Europe in a SWB?

[fulla]

I'm thinking about getting a R reg SWB 2.5L diesel for a trip to Europe in the summer. I've never owned a van before (and I'm from Australia), so some advice would be good.

The van I'm looking at is rusty as hell (door frames, engine bay and chassis), but I'm not too concerned about this as I'm planning on selling as soon as I get back to the UK. I went for a test drive today and everything seemed fine - no funny wobbles/noises, brakes were very good, steering was fine, all lights etc working, started first time. The seller says it had a full mechanical overhaul 2 years ago and the alternator, fuel pump and belts all look pretty new. I did an MOT check and she's failed in the past, but passed the latest MOT with "slight pitting on brakes".

Is it possible/accepted practice to ask the mechanics who did the most recent MOT to give their opinion on the van/check their history? Or will I look like an idiot if I walk in and ask for them to tell me about some van they serviced 9 months ago?

It's got tax and MOT until Sept 09.

I'm planning on chucking a mattress and some beer in the back and going to Portugal.

Asking price is 750 ono - what do you guys think? Is this a fair price? What else should I be looking out for? Also, the pick-up in first seemed hopeless - had to push the accellerator to the floor to get her moving...but revs in 2nd and above were fine. Is this normal for this van?

Thanks for any and all genuine advice,

Tom

[BigNeil]

How many posts do you need to ask the same thing ??

[fulla]

mate - I'm looking for advice on the van, not advice on how to use the forum.

[BigNeil]

3/4 posts all about the same thing

its an R plate van which from yuor description is rough.

yes it will most probably get you to your destination and yes maybe back again
what else would you like to know

However £750 sounds alot

[camperconvert]

Gday mate

take it from a sandgroper, jeez theres some grumpy buggers in the world lol......

lst time i was in Oz, i bought a twenty odd year old patrol on a whim to go to Exmoth and back from SW. my theory is, if it drives ok and theres nothing major wrong, go for it....

lifes for adventure... i also concure tho, hope your very good mates

Terry

[noobrider]

£750 sounds a bit steep, I paid £600 for a long wheelbase with 11 months mot and in a lot better nick.

Shop around a bit and dont buy the first one you see

[fulla]

Thanks - I'm still looking around and there's no immediate rush... just wanted to get an idea of prices.

This one's done 130,000 miles - I though 750 was a bit steep too.

EDIT: can you suggest an insurance company? Having a bit of trouble finding something for just 2-3 months that includes europe... Cheers.

[Nick21]

I've been using the E-Van Insurance for my various vehicles. They're cheap and offer short term insurance.

It's mostly an online company though, this means it'll cost premium rates if you need to speak to someone.

http://www.evaninsurance.co.uk/

[MinorMatt]

Just get a policy for a year and pay monthly, cancel the policy and the monthly payment when you are done!

Always found E-Van expensive

[Backbone of Britain]

Just get a policy for a year and pay monthly, cancel the policy and the monthly payment when you are done!

Always found E-Van expensive

Ditto to that Matt. E-van are vey expensive.
I use Autonet insurance, I've found them the cheapest for my area, Cheaper than Adrian Flux, Quotezone, etc etc. Also try your local branch of CIS, had good reports of these of mates of mine. You need to ring them up though as you cannot do it online.
What I have done in the past is when they ask what the cheapest quote i had, was to knock off £100-£150 off the yearly premium.
Someone, Somewhere will always beat the imaginary Quote you have.

[fulla]

Thank guys - will start phoning around tomorrow.

[Serpens]

hi,

were from australia too, we bought our van about 18months ago, and have slowly been doing it up for van tour next year before we leave for home.

When we bought ours, we paid about 1200 for one off ebay, and was pretty thrashed. But you can get some pretty decent ones now for about 600.

Best advice for you is to gt one with mot expiring next year, that way you dont have to worry about it, tax if you can get it with 2months + remaning thats a bonus because it gives you time to get your insurance in order.

Try to get one with minimal rust, that way you can fiberglass and bog it then paint it using a roller and rustolium paint, as described in another thread that way you can customise it stray styles. Just make sure you thin it down.

Use a crapload of degreaser and rags to clean the inside. Dont worry about a stove for inside the van as you will never use it. Get a bbq with a side burner as you will be cooking outside most of the time anyway. And if you must boil the ketle inside, a small gas stove would surfice.
Mains hookup 4plug leads for the caravan parks,(if you use them) can be ebayed for 10pounds not bought from argos for 100.

Bed, maybe butcher a sofabed or futon, unles your 4ft its hard to sleep you and the mrs sideways so I wouldnt recomend.

carpet, Id board it frst, but you dont have to, if you not ply lined then just cut the carpet and screw it over the paneless gaps, you dont need wood (hell of alot of drillbits though) , A curtin between the cab and the back makes a hell of alot of difference in the temperature at night.

and lastly awnings, Id spring the 70quid for a drive away type. that way you can visit stuff without having to pack up camp everyday.

Engine wise, you never know untill something goes wrong, so just drive it till the death, make sure it doesnt over heat, out of oil, lights on ect.. (any battery booster pack under 200pounds is a waste of time for a diesel btw) and watch out for the constant blue smoke ect... Transit are better than sprinters ldv and so on because if you do screw the engine you can get anothr one an be on your way usually for 200pounds and a couple of boxes of beer. Good idea to stop it smoking is to chucka ballbearing n the vacume hose of the egr as soon as you get it too.

MOST importantly dont spent too much money on it or on kitting it out.

hope this helps, any other questions just pm me.

[Serpens]

oh yeah, if your after a swb, make sure its a low roof, not a raised low roof, as youll find it hard to get into underground carparks ect...

see here for ours and we only just get under the bar


viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18045
http://fordtransit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18045

and try confsed.com for the insurance, usually pretty cheap

[fulla]

Right, thanks for the advice lads!

I've bought me van (1997 SWB 120 for 650 quid) and the cleaning process will start this weekend. After a thorough clean, I'm planning on lining the back with cheap ply/MDF and laying some carpet too, just to make it a bit more habitable.

I'm happy with the mechanics - went out for 60 miles on the M9 today without a hitch - but I'm a bit concerned about how to sleep 3 men in the back. I'm not looking a proper camper conversion, just somewhere to lie down at night when we come home boozed.

At this stage I'm thinking of getting some brackets welded onto the floor, roof and nearside and using timber to build a shelf across half of the interior. It would be a sort of bunk, ie: one guy sleeps on the bunk, one guy on the floor underneath the bunk, and the other fella beside him (without a bunk over his head). Do you reckon this is a good idea? If the supports for the bunk run from floor to roof, I assume the bodywork can take the strain of about 120kg of timber and man? It's going to be cramped (especially for the guy underneath the bunk!), but I don't really see any other way of doing it.

Thoughts?

[Serpens]

the wheel arch would be in the way for the person under the shelf,

the best, safest and cheapest way would be to make a 2.5ft platform in the back using the whole floor space, but leaving about 2.5 ft behind the front seats, thatway you can have 2 on the top of the platform, with enough space not to get too friendly durin the night, and one under using half of the underspace in a ready bed type of thing, that way if your clever you can make a pull up cupboad under the one drivers side top bunk, for all your gear.

this way really does keep costs down, sleep 3 and is quite safe,

when you get talking about welding in brackets, gets abit techincal, with stress points ect... plus you have to find someone willing to do it.