Starting Out

derden

Hi all,
I think i've been bitten by the camper van bug! At the moment i am playing with the idea of buying one, but have no idea where to start. I here alot of people going to Germany to get one, would this be worthwhile with a budget of around 13000 Euro?
I know it has to be more then 3000KG to avoid VRT could someone post a pic of a camper around that size so i could get an idea.
Is there any place in Ireland (From Waterford) that sell used campers, i would love to go and see what i can get from my price range here.
We would like one with a bit of space, there are 2 of us and a 10 month old baby, anyone have any recommendations as to what type to get. Saw a few fiat Knaus that look great.
All help appreciated

peasant

Hello and welcome, derden !

To answer one part of your question:

Finding a camper that is over 3 tons unladen just by looking at it is very difficult.

As explained elsewhere, it is a fine line between 3 tons unladen and 3.5 tons max., fully loaded and with people on board.

Above 3.5 tons gross vehicle weight most EU countries (including Ireland) specify that you have to have a c1 or c licence to drive it.
So most manufacturers offer the bulk of their models under that weight. In order to get a useful payload, unladen weights are usually around 2800 kg.

If you have a c or c1 licence, you're laughing. You just pick a camper that is built on a Iveco or MB (in some cases even Ford) base with twin rear wheels and most likely it will come in over 3 tons unladen and up to 4.2 - 5 tons GVW.

THIS (klick here) is a good example.

At 7.3 meters long, it's also a bit of a biest.

If you don't have a C licence ...then it will be a matter of asking lots of questions and making damn sure that your vehicle of choice actually does come in over the 3 tons, while still offering enough payload to actually put people in it and stay under the 3.5 tons ...bit hit and miss, that one.

fits

East Coast campers is on the N11 near Gorey, they have quite a large selection, but arent cheap.
Theres a shop called camping crazy in New Ross (on the Waterford Road) that also sell a few campers...

stapeler

With your €13k budget you won't buy an awfull lot of motorhome in Ireland, then to travel to Germany you'd end up spending not far off €1000 on travel expenses etc.
Our kids were 4mths and 4yrs when we purchased our first motorhome, a four berth Hymer. They are now 5 & 9yrs, at the time we decided to dip into the kids childrens allowance. This allowed us to increase our budget. When we went to upgrade last year we again robbed from their account justified by the fact that it was an investment in their future and education.
I'd suggest that somehow you try up your budget a bit to try achieve the comforts and space required. Kids themselves dont take up much space but their "stuff" certainly does.
Shop around and get an idea for prices from the likes of ebay. The motorcaravan club have a for sale section and as you can see in gerenal motorhomes in Ireland are overpriced.
Here a link to their for sales..http://www.motorcaravanclub.net/pg8.htm

Malta1

Hi Derden

There is an outfit that sells campers down in Waterford (Pats Campers)
It is down the back roads from Ferrybank, pushing back out towards the Bellview Port.
If you PM me, I will give you exact directions to the place......took me ages to find it when I was given general directions

At least you will get to see what sort of vehicles are available and more importantly what sort of a lay-out will work for you

derden

Yeah i had a look in Ferrybank, she has some really nice ones there but they are all 30k-35k. Think i'll have to wait for the lotto to come in!!. I'll keep my eye on e-bay. Thanks for the replies

peasant

now, now ...not everybody is a lotto winner



Your budget could get you a nice camper/motorhome as long as you're not too particular about the year on the plate.

A few examples from Germany:

Campervan:

LINK
advertised for 7k (+ export + VRT) ...everything in it you need


Something slightly bigger:

LINK
Advertised for 8 k (+export + VRT) ...everything you need and space

or an absolute behemoth:

LINK

Old, but with reconditioned engine, high quality (luxury segment) conversion and no VRT (as over three tons) advertised for 11.5 k

derden

Thanks Peasant,
They all look interesting, the first one ther emight be an ideal starter!, would you have any idea of the VRT and Export charges for that? Again thanks for the effort and great advice, much apprecaited.

peasant

derden ...just guesswork here ...

Export charges: 200 € for export plates and insurance, flights, ferry, fuel, hotels ...a thousand should be enough

VRT: My guess would be that the guys in Rosslare would value this between 10.000 - 15.000 Euro ...so between 1350 and 2000 € VRT

all in all ...still well under budget

muckety

Are the campers in Ireland at 30-35k for a 6-7 berth likely to be of a reasonable standard to risk taking abroad with 3 kids? We started looking into the idea of buying earlier this year but everything we saw that looked alright seemed to be 60-65k which is just too much money... but as we are not in any way mechanically minded I'd be concerned about buying an engine that was a bit old or run down...

Finally, are they any cheaper in N.I.?

peasant

Are the campers in Ireland at 30-35k for a 6-7 berth likely to be of a reasonable standard to risk taking abroad with 3 kids?

Well ...for that money they'd better be!

The chassis on which these things are built are designed to do hard work and big mileages ...they should be alright.
Having said that, year after year of total neglect will kill anything and as there is no NCT/DOE (yet) on motorhomes, that neglect may not have been noticed.

If you're willing to spend that much, I'd recommend to spend a little more and get the oily bits checked properly by a mechanic you trust.

Finally, are they any cheaper in N.I.?

No, not really ...especially when you take VRT into consideration

Chevy RV

Are the campers in Ireland at 30-35k for a 6-7 berth likely to be of a reasonable standard to risk taking abroad with 3 kids? We started looking into the idea of buying earlier this year but everything we saw that looked alright seemed to be 60-65k which is just too much money... but as we are not in any way mechanically minded I'd be concerned about buying an engine that was a bit old or run down...

Would you not consider an American Style RV which will give you the required space and comfort whilst generally having large engines with quite low mileage ?

Since motorhomes are so popular on the continent,so are the back up and repair services so I would not be overly worried on that front if I were you.


Regards,

Chevy RV

stapeler

Having visited an RV show in the US and they certainly do impress. They have lots of space and have every extra available. However, personally I wouldn't like one due to size and fuel consumption. A lot of campsites don't cater for them and they wouldn't be practical in some of our towns. I might think about it in the future when Dublin-Galway-Cork etc has motorway all the way.
I agree with muckety that 60-65K is a lot to spend on a motorhome, certainly if it's not used all year round.

Chevy RV

stapeler wrote:

Having visited an RV show in the US and they certainly do impress. They have lots of space and have every extra available. However, personally I wouldn't like one due to size and fuel consumption. A lot of campsites don't cater for them and they wouldn't be practical in some of our towns. I might think about it in the future when Dublin-Galway-Cork etc has motorway all the way.
I agree with muckety that 60-65K is a lot to spend on a motorhome, certainly if it's not used all year round.

Space, comfort and all the extras are all there right enough. Size should not be a major issue for a safe and confident driver. Don't forget that trucks have to get to and deliver various supplies to all those "remote" villages and campsites so I have not really had any problem in that area.

As regards fuel consumption, they are heavyish on the miracle but one must remember that the average annual mileage on motorhomes in general is low. You also have a trade-off in fuel consumption versus pure comfort and a safe ,reliable ,pretty much rattle free machine to drive if the road is half right at all.

I have also not had any problems getting into/out of any campsites and I had a reversing camera fitted to help with parking / reversing etc which are a brilliant idea.

It is really a question of individual choice in the end.


Regards,


Chevy RV

champer

Hi Derden

We bought our camper from a guy in Waterford that imports them from Germany (kind of as a hobby). His name is Paddy White and he lives opposite Mac Donalds in Waterford. There is a little estate, Mc D's on main road and opposite it is a green and he is first house there, he usually had vans out the front but has a storage yard too. He is really lovely guy and very helpful (tell him Cliona from Dublin recommended him) If you need better directions please PM me

C