pretty much as the title suggests

considering getting one for camping trips and breaks to europe but as they are blooming expensive it would need to be my daily driver aswell, is it a daft idea and i going to go mad with all the rattling behind me?? or will it be all good??

I have a 2009 T5 California and use it as a daily driver most of the time. Mileage is good. It gives around 36 mpg. My last vehicle was a T4 camper and a type 2 before that so this T5 drives like dream in comparison. We have a 5 month old baby who is still on the boob and it is great for cheeky feeds in supermarket carparks, roadside layby’s and suchlike.
We have taken the baby camping a few times already (hardly roughing it) first trip he was only 4 weeks old and it was great.
The only consern is putting the mileage on the van as it is very low currently at 20,000. When the miles are this low they tend to appear to go up quickly. I am planning to keep this until I hand it down to my son so it should matter really but still makes my toes curl as every 1000 miles pass.
Get the VW bike rack rather than Fiamma as I have heard the Fiamma can mark the paintwork which is only really a consern on such a new and expensive van.

we have a T4 camper which is a daily driver. manages 35+ mpg on the wife’s commute. 40mpg on steady motorway. Comfortable drive, bit noisy, not great on twisty roads. comfy on motorways.

Only thing is I resent the mileage going on an expensive camper that I want to last another ten years, so hopefully this summer I will put a new roof on the barn so that I can park the van away when not being used for camping and get Mrs a hatchback for work.

They’re awesome.
I would happily use mine as a daily drive, they’re fine if you get e SWB as they’re the same footprint as a car so fit everywhere. Economy is OK too. They shouldn’t rattle too much – mine doesn’t and it’s 6 years old, though not built up as a full-on camper. Plus you can usually hunt down the rattles and resolve them
I think the thing to consider is whether you can face driving a van everywhere, depending on your annual mileage, daily commute, level of patience, boy-racer tendencies – upsides are good visibility, comfort, downsides are less (or no) overtaking, slower cornering, worrying about your lovely expensive van all the time.
Hope this helps!

my commute is by train currently so i average about 500 miles every month so not much, it wouldnt be a new van but somthing like a 2006/7 conversion

We use our LWB T5 as an everyday vehicle. Mileage is maybe a little better than people posted above but it’s only a 1.9 and often we run it with the middle row of seats removed between winters. It can be a bit of a pain to park in cities especially over here where multi-story car parks tend to have a 1.9 m height limit.

We’ve got a VW bike rack on the back and it’s great if a little fiddly to get 4 mtbs on with different triangle and shock positions.

Hope that helps.

I have a 2004 T5 converted into a camper that is my one and only vehicle. I commute 70 miles a day in it and easily get high 30s mpg. It does rack up the mileage on it bit I suppose, but I’m not really bothered about that (it’s on about 80k at the moment).

No rattling particularly as all the pots and pans and stuff are well packed. TBH, I suppose I should really take them out when we’re not on a trip but I can’t really be bothered.

If you go for a normal height SWb you’ll have no problem with (most) multistorey carparks, it’ll fit ion a standard parking space etc etc.

And, as always on these things, I’ll just say how ace the layout and kit from Amdro conversions is.

http://www.amdro.co.uk

T4 here, very much a second vehicle but also used for a lot more than just camping. Days out, carrying big stuff or just using when the other car is unavailable for whatever reason. It’s got 155,000 on it, though, so not too bothered about adding more 🙂

2006 T5 California, T4 before that, T2 Before that (parallel life with Jef above?). It’s a second car for us, but no regrets at all. Every spare weekend we’re away it in somewhere – just get up and go. Imagine sticking the bikes on the back, getting fish and chips and parking up at a trail centre for the night, then being first out on trails – all good. Good size to drive – as mentioned above can fit in multi storey car parks, under barriers anywhere a car can go. Take a corner too fast and there will things will rearrange themselves in the cupboards, but you get used to driving a bit more conservatory – which is better for the fuel consumption anyway. Go for it!

t5 as my only vehicle although i do borrow the GFs car sometimes.

it’s not the easiest to park (height). it’s not fast. the ride is fine, it’s not as noisy as a van but not as quiet as a decent car.

I happily commute in it when i’m not on the bike.

Another fan here.

I’ve got a ’95 T4 California. Used as daily driver by me. Few rattles from the back when stuff isn’t stowed properly, but you soon get used to it. T5 is more refined so you should have no problems.

I actually prefer driving the van to a car most of the time. Visibility is great, it’s really comfy and like others have said you can park it anywhere you could part a normal sized car. Plus I can load it up with gear on a Thursday night and be ready to get away straight from work on a Friday.

you get used to driving a bit more conservatory

They do have quite a lot of windows 🙂

We have just changed our second car for a VW California. I use it to commute 3 to 4 days a week. It probably does it good to keep it running rather than parked up for long periods. Its fine to drive, good view of the road. Not sure I would want to try multi-storey carparks though.

multi stories are scary – you’re so high up that it realy feels like your going to take the roof off. It’s fine though – as long as you don’t try it with bikes on the rack.

multi stories are scary – you’re so high up that it realy feels like your going to take the roof off

Try the parking deck of a Norwegian ferry, height of deck = 195cm, height of van = 190cm. I was ducking as I drove along 😯

Interesting stuff. Where is the best place to look to get an idea of converted T4/T5 prices?

ebay is as good a market as any for scale and visibility. but check on completed listings not for sale listings as some people take the piss and so deals arent done at those advertised prices.

Also, wait until after the summer holidays, they get cheaper 😉

Google T4/5 conversion and there are tonnes of places doing it. Like anything, you can pay pretty much as little or as much as you want.

This is a good forum for info, it’s like STW for VW Campervans 🙂

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=147

[edit]It’s also worth seeing a few in the flesh to get an idea of the different layouts. Go to dealers and have a nosey around the used ones. If you’re around Ciren or Brizzle you’re welcome to have a look at mine.

Anybody been through a really long tunnel somewhere under Paris? It’s really really low, I ducked for at least 2 miles!!

I use my T4 as a daily driver, it’s not a camper though, it’s an ex panel van that I’m very slowly turning in to a day van. It’s rattly but I love it 🙂

But I don’t see T4 or T5’s as campers, too damn small. I think I’d convert a Sprinter 🙂 But I’ll stick with my £250 Outwell tent and the odd Travellodge or Etap. The price of a campervan pays for a lot of trips….

The price of a campervan pays for a lot of trips….

True, but we (family of four) use ours for a 4wk spell each summer (just got back) at least one further 1wk trip, and I use it for various weekends away too during the year. That kind of usage makes more financial sense.

A well designed conversion is surprisingly roomy. We can stop at an aire in a French village and set up (move child seats, put insulation in the windows, pop the roof, turn the captains chair) cook a meal, put the kids to bed in the roof, wash up, read and have a glass of wine, make the bed downstairs, and go to sleep… all without leaving the van* or cramping each others space too much.

*if you’re OK taking a piss in the sink before bed 😉

I think we’ve done about 30 nights away this year. And we’ve had it five years and it was old and cheap, so I reckon we’re getting good VFM 😉

Stoner – you have to go in the sink? That’s disgusting

We have an en-suite:

🙂

We’ve got an actual toilet, but you don’t get much privacy 😉

we also have an ensuite, but we have to evacuate the van prior to use

http://www.thebrowncorporation.com/

Can anyone give an idea how much harder life would be with a LWB rather than a SWB, in the real world?

(Just had a week away in the tent, so suffering campervan envy at the moment…..)

It’s only about a foot longer. You’ll overhang some parking spaces, can’t think of any other major downsides.

I drive a LWB T5 conversion almost daily. I don’t find it to be a problem once you’ve learnt where the two ends are, they are a bit blind on the nose, you are generally further away from stuff than you think when parking. I’ve had ours in underground multistories and low car decks on ferries etc. can be a bit tricky in super tight carparks but otherwise no problems.

That was where we started. Serious van envy after being rained on in the tent too much.
We have had a fair few wet days in the van this year and it is so much more comfy. Spent the whole of Easter Monday at Watermouth Bay in the rain just chilling out. Could not have done that in a tent.
One thing I would say is that with a proper camper, not a conversion, there is not much space for bikes inside. Having said that we can get 2 MTB’s and a tag along in the ‘boot’ with the wheels off.

New this year to the wonderful world of van insurance. If you have a self-built van (by yours or someone elses hand who is not an established name converter) and you want it insured as a camper not a trade van the number of firms who will insure you is limited. Brokers such as Insurance Choice and Adrian Flux are good at finding them for you. I just insured mine again a week or two ago (not a VW but same concept) and a new condition this year with some of the firms that the brokers use was that it was not your only vehicle (or more precisely your household already had 1 vehicle per adult household member not including the camper). I got away with it as I could proove my home address and work address were 400yds apart so they were happy I would not sneakily commute to work in it. That firm would not have touched me otherwise and the next best that would was 50% more expensive.

with a proper camper, not a conversion, there is not much space for bikes inside.

I’m not sure what distinction you’re trying to draw here 🙂 They’re all “conversions”.

Re: insurance — DVLA was being a bit funny about changing vehicle types to “Motorcaravan” for self-builds or conversions on already-registered vehicles a while back, but they seem to have relented recently. If it’s registered as a motorcaravan your insurance options open up considerably.

tbh if you are concerned about mileage/usage etc, just buy a cheap car also.

Can anyone give an idea how much harder life would be with a LWB rather than a SWB, in the real world?

I reckon you’d be fine – probably not much difference in length than one of the bigger Volvo or Merc estates. A hi-top would be more of an inconvenience than an LWB due to height restrictions.

Actually quick question for those with normal swb VW Calis – can you fit a bike in headfirst with the bench seat pushed forward on the rails, with front wheel off obviously. We drive on a lot of 4wd roads and its a pita with bikes on the rack getting absolutely covered in grit so planning to have a rack but mainly keep them inside when driving.
Oh and balls to the VW dealership who sold ‘my’ van once i had paid a deposit and was waiting for them to sort something out ! They decided it was a bit hard to sell it someone they had never seen (but who paid instantly) 😯

I can certainly put a bike in front of the rock and roll bed slammed back. Never tried it from the rear mind.

Brentacre are a really easy going insurer. Mines on there campervan policy that allows me to slowly modify the van with no charge for changes.
They said no adding bhp but when I had a chat about adding an intercooler, decat, egr blank, they said no probs, just an admin fee. Admittedly it will only take it from 88 to 105ish.

run a SWB T4 2.5tdi, similar running costs to my old mondeo 2l petrol and similar width/length.
LWB will be a pain if you have to parallel park or park in multistory carparks as it will be too long for loads of places and end up collecting parking scrapes from others parrking next to beside it.
their expensive to buy and we avoid using ours if off shopping or parking in town as it will only get bumped by some careless twonk so we use the wifes fiesta that doesnt matter the same..

gearing is shorter than any car youve driven, by the time your moving you need 2nd gear else you run out of torque as engine speed is too high so you endd up making more gearchanges in city driving and need to work the vehicle harder to keep with car traffic (but they arent any slower) although cornering is boat like (roll & understeer)..

My T4 is lowered and running uprated shocs, rear antiroll bar, wider lower profile tyres and handles really well for a van but can still be embaressed by any 1.2l hatchback.

More relaxing to drive though.

nzcol – you can get bikes in with the front wheels on from either the rear or the front of a california. There are a couple of metal stops in the runners that you take out so that the seat slides all the way forward to the front seats.
We can position the seats so that we can have a load of stuff in the boot, 2 kids on the seat, and 2 kids bikes in front of the seat – it’s really versatile.

Home brew T5 conversion, used as a daily drive. Apart from the electrics all my stuff is removable in 30 mins (kitchen pod & rear bed (folds out over rear seats) All done on a tight budget. Just had 3 weeks in france and it works a treat for us.