…so here’s one!
A few questions if I may.

When is considered the best time of year to buy a used one?
I want to have one that I can be using to carry 2 bikes INside and sleep in from early May next year.
A 2 week trip around Scotland is the aim (end May).
I don’t mind doing the insulating/ply lining and carpeting the interior, as well as making some sort of bed system allowing 2 bikes to be kept inside too, without resorting to going LWB. I came close to buying a few older ones earlier this year – then hired a fully kitted out camper to decide what we liked/didn’t like. 3 seats up front with a double on a swivel base – tick. Pop-top – not so bothered. Found RIB bed quite uncomfortable too.
Moon on a stick? If anyone has a STW that allows this I would be very interested in a view/chat if poss.
The Amdro Angel system allows for this apparently.
I ideally want a 140bhp 6 speed box with a tailgate rear door. I know the age, mileage and amount of work already done will have a bearing on the cost…no fixed budget ATM.
Anyone have any tips/pointers they’d like to share – esp on where and when to buy? (Other than ‘don’t bother, buy a Vivaro/Trafic’ etc etc 😉

Im in the same position as you, my vivaro is dying and i just really fancy a change,

i joined a couple of VW Trasporter groups on Facebook. Every day a couple come up for sale. It gives you a good idea of what type of van goes for money wise.

Anyone have any tips/pointers they’d like to share

Book your campsites now. Like NOW! And don’t get caught up in some idyllic notion that you’ll be stopping in some quiet laybys with stunning views. In the unlikely chance you get a space you’ll not see past the white plastic walls of the dozen or so motorhomes you’ll be sharing it with.

Might be hard pushed to fit two bikes and a suitable bed in a SWB, more so if you’re thinking of coming inside, too.

Would work with a pop top easily enough.

And why not a LWB? It’s 40cm longer and means you can get a decent length bed downstairs and still have space to move/store the bike.

Assuming you’re traveling with two people (sleeping three without a pop top would be VERY tight) why do you want a double up front? Not the comfiest place to sit as a passenger for long trip.

And don’t get caught up in some idyllic notion that you’ll be stopping in some quiet laybys with stunning views.

And don’t wait until it’s dark to give in and look for a campsite only to drive in and find it’s one for elderly nudists. The new-at-the-time missus had clocked the sign that I’d missed and assumed it was “something I was into”. A hasty retreat followed..

T5s? Dunno I’m afraid.

Could two people plus two bikes be done with bunks? Or a highish single bunk with a camp bed beneath? Just thinking aloud 🙂

one for elderly nudists

Even in Scotland….?

#goosepimpels

Doesn’t the 6-speed gearbox only come on the 180ps model ?
Avoid those 180s like the lague.

one for elderly nudists

Crakaig?

Shifter – in a swb it would be tight

The guy from Amdro says it’s doable in a SWB…he makes them…would like to see one in the flesh though to be utterly convinced.
The wife would feel more comfortable parking a SWB even though a LWB isn’t that much longer.
Doesn’t the 6-speed gearbox only come on the 180ps model ? Pretty sure 6 speed comes as 140.

Do the Scottish sites get booked up early then?

I’ve got a 57 plate 2.5 SWB, 120 bhp. I can get two bikes in with the RIB bed, but not much else (except all the space under the bed….)
Mine has a pop top, so can stuff it to the rafters and then step upstairs.
If you go for the 2.5l engine, ask about work done in warranty – drive shaft, oil and water pumps etc. This engine had the shortest run of any apparently and had recalls for work. It’s nice to drive though.
With DIY sleeping platforms in the back, two bikes can be stored beneath, lying flat. I needed seating for 3 bairns though and Mum insisted on seatbelts 🙄

boxelder – one I nearly bought was a 2.5L…I had my doubts about having such a big engine. I then read that it can be more problematic than 1.9/2.0 so pulled out.

Do the Scottish sites get booked up early then?

The Police were advising folk not to go to Skye this summer unless you already had a booking. Similar problems on the other islands and all round the North. Rough Guide readers just voted Scotland “the most beautiful country in the world”. I suspect that means accommodation pressure is only going one way.

We’ve already got folk booking bike hire and transport for all next summer and our general advice is not to book us unless you have accommodation lined up.

BAck to the OP. Similar sort of brief for me, though I have now bought the base van (SWB, 140/6 speed, 4motion, aircon, tailgate…) Took a while to find one that fitted the bill with a sensible mileage but got there eventually. Have insulated and carpeted it all out after removing bulkhead and fitted one window in the slider so far. Would also like to be able to sleep 2 with bikes inside but am still in the planning stage. Not keen to go poptop yet though may be a longer term option. I think 2 single seats up front that rotate are a must in order to optimise space use in the back, plus the twin passenger really is uncomfortable on a long trip. One option I am exploring is a twin drawer system via the tailgate. I think each drawer would need to be about 18″ deep max to get a full size bike in with front wheel off. So you would need to buld a support cabinet about 3 foot high that would extend as far as the front sliding door. Obviously this then forms the bulk of your bed base combined with some sort of fold up/slide out/table top to exend it forwards . There would still be room on one side forward of the main bed base/drawer system to have some sort of kitchen.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Probably won’t get built but you were after ideas 🙂 Keep us informed of any progress and if you have more general questions feel free to ask away.

PS there are a couple of places on FB where people are selling ex RAC vans that may be worth a look. All 140 6 speed with tail gate and aircon/cruise. Pretty well maintained and not too dear. Nice colour for a van too.

2 bikes and 2 people inside a swb t5 for 2 weeks in Scotland? No way. 2 weeks means taking a lot of crap which all has to go somewhere. If it’s somewhere hot and you can happily be outside apart from sleeping then maybe. But this is Scotland we are talking about. Even just 2 people is a challenge for 2 weeks without a pop top if it pisses down the whole time. Put the bikes on a rack. You’ll be fine.

We went to Skye at the end of May this year, week before the 2nd bank holiday, and it was fine with no booking. Bank holiday itself would have been tricky but the weather was stunning. Where we camped didn’t take bookings anyway, so needing a booking is something I would take with a pinch of salt. If you show up at any popular site in the U.K. on Saturday of a bank holiday you’re chancing it, but wed/thurs before it will be relatively empty.

Lwb t5.1 32 140ps 6 speed box, pop top, tailgate, 2 of us and 2 dogs. Bikes on the rack.

Bikes on a rack and poptop FTW. Don’t be so precious about having bikes inside, stick some proper locks round them and you’ll be fine.

You’ll want the standing space to get changed and make the inside a living area for the odd day when it’s wet 😉

We could ‘just’ fit 2 bikes in our swb with full width R&R bed (Cannons Forge one) but needed front wheels out & put under bed. Didn’t leave any room for anything else though, apart from our small b pillar mounted table.
It’s one of the reasons we got rid tbh. Too many space compromises. I’d strongly suggest LWB.

As an owner of an Amdro Angel T5 as mentioned above…

You can definitely fit two people, two bikes and all the kit you need for a two week holiday inside it, and still use it to sleep in. We lived in one for six months around Europe and have holidayed in it since. In the boot space we fit

– two bikes with wheels (wheels off)
– two sunloungers
– fold flat BBQ
– folding table
– awning
– an Ikea bag of cycling kit
– small toolbox

That leaves the living space for living/sleeping in. Tonnes of storage in there too for clothes/crap.

However it depends on the bikes – road/hybrid types, can be done (we’ve done trips with two road bikes, and the Europe trip was my roady and her hybrid-type bike). Mountain bikes are less likely as they’re just more bulky. Dunno though as I’ve never tried. Stripped down to frames and with careful packing, there’s a chance.

Sorry Rascal, meant to add – I’m in Cirencester if you’re anywhere near and want to have a look at the layout.

The main benefit of putting bikes inside I think is the ability to chuck them in dirty. If you have to wash or clean the bikes or significantly dismantle them before putting them in the van, then you may as well have them outside locked to a decent rack.

There is not a lot of space in a T5 for adults. It’s a Campervan as opposed to a Motorhome, so think of it more like a tent on wheels rather than a self driving caravan. When we use ours we spend our time outside the van and only sleep inside it. It is OK to sit inside for an hour or two if you’re reading or something, but as soon as you start to want to move around inside it’s like one of those picture sliding tile puzzles, where you have to move something to create a space for you to move into before you can move into it.

pop top is great for headroom – there is no headroom in a T5,strictly sitting room or low stooping room, so pop top needed if you want to stand and get changed comfortably. They’re great for sleeping the kids in too.

We spent 2 weeks in ours as a family of 4 in France, but the weather was good so spent all our time outside the van, we had a large drive-away awning to keep all our gear and only really slept in the van.

Having said that we love it. It needs some planning and foresight and minimising your crap, but its no different to camping in that regard. We use it for our main 2 week holiday, but it comes into its own when we use it for quick weekend family get always. Quick, last minute over-nighters or long weekends. It’s also great when I get away on my own to meet up with mates on a short mountain biking trip.

Its a compromise. For me its my daily drive so SWB van for daily driving convenience. If it was not my daily drive I’d be a LWB van as a minimum, but in reality I’d probably plump for a proper motorhome.

We have a LWB. Before that we had a LWB T4. I think she said it was just to see if we liked having a van but we kept it for 7 years. And now we’ve had this one for another 3. We bought at only 18 months old and intend to keep a long time. We thought we might put a pop top in it some time but not done anything yet. The old one had a simple DIY bed and some storage, where bikes could fit with the bed up quite easily, but it would’ve been much less convenient in a SWB. In the T5 bikes roll in wheels on behind the back seats.

Ours is the 180 and a T32. In combi flavour.

In my view having a bit more power is probably useful but there isn’t that much more useful power than the old 2.5L T4 which had something like 85BHP IIRC, but being a 2.5 you could roll around in it at low revs, which is how I habitually drive. Anyway, it’s a van and I drive it like my mum. I’m sure the 140, or even the 102, would’ve been absolutely fine for us but we didn’t choose it for the engine – the overall spec/condition/price was as right for us as I thought I would find after a few months looking so we went for this one. YMMV – test drive the options.

The higher load bearing capacity (T32) makes for more noise I think and a less comfortable ride unladen. I haven’t compared otherwise the same vans side by side on this but I reckon ours is quite noisy. Insulating the old van made a big noise difference, as did better tyres on both vans.

We have 2 swivelling “captain’s” front seats. The single passenger seat is far nicer to sit on than a bench. We never swivel ours but our use is different. It is a bit faffy though. Arm rests are a little thing that I value disproportionally highly.

It seems to me that you can split T5s into 2 classes of spec – with a/c and without. If you want a better specced model search for that first and then then worry about the details.

As well as time of year (does that matter? I don’t know. We bought ours privately in January) consider where in the country they are. Circumstances led me to see options in VW dealers in Leicester and Devon. The price difference between them was incredible. My brother had a similar experience and bought a Caravelle privately in Aberdeen.

Cheers all – some useful info in there as always.
How secure are T5 bike carriers?
Want to put them inside as if we go away for a week/weekend and leave the van it I don’t want to be constantly worrying about whether we’ll still have bikes on our return…that’s the main reason I want them inside.
That’s the start point really – if it can be made to work then the start for a SWB could be about to start!