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Hi, sorry if this topic has been recycled but I did have a quick trawl through back topics to see if my question has been answered.

Last Christmas I had the urge to get back into camping after about fifteen years. So a quick Internet search had me ordering a vango Nile tent. We had a trial camp in June during the fine weather, and really enjoyed the two nights. But to be honest at 54 and 55 the putting up and taking down of a tent is a lengthy and laborious job. No mater How easy the DVD makes it look.

inevitably we found our selves looking enviously at the caravan and mobile homes on site.

For various reasons we feel that the mobile home/ campervan route is right for us, but we have a limited budget. About £10000 max. Looking on line this would just about get us in to the budget starter range , units of ten years old plus. I don't have a problem with this . As if the accommodation is not good we walk away. My concern is with the  engine, chassis,  running gear, and body work of a vehicle that age. 

So I have two questions. First are spares still available for Talbot's, and other vehicles of that age. Also is is common practice to cancel road tax and insurance for the winter months if the vehicle can be parked of road.   

We have just bought a volkswagon T4 autosleeper 1993 excellent condition, £8,000. hope you find what you want.

Hi

Talbot spares can be difficult source at times. I had to locate headlamps for a customer last year and it was not easy. Similarly parts for some of the older Renault Traffic's are no longer available.Volkswagen bits do seem easy to obtain.

Hope this helps

You could of course have a look at the self build and conversion market, for 10k there are some decent home conversions available, sometimes called 'race vans' because a lot of them have been built for racing enthusiasts of all kinds to live in during meets. they vary from very basic campervans to something quite luxurious with full bathrooms and showers installed.

If you have a look on E-bay, a fair few can usually be found, theres also a couple of forums dedicated to those who wish to buy a secondhand base van and have a go at converting it either themselves or by taking it to a professional converter.

The fun of converting your own is that you get to choose exactly what you want, and not something converted to another persons tastes or prefarences to levels of equipment.

Julia  

I had a Talbot based motorhome for a year (a few years ago) - agree with Capt Lightning - underpowered, thirsty for a diesel, gear shift and clutch very awkward - and as it was an '89 model, no power steering. Luckily it never needed much doing, but I understand spares can now be difficult to obtain and pricey - whereas bits for the 1988 Transit I have now are readily obtainable and relatively cheap.

With a budget of 10K you should be able to find a nice one - but will get a much better deal privately than from a dealer. 

Standing around for 6 months of the year doesn't do any vehicles any good - they like frequent exercise! I use mine all year - even in frosty & snowy weather it's lovely and cosy in the van.

we have a d reg talbot autosleeper it just gone through mot clear.i try to buy parts in advance what is available as things are getting harder  to get hold of ,and dealers know this !! so i would buy as new as your money would go   i did concider not using over winter  but it wasn't possible to cancel insurance  for 6 mths and keep no claims running  .also it comes in if we require another emergency vehicle.  we also try to not to use the van  on sites where possible and use public transport it is petrol  and will get very  low 20's to gal  around town  23-25  on a run.also sometimes the novetey does wear off and somrtimes you can't use the van as much as you thought  you would  through other commitments ??  but we like the auto sleeper version  with air ride suspension  it has cruise  control the gears are clunky it has a webber converion on carb , which must have been put on to fetch power up . deisel model at the time would have cost £2000  more. hope you choose the right one .