advice needed for camper van beginner

wuben

Hi all,
My self and my wife are thinking of investing in a camper van. We have a young family and think it would be really worth while investment for the kids.(3 kids). My problem is i don't much about campers. We are willing to spend 20g. Can any one recommend a good make with a good engine i did see alot of campers with fiat engines....i do no fiat engines in cars are not reliable. Also is there anything i should look out for while viewing the campers? Would it be necessary to get an engineer's report before purchase? I'm sure there's loads of stuff i should be aware of please feel free to let me no it will be much appreciated!

stapeler

From the "all other stickies" section this one is worth reading. Some good info to read through.

I've owned three Fiat vans and never had a problem with any so naturally I biased towards Fiat.
Water leaks and ingress is the big thing to watch out for. Draw up a list of what you'd like and what most suits your needs, ie. big shower area, fixed bed, storage, extra seating areas.
In our case we went for bunk beds as we get a lot of storage underneath and a large fridge so we can survive longer between shopping trips.
Visit as many dealers as possible and take photos so you can ponder over them afterwards.

wuben

thats some great info it seems ive alot of research to do before we decide thanks a mill

killalanerr

forget about the make of the van newbies getting into campers get hung on the make of the van,the van its self is not that important as they tend to have low mileage and are well cared for by their owners what you need to consider is the lay out that will most suit you,and now your problems really start as their is no ideal layout you have to look at lots of vans and pick the one the most suits you,

wuben

yea i hear ye the more i look into it the more i have to deal with and consider!i appreciate the info

Mini Driver

Is there any good website like autotrader etc that is for camper vans? Looking for a VW Camper in good nick

paddyp

wuben wrote: »

Hi all,
My self and my wife are thinking of investing in a camper van. We have a young family and think it would be really worth while investment for the kids.(3 kids). My problem is i don't much about campers. We are willing to spend 20g. Can any one recommend a good make with a good engine i did see alot of campers with fiat engines....i do no fiat engines in cars are not reliable. Also is there anything i should look out for while viewing the campers? Would it be necessary to get an engineer's report before purchase? I'm sure there's loads of stuff i should be aware of please feel free to let me no it will be much appreciated!

The 2.3, 2.8 and 2.3 'fiat' engines are iveco and are fairly bullet proof when looked after I have a 2.5 td here with 247k miles on it a bit smoky when cold but passes the doe no problem. I'd personally get a td or idtd if I was getting an older van you could piss into the tank and they'll run on it.

The 2.0 litre is a basically a peugeot/citroen car engine I wouldn't want one but parts are plentiful and cheap.

The newer common rail stuff is extremely sensitive to diesel quality and water in the diesel. The filter is on the pressure side which forces water through the filter. I have one with 60k miles thats needed pump, injectors, rail, filter and pipes you'd be talking 6 grand at the main dealers.

Aidan_M_M

The engine is brilliant , you can't fault the motor for Fuel retailers selling dodgy diesel . If the filter is drained (30 second job) a couple of times a year , and the filter changed yearly , it's never a problem .

I'm warming to the new 2.2 Ducatos... the Ford engined one . Never thought I'd say that...A nicer van to drive slowly than a 2.3 in the new shape , similar to the 04- 2.3 , or 2.8 in feel .