Caravan onto a cab and chassis :)

tanya25

Hi all ,I have a caravan that I'm considering mounting onto a ford transit cab chassis or similar I've seen one or two on done deal for sale so it can be done, what are people's views on this,would it be the same process for declaring it as a camper as it would be if I converted a van.

spaceHopper

You would need an engineer to sign it off and I don't think you could get insurance before you do any thing check if you can get insurance

Aidan_M_M

And it always looks like a caravan stuck onto a flatbed, no matter what you do! I'd be most concerned about cutting the back out of the cab, I don't know how an engineer could pass that, as to be considered a motorhome you need to be able to get from the cab to the house, internally.

moodrater

You wouldn't be able to carry passengers as a caravan doesn't have any structure suitable for protecting passengers / mounting seats /belts etc. I would put your money towards converting a van.

Irishgoatman

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

.......... I don't know how an engineer could pass that, as to be considered a motorhome you need to be able to get from the cab to the house, internally.

Not strictly true. I've a 1986 de-mountable Romahome, no access from cab and Romahome still make them. The latest, D20, retails around £28k sterling, slightly more than the value of mine:eek:.

I think the access thing is a Dolmen insurance stipulation not a tax registration issue.

Irishgoatman

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

I think the access thing is a Dolmen insurance stipulation not a tax registration issue.

I think it's probably more to do with conversions as I'm with Dolmen and no problems. And no, there's no stipulation on entry from the cab when it comes to classification as a camper.

gctest50

few demountable here :


http://www.demountablecamperclub.co.uk

Irishgoatman

Irishgoatman wrote: »

I think it's probably more to do with conversions as I'm with Dolmen and no problems. And no, there's no stipulation on entry from the cab when it comes to classification as a camper.

Conversions with Dolmen maybe :pac:
I recall having to take photos from far away to make the access look wider.

Irishgoatman

gctest50 wrote: »

few demountable here :


http://www.demountablecamperclub.co.uk

Yes, I've looked at that site in the past. Some really ugly beasts there.:o

At least mine is on its original flatbed and the design means it doesn't look like an add-on.

Irishgoatman

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

Conversions with Dolmen maybe :pac:
I recall having to take photos from far away to make the access look wider.

Using Photo-shop would have been better:D.

tanya25

This is the sort of thing I would be doing an I find think it looks bad, my caravan is more modern and longer so I think it could look even even better

tanya25

Ok that didn't work it says I can't post pics because I'm a new user?

moodrater

tanya25 wrote: »

This is the sort of thing I would be doing an I find think it looks bad, my caravan is more modern and longer so I think it could look even even better

It will be a lot more work than you think, cutting, welding, fabricating supports and reinforcemnets, sealing, fairing off to he cab, cutting and finishing the cab, if the original wheel arch doesn't line up with the wheels you'll have to fill in the old wheel arch, fabricate a new wheel arch etc. etc. etc. as soon as you cut it open you'll have the elements to contend with so you'd want a shed large enough.

If you don't finish it .. and theres a high chance as a huge percentage of conversions are never finished .. you'll have a wrecked a caravan and chassis cab to get rid of .. worthless.

If you do finish it, you won't be able carry passengers in the back, you may stuggle to get it signed off by an engineer and insured and though you may think it looks ok people will look down their noses at you everywhere you go.

Pick up a large van, transfer the contents of the caravan.
or if its valuable sell the caravan pick up a van and buy the bits you need

tanya25

What's the story with carrying people in the back? I plan on removing one side of the lounge seats and fitting two seats with seat belts fixed to the chassis,could I take people in the back then?

moodrater

tanya25 wrote: »

What's the story with carrying people in the back? I plan on removing one side of the lounge seats and fitting two seats with seat belts fixed to the chassis,could I take people in the back then?

See post number 4 and any episode of Top Gear involving caravans. As the very minimum you'd need a roll cage but a roll cage won't be much use when the rest of the caravan flys apart and hits you at high velocity.

Car vs Caravan

tanya25

Can a mod please do some thing so I can post with pics, I've can't use the reply with quote function or add a image.