Started doing more events again and im ferrying the mrs round to many road races round the country decided my wee vans too small for the 2 of us after freezin to death on my bike and tryin to get changed in the equivalent of a phone box on saturday

My buddy has a lwb medium roof transit and its right up my street but the mrs is very reluctant as his conversions a bit rough

How ever sitting in the back of another mates 1989 fiat ducato coach built camper

He was fresh out his shower and we all had a cup of tea sittin in the seats. – the mrs , she approves

I realise the camper is mega money but i dont need it as a daily car just for weekends away i ride to work most days.

Was thinking medium roof medium length iveco as tese seem to be cheaper than more common vans i guess due to heavy on go go juice. spookyb182 you have one of these whats it like to live with ?

Finally show me yours ? Set up for 4 berths no monster campers i cant stretch that far 😉

VW California Beach.

Out of the factory SWB T5-based camper – no gas, plumbing or hook-up but sleeping room for four, seats for up to seven, used as a daily driver with plenty of camper goodies such as blinded windows, privacy glass, pop-top, awning, table, rotating front seats, leisure battery (12v). It’s early days yet but for me it was the catalyst for getting out and doing more without having a third vehicle idly knocking around.

Must admit the big draw to van conversion is bikes live inside.

The back seat is on rails so can be removed (if you’re Giant Haystacks), but then you’d only have sleeping space for two, or slid all the way forward/back. The all-round windows do mean that you can see inside the ‘boot’ though, but then it’s possible to draw the blinds unless of course that suggests there’s something to hide.

Bought it as a straight panel van and converted it in bits.

Got it ply lined, insulated, rock and roll bed, twin hob, tap and fridge.

best thing i ever bought. Have got a tow bar fitted but regularly put my bike in the back. Would love to put a pop top and gas heater for winter months

one thing i know is it wont be a vw….. if it was id buy paul erringtons in a heart beat…..

I had a lwb high top Ducato which was fitted out to sleep us 4.
If I was doing it now I’d go for a transit. Iirc ivecos are low geared and not fun to live with.
Do a search on motorcoss vans for examples with storage areas.

Some of the bigger Ivecos, 5T+ have lower gearing to cope better with the weight. The gearing on my MWB 35s12 is fine. Cruised at m-way speeds no problem.

borrowing my dads splitting new L2H1 dispatch for our holidays this summer to the alps – although my wagons probably fine (a pug partner) itll be nice to have A/C for the drive.

will see how that goes as a half way house – possibly with a pop top i could live with it…..

yeah the motocrossvans are the style im thinking – SteveH regularly has the sorts of thing id be looking at doing.

Few pics of mine….

‘Boot’ under the rear bunk is 3ft deep and takes a couple of bikes with front wheel removed and still leaves room for 4 of those plastic crates, childs bike, inflatable kayak. Reckon it could take 4 or maybe 5 bikes and two of those crates if required.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/iveco-daily-motorhome-diesel-van-race-truck-camper-motocross-3-owners-/370812941013?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item56562c72d5#ht_808wt_1170

I like that set up but realistically its monsterously too big – i live in the country but my neighbours would throw a shit fit if i put that on the drive 😉

dont need it to be quite so long – ill need to go and view a few i think , theres a place near me that specializes in camper/caravans i think we will have to go see some ESP as im not short…..

Just get a caravan and embrace the gypo lifestyle

wait till my neighbours down the road go out doing what ever honest activity that traveling folk do at night with vans full of ladders …. and nick one of their vans you mean bruce ?

I would go something like this.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JsRg0Jlj5Tw[/video]

@trickydisco – Van’s still looking good Gav! 😀

I can’t see you getting the bikes inside a Dispatch AND having the type of luxury your missus is after.

My bikes live outside, if we’re in it then they’re chained up and I’d hear someone having a go. If it’s parked up then they can be removed and put inside, the tinted windows make it very hard to see inside.

VW t$ Westfalia Exclusive by pictonroad, on Flickr

VW t$ Westfalia Exclusive by pictonroad, on Flickr

VW t$ Westfalia Exclusive by pictonroad, on Flickr

First things first, just like buying a bike, test drive the vans first. Its a lot to spend if you hate driving it.

Am very tempted to hire one for our honeymoon and drive round France for a few weeks in August……

VW t$

Was that a deliberate slip of the shift key 🙂

I don’t things ours fits the bill. Room for 2 people, two bikes and one canoe but not much else. We need a 4×4 for other hobbies so this doubles up nicely.

A friend has a basic transit conversion on a LWB hi-top and it’s huge inside.

Am very tempted to hire one for our honeymoon and drive round France for a few weeks in August

I converted ours for our honeymoon round the lakes and up to Skye. It was a great trip, very free and relaxing.

Dales rider – i will drive anything…… If i can do 80 miles a day in a 1986 lr defender any modern van will be fine.

Big in size doesnt bother me either to an extent – ferry prices do bother me

Comfort when stopped up bothers me more – my current van doesnt exactly set the world alight……70bhp 🙂

I’d suggest this. Land Cruiser camper conversion.

VW T4 1.9TD here – absolutely love it! Bit the bullet a couple of years ago and sold up a bike to get it alonside some savings. Has rock and roll bed (make sure before you buy thats its a crash tested one if you’re using it with an ISO kids seat etc) also has sink / gas / cooker & fridge (if you’re more a fan of wild camping like we are rather than sites etc make sure you get one that has a fridge that runs on gas – no elec hook up in the middle of nowhere). We love ours, its been camping to the wilds in Wales/festivals and also gets used as a dayvan for days out/rides etc. We have a 2 year old lad who loves it. If you find the right one for youre needs you certainly wouldnt regret it! so much for fun to drive too than our sterile focus (now sold) the T$ is our daily driver also. Good luck & enjoy!

Love the land cruiser – not sure single digit economy from my 3.5v8 in my defender wouldnt be worth the level f comfort it wouldnt offer 🙂

Well if I ever convert a van again it would be a long wheelbase VW
Probabley first thing to do would be a pop top with bed, somewhere to sleep straight away.
Then worry about the rest, LWB its a tight fit with a SWB.
Proper VW track system (or othher vans system) to put a vehicle specific crash tested R+R bed in.
Now before you start look up the complexities of running a van and all the implecations (tax insurance speed limits ferry costs)and look up having it re registered as a campervan. Oh and if you insist on a high top just have a peek around at all the places with 2 metre barriers you’ll be barred from.

Time to relax by NeilCain, on Flickr

Bit of a fish out of water. First stay at a French aire. by NeilCain, on Flickr

Tea in the Bongo. by NeilCain, on Flickr

Yep like Mark90 I have a mwb Iveco…35s12 (3.5t single wheel 120bhp if you are befuddled by the model numbers…50c15 would be 5t twin wheel 150bhp)

I find the gearing pretty good, it’ll cruise at 70mph without revving its nuts off, 60mph is pretty relaxed. However, they are quite noisy overall, the standard stereo doesn’t really cut it once the bulkhead has been removed! I drive a Transit with a towing diff (low ratio) and that is screaming once you hit its restricted 70mph top speed.

Worth noting that the mwb Iveco is 6 metres, a 6 metre Ford/Fiat etc would be a lwb.

I bought mine for its towing capacity, and its cheapness compared to other vans is a bonus, today I would get the post 2006 facelift one which has a dash mounted gear lever which means you can swivel the front driver seat. If I didn’t need the towing ability, I’d probably go for a Ducato/Relay for the much lower floor and squarer sides.

Mine has a fixed rear bed (that hinges up for carrying silly stuff like the odd cement mixer) with space for two/three bagged bikes under, small toilet room, two belted rear seats and the kitchen has a large fridge/gas hob and oven, and sink-drainer. With that setup you can’t really shoehorn in a shower room, assuming you wanted a fixed rear bed with the garage space you would need to change the kitchen to a more basic 2 burner hob with a small sink.

Pics (first half was the first layout, second half is the current (much better) layout:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojr/sets/72157619846157047/show/with/3638455655/

I also founded Ivecoforums.com which has proved popular:

http://www.ivecoforums.com

I have a new shape peugeot boxer. SWB low roof.

As its 6 foot wide I can sleep widthways which frees up lots of space. At 5″8 i can just stand up to cook. Its my only vehicle so didn’t want anything too big. It fits in normal car park spaces (not multi storey but most vans don’t).
I have a boot for the bikes , can get 3 bikes in, if the boot was full height the front wheel could stay on but then no back windows.-
Still plenty of room in the front for pull out double bed and cooker. MWB would mean room for shower etc..