camper van

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TimB

Guest
I have a split charging system in the van, the leisure battery hold charge for quite some time, I have found that I can run the lights for around 4 or 5 days.
The leisure battery is also usefull to jump start the van on it's bad days! :O)

The AC inverters are good, but your limited to what you can run on them as the wattage is not usually very high. I got mine from ebay for around £40. It's an 800w system which can chaged the laptop with no problems.
 

Brendan

Nomad
Dec 1, 2004
270
4
54
Surrey UK
I almost bought one of these a few months ago. You get loads of kit for the money and quite good mpg.
Not saying buy from evilbay just a link to show you a mazda bongo.
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
Hiya William

Don`t know if it`s much use to you but I managed to get a T reg VW Bugvan last summer to take to V festival - £650 from the Adtrader.
Didn`t breakdown once - just used a lot of water

Worth a look

Good luck
 

JonnyP

Full Member
Oct 17, 2005
3,833
29
Cornwall...
Brendan said:
I almost bought one of these a few months ago. You get loads of kit for the money and quite good mpg.
Not saying buy from evilbay just a link to show you a mazda bongo.

Brendans Bongo.........Love it..........Jon
 

william#

Settler
Sep 5, 2005
531
0
sussex
hey been ages since this thread thought i would update - there might be another person on here who is sad enough to avidly read most things on here .
well i got the camper stored it away returned to thailand while in thailand i fell in love
noooooo not with a woman but with scuba .
now i got back got the camper but quite quickly certain things became apparent one was the rising fuel costs and two as mentioned on this thread many camp sites dont take campers .
i also realised that its just these small campsites i like and the camper van sites are the ones i dont like and though i thought the ease of cooking and all the other comforts yu get with a van was what i thought i wanted , i actually realised that when im out in the wilds i like to cook on my msr at the foot of my tent or under the tarp of my hammock so i am busy getting the camper ready to re sell i will then secide whether to go back to thailand and finnish off the dive master course or keep to the original plan but do it with tent / hammock and small hatch back either way i learned camper vans do not do it for me
 

Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
1,354
9
52
Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
Picked up a 1984 VW T25 Camper (Holdsworth conversion) at the weekend as an impulse buy. Mechanically it is perfect with brand new brake componants, bearings, CVs, exhaust, alternator, starter, batteries and more. Wax oyled underneath. Was my mate's dad's restoration project since '97 and since '95 it has only done 12k miles bringing it up to 86k. Slight bit of bubbling on the usual seams, but that's it. The 78 PS 1.9 petrol engine is a gem and all the interior can best be described as perfect bar a bit of wear on the front seats. Shame they're pink.... must make some zebra skin seat covers and carpet now!

Gas cooker and grill with gas fridge all works perfect as does the twin battery electrics, and the fridge can also run off the alternator if need be, or the electrical hook up.

All in for....£1000! Bargain...

Anyway, should be perfect for my weekend fishing trips to the coast and for mountain trips when I don't have time to camp out. Also my girlfriend can come out on extended trips without having to worry about the guinea pigs as there is ample room for them too! ;)

I even got a Monkey bike included...:lmao: Must get a German helmet to wear with that....
 

gunnix

Nomad
Mar 5, 2006
434
2
Belgium
Nice, I'm looking at second hand vans myself as well, might try it out since I'll have my drivers license practical examination tomorrow !

Is it hard to find a parking place to sleep in a van?

Damn, since you mentioned about your girlfriend's guinea pigs.. I just realised my girl got a rabbit this week and he'll probably have to come with us on all our trips too!? Well, we should learn him to follow after us... or rewild him (I'm still glad it wasn't a dog she showed up with, or another guy! ;) )
 

Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
1,354
9
52
Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
A rabbit should be cool! Make a folding 'run' for it and when you park up, it can nibble the grass. Ours live in pairs in large cages so when we hit grass, I'll take the wire tops off and peg them on the grass and release the piggies into it. Once they have mown the lawn, I'll move them a bit. Just remember to take them in at night because of foxes and stuff...

At home they live in the livving room in large runs on the floor, but they don't mind the cages for a while. Should be fun, and if we run out of food...
 

william#

Settler
Sep 5, 2005
531
0
sussex
good luck with the exam !!!
i found parking a bit of a problem - but then one im pretty naff at parking the thing at best. 2. i have a bit of a hang up with just parking anywhere (brought up in the country and understand that the whole place is owned by someone some where (but thats just my hang up ) though if you get to know an area well yu get to know good spots and the level of discretion needed. 3. i am always paranoid im going to put it in a ditch or ground the thing so that tends to make me less adventerous with where i park .
thinking of a little 4x4 panda now (an old rust bucket ) that i can just rush into woods with not worrying about paint work and the like cover with green scrim and set up hammock .
 

scanker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 15, 2005
2,326
24
52
Cardiff, South Wales
I've recently started looking at Mazda Bongos for ourselves, so if anyone's got any sage advice or tips I'd really appreciate them.
 

william#

Settler
Sep 5, 2005
531
0
sussex
Spacemonkey said:
Get some NV goggles to add to the effect so you can approach in darkness... Have you noticed that my poked badger moves faster than yours? Have you also noticed that www.badgerbadger.com no longer exists?


lol
i did get an image inteciver yes
though i sold it last week due to lack of use
maybe get a top pair of goggles next time
 

gunnix

Nomad
Mar 5, 2006
434
2
Belgium
william# said:
good luck with the exam !!!

Thanks, I think it was lucky indeed that I passed :)

A panda, those little cars are good eh. I know they last pretty long!

@ spacemonkey: our rabbit has no cage at all, it just follows my girl like his own mother! (there's also a trail of **** trough the house)
 

Dougster

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 13, 2005
5,254
238
The banks of the Deveron.
A mate of mine has just bought a Hilux Surf for about £3k. The back seats go flat, so it's about as big as a small double bed, with all the kit in the front when there are two of them. The back window drops for ventilation and he's 4X4 to get slightly off the track. Not luxury, but rig a tarp over the, linked to a roofrack and dangle your feet off the tailgate....
 

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