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Minibus to Camper

madbaz

Hi everyone,
First I would like to apologise if this is repeated elsewhere on the forum but when I searched I couldn't find the answers and some were out dated.

About 6 of us are planning on traveling across Europe in September. We are hoping to buy a minibus that was used by someone for the euros(if you have one PM me

)

My licence only lets me carry 8 people max. So we will need to remove the extra seats.
I have figured out how to change the VRT category, now I just need to know which would be a better option.

Is there much difference in tax+insurance if we were to register it as a 8 seater van/car instead of a "motor caravan"?
I have read this document which says a motor caravan requires:
seats and table,
sleeping accommodation,
cooking facilities,
storage facilities.

How strict are the in checking that these requirements are met? If we simply screw in a gas cooker onto a table will that do?

How long does the process of changing the vehicle category take?

Do you guys see any other problems that could arise when we try to change the vehicle category?

We will be buying the bus pretty cheap and are not worried about being cramped as we will be using tents also.

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Comments

Buford T Justice

So basically, you want to buy a minibus and kip in it around europe, and are only interested in converting it to a camper because its cheaper running costs, seeing as how you'll only be shoving a gas cooker into it to get it reclassified...........

And you expect help from serious motorhome owners / builders here.................

Good luck with that...................

madbaz

Buford T Justice wrote: »

So basically, you want to buy a minibus and kip in it around europe, and are only interested in converting it to a camper because its cheaper running costs, seeing as how you'll only be shoving a gas cooker into it to get it reclassified...........

And you expect help from serious motorhome owners / builders here.................

Good luck with that...................

I am sorry for wasting YOUR time but if you check the fourm rules for this thread it states: "Any and all contributions / questions / suggestions relating to campervans & motorhomes are welcome."
Can you point me in the direction of a forum that suits the post better?

We are young and do not have the budget or space to be adding in expensive extras like a fridge etc. We do plan to kit it out with other features and make the interior as comfortable as possible with some other cool features.
We will be stuck for time to get the VRT change done and so the gas cooker would be a temporary fitting. We would probably end up using it outside the van. Everyone has to start somewhere!

If you just want to give out about what we are doing please just ignore this post.

Macy0161

Even if you did enough for Tax purposes, (which to be honest I don't think you'd get through that process which now involves it being signed off by someone putting their professional credentials on the line), I'd really doubt the insurance companies would insure such a basic conversion.

It's actually quite an involved, time consuming and complicated process to do a conversion. It isn't as easy as screwing in a gas cooker and fitting a table. Hard to see it being cheaper or easier than ponying up for the insurance of the minibus to be honest.

madbaz

Macy0161 wrote: »

Even if you did enough for Tax purposes, (which to be honest I don't think you'd get through that process which now involves it being signed off by someone putting their professional credentials on the line), I'd really doubt the insurance companies would insure such a basic conversion.

It's actually quite an involved, time consuming and complicated process to do a conversion. It isn't as easy as screwing in a gas cooker and fitting a table. Hard to see it being cheaper or easier than ponying up for the insurance of the minibus to be honest.

Thanks that's the info I was looking for. I was not aware it had to be signed off or it took that long. We will probably register it as a 6 seater van/car so.

Thanks for your help!

merc camper

You could try this it might be easy to convert, I have no idea what it is registered as.
http://www.autotrader.ie/search/Renault/Master/LWB-DIES/201210207268550/advert?channel=COMMERCIALS
Or
http://www.autotrader.ie/search/Nissan/Interstar/fully-se/5613313817949570/advert?channel=COMMERCIALS

madbaz

merc camper wrote: »

You could try this it might be easy to convert, I have no idea what it is registered as.
http://www.autotrader.ie/search/Renault/Master/LWB-DIES/201210207268550/advert?channel=COMMERCIALS
Or
http://www.autotrader.ie/search/Nissan/Interstar/fully-se/5613313817949570/advert?channel=COMMERCIALS

Thanks! That first one is a great one! Looks really clean and easy to convert.
I think I am going to hold off till after the euros because I am sure there will be a few there that have the same idea as ourselves and I'm sure they will all want to get rid of them when they are back.
This is defiantly one to look at around then though!

stevire

madbaz wrote: »

I am sorry for wasting YOUR time but if you check the fourm rules for this thread it states: "Any and all contributions / questions / suggestions relating to campervans & motorhomes are welcome."
Can you point me in the direction of a forum that suits the post better?

We are young and do not have the budget or space to be adding in expensive extras like a fridge etc. We do plan to kit it out with other features and make the interior as comfortable as possible with some other cool features.
We will be stuck for time to get the VRT change done and so the gas cooker would be a temporary fitting. We would probably end up using it outside the van. Everyone has to start somewhere!

If you just want to give out about what we are doing please just ignore this post.

When you say young, how young? You will have issues getting insurance if under 25... I had this problem a year ago, got insurance with Dolmen in the end but only because for my main vehicle was insured with AXA and they agreed to insure me.

madbaz

stevire wrote: »

When you say young, how young? You will have issues getting insurance if under 25... I had this problem a year ago, got insurance with Dolmen in the end but only because for my main vehicle was insured with AXA and they agreed to insure me.

We are all 21-23. Was that campervan insurance yes?
This would be another reason to avoid registering it as a camper.
I have been looking into this more and more in the last few days and am thinking of going for a crewcab van instead of a minibus. Mainly because insurers see removing seats from a minibus as a modification and will not insure the 6 seater minibus. The crewcabs cost a little more but that money would have been spent on changing the vehicle category anyway I think. Plus the resale value of a minibus with 6 seats on logbook would be quite poor.

I have already got a quote for insurance on a crewcab van that suits us ok so would be good to go with that.

stevire

madbaz wrote: »

We are all 21-23. Was that campervan insurance yes?
This would be another reason to avoid registering it as a camper.
I have been looking into this more and more in the last few days and am thinking of going for a crewcab van instead of a minibus. Mainly because insurers see removing seats from a minibus as a modification and will not insure the 6 seater minibus. The crewcabs cost a little more but that money would have been spent on changing the vehicle category anyway I think. Plus the resale value of a minibus with 6 seats on logbook would be quite poor.

I have already got a quote for insurance on a crewcab van that suits us ok so would be good to go with that.

Yeah that's for camper insurance, your van/minibus insurance could be null and void if you have gas/water/bedding installed in the vehicle.

One option would be to put in a removable pod which has gas/water. Plenty of them going around, one of my mates did one from IKEA units and smev water/gas unit. The premade ones are well over 1k to buy, better off going DIY!

Here's an example of removable pods:
http://www.greendogcampers.com/GREEN_DOG_Campervans_VW_%26_Mercedes_Conversion_Specialists_.Co_Wicklow_Ireland/Kitchen_Pod___VW_Camper_Van_Conversions.html

Plenty of DIY kitchen pods on the T4 forum:
www.vwt4forum.co.uk