5 Discovery ( quicker, the rear load bed is longer in the TD-5, but TD-5 is more complicated.
Remove the rear seats and both are surprisingly roomy.

But unless lucky, you need £1,500 minimum, for something that isn’t rotten.
Or a Mitsubishi Delica 4 X 4.
Pokey 2.8 Litre motor, I think they are all autos and avoid the “ moon roof “ version.

I've had a Disco and a couple of Range Rovers before. They're the last thing I'd trust to do any journey in and I found the Disco horrible to drive.

[aaron_2000]

neutral 3 said:

aaron_2000 said:

I've had a Disco and a couple of Range Rovers before. They're the last thing I'd trust to do any journey in and I found the Disco horrible to drive.

Puzzled why you found it horrible to drive.
My early 300TDi Discovery, has been fantastic re reliability, it was my tow car for 8 years, all over mid and southern England, love the thing.
Stripped the rear seats out and kipped over night in it, numerous times.
Put it up for sale two weeks ago, it had almost 4,000 views in 9 days. Realised that I was mad to sell it, so we removed the advert. They are really pulling a following now.
My only complaint, is that they should have made the Disco 1s rear load bed, a foot longer, like the original RR.
But spares are cheap and plentiful.
My late built TD-5 Discovery 2, took me all over France and back again, towing a trailer, early last year. Slept in it for 3 nights. The extra interior length was much appreciated.
More powerful than the 300, it sat @ a steady 70 mph for hours
Will be fitting internal heating to it.
In a Discovery, I can go off of the beaten track.
Can’t wait to hit Europe in it again !

It was a TD5 auto, the gearbox is what ruined it for me along with the terrible pregnant steering wheel. My grandad had a Disco 200TDI which was a really pleasant car to ride in, I just bought the wrong one. I'm selling the Granvia in light of yet another lockdown, Spain just isn't gonna happen so I'm cutting my losses.