Newbie conversion question - possibly daft

loveall

Is it simple enough (queue possible laughter) to convert a transporter and get it into camper tax?

Van Doozy

I did it last year having never done any thing like it before. It is certainly not what I would consider to be a straightforward job, but having said that it is onerous / tedious rather than particularly technically difficult.

In my opinion it is doable by almost anyone with half a brain and even rudimentary DIY abilities (like me!) and tools and a lot of time and patience and willingness to make mistakes, correct them and learn from them. I am certainly no skilled tradesman but I am happy with my outcome.

Coombe Valley Campers have tons of very good videos on youtube about converting transporters. Look them up. Kiravans as well.

You don't have to be a master craftsman, and you can buy a lot of the equipment pre-made if you don't have great joinery skills and equipment. For example rather than building a whole kitchen and cooker unit from scratch you could just go to vangear.co.uk and just buy a prefabricated one, and bolt that to the floor of the camper. Job done.

To qualify for camper tax you need storage facilities, cooking facilities and sleeping facilities. All of this you can buy and fit in your van if you are not able to build it yourself. Errigal Campers do easy fit kits which are pretty straightforward and might suit you. They weren't what I wanted personally so I went a different route.

After all that you get your van inspected to show that it is indeed a properly converted camper with the requisite equipment (and that you're not some tradesman chancing his arm to get cheap tax and insurance) and then you apply to revenue to get it reclassified and pay the VRT. Again this is a load of tedious paperwork and can be frustrating to get through it all, yet it is still achievable by anyone with patience.

If you have money you could pay someone to do it for you either. There are several companies who do it in Ireland already.

The thing you have to consider is that it's relatively straightforward to convert and re-register a camper. That is only half the job though since without paying attention at the start you will not get it insured. There are quite a few people trying to pass on their stalled projects because they didn't consider insurance.

All the mainstream insurers want you to have front to back access, this generally means nothing behind the seats and changing the bench seat to a captain's chair.

All want standing room in the back which means fitting a poptop or a hightop roof.

Most will want to see the engineer's report which you used to reclassify. Most will want to see gas certificates for your gas cooker.

Getting insurance needs to be the first thing you consider and frame it in your head that the Irish insurance brokers don't really want home conversions on their books.

Van Doozy

With respect, there is a lot of misinformation in your post Shoog.

All the mainstream insurers want you to have front to back access, this generally means nothing behind the seats and changing the bench seat to a captain's chair.

All want standing room in the back which means fitting a poptop or a hightop roof.

This is not correct, Richardson's will quote for a low top without a walkway.

Most will want to see gas certificates for your gas cooker.

I wasn't asked for a gas certificate by any insurance company I approached. One of them did ask for a photograph of the setup though.

Irish insurance brokers don't really want home conversions on their books.

Insurers do not differentiate between home and 'professional' conversions. They simply want to see that the work was done to a good standard. The SQI certificate is their way of confirming this.

Esel

A possible candidate for conversion? 😀

https://www.donedeal.ie/vintagecars-for-sale/2003-2-0-petrol-toyota-hilux-hearse/29882257

loveall

Thanks for the replies Van Doozy & Shoog. Very helpful. I did a bit of a conversion on a VWCaddy a couple of years ago. Didn't do the electrics cos I was in a hurry, but got the acoustic stuff from KiraVans and made the cabinets myself and I had 0 experience in anything like that. Myself and the dog did our gigs in the UK and then I sold it. It was cheaper than driving round our big camper that has just died (after 20 years).

This time I want to get the electrics done first. I'm in some hurry as I've got radiotherapy starting soon and it would be easier to stay in it some nights, rather than travel daily. Lads are well booked up in advance for doing the job. It'll be good to keep myself busy! I'll hit up YT. Thanks for the pointers and expect me back with some really stupid questions :)