Another newbie - any help or advice appreciated!

coralsnake

Hi folks,
I'm currently looking to buy our first camper and have some general questions. I've been reading a lot on this site over the past month or so and have found a lot of the conversations, tips and advice very informative.
I have a rough idea of what I'm looking for and what I have to spend, which funnily enough, aren't always the same thing, it seems! I have a budget of about 12 to 14k so I'm looking at late '90s early '00s to start with. 5 or 6 berth with Ducato or similar base.
The 1st thing I want opinions on is that old chestnut; engine size. On most sites I've been looking at in the last few months, mhs in my price range and a little over, seem to fall into 2 categories; 1.9l engines with relatively low mileage, around 40,000 miles in many cases, or 2.3, 2.5 or 2.8l with high miles, 80 to 100 thousand. I know every van is different, but in broad terms, which would you recommend. Are the 1.9 very underpowered or will the td version get the job done or should I be thinking 2.8jtd or hdi version instead. Does high mileage mean it was well used and lovingly cared for and low mileage mean it spent 11 months of the year sitting forlornly on the drive rusting apart?? Or vice versa! Not trying to get bogged down in details here, but any general opinions would be appreciated.
I should have mentioned to start with that the planned use of camper will be weekends in Ireland, hopefully with a 2 week hol to France in the summer for myself, the wife and 2 kids under ten.
I've looked at a few campers so far, a couple of which seemed to be held together by damp and mold alone! What questions should I be asking sellers over the the phone before I spend half a day or more going to view?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. I have a million more questions, but I'll leave it there for the moment.

kadman

FRom my own experience,

Your requirements for a 5-6 berth camper have really made your engine choice for you. A 1.9 diesel engine
may well be a bit underpowered for such a vehicle size. In a smaller berth camper it may be adequate enough.

I,ve owned and driven a Fiat Talento 2-4 berth with a 1.9 diesel. The talento has a front berth above the cabin
and is basically a wide box because of this, and has high wind resistance when driving. It had a 1.9 engine
that was good, but I would always be near the hard shoulder on any bit of an incline. Definitely underpowered in
this case.

But I now have a VW T25 , 2 berth with a 1.9 petrol engine. Its narrower and high top roof is more slimline, and is
well able to match motorway speeds, so in this case, does the job nicely.

The parents have a Fiat Ducato Weinsberg, 5 berth with a 2.5 diesel engine. This camper flies along, no power problems.


In your case I would be aiming for 2.5 instead of a 1.9. And I would DEFINITELY bring a knowledgeable camper expert
with you when you go looking, pay him for his few hours inspection.
It will save you money in the long run. All too easy to buy some
one elses pile of money trouble. Just because it has a doe........
it doesn,t mean its perfect body wise.

2.5 cents worth....

Macy0161

We've a 98 LMC 6 Berth on Ducato. 2.5l engine, and tbh it can chug a bit up hills on the motorways. It is getting on now, obviously. That's the only place it'd feel underpowered - it will quite happily cruise over 100kph (we generally don't, but nice that it can).

Mileage wise, I don't think there's any hard and fast rules. Low mileage could be used for short trips every week, or hardly used at all. High mileage could be a few long trips a year rather than frequent use.

crabbypaddy

The 2.5 td is the smallest I'd consider there is nothing worse than being underpowered and stuck behind a tractor on the twisty roads of ireland. I'd get the 2.8idtd or 2.8hdi/jtd if possible, even the 2.8 struggles to maintain the speed limit on the steep motorway hills e.g. cahir/cashel. I wouldn't consider 80 to 100k as high mileage, the 2.5 and 2.8 engines can do 300-500k without difficulty once maintained. A lot more important is how the vehicle was stored and maintained. I'd take one with 300k miles that was dry stored / properly maintained before a 40k one thats been sat outside for 20 years.
Be sure to check underneath for rust, also crossmembers, inner wings, sills, check discs / calipers for rust and pitting that will give you an idea of how its been stored how long its been idle. Be aware that if a camper has been idle outside for a long time you could be looking at new discs / drums, pads, shoes, tyres, strut bearings, seized calipers, wheelbearings, crossmembers, perished cv and balljoint boots,etc. etc. it can add up quickly.

crabbypaddy

crabbypaddy wrote: »

... nothing worse than being underpowered...

...sitting on the side of the road or stuck in limp-home mode because some piece of silicon isn't communicating with another piece of carbon.
...a < 10° departure angle and no road clearance...
...FWD on a muddy slope...

crabbypaddy

Sir Liamalot wrote: »

....
...FWD on a muddy slope...

Haha got bogged down in torrential rain and force 7 winds at keel achill a few weeks ago . When I opened the door the silver screens for the windscreen blew out the door and took off across the golf course I had to run about a kilometre to catch them then had to dig out the van and fabricate my very own appian way from stones off the beach by the time i was done the entire cab dash and outside of the van was covered in muck and sand and the drivers seat was like a wet sponge but it was still better than getting stuck behind a tractor on the road to skibbereen or doolin

I bought a set of snow chains for that craic after a few occasions of pulling off in a mist of clutch dust.

Fast tractor hey!

nailer8

Wouldn't HP be more important than litre capacity. My old '98 2.9 100hp 2 Bert panel van was slow as hell my current '06 2.2 130hp 6 Bert flies along at 120+

Other major factor is dampness, buy a meter or better get an expert to check it.
Rust underneath, CVR really clamping down on rust these days.

100km is nothing on any decent van engine. In a commercial environment it would do 2/3 times that. Not sure how camper bodies react to high miles though.
Good luck, it's worth the effort

crabbypaddy

nailer8 wrote: »

Wouldn't HP be more important than litre capacity. My old '98 2.9 100hp 2 Bert panel van was slow as hell my current '06 2.2 130hp 6 Bert flies along at 120+

With a heavy diesel its the torque and the gear ratio really. For motorway you want a tall top gear so that you're rpm is in the torque band. The max horsepower for the diesels is usually up around 3500-4000rpm where the torque is tapering off and its useless when you hit a hill in a heavy van.

Was that a 2.9 sprinter some of them had ludicrously low diff ratios you'd be up around 3500revs at 70.

nailer8

crabbypaddy wrote: »

Was that a 2.9 sprinter some of them had ludicrously low diff ratios you'd be up around 3500revs at 70.

Yep 2.9L 310 Always wished it had a 6th gear. Bullet proof engine. Id say it would outlast 2 of the 2.2L engines.

The 2.2 might be faster but you pay for it in Diesel. I was getting almost 30mpg on the 2.9 i struggle to get 23mpg on the 2.2L That said i am dragging an extra tonne of stuff around i suppose.

Benbecul97

OP don't forget you are buying an occasional use vehicle. So what if you are underpowered behind a tractor for a few k, I'm sure you'll get over it! You cant do typical car speeds in these vehicles anyway and when you are using them you are in holiday mode So if you see something that's in great nick and ticks all the boxes living-space-wise and is 1.9 go or it!

coralsnake

Thanks to one and all for your comments and help. It's made my life a bit simpler; at least in narrowing down what I'm looking for. I've read everyone's opinions on engine size, h.p., torque etc. and I'm pretty much ruling out anything that could leave me underpowered. Really don't want to be stuck behind a tractor for miles.
I will be more open minded now when it comes to what I perceived as "high" mileage, and will be paying a lot more attention to condition than the reading on the odometer!
I've taken Kadman and nailer8's advice to heart and found myself a "knowledgeable camper expert" to help me on the inspection side of things. He's a motor mechanic/technician by trade whose hobby is converting vans to campers. He also supplies and fits solar panels and suitable LPG systems. I found his ad on another site and gave him a bell and met up with him last week. As luck would have it, he lives five minutes walk from where I work! Small world He's agreed to come with me for any inspection for a modest fee, so all good so far.
I'll post my progress, or lack of, here over the next while; hopefully it will be of some help to other camper newbies like me.
Anyone with any other comments or advice would be welcome....