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Hi Darren/all,
I’m trying to buy a camper on a budget (around £3k/£3500), have been looking around for a couple of months and have seen a few vans. I’m interested in a 1986 LDV autosleeper -2+2 with usual autosleeper setup. I realize this is quite old but the mileage is low and it’s in good condition. It also has 4 seats with seatbelts which is one of my requirements and not particularly easy to find!
From looking around I think I could definitely get something newer, but am London based and not able to travel too far to view vans, so the options seem rather more limited in this price range…..
Is £2k an alright price for this sort of van? Or are there any common problems to watch out for?
Or, could I spend an extra £1k and get something newer and potentially more reliable?Advice appreciated!
Thanks
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Sorry to hear you didn’t get
Sorry to hear you didn’t get the van.
For heavy vehicles such as vans, diesel engines are a better choice. Their low end power is a better match for the heavy vehicle, and offers better MPG.
Older campervans are often only available in petrol engines. As you say, LPG conversions can make them a good choice. But LPG filling stations are not everywhere yet.
If you only intend doing a few local miles in the camper petrol can be fine. But for long trips diesel is a must really.
Thanks Darren. The van was
Thanks Darren. The van was actually on LPG and petrol, so seemed a good bet in terms of fuel economy, but in the end the seller wanted a lot more for it than we were willing to pay. I guess the fuel savings might pay off in the end but we weren’t keen to pay the eventual asking price (3800) for quite an old van. So, back to the drawing board….
Is diesel still a better bet even at current prices? Is this because it provides better MPG than petrol?
Thanks again 🙂
£2k seems an OK price. I’m
£2k seems an OK price. I’m not of particular problems with that chassis.
My only concern would be is it petrol? If so it will cost a lot to drive around. If you don’t intend to do many miles I guess it won’t be a problem.
A more modern diesel will cost a lot less to drive around.
Now I don’t know if you want a professional-only conversion, but here is a list of some campers in the London area, some of these are home conversions, but they are often to a high-standard. Sorry if some of these are too-far away. Moat are diesel, and most are more modern than the one you mentioned.
http://www.gumtree.com/london/75/57164775.html
http://www.gumtree.com/london/84/57164984.html
http://www.gumtree.com/london/11/57116811.html
http://www.gumtree.com/london/84/57097084.html (might be petrol)
http://www.gumtree.com/london/98/57094398.html (LPG conversion, cheap to run!)
http://www.gumtree.com/london/26/57039726.html (might be petrol)
Hope this helps.