[Closed] Old VW Camper vans.....

No not really. I may be in the minority but i think they look fugly and impractical.
Sorry

Certainly look very retro - but how practical are they as campers for biking? More details please...it's going to be a year before I can afford to do this so I've got plenty of time to explore loads of avenues!

I thought part of the "charm" of old camper vans was picking the engine up off the tarmac every 500 miles?

😉

I'm also thinking about getting one.
I fancy the idea of a classic car or similar and this option seems to combine some practicality along with retro style....

(I''ve had Beetles before & am a auto engineer so not so nervous about the mechanical side of things)

They look ok yes but they stupidly expensive and some how just not the same.

I thought the new ones had a fake front tyre, which was now the radiator... I could be wrong, but I do see the new/old ones everyday, working close to Danbury.

They are stupidly expensive new.

hang on, - googling...

standing by...

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TWENTY GRAND!!

ffs - that's insane. No thankyou.

i do like to see old campervans, but i'm glad i don't have to live with one.

Twenty grand is only the start- we looked a while back after hiring one for a week- it would have set us back thirty grand for a kitted out new one.

Quick and easy reality check there.

Yup sure they're nearer £30k there's a company near me does them.

If I had twenty grand to throw at a VW I would be driving a nice early bay, something that has a bit of kudos in the VW scene.

Pretty much how I see it if I was spending that much then I'd go for original rather looky likey.

I'd rather have a Transport Sportline Kombi.

overarated stupidly expensive and for people who value style and image above all things.... so very popular then

If you gave it me I would sell it and buy a proper camper van with things like space inside.

We've just got back from 2000+ miles of trouble tree Scotland road trip in ours (although its a 1989 and we've spent a bit on the engine recently). As for biking its perfect. We have a bike rack on the back, can stop, get changed, warm up, cook lunch, make coffee, keep beers cold, sleep anywhere...all in comfort, awesome!

We started out wanting a Bay but decided it was too much cash, to buy and then keep running. We thought we were old van purists but have been thinking about getting a new one next time, mostly for the easier driving, power steering, fuel economy, travel speed. We cruise at 60mph which limits your reasonable driving range. It will go faster comfortably but then you really start burning fuel!

[b]As junkyard says[/b] & I used to work on them :roll:. Swore after having to rebuild my first beetle engine from a box of bits I would never ever buy a VW.
That was way back in the `70s, now on my 7th VW, a Touran!!!!!!
Drove one of the first water cooled vw in the country at the time.

I got over it

but you'd pay around 20k for a real old one in good nick.

i like them. old motors seem to have a lot more character than new models.

i'd like it if someone started making the old mini but to modern standards.

Or do what a mates sister has just done and buy a Mazda Bongo jap import £7000 fully kitted out as a small camper with electric roof and awning. Might not be so cool and rad but at least you will get there in comfort without water pouring in every time it rains

Go on then jacksta lets see some pics.
I've just bought an 89 T25 minibus, soon to have camper interior.
Need some more inspriation.

If I had twenty grand to throw at a VW I would be driving a T5 174ps Multivan

my mate bought one of the danbury conversions a while back and he paid just over £40k for it. His justification was that he always wanted one. Each to their own I suppose.

If I had a spare £40k to spunk on a camper i wouldn't go near a T2 VW.

[i]Watercooled [/i]bastardised monstrosities. (IMHO)

😉

VW campers do nothing at all for me. They look a bit cute, but are crap. Vanity, anyone?

Not sure cute is the word, but they aren't all bay windowed beauties, Sven is based on an LT25 and is a little more rugged.
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Ooh look a Mr Whippy machine.

I'm hiring a split-screen one next February to tour around New Zealand for a month. I'll let you know if my marriage survives...

Those LT25 conversions are possibly the most hideous VW ever built. I know a bloke who imports them and they are popular despite the looks.

pmsl@Mr Whippy machine!

we hired a vintage bay when we toured Aus a couple of years back. advice on the forums is that no-one would rent us a splitty as they'd not be reliable enough - so hope yours goes well. Our trip was epic

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only cost £50/day, covered 3000 miles in total

The Sven Hedin is cool!

I've had older VW's (bay window and aircooled T25) but now enjoy relatively stress-free T4 ownership...

I think most people 'in the know' would buy a solid imported original van at much less than a Brazilian bay will cost.

we hired a vintage bay when we toured Aus a couple of years back. advice on the forums is that no-one would rent us a splitty as they'd not be reliable enough - so hope yours goes well. Our trip was epic

Have you got any links to the forums re reliability?

We found a couple of places in NZ hiring splitties - you wouldn't think it'd be cost-effective for them if they kept breaking down!

I don't i'm afraid - i just asked the question 'where can I hire a splitty' on a couple of aussie VW combi forums and that was the answer I got

To be honest, given that any hire vehical has got to have modern running gear by now, and (to the best of my knowledge) there's no reason why you can't fit much the same gear to a splitty as to a bay, I don't see why this'd be the case.

only cost £50/day

Only???!!!???

Only???!!!???

Yeah, but that's the cost for your hire car and somewhere to sleep. Not too bad really.

5lab - I'd assumed the same thing, that any VW van still running would be like Trigger's broom by now!

prefer my t5.

the new bay windows are all wrong - wierd front bumper, high indicators, bad shaped air intakes.

here is a proper '69er:
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I hired a splittie from these guys in NZ and it was fab
http://www.kiwikombis.com/vans/index.html
Always seem to pick up the better looking hitch hikers in a splittie!!!
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The new water cooled ones do nothing for me and I doubt hold their value as much as an air cooled ones and they do seem to be very pricey.
Is a bit of a lifestyle choice and I could have had a faster better equipped van but instead went for an old un (71)and have not had any regrets but instead loads of smiles 🙂
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Nice looking van that Rich, i've got a 79 Bay that i'm doing a resto on at the mo !!

Bush.

postierich, that's the company we're going to use! Which model did you go for?

I had a lovely bay window T2 for years .It had to go as it was rusting away . I now have a T25 which im thinking getting rid of(any takers) ,I just dont use it enough as a camper to keep.
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[img] [/img]In reply to Dick Barton, an old VW is more than adequate for camping and biking. The thing you have to remember is that you don't buy a 1960's/ early 70's vehicle to expect it to perform like a vehicle 40 years younger.
Part of the charm is being outside of the run of the mill rat race, that demands you get to wherever it is you're going as fast as you can. You break the journey up, and enjoy the scenery along the way.

We've just returned from a 2 week adventure in the Lakes with our bikes (which we also got married in the middle of of :D) and my camper performed faultlessly for the entire time! 8)

In reply to Dick Barton, an old VW is more than adequate for camping and biking. The thing you have to remember is that you don't buy a 1960's/ early 70's vehicle to expect it to perform like a vehicle 40 years younger.
Part of the charm is being outside of the run of the mill rat race, that demands you get to wherever it is you're going as fast as you can. You break the journey up, and enjoy the scenery along the way.

We've just returned from a 2 week adventure in the Lakes with our bikes (which we also got married in the middle of :D) and my camper performed faultlessly for the entire time! 8)

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for robh

havent got around to uploading many others yet - this is at Loch Leven

[img] http://www.flickr.com/photos/26904853@N08/3883277287/ [/img]

Go mental and get on of these bad boys lol 😀

http://www.svaimports.com/details.php?ID=289