Assuming there’d be demand for this where I live, what vans/cars would people on here go with.

I understand there’s a huge desirability factor with Transporters but so many stories of reliability and catastrophic failures scare the bejesus out of me.

I like my brothers T4 and, by now, most problems are ironed out particularly if you go with the 1.9tdi of old.
T5’s although better to drive and better ergonomics feel a little less well built (to me) and engines more complicated due to emission control devices likes DPF, EGR etc, plus there’s the dreaded DMF etc.

I’ve had Bongo’s and Delica’s in the past and currently have a Delica which I love but appreciate they might not be everyone’s cup of tea! But both are comfy, automatic but thirsty.

Thinking possible Hyundai iLoad crew van…

Not so keen on going normal panel van and conversion because I would expect most of my potential customers would be looking for 2-4 day hires to explore the beautiful coastline where I live.

I’ll be using roof tents by the way and possible a fold out bed / seat inside.

What vehicles would you happily rent for this purpose?

My budget is up to £10k per van and I’m a pretty good mechanic and have access to a complete workshop.

Cheers

Good luck to you Mintyjim!
I but together a business plan for this recently. You could make considerable profit too.

My assumptions:
– Hire was based around vans being hired for 18% of the time
– Buying vans that are 2 years old, running for 2-3 years and selling on
– Access to a garage with business rates (including helping with the conversion)
– Fleet of 10 vans (min) of varying size (Caddy maxi to LWB Sprinter type)
– Hiring 1 staff to run the day-to-day at around £22k, leaving me to do very little to keep the cogs turning

It’s certainly a viable business that could thrive. Sadly the large CAPEX meant that I couldn’t go forward with the idea. If your circumstances allow, you could start small and scale as and when.

If you need any help with numbers or ideas, ping me an email; cokie.stw@gmail.com

engines more complicated due to emission control devices likes DPF, EGR etc, plus there’s the dreaded DMF etc.

I think the bigger headache is the

roof tents by the way and possible a fold out bed / seat inside.

In a full season of rentals those things will see more action (and action at the hands of cack-handed novices) in a year than most campers will see in a lifetime. You’d need a strategy for servicing, sourcing and replacing these components extremely quickly between hires if breakages occur otherwise you’ll find yourself cancelling peoples holidays at extremely short notice.

you could look at the competition – the common threads appear to be

old vw
new vw
something japanese (cheaper option)

https://www.coolcamping.co.uk/campervan-hire

If it helps, I work near Buspoke- he does loads of conversions of VWs but drives the Hyundai himself.

In Australia and NZ, it’s all cheap older Japanese stuff – Toyota Estimas, Hiace and the like. Petrol, auto, super reliable, easy to drive. Rear seats removed, replaced with simple benches that convert to bed and little pods at the tailgate with cooker, little sink and a 12v fridge. Very little to break or go wrong. Some of the bigger ones have high or pop roofs to accommodate up to 4 people. You see them everywhere in the touristy areas.

I know Wicked Campers have some presence in Europe now (with slightly less offensive paintjobs) but I’m surprised that the formula of simple, cheap campervans isn’t more popular.

http://www.spaceshipsrentals.co.uk/Campervan

?

Why would this be better than either hiring a van or a campervan?

Its a fairly crowded market. Whats the USP? I hare vehicles a fair amount to go away. An ordinary van is fine if I want to sleep in a tent, a camper is for when I don’t want to sleep in a tent 🙂

If you put a roof tent on top of a 3t van, then once a month someone will rip it off going into a height restricted car park.
If you want to use them as your ISP in my opinion you’d be better off with something like a L200 (or similar 1t rated pick-up) with the roof tent bolted onto the load cover thing.
Oh, pickup tents (TM) by me 😉

great feedback, thanks!

I’m thinking of the route of simple camper pods in the back.

I don’t want to take over the world, I just want a couple of nice simple vans that people would rent for a few days.

Hey Cokie, thanks for the offer but I think your aspirations were some what higher than mine! I’m after two vans and then see how it goes…I’ve got your email though to pick your brains.

Funny that Buspoke drives the Hyundai, speaks volumes in my opinion!

I’m surprised that the formula of simple, cheap campervans isn’t more popular.

Those Estimas all have essentially the cooking and services out the back tailgate don’t they? Wouldn’t fancy one of those in the great British Summer….

“Hyundai, speaks volumes in my opinion!”

aye VW must be terrible if he chooses to drive an iload over a VW because i can assure you ive traveled in plenty of iloads and they are **** horrendous to drive.

Clunky gearboxes – agricultural engines and spine breaking suspension…..

and thats coming from someone who drives a very unrefined french van but i would not thank you for an iload.

Hes probably testing it him self with a view to replacing his aging VWs when they croak it – ill be surprised if he does it ….

I hired out a bongo recently when i needed a van at short notice. Not a van i aspire but own but simple, easy to drive and cheap to buy. It made me think of hiring them out myself. Good ones seem to go for about £9000, rental returns seem relatively high compared to the £20,000 plus it would cost to buy a vw. Only thing is that its pretty certain that a 20 year old van in constant use is going to go wrong at some point and when it does it is going to mess up someones holiday

a mate of mine has a unit near a classic campervan hire company. he says a lot come back on the back a recovery truck…

If I were doing roof tents, I’d put them on Landys for a full ‘safari’ experience.

And hire a mechanic with a jet pack.

If I were doing roof tents I’d be worried about someone either falling off the ladder or falling out the thing after a few shandies and trying to sue me!

Don’t underestimate the time and effort needed to thoroughly clean the vans between use. I imagine this’ll add to your costs somewhat.

A customer of ours is into converting ex fleet vans into lifestyle vans.
The one I’ve seen looks perfect for your needs..VanCamper