My daughter has decided she needs a small camper van. Just to sleep her and her little dog so she can go on adventures.
This world is new to me so I'm just gathering info to make sure she doesn't end up with something that'll prove a nightmare further down the line (as I'll be the one taking it to the garage!).
She's set on a VW Caddy Life type of thing 2012/15 ish in budget (5k seems to be the ball park). Don't mind a bit of DIY conversion work.
There seem to be a lot of Caddy Life's with wheelchair ramps. Are they easy to strip out or just a pain in the arse.
Pics of conversions would be good for inspiration!
I did find this locally but she's knocked it 100% out of the park saying only old farts drive Berlingos!...
The Wavs only have a 40 litre fuel tank and the new section of floor will rot quickly as they aren't galvanised. If it's ex-motability it might not have had an easy life - beware diesels that have only done short journeys
I think I am right in saying that insurance on converted vehicles can be difficult, and a few sport unique/custom things like exhausts that are a right pain. In addition I met a friend once who thought they could remove the ramp and discovered there was a 1mx1m hole cut through the floorpan to install it...
Having seen 'cheap' van that cost £4k, be very very fussy. This was my lads van - £4k cost, £1200 to convert. Took him to Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France for a couple of summers.
However, first MOT cost £700 of brakes and welding, second MOT cost £400 of welding and he was told to bail before next MOT. So we did.
And this was the best van we found in a few months...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/albums/72177720300543524
He then moved to a Combo LWB bought from a local dealer for £3k. It was much better, dealer warrantied the turbo when it blew up a day after purchase(!), and my son did a year 12k miles with no issues. MOT had an advisory for rust and nothing else.
The lads at work all loved their Combo's . Good value vans. I think with small vans it's the history as well that's quite important and will influence the choice a bit.
The spec of vans varies so much, some are quite highly specced ,some are very very basic .
Caddy Life's do get used as taxi s so check the history throughly.
Nissan NV200 FTW.
Van or Combi versions, Tekna trim is higher and includes most of what you'd want
Plenty of YouTube conversion vids as well
I had a VW Caddy 61 plate and did a small self conversion on it. I have a photo of it broken down at the side of the motorway when the first injector went. When another one started to play up I got rid of it as quickly as I could. I hope therefore you're not looking at the same engine which are notorious for injectors.
Avoid WAV’s like the plague - always look at Autotrader photos and look for the cuts in the rear bumpers. They are cheap for a reason.
Cared for non thrashed vans are as rare as unicorn tears - look at the MPV equivalent instead, Berlingo, Pug Partner, CaddyLife etc. Id be surprised if you could get a Caddy Life for the £5k you mentioned that isn’t on moon mileage. MPV tailgates are better than van barn doors.
1.6 VAG engines (I don’t know the code) are notorious for eating injectors.
I’m biased but my M59 2.0hdi Berlingo is old school Bulletproof, galvanised, dirt cheap for parts and economical. Lots of people add a Campal or Amdro boot jump and a rear awning for a <£5k micro camper. The later 1.6 PSA group diesel started off shit but got better. A late as possible B9 XTR spec Berlingo/Pug Partner would be a better/safer choice. In fact the one you linked to that I’ve now opened is pretty much perfect! There are lots of FB groups for Berlingo/Partner micro campers.
I went all over the UK on doggo adventures.
Daughter did a load of travelling around the UK and Europe in a Tourneo Connect with the rear seats out. Mattress inside and room for bikes. Cooking and relaxing were in a Decathlon drive away awning
This old fart would test drive that Berlingo you've found, poke around it and if I couldn't find a good reason not to; buy it. And hand the keys to junior. I lend him my least-sexy-car-on-the-road Dacia Lodgy for his Winters in the ALps with a new set of Michelin Alpins every year. He's learned to love it.
What about an MPV instead of a van? Grand Picasso, C-Max etc. More practical for day to day use, and likely better spec than a van. Rear seats would need to be able to fold completely flat though
Or, there's THIS if she likes things a bit different and quirky. Might be a bit risky.
A Berlingo or similar was my first choice (cheaper/newer than the VWs), but they are on the small side so I went for a Dispatch for the extra space, also getting a newer/cheaper van than the equivalent T5/6.
Honestly, the NV200 is not a bad call. It's a well appointed little van, but it seems to be more van than car. A Transit Connect conversion (like Tracey's dotter's above) with an LWB version would be plenty big enough and is very "car" to drive.
Friend has a Caddy with a make shift drop down piece of wood for sleeping. Uses it loads, and she'll often wild camp alone in a random layby. Good book, pot of tea/glass of wine, nobody knows.
Berlingos are good mini campers, and if you so desire, there are pre made boot kits for them readily available.
I lend him my least-sexy-car-on-the-road Dacia Lodgy for his Winters in the ALps
I saw him on the road from BSM up to SF! There aren't many of those around 😉
wheel chair ramps are a pain no matter the vehicle.
for a camper its not a terrible thing as it gives you more height inside in many cases but the downside is things have to be relocated - exhausts often single source and expensive , fuel tanks , DPF fluid tanks , spare wheels.
I wouldnt buy a caddy - certainly not a 1.6 the injector loom issue plagues them something rotten in that era. $$$$$
We have had a Fiat Doblo mini camper with a kit purchased from Redcote for about five years. Our daughter uses it a lot on her own but we also use it as a family for some things. Something bigger is difficult to insure for a 19 year old so we have stuck with it. We originally got it as a supplement to a small caravan so that if we were staying on Orkney mainland we could stay odd nights on some smaller islands etc.
I have adapted the kit a bit so that it is easier to use for three people as a day van and increased the storage by removing a couple of the rear seats. For two or three people we use the Decathlon air awning and a roof box. The air awning has a bedroom in it or it can be a big sitting and cooking space.
It is a surprisingly nice place to sleep and stays really comfortable and warm and insulates from noise well with only thermal blinds on the windows. If I was going to replace it I would get an electric Berlingo XL
Avoid the 1.6 in the caddy, as above injector failures very common and very expensive.
2l Caddys are much better engines which should go to the moon when looked after. I've slept quite a bit in the back of mine (lined, lit, leisure battery, using a fisher person's camp bed) and it's a great stealth camper...
Would hate this to become a cheeky ad, though, so I won't mention it's for sale, in Bristol, message for details etc.
to echo everybody else pretty much, B9 Berlingo! We bought one last year, 12plate XTR (natch!) tidy one with 90k miles and its been a belter. Slightly different use case, we pulled the back seats out and popped a big dog crate in the back for Mrs F to go to competitions with the hound. We also had the back windows tinted to the max, to reduce sunlight in for the dog.
Loads of room, really practical space (it's a van with windows), cheap to run and spares are everywhere. Ours is pre AdBlue so bit more expensive on tax, but no issues with AdBlue systems.
not cool in the usual sense, so I get why the one in the op was poo pooed, but they can look quite smart and on the flip side they aren't a magnet for unwanted attention. I'd have another, and i want to do a bit of a conversion in the back for a fridge/storage/day van type stuff.
Had a Puggy partner for a few years, sold it last year though as we weren't using it as much as we'd liked due to our dog recovering from injuries and not traveling well.
I removed the rear seats, ply boarded, but left a flap so a 3rd seat could go back in. built a compact kitchen, and a pull out bed configured to extend over the drivers and passenger seats, so I could cook and access the kitchen bits either from the end of the bed, or from outside. had a drive in awning, but never needed it. we did have a roofbox though, which was essential for more than a couple of days out.
didn't line it or anything as I wanted to be able to easily convert back to a car if needed.
oh and tailgate. though I think I'd have probably adapted something if it was barn doors, but having solid rain protection (with side wings attached to the tailgate) was excellent.
bought it for about £3.5k, sold it for £3k, so happy with that and gave me a bit of experience building stuff. only issue we had was one of the injectors, but once sorted it was fine. checked MOT the other day and it's still putting the miles in with the new owner. 🙂
now that the dog is better we're eying up something slightly bigger...maybe for next year.
My advice would be keep it simple ,so easily removable items . I covered a sheet of Kingspan with an old bed sheet and put my sleeping mat on it. Very comfortable.
Easy to remove and use the full load bay of the van for 99% of the other time.
It was a Caddy Maxi.
I was avoiding extolling the positives of the mighty Berlingo but we are on number 4 in 20 years.
Current situation is a 15 plate partner outdoor of the 1.6 variety and a 24 plate e-rifter.
Only thing I wouldn't touch is the 1.5diesel. they are bollocks.
Our tepee partner was on 127, when it was written off. Only one repair in the 109,000 miles we drove. Some we got the engine which was after the early one that ate turbos and before they next variant rust did something else
She should be aware of the boot jump. There are cheaper copies
https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/camping/tents+bivvys/amdro_boot_jump-7133
Not sure if mentioned as i cant be arsed reading the thread. And i know nothing about them other than seeing one and thought it was kind of cool
Romahome duo
