VW Campers

Repolho

I posted on here before about sharing a camper with family. Unfortunately this has fallen through so we're back looking to buy something by ourselves.

The budget budget is about €12k. I was thinking about getting an old VW bus. I've always loved (the look) of these old things. We looked at 1 at the weekend. I would have bought it immediatley, no questions asked but the Mrs is a bit more proactical than me (for the better) and said we should do some howework first!

So what I was wondering was, can anyone offer any insight into owning and running one of these. Are they practical or is all just charming looks. Are they good campers? Are they reliable, easy to maintain, cheap to run? What are the pros and cons? Would they suit our needs. We're looking for a camper for 2 adults (for the moment). We intentd to use it for probably one holiday per year to the continent (2 weeks max; damn work!) and as many weekends as we can manage throughout the year.

I'd love to hear from anyone who owns or has owned one and what their experiences and advice would be!

Thanks alot.

peasant

1st off, suitability as a camper for two;

Yes, very suitable, when you keep the following in mind: it is like a tent on wheels. You can sleep in it, you can sit in it when it rains outside, you can cook and eat in it, you can go everywhere you'd get to in a car.
For a comfortable toilet, shower and washing facilities you will still need a campsite though, which can be a bit limiting when it comes to planning your trips and also gets expensive after a while.

Secondly, are they reliable;

To a degree. Even the youngest of the old rear engined models are now homing in on twenty years old, previous models are 30 or older. At that age, there will always be something that needs doing to the vehicle. Depending on how well previous owners have kept up, vehicle maintenance could either become your latest hobby or your latest nightmare ...either way, they are not a "just drive and then forget about it" kind of vehicle.

What to look out for when buying one:
1) rust
2) rust
3) rust again
Many examples out there that consist of more filler than metal, quickly painted over for a good first glance impression but are totally rotten underneath. Getting body work done is expensive, unless you can do it yourself, look for the best example you can find.

4) mechanics
Reasonably tough and reasonably reliable, parts also relatively easy to get and not too expensive. Cost of repairs also depend a lot on what you can do yourself. Technology is simple and straightforward for most things and there is a lot that you actually can do yourself.

5) the interior
make sure everything works and that it is in a respectable condition. The worst rust nests usually hide behind the kitchen block and around the B pillars/doors.Pay these areas particular attention.

There is lots and lots of info and specialist fora out there for these vehicles (Type2 ireland and eirecooled are two local examples), have a good long look and you'll find lots of infos and typical problems.

Your budget should buy you a prime example in good condition with no maintenance backlog.

From what I hear, this crowd http://krazykombis.com/blog/ comes highly recommended, if not cheap.

blackiebest

Second all Pesant has said especially regarding rust. For 12k though you will buy a good camper. I was in the very same position as you and really loved the idea of the old type however having read up a lot and talked to people I bought an 87' T25 1.9 petrol Dehler Profi for 9k. It was German import and fully kitted out from factory, in fair shape, well maintained LHD and NO RUST. The best investment we have made . I note you wish to go to continent on Summer hols, well one thing you should bear in mind is power! However cute a 55mph bus will drive you to drink and a lot of your holiday will be spent trying to get there!

Good luck and happy camping!

Repolho

peasant wrote: »

1st off, suitability as a camper for two;
From what I hear, this crowd http://krazykombis.com/blog/ comes highly recommended, if not cheap.

Thanks for the info Peasant. It was actually at Krazy Kombis that we were looking so its good to see that he comes recomended.

I think the van itself will be sound (didn't actually see the one he is offering as it hasn't landed in Ireland yet) so its just whether or not a kombi would suit our needs or whether we would be better off putting the money into something a bit more modern. The Mrs insists that she won't be emptying toilets, dirty water etc so maybe a Kombi would be perfect for us!

Repolho

blackiebest wrote: »

However cute a 55mph bus will drive you to drink and a lot of your holiday will be spent trying to get there!

The bus that Krazy Kombis had available was a 2.0i automatic. Would it be really slow?

I'm not a very fast driver anyhow, and on Holidays I like to play it fairly loose and not plan too much. The journey is as much part of the holiday as the getting there:)

peasant

Repolho wrote: »

The bus that Krazy Kombis had available was a 2.0i automatic. Would it be really slow?

Yes

and thirsty !

They all are, except the diesels ...but they are even slower

seriously ...no matter what (production) engine is in these things, 100 km/h (or slightly less) is your max. cruising speed on the motorway for long trips, anything else will kill the engine.

trevorbrady

As the owner of a '74 VW Type 2 camper (Westfalia conversion) I feel I might be qualified to answer some of your queries.

Here's mine: http://www.veewrx.com/vanpage/westfalia.htm



It's a US import bus, similar in specification to most of what Krazy Kombis stock. I've seen tons of old Irish buses, old UK buses and plenty from the continent too and in most cases, the US buses are far better preserved, body-wise than any of the European ones. The only bad spot on my bus is a small hole in the battery tray (the result of leaking acid, not the result of 30-odd years of road grime and muck) and to be honest, that's the extent of the rot! Most unrestored Irish buses of similar vintage are complete sheds by this stage, and UK buses even worse due the historic use of salt on their roads in winter. You'll spend more on restoring a rotten Irish bus than a good US bus will cost. LHD takes a day or two to get used to and after that it's even a bonus on tight country roads, you can see exactly how close to the hedge you are ;D

Westfalia were the only factory sanctioned company to do camper conversions on VW vans back in the day. VW shipped them "empty" microbuses and they installed their own, high quality interior. You'll see other conversions around, from the likes ofUK companies Devon and Viking but the fit and finish is rarely as good as Westfalia and were often carried out on whatever vans they could get their hands on so you'll have panel van conversions with funny windows. Westys are all based on buses with factory windows. The giveaway is the factory windows are recessed whereas the panel van conversions have "surface mount" windows.

If you're looking for a bus to take two adults but have expansion room for future additions, then a late model Westy pop-top is ideal. Mine has a full width bed "downstairs". The rear seat folds out to make the bed. It's called a "rock'n'roll" bed BTW and all Westys have 'em. The width varies depending on the cabinet layout but even the 3/4 width rock'n'roll bed is plenty wide for two adults. As you can see from the pic of mine above, the roof lifts up "pop top" style. The late model bay window Westys (post '73) hinge at the back, the early model ('68-'73) hinge at the front. The late models have more space up top due to the size of the hole in the van's roof to access them. Anyway, there's an even bigger bed upstairs. Perfect for future kids or close friends You can even get a hammock that goes crossways above the cab area, turning your 4-berth into a 5-berth or providing valuable storage space.

In terms of cabinetry and facilities, mine has a 2-ring gas cooker, fed from a gas tank under the floor, a fridge underneath, which can be run from 12V, 240V (campsite hookup) and run off the gas. These are common to many Westys but I fitted mine as an upgrade over the stock coolbox. There's a sink in the other cabinet with a large freshwater reservoir underneath. An electric pump does the job of making it flow. Under the rock'n'roll bed is a large cabinet for deckchairs and bits and pieces, there's a closet in the very back corner that you can hang up shirts in (or similar) and there's a food press behind the sink. There's another cabinet under the sink and a cutlery drawer under the cooker. I fitted an additional ceiling cabinet for blankets etc but some models of Westy come with this pre-fitted. The table flips up from the side wall opposite the sliding door and there's a small flip-up table just inside the sliding door for food preparation. Up front I've got a waste paper bin that doubles as a stool and an additional stool for sitting around the table.

Mechanically, the bus was pretty good when I got it but I did do a top-end rebuild on the engine after about two years of ownership. I rebuilt the cylinder heads and fitted new piston rings. A new gasket set and that was it. It's an 1800cc "type4" engine, identical to the 2 litre you mentioned except for the larger pistons and cylinders in the 2 litre, obviously. It's a strong, reliable engine and it has NEVER let me down. No exaggeration, my '73 beetle has left me stranded many times but the type4 motor is far stronger than the type1 engine in the beetle. It'll do 80MPH all day, but I tend to cruise at 60, even on the motorway. You become pretty laid back in your bus and you won't hear of too many road-rage cases involving VW campers! It's relatively economical, I get 22+ MPG since the rebuild (which I must point out was preventative maintenance, rather than emergency repair work). While 22MPG mightn't sound like much, if you're only doing a couple of weeks here and the odd weekend there, it's not really an issue. It'd be a different story if I was commuting to work in the van. The gearboxes are bulletproof and will still be there after the apocalypse along with Chuck Norris Brakes are good, the late buses like mine have servo assisted brakes so the stopping power is more than adequate. If you make sure to use commercial "C" rated tyres, the handling is reasonable (remember it's a van, not a sportscar!). Passenger car tyres are too soft in the sidewall to properly support the weight of the van.

I use the van for weekends away, we've been all over the country in it and occasionally have been to the UK too. We have plans to get away to the continent for a couple of weeks this summer. It's small enough to be classed as a people-carrier on the ferry which keeps costs down compared to a big white camper. There's great freedom in being able to go where any other car can go and not be stuck to main roads like the bigger vans. While it's true you don't have a bog or a shower with you, you learn quickly to plan your trips to make sure you can clean up, you're not always tethered to a campsite. For example, you could pay the couple of quid into a hotel or local swimming pool to avail of their shower facilities and get a free swim in to boot! You become very resourceful, very quickly!!

Anyway, look at the bigger picture, no big white motorhome will EVER have the same character and charm as an old VW camper. You get people, old and young waving, taking pictures, asking you about them, reminiscing, expressing jealousy, the works! You can go wild camping and conceal your van in spots larger vans couldn't, you can get into most height-restricted car parks, you can park in a conventional car park space at Tesco. Remember too, that this is a VAN you're driving, I've used mine to tow other cars and trailers, I've moved house with it three times, I've used it to collect new furniture and appliances from the shops too. Having the camper outside the door makes spontaneous weekends away possible, no need to pre-book hotels and you can park within spitting distance of beaches and wake up to the waves lapping on the shore. It's more than just a van, it's a way of life!!

As I said above, my van is typical of KrazyKombis stock. I've been there loads of times and they know their beans when it comes to picking a good one and maintaining your bus once bought. They always keep a good stock of buses, from resto-projects on the lower end of the scale to turn-key buses ready to rock. I've dealt with them in the past for spares and bits and pieces and having someone on the end of the phone with the know-how to make sure you get the right bits is invaluable. Take a look over on type2ireland.org, the website for VW camper owners in Ireland. You won't find anyone with a bad word to say about them. That speaks volumes these days

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you out and about in your new bus. If you see me in mine, make sure you wave (it's mandatory for VW camper owners to acknowledge other VW camper owners on the road, don't you know!!)

Repolho

Wow thanks for the really detaild post Trevor. I enjoyed reading your site, and I think I;m sold on the bus! Thats a nice looking bus your driving. I like the job you did on the seats.

trevorbrady wrote: »

It's more than just a van, it's a way of life!!

Good to hear Krazys come so highly recommended. Gives me good peace of mind if we decide to go with them.

ABEasy

Looks like you've made your mind up. Good luck with the search and remember it's a buyers market at the moment especially with stg being so weak. Like Trevor says check out www.type2ireland.org and www.eircooled.com for some local expert and friendly advise.....


PS Trevor love the bus...........

Repolho

Just to let you all know, we decided to buy that VW camper in the end:D.

We tryed weighing up all the pros and cons of it versus a "regular" camper but in the end the charm of the VW won us (mostly me!) over.

Unfortunatley she won't be ready untill the summer some time:( but I'm sure it'll be worth the wain in the end. Something for us to look forward too in these bleak times!

Thanks for all the help,advice and opinions. I appreciate them all. No doubt I'll be back again with some more questions!

Franner

Nice site TrevorBrady