VW Campervan’s

PTR said:
Different things for different types of getaways tbh.

Obviously in terms of a comfy night, a proper hotel is far better.
But there's just something cosy about being in a field, with your own home-from-home.
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I don't think there is anything cosy about freezing to death in a muddy field and having to take a dump in a chemical toilet.
 


Makem57 said:
T4/T5/T6 forum North East, is a good one there is normally a few for sale on there.
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Good for local recommendations. Some good folk on there. I might go along to the first meet when they start back up.

@Wearside Wanderer II Dubbed Out VW Community is a good one.

Be careful of others. Some of the forums are full of bellends. The T6 forum is horrendous. If you don't know how to fully strip your van down to its bare parts you are sneered at. But the two mentioned are spot on and you should get all you need. Instagram has a great Camper community too.

Edit: Dubz Outlaws is good too.
 
Bob Fleming said:
Good for local recommendations. Some good folk on there. I might go along to the first meet when they start back up.

@Wearside Wanderer II Dubbed Out VW Community is a good one.

Be careful of others. Some of the forums are full of bellends. The T6 forum is horrendous. If you don't know how to fully strip your van down to its bare parts you are sneered at. But the two mentioned are spot on and you should get all you need. Instagram has a great Camper community too.

Edit: Dubz Outlaws is good too.
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I’m not on faceache so it won’t bother me.
I’d rather just ask on here 😉
 
Wearside Wanderer II said:
about 10k max, would prefer to spend a bit less and smarten it the way we want it but I’m a bit meh, see what happens.
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There’s a few in your budget on eBay. I’ve filtered for diesel, but they do petrol ones too.
 
I've had T25's for about 20 years. I bought the Firetruck in 2009 and we've been all over Europe in it, Croatia, Spain, Germany, Holland - it's been a massive part of our life. They're the perfect size if you get a drive-away awning. I paid £5000 for it - a 2am in the morning pissed purchase (flew to Lubeck in Germany and drove it back).
In September I bought a Westfalia T25 (mint condition, brand new engine) for £15k which I thought was a bit expensive, but that's what they were going for. Since then prices have gone up even more, could probably sell it for £20k. I was always going to keep the Firetruck but a couple of weeks ago I decided to cash in on the current high prices and sold it for £8200.
My advice is buy the best you can, keep it in a garage and you won't lose money on it.
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I’ve mentioned this on here before.
A group of about ten of us were gonna buy a couple and pop ower to France for the 1998WC. You could buy em down Liverpool Rd, Islington on Sunday mornings. All the Aussie-kiwi-saffer backpackers would buy em there then “do Europe” then sell em for what they’d paid for em.....which was our plan.
Of course drop outs occurred and it ended up as four of us and once I was the only one who could drive and vaguely fix a car that was me dropping out anarl.

Buying one had been a retirement plan for years. Learn Portuguese ower the winter then spend 6 months all ower Portugal. Ditto Italy, France, Spain, Germany etc. With a tent, drive away awning, hotels, air bnb etc etc obviously. Then brexit reared it’s ugly head.
 
riffraff said:
I’ve mentioned this on here before.
A group of about ten of us were gonna buy a couple and pop ower to France for the 1998WC. You could buy em down Liverpool Rd, Islington on Sunday mornings. All the Aussie-kiwi-saffer backpackers would buy em there then “do Europe” then sell em for what they’d paid for em.....which was our plan.
Of course drop outs occurred and it ended up as four of us and once I was the only one who could drive and vaguely fix a car that was me dropping out anarl.

Buying one had been a retirement plan for years. Learn Portuguese ower the winter then spend 6 months all ower Portugal. Ditto Italy, France, Spain, Germany etc. With a tent, drive away awning, hotels, air bnb etc etc obviously. Then brexit reared it’s ugly head.
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Five of us chipped in £200 each and bought a Bedford CF crewbus and went to Italia 90. Sold it for £1200 when we got back and cancelled the insurance (the first instalment hadn't even come out so it was effectively free).
 
riffraff said:
I’ve mentioned this on here before.
A group of about ten of us were gonna buy a couple and pop ower to France for the 1998WC. You could buy em down Liverpool Rd, Islington on Sunday mornings. All the Aussie-kiwi-saffer backpackers would buy em there then “do Europe” then sell em for what they’d paid for em.....which was our plan.
Of course drop outs occurred and it ended up as four of us and once I was the only one who could drive and vaguely fix a car that was me dropping out anarl.

Buying one had been a retirement plan for years. Learn Portuguese ower the winter then spend 6 months all ower Portugal. Ditto Italy, France, Spain, Germany etc. With a tent, drive away awning, hotels, air bnb etc etc obviously. Then brexit reared it’s ugly head.
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You'll have to do it in 90 day stretches. None EU citizens can't stay longer 90 days. Taking back control and all that.
 
I’ve fancied getting one for a few years. Checked our prices recently and that scared me off a bit. I’m based in Switzerland so it was €80–100k for one in good condition. I could go back to the UK for one but I want a LHD.

For those that have them do they need constant maintenance? I’m clueless (and hate) anything like that.

There is only the 3 of us and my son is 4 so we don’t need loads of space. We’re in great location to head off for weekends and longer trips across Switzerland, Italy, Croatia or France and Spain. I’d love an Airstream caravan but this sounds like the ideal way to do it.
 
Darlo1973 said:
I don't think there is anything cosy about freezing to death in a muddy field and having to take a dump in a chemical toilet.
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Finding a quiet, secluded spot watching the sun go down woth no light pollution is perfection especially with a nice glass of red.

Never freezing to death with a good camper conversion either!
 
I'm turning a van into one at the moment. Got an old LWB Sprinter minibus for £6k and in the process of converting it.

Canny bit of work, and haven't got a f***ing clue what I'm doing, but a bit of a project.

Couldn't be doing with something I couldn't stand up in
 
Slatz63 said:
You can only stay for 90 days in any 180 day period so the gap would be 90 days between visits.
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Cheers. Feels wrong to like that tbh.

So basically 13 weeks in the zone, 13 weeks out then 13 weeks in max.
Late March/early April: Ave for Algarve, Cadiz, Calabria is 15-17. Ditto Nov. Round here it’s 9ish, Sunderland it’s 7ish.

Drive to one of the above sharpish very early April, catch the best of the sun heading slowly north until mid June then home.
13 weeks to catch best of U.K. summer.
Head back ower early September for a couple of months, heading south a bit slower this time.
Handy for catching the end and start of the forrin footy season. Gerri.

Hmm I could live with that.
 
So went to test drive etc two T25’s today, both decent actually, interior pretty good, a wee bit of rust externally but not to bad and more cosmetic than structural in my limited google knowledge.
One had 198,000 miles the other 99,000
Pros and cons for both so decided to sleep on it before deciding.
 
Always fancied one but couldn’t justify £30k on a van that is cramped to sleep in with no toilets etc
The other option is a full on motor home which won’t get used enough

So it’s an idea that doesn’t fit in with what I need.
 
My abiding memory of VW Campers is one pulling out of a car park at Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club and the engine at the back blowing up into a fireball.
 
Hardyman's Yugo said:
That brings back memories. First car we ever had as a kid was one of those. Dad bought it in 1966, I knew this as he was fond of telling me we were camping in Scotland on the day of the 1966 World Cup. First holiday we ever had, I was six. No sunroof, it had an awning you fastened to the side. In those days you could probably pick them up cheap, Dad sold it because it was hassle packing everything up at a campsite when you wanted to go somewhere, he bought a frame tent and a small trailer instead a couple of years later.
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We had one when I was a kid, as one of six kids it was the only way me Dad could get us away on holiday.
Used to go camping with it most weekends ( along with canvas tent and trailer)
Had some great holidays in Cornwall and one of my lasting memories when he packed us all up and took us for a three week tour of Europe. Not many pit kids experienced iwt like that in the early seventies.
The van was also used as the crew bus for the 85 cup final by me and by me Dad in 73.
Sold it for scrap value early noughties. Would be worth a pretty penny now.
Never had second gear for about the last twenty years of it's existence.😅
 

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