Topic: Would you buy a new campervan? (Read 117 times)
I personally own a caravan thats 15yrs old and with little money you can make it look 10yrs newer, some paint , new drawers and ramaking the pillows. If you have the money to spend why not get a newer one? i would but i like mine and when its time comes i would buy a newer one and repeat
I bought an ex-RAF LDV Convoy crew bus, with fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock. It has a 2-4 litre diesel engine as fitted to the Ford Transit, so parts are easy to find. Although it is a 2005 model, it has and ODB2 analyser socket. I bought it for £700 with MOT certificate etc. It's rated at 3.5 tonnes, so I can add wood fittings inside, and not bother about the weight, and I've bought a new wood burner for the winter.
I hope to kit it out for solar powered mining using a Raspberry pi with USB sticks. That is more for education than revenue, as I expect it will not be profitable. I want to move into the van, and continue to get rid of properties that are millstones at the moment. I'll post some more info and pictures when the van looks a bit better.
I hope to kit it out for solar powered mining using a Raspberry pi with USB sticks. That is more for education than revenue, as I expect it will not be profitable. I want to move into the van, and continue to get rid of properties that are millstones at the moment. I'll post some more info and pictures when the van looks a bit better.
So, would you spend an extra £20,000+ doe a more modern vehicle that appears to be less reliable, and more expensive to maintain?
Honestly, this is just too expensive in my opinion. I have been on a vacation with a CamperVan maybe 3-4 times in my life, while the idea is quite nice that you are moving your home around, it just too expensive if you only use it once per year for 1-2 weeks. Good friends of mine had a Campervan in the past and used it to travel around in Africa but once it broke down, they didn't buy a new one. For them if it just cheaper to rent one. One benefit of renting a camper is that you can just fly to the country you want to travel in and then rent it locally. This could save you 1-2 days to get there and come back. Also driving long distances with a camper is not the most fun experience.
Building our own is better than buying a new expensive van not only because of cost effective but it can become a greatest hobby of all time once we started working on it, I am kind of DIY person even though I may not use the product much but the happiness we get while making things is different which cannot be the same as when we are buying the same thing.
I'll probably do thesame thing you did as long as the van can be easily maintained, the parts are readily available (& cheap), the van can serve me for more than 2 years without easily breaking down, the van should be strong enough or in good condition, etc.
Besides I would avoid capervans that are too attractive/fancy to avoid attracting too much attention. I also don't really it to look like campervan. It should be like normal van.
Besides I would avoid capervans that are too attractive/fancy to avoid attracting too much attention. I also don't really it to look like campervan. It should be like normal van.
Well this thread isn't getting much interest, so I guess that there aren't many offgridders here
I think I would buy a used on, or one that is not set up as a camper, and then convert it.
But why are the new ones so expensive and yet break down as much as they do? Two major reasons:
1. Expensive, because you make more money when you target your sales in the direction of the rich;
2. Break down, because many of the builders and sellers don't know what they are doing when they build. They have $$$ signs in their eyes. The wealthy can afford to take a loss if they aren't smart enough to do due diligence. And the poor might not be able to afford a lawyer.
But why are the new ones so expensive and yet break down as much as they do? Two major reasons:
1. Expensive, because you make more money when you target your sales in the direction of the rich;
2. Break down, because many of the builders and sellers don't know what they are doing when they build. They have $$$ signs in their eyes. The wealthy can afford to take a loss if they aren't smart enough to do due diligence. And the poor might not be able to afford a lawyer.
I seriously looked at buying one 4 summers back, but decided against in the end. It appears that similar to buying a car you also have the added potential problems of the camper part. Obviously the chances of car problems are significantly reduced when buying something new compared to a used model , but after hiring a camper an for a weekend, I discovered the camper part interior can be quite flimsy !! With teenage kids and a dog a few things ‘broke’ just from wear and tear and I was very surprised at the cost for these repairs.
Sorry doesn’t quite answer your question , but it was valuable experience for me before forking out a small/ large sum of money.
Sorry doesn’t quite answer your question , but it was valuable experience for me before forking out a small/ large sum of money.
I've been watching a lot of videos by people who own campervans that are younger than 3 years, and they seem to have a lot of expensive problems. These often result in bills of several £thousands, and the loss of the van for sometimes weeks. I bought a 15 year old van for well under £1,000, and it has been extremely reliable. I had to replace the clutch (transmission for you American guys), and I rebuilt the rear brakes. but everything else has been pretty low cost normal servicing. It doesn't have all the fancy modern enhancements, so I can do the work myself, and most of it can be done in a field if I have to. There is a bit of body rust, and I will sort that this summer. I can also customise it in a purpose built van suitable for a digital nomad.
So, would you spend an extra £20,000+ doe a more modern vehicle that appears to be less reliable, and more expensive to maintain?
So, would you spend an extra £20,000+ doe a more modern vehicle that appears to be less reliable, and more expensive to maintain?
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