newbie from Somerset

[Rustyade]

Hi everyone I have a Mk 7 MWB Hi Top t350. Its a former western power van and had the Bristor conversion and I have been doing my best to do a camper conversion. Was really a lockdown project have got everything out and its now ready for it to be built as I would like. Problem is I dont know which way to go. I fancy just insulating it ply lining and having it fabric covered so it is flexible and I can have fold up beds and everything else easily removable. I am being told that campers are fetching silly money at the moment due to covid and staycations and I should do a 'proper' convesion with hob fridge table cupboards etc. What do you think ? Its not really a money thing for me I would like the van to be not too posh to have dirty mountain bikes in and be usable for work but not rubbish shifting, but nice enough when away.

[Cider Andy]

The big advantages to my mind in doing a 'proper' (fixed) conversion is it can be registered as a motor caravan (as opposed to panel van) which means car speed limits (up to 3050kg, so probably won't work for you) and cheaper insurance.

[fitzfarseer]

The big advantages to my mind in doing a 'proper' (fixed) conversion is it can be registered as a motor caravan (as opposed to panel van) which means car speed limits (up to 3050kg, so probably won't work for you) and cheaper insurance.

I thought that, however I've since found out that the majority of applicants wanting to convert their van to a motor caravan through the dvla get declined. I think it doesn't help that the guidelines are somewhat vague, but even when all of those guidelines have been met, vans can still be declined.

[hectors-tranny]

The big advantages to my mind in doing a 'proper' (fixed) conversion is it can be registered as a motor caravan (as opposed to panel van) which means car speed limits (up to 3050kg, so probably won't work for you) and cheaper insurance.

It's a common misconception that reregistering a panel van as a motorcaravan (changing body type) means car speed limits. It doesn't!

If you're interested I asked the DVSA when I was doing a conversion, and got this reply...

"However, it should be noted that even if the DVLA accept that the vehicle now meets the definition as a Motor Caravan, the vehicle class will not change on the V5 (registration document) only the vehicle description. If the vehicle was approved as an N1 Goods vehicle it will still be listed as an N1 Goods vehicle. This will have an impact on such items as speed limits applied to the vehicle and the London Congestion charge. If the intention is to have the vehicle both viewed and described as a Motor Caravan, then it must either be issued with a new chassis number and approved as an M1 passenger vehicle under the IVA scheme or, approved as a Motor Caravan prior to registration."

If you think about it it would make no sense anyway. After all when converting a van you're not changing any of the running gear/brakes etc, so why would it suddenly be ok to drive it faster?!

[dumper]

Yes getting a conversion reclassified as a camper is nearly impossible two local guys who have been converting vans for years have given up on trying and now just change them to vans with windows if not all ready got that on the logbook.

[fitzfarseer]

Yes getting a conversion reclassified as a camper is nearly impossible two local guys who have been converting vans for years have given up on trying and now just change them to vans with windows if not all ready got that on the logbook.

Yes I had thought about doing that with my van conversion, but after researching the process I've decided that I'm just going to keep it as a stealth camper and try to insure is using one of those insurance providers that allow you to list the vehicle as a 'modified van' or 'camper in conversion'.

My only real reason for wanting the change of vehicle usage was for the cheaper insurance, but with the hassle that I'd inevitably face I thought it just wouldn't be worth it.

[dumper]

All my previous vans Adrian flux wasn’t bothered about the logbook being re classified one of the vans I never changed the logbook over or fitted windows and they wasn’t bothered but on my mk8 conversation they gave me 6 mounts to get the logbook re-classified A plan gave me a year .I was lucky on mine as DVLA had a change of regs for a short period and mine went straight through logbook was back in two weeks.

[Cider Andy]

"However, it should be noted that even if the DVLA accept that the vehicle now meets the definition as a Motor Caravan, the vehicle class will not change on the V5 (registration document) only the vehicle description. If the vehicle was approved as an N1 Goods vehicle it will still be listed as an N1 Goods vehicle. This will have an impact on such items as speed limits applied to the vehicle and the London Congestion charge. If the intention is to have the vehicle both viewed and described as a Motor Caravan, then it must either be issued with a new chassis number and approved as an M1 passenger vehicle under the IVA scheme or, approved as a Motor Caravan prior to registration."

Very interesting! And as clear as mud! All the published government information I can find states quite clearly that a motor caravan up to 3050kg can be driven at car speed limits, irrespective of whether the V5C states it's a motor caravan.

If you think about it it would make no sense anyway. After all when converting a van you're not changing any of the running gear/brakes etc, so why would it suddenly be ok to drive it faster?!

I could equally counter that with it's already ok to drive a van at 70mph on the motorway: what's the difference between a dual carriageway and a motorway? And why is it considered safe to drive it at 82mph in France? Etc.....

[richbee]

The big advantages to my mind in doing a 'proper' (fixed) conversion is it can be registered as a motor caravan (as opposed to panel van) which means car speed limits (up to 3050kg, so probably won't work for you) and cheaper insurance.

It's a common misconception that reregistering a panel van as a motorcaravan (changing body type) means car speed limits. It doesn't!

If you're interested I asked the DVSA when I was doing a conversion, and got this reply...

"However, it should be noted that even if the DVLA accept that the vehicle now meets the definition as a Motor Caravan, the vehicle class will not change on the V5 (registration document) only the vehicle description. If the vehicle was approved as an N1 Goods vehicle it will still be listed as an N1 Goods vehicle. This will have an impact on such items as speed limits applied to the vehicle and the London Congestion charge. If the intention is to have the vehicle both viewed and described as a Motor Caravan, then it must either be issued with a new chassis number and approved as an M1 passenger vehicle under the IVA scheme or, approved as a Motor Caravan prior to registration."

If you think about it it would make no sense anyway. After all when converting a van you're not changing any of the running gear/brakes etc, so why would it suddenly be ok to drive it faster?!

By that logic, Tourneo minibuses shouldn't be able to drive at car speeds either - there is no difference in running gear between van versions and minibus versions. I don't think that for modern vans there is anything that makes them unsafe at normal car speeds - they are allowed to do 70 on the motorway, same as everyone else, it's just a rather random choice of 60 / 70 mph limits coming down to 50/60.

[dumper]

The big advantages to my mind in doing a 'proper' (fixed) conversion is it can be registered as a motor caravan (as opposed to panel van) which means car speed limits (up to 3050kg, so probably won't work for you) and cheaper insurance.

It's a common misconception that reregistering a panel van as a motorcaravan (changing body type) means car speed limits. It doesn't!

If you're interested I asked the DVSA when I was doing a conversion, and got this reply...

"However, it should be noted that even if the DVLA accept that the vehicle now meets the definition as a Motor Caravan, the vehicle class will not change on the V5 (registration document) only the vehicle description. If the vehicle was approved as an N1 Goods vehicle it will still be listed as an N1 Goods vehicle. This will have an impact on such items as speed limits applied to the vehicle and the London Congestion charge. If the intention is to have the vehicle both viewed and described as a Motor Caravan, then it must either be issued with a new chassis number and approved as an M1 passenger vehicle under the IVA scheme or, approved as a Motor Caravan prior to registration."

If you think about it it would make no sense anyway. After all when converting a van you're not changing any of the running gear/brakes etc, so why would it suddenly be ok to drive it faster?!

By that logic, Tourneo minibuses shouldn't be able to drive at car speeds either - there is no difference in running gear between van versions and minibus versions. I don't think that for modern vans there is anything that makes them unsafe at normal car speeds - they are allowed to do 70 on the motorway, same as everyone else, it's just a rather random choice of 60 / 70 mph limits coming down to 50/60.

Are you sure on that i think the tourneo is the same speed limit as a van .and I think I’ve seen somewhere that the connect version is the same .

[richbee]

Are you sure on that i think the tourneo is the same speed limit as a van .and I think I’ve seen somewhere that the connect version is the same .

Yes I'm sure, they are M1 (passenger vehicle) tax class instead of N1 (commercial).