460 minibus.

[sheff]

Hi, i am thinking of buying 460 minibus to convert into a camper.
What are the pro's and con's. Cheers.

[dumper]

Pros windows done roof lining done ( I only used mine upto the rear of the sliding door) powered side step most come with a single passenger seat and aircon cruse control speed limiter power mirror fog lights they are cheaper then a 470 van and more available BCA car auctions have two comeing up this week with less than 1000 mls a 2.2& 2.0 l . And I sold my seats for £1000 mine was a lease van from a school and only did 7000 kilometres being a x school bus they don’t do a lot of miles.

The cons from my conversion to many windows all bar the 2 front side windows boarded over rear air con I had removed still has a rear heater under the passenger seat which I don’t use when the seats removed to many holes in the floor so I fitted a new floor but would have done this on van anyway speed limiter that I couldn’t remove till log-booked as a camper mine had a tachograph fitted witch I had removed I ( needed the slot to fit a two way radio ) and mileage put back on the dash this was done at a Ford dealership but someone like vantuner maybe able to do this for you mine being a 65 plate it has add blue as Euro 6 came in a year earlier on the 2.2 it’s not to bad on add blue use but At least it’s future Proof .

[sheff]

Cheers Dumper,
If a minibus has a tacho, can they be fiddled like the mileage can be.

[dumper]

I had no problem having mine removed before it was fully converted it’s only the speed limiter that I had to wait for as I understand it you only need a tachograph for higher and reward most of the PSV services bus one don’t have one

[sheff]

Sorry Dumper, i haven't explained myself properly. Its very easy to clock a van/car even with full service history. (it proves nothing) Is it easy to turn back the mileage on a tacho? The reason i ask is, most of the vans have upwards of 75000 miles on, where as lots of minibuses have very low miles and seem to be cheaper.

[dumper]

I don’t know to be sure I think that they can only be reset to zero have checked the mot gov site .

[MiniNick]

Hello (my first post on the forum)

I am looking at a Transit L4 for my camper-van conversion, when i saw a load of 460 Minibus' for cheaper, less mileage and as you mentioned all the mod cons (aircon, cruise etc).

Dumper as you said the pros seems to be really in favour of a camper foundation build, plus i would reckon that most minibus' are kept in better condition that a lot of vans out there. Also one i has seen doesn't that the skylight which is better as i can install a fan where i want it rather than where the skylight was installed. Additionally the 4600kg GVW actually helps as adding up the weight of the campervan install with not much in the way of luxuries i was up to 860KG of payload, which takes you to 80% of a 350 Van.

The issue i am trying to think around (well two actually), is the driving licence bit. Being a 4600kg GVW poses a tricky question. While I have a C1 licence, it means that I need to get a D1 in the mean time to driving it before/during the conversion (until it is reclassified). This seems a pain in the rear (and a wasted cost)!!

Secondly I wanted the three person up front seats. Do you know if you can fit the double passenger seats from the van with ease (i assume the mounting holes are there???)

Good luck Sheff.

Cheers

Nick

[JontBont]

Hi MiniNick, the 4600 GVW minibus driving licence category requirement is a problem for me too. I passed my licence after 1997 and therefore don’t have C1 or D1 categories. The plan is to ask my wife (very kindly) to pick up the van (‘65 plate L4H3 < 50k on the clock, rear view camera and air con) from our local van centre. She passed her driving test before 1997. I have reached out to SVTech to check how to downplate to 3500 GVW following the initial strip out. The process requires access to a local vehicle weighing site, a bit of form filling and photos and £120 + VAT. Whilst there is a bit of concern around unladen weight plus payload (post renovation) exceeding 3500, it’s something I can monitor through the build then decide to take a C1/D1 test if necessary. Would be interested from other forum members if this approach can work. Happy festive camping!

[dumper]

Yes I think from what I’ve read on here it’s possible to change the seats the same as mk 6& 7 with the a lot of people wanting to put a single instead of a twin you should be able to find someone to do a swap or buy a twin seat and sell your single for more money.
As for the license I had class one Hgv till I retired so I have no problem till I’m 70 then the trouble starts do I renew my license every year or down rate it and renew every 3 years . It’s a pity that the license requirements isn’t on size instead of gvw as it’s no different driving 3500 kg or a 4600 kg transit especially with the 460 being a safer to drive with better brakes and suspension as we all know there are more campers running round over weight.

[StuartB58]

The 460 can be down rated. You'll need to find a local weigh station and strip every thing out, even down to fuel, spare wheel the 2 inner wheels on rear axle but leave them near to put back on after you leave lol.

[Hannahgh]

I’m about to put an offer in on a 17 seater, mk8. My concern is the weight, does anyone know the weight of the seats? Or unladen weight once the seats are removed?
Thanks

[johnporter11]

Mine weighed in at 2900kg with just one set of twin seats and two leisure batteries on board, quarter full.

[JamesHow]

For your Information

Mk8 single seats weight approx 25kg

Some are slightly lighter as they have a single leg over the wheel arch

Doubles 50kg.

Cheers James

[chris67493]

Pros windows done roof lining done ( I only used mine upto the rear of the sliding door) powered side step most come with a single passenger seat and aircon cruse control speed limiter power mirror fog lights they are cheaper then a 470 van and more available BCA car auctions have two comeing up this week with less than 1000 mls a 2.2& 2.0 l . And I sold my seats for £1000 mine was a lease van from a school and only did 7000 kilometres being a x school bus they don’t do a lot of miles.

The cons from my conversion to many windows all bar the 2 front side windows boarded over rear air con I had removed still has a rear heater under the passenger seat which I don’t use when the seats removed to many holes in the floor so I fitted a new floor but would have done this on van anyway speed limiter that I couldn’t remove till log-booked as a camper mine had a tachograph fitted witch I had removed I ( needed the slot to fit a two way radio ) and mileage put back on the dash this was done at a Ford dealership but someone like vantuner maybe able to do this for you mine being a 65 plate it has add blue as Euro 6 came in a year earlier on the 2.2 it’s not to bad on add blue use but At least it’s future Proof .

Hi dumper, I also have the same minibus for conversion but am struggling to find someone to remove the rear ac unit. Ford garage didn't want to touch it. How did you go about removing it? Cheers

[JamesHow]

Is think you want an auto A/C + auto electrician.

The more difficult job will be the canbus connections.

You could ask in the USA transit site??

Cheers James