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Can anyone help with any suggestions. We are fairly new to motorhomes. We had use of a Mercedes van last year which suited for weekends away but was too big for everyday use, also a it was very hard to drive (manual gears,no powersteering 25 years old and diesel but it did the job). We are now thinking of getting a used one for up to 6k. It will be used daily for a 20mile round trip to work over the south downs, so needs to be good on hills. Would prefer diesel, power steering, two berth. We like layout with the bed at the back of the van, and high top (tall husband!)

Any thoughts on a reliable make. Someone has suggested a VW Transporter but we have no experience of these.What could we expect for around 6k?

Hi Shazzer.

Suggest you have a look on e-bay & at various dealers web sites to get an idea what is available in your price range.

Power steering is usually only found on vans under 10 years old, unless previous owners specified it when new or have added it.

If you are using it for everyday running around then a van conversion would suit better than a coachbuilt. High top may be awkward for parking, height barriers often on car parks. Perhaps an elevating roof would be better for you.

Thank you caz, Have been having a look at some web sites. I think you are right about a van conversion although have been told to steer clear of pop ups because of leaks and insulation. We wouldnt want an overcabin bunk (my three teenagers prefer to sleep in there own dome tents!). I guess we will have to do some legwork and go and look at different lay outs. I just feel very ignorant at the moment. There seems to be masses of information and I would welcome comments about personal experience of buying second hand in this price range.

Shazzer

We had a 1978 VW with Pop Up roof never once did it ever leak, There is ot that many that are under the 6ft 6in to go under a lot of barrirers.

Good Luck with your hunting

Jen

Hi Shazzer

Have a look at some VW T4's easy to drive and reliable.

Chris

I agree with the above, VW T4 is good to drive, hitop can be a problem when parking in towns, depends where you want to go, what is parking like on your place - home and work. You could look at both SWB and LWB, the layout you describe is invariably on SWB. imo hitops on SWB can look a bit top heavy.   Suggest you try both before you decide, especially if parking could be problematic, although not all flip tops will go under all height barriers!

You should aim for Turbo diesel, most diesels would respond better to hills than petrol - it's all about mid range grunt!

We have a VWT4 high top which we use as our main vehicle as well as a camper.

We went for the classic layout of the fridge, cooker, sink and cupboards down one side with a rear rock and roll bed and storage over the cab and in the roofspace at the back, as we felt this gave the best space/storage combination. It means we do not have an onboard washroom/shower but as we almost always use campsites this is not a problem. Despite the size of the van we do have a 4 burner cooker with grill, good size fridge, sink with drainer, small but adequate wardrobe and gas heating.

The high top allows my husband (at 6'1") to stand up in it fine (and do the cooking/washing up). Front seat swivels so it is comfortable for 3 to lounge in, though more comfortable with 2 and 4 would be a squeeze. We use a wind out awning and a khyam gazebo to extend the living space when on longer trips.

As a day to day vehicle it performs well (our previous vehicle was a BMW 5 series if that is anything to go by). Comfort levels are obviously not so great, but they are much better than you would expect in a 'white van'. It is a 1.9 turbodeisel and will cruise at 60 all day quite happily, slows down a bit on hills, but not enough to be a problem or an embarassment, and is easy to drive round town. The only possible problem, as has been pointed out, is parking in barrier controlled car parks, but this is not insurmountable.

It has been perfectly reliable. We bought VW on the advice of a mechanic friend, who recommended them for reliablity provided they are properly maintained ie cam belt changed at the correct intervals etc, so check the service history if you do look at one. One thing we found is that you appear to have to pay a premuim for the fact it is a VW ie your cash will buy you an older van than it would if you went for a Fiat, Pugeuot etc., but from looking at many, many vans they did seem to stay in better nick. 

There was a 1991 one on sale on UK Campsite just before Xmas for £8500, so it should, just, be within your budget if you look around.

Hope this helps

Sandra

Thank you for your suggestions. Have seen a couple of VW T4s on Autotrader. Have got about three months to look around and test drive a few.

We use only for weekends really, music festivals, new forest, not long breaks.

Does SWB LWB refer to wheeelbase? If so then I think SWB would suit. High top wouldnt matter for what we need as parking off road on a drive and work not a problem. Needs to be economical to run as would be in daily use. Like the idea of a bed at the back with the kitchen in the middle.

would consider only 1.9diesel and yes agree about the turbo as an important factor.

Shazzer

We use ours for festivals, weekends etc, but also for longer holidays (we went away between Xmas and New Year in it and were as snug as bugs etc).

SWB/LWB refers to the wheelbase. Ours is a Short Wheel Base (SWB) as these are much more car like to drive and park, as well as being more economical.

Sandra

We would also recommend the classic vw camper..you could get a very well restored one at this time of year for 6-7k.we have a type 2 westaflaia conversion.

Ps looks extra cool for those music festivals ....meep...meep!