Camper vans rather than what you drink in the Congo.

Bongo Friendee!

Bongo Friendee Indeedee!

We had a management away day which involved an evening session on some bongo drums. Seeing our finance director on them was enough to send me to the bar. Not sure if that’s the sort of bongos you’re on about though.

Friend had one, I think it was a diesel auto, horrendous MPG and had engine problems that needed a new engine, that he had fitted and sold on.
He used it daily so mpg mattered more than if only used for holidays.

A friend of mine also has one, I’m sat in it now.

MPG is horrendous and he’s had a few mechanical issues with it. It’s not particularly luxurious for a camper. But it was cheap. He’d not want it as day to day transport.

Had an unconverted auto diesel 2.5 4×4 Bongo with electric elevating roof for 4 years. Used it as a big MPV daily driver/bike lugger/occasional camper.
Didn’t need anything major doing to it other than exhaust, brakes and drop links, although the heater matrix started leaking just before I got rid and the rear arches were rusty.
Very easy to drive, appalling mpg (25is), not that big inside (compared to a T4/T5) but they’re cheap.
Mine was an early one with flip up rear seats, much more practical than a bench seat.

Now got a VW T4 factory Kombi, which works better for me.

[video]https://youtu.be/B0TAuLJyFJo[/video]

Ive had one. I had the 2.5V6 Petrol and it was great. A fraction of the cost of a T4/T5 and very high spec.
They have one weakness, and that applies to the Diesels too. They are mid engine (under seats) and don’t have a coolant alarm (buy a retro fit one) This means that if a coolant hose goes (they are 20 years old!) they overheat and this wrecks the head/engine. The temperature guage is alos very slow to read a problem which means by the time you realise it is too late.

My petrol went like the proverbial off a shovel and returned 28-32 mpg which was ok. The diesels are slower and noiser and return similar although if you have a heavy right foot (they are nearly all Autos), then they drink fuel at about 22-25mpg.

Would I buy another one (last got written off in a building fire)…. probably not tbh.

We’ve had one for a few years. Fuel consumption is not great but better than others seem to get, our 2.5 diesel gets about 30. Ours is unconverted; it’s great for camping, we have the choice between sleeping upstairs or downstairs if the weather is manky or we just fancy a change. Even if you’re not sleeping upstairs the extra headroom is awesome. It’s toasty and warm because the mid engine keeps the cabin warm long after you’ve stopped somewhere.

We thought about getting it converted properly, but it’s so versatile as it is – we can camp in it, drive about with 8 people in it or use it to lug stuff around (it just fits 8×4′ sheets in, and we’ve had a two seater sofa and a double bed in it). I take it to work when I don’t ride in.

Since 2009 ours has had a new exhaust (our fault, as we reversed into a grass bank… a random garage in Scotland got us a new one in a day, ace!) and had the rear wheel arches redone, as rust is common there.

Plus it was a THIRD of the price of a VW, and we got an expensive one! This was really what swayed us, and we’d do it again without a second thought.

We had one, a 2.5 V6, much smoother than the diesels and around 26-30mpg.

We had ours fully converted by an outfit in S. Wales that did an excellent job. No real mechanical issues, but fit a coolant alarm, as above. Warped cylinder heads can be an issue

I loved it and we covered many UK and European miles – however as our boys got bigger, they rebelled about sleeping in the roof!

I would have one again like a shot. The Bongo Fury owners website was extremely useful https://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/contact-us/

So how much extra space does the roof give? We are looking at cheap 4 berths whilst the kids will still love the adventure but my son is getting fairly large. A coolant alarm seems a must – thanks for the warning .

Buying

Perhaps this link….

When we were looking, they are small inside and you don’t have to spend that much more to get a T5 and the extra space that entails (esp with a LWB). People don’t seem to hate on the Bongos as much as the T5’s though 😆

My FiL has one. Horrible thing. Badly packaged design, thirsty, not even very big.

There are good reasons why they are cheaper than a T4.

A good mate of mine has one. Slow (4 pot petrol), thirsty, very high seating position. I reckon about 80% of them are clocked on import – all the (unconverted) ones he looked at were >10 years old and <40,000 miles, and surprise surprise, no history. I just don’t believe that is representitive of the milage a boggo mpv picks up.

This isn’t necessarily an issue, but does close the gap in pricing to other campers if you triple the recorded miles