To buy a Scooby Doo style camper?

[AllHailKingLouis]

DH has a diesel land rover. It’s a money pit and is constantly fucking up, we’ve spent more on repairs than we spent buying the bloody thing in the first place. As it’s diesel he needs to get rid of it asap anyway.

So, I’m thinking (and DH is also curious) about buying a Scooby Doo style camper van. I’ve got romantic ideas about travelling the Uk and Europe in it with a dog in the back

Anyone got one? Is it a daft idea? DH would also have to travel to work in it (20 minute drive)

A VW Camper? Part of me always hankered for one but I think they are very popular and therefore possibly difficult to get hold of. And as they are old now they might not be the most reliable.

I think there are a few companies that hire them out for weekends or a few days so maybe you can try one out see what you think.

There are other sorts of campers around. Relatives of ours recently bought an Autosleeper second hand and they love it and are always away in it

I wonder if you’d have similar issues; most vans/campers are diesel, and they hold their value so you could be looking at quite an old one which wouldn’t be ULEZ/compliant with clean air zones.

Someone I know has bought an imported Japanese people carrier. Honda Elysion I think it’s called. It’s a lot of car for the money, is lovely inside, and has been super-reliable. It’s not a camper though.

Hire one and try it.

DH and I are very outdoorsy and thought a camper would be ideal for us (we’d spent too much time looking at #vanlife on Insta). We hired a top of the range VW California for a week and hated every single minute of it.

We realised, that despite being very outdoorsy, at the end of a long day outside, we enjoy indoor plumbing, hot showers, decent food and nice accommodation. Given the cost of campers at the moment, we decided to just stick with lovely hotels (with restaurants and en-suites) after our adventures. 😂

Just looking at the price of them 😱 some are nearly 30 years old and still £20k!

Looking at tents now 😂😂

Check out my username😉
We have a dub but paid over twice what you have quoted, not bragging but to show how expensive they are (we bought from a dealer tho) .
The prices have shot through the roof due to covid and people wanting to holiday at home.
However, it's great, pack it up and head off in your home on wheels, the freedom it gives you is amazing.
If you seriously want one join some online forums like Dubbed Out Community, loads of advice, vans for sale, tales of caution.
I couldn't recommend them enough but if you buy an old one expect to throw some money at it in terms of upkeep / mechanical issues.

A dub, is that a retro Scooby Doo style thing? I love them!

im thinking if we’re going to do it we’re going to need to do it properly and throw the money at it.

How often do you use it? Has it got a toilet on board?

My friend sold hers and it was a total state as she had not looked after it- she got 40k for it!!! She is still regretting parting with it years on.

I’m in a similar position, I have a disco sport and the dpf issues mean it doesn’t like short journeys. It’s still quite valuable after 5 years so I was thinking of selling before the repair costs get frightening and getting a small electric / hybrid camper which ticked 2 boxes of fitting us all in and having weekends away. I love vw (hence my user name- linked to karmann ghias) and also have a beetle. I was looking at the old style campers and they’re going to bring out an electric camper van soon, reminiscent of the old style, called the buzz range. You can see them online but they’re going to be hideously expensive!!
Other electric coming up are converted Nissans which look ok but the vast majority of camper vans are not very pretty!

If you want to use it as a campervan then go for it. We had one and it was great. We

We have a 1995 VW. Whilst I love it it has continual issues and is essentially a money pit. We have to store it in doors over winter as rust is a huge risk which adds to the cost.

DP is talking about traveling to Europe in it but I'm hesitant as it's quite unreliable. If we were to look at buying it over again I probably wouldn't that said we could've sold it multiple times over the past few years but I'm far too sentimental. The cost of them now is RIDICULOUS. It would be worth double what was paid 5 years ago

Sorry, posted too soon. We used it as our second vehicle but not for a daily commute. They are expensive to run and maintain. You'd have to really want it as a campervan though because they are so expensive now. Wish we'd hung on to ours, though it wasn't practical with two kids.

An old vw camper will be as big a money pit as the Land Rover is. We've had both and gave up. The romantic idea is lovely, but the constant breakdowns, noisy engine, no power steering, drafts and leaky roof etc soon take the shine off things. Buy a new vw camper / still has a bit of kudos but a lot less hassle

As a matter of interest, why do you say you need to get rid of the LR? You say it is because it is a diesel, do you live in a LEZ or is it because you just don't want to own a diesel?

You need to try a camper before you buy, many have romantic notions of getting away at the drop of a hat, parking up wherever you like etc but the reality can be very different
Cost aside, a camper (and there are MANY different types, makes, styles) is relatively small and may contain just the basic facilities (and often not a loo) and unless you embrace the life you may find it just isn't for you.
Personally a Motorcaravan is my choice. Much larger but has all the space & facilities we require to get away in comfort. Downsides are that they are even more expensive and you have consider where you will park it (both at home and away) but when you are in it you can relax in (relatively) spacious luxury.

By the way, I also own a diesel LR.

My sister sold her old car and bought a Renault van which has been converted. She loves it and often goes off on mini adventures in it.

I think she bought it from someone who does conversions as a living. Either that, or she got them to go with her to inspect it before she bought it.

I love camping at night, every time I go camping I bring a lot of things, some will be special.www.enteryoulife.com

We had an old style VW camper a few years ago when the DC were small and we loved it. It was great to just take off at short notice if the weekend weather looked good etc and when I was in between jobs for a year I used to take the DC off in it on my own in the school holidays if DH couldn't get time off work and I loved the old fashioned driving experience of my youth, no power steering etc.

Unfortunately, as is the way with small DC they got older and bigger and the sleeping arrangements in the pop top roof were no longer practical (we have one DS and one DD) not insurmountable as we could have purchased an awning with sleeping pods but also factoring in regular maintenance not just engine but bodywork (they tend to rust from the inside out) and we didn't have a garage so had to pay ££ for undercover/inside storage through the winter months, it was time to let it go.

We sold it for more than we bought it for (not a huge amount more) and subsequently seen that it now has its own insta page😁. The DCs are now very late teens/early twenties and have their own lives and we have since moved to a house with a garage so it is something we will consider doing again at retirement when there is just the two of us and we have more time available.

Forgot to add, it's important find yourself a decent 'old skool' mechanic who knows all about 1970s/80's engines - plugging in a diagnostic reader is not an option😂

VW campers are stupidly expensive at the moment . Everyone wants one.

hire one.

if you want to buy look at the Japanese van import conversions. I have a Nissan elgrand in the pipeline being converted for me. I be seen the vehicle when it came off the boat - immaculate , low mileage etc. eventually it’ll be “ camper van for car budget “ as opposed to VW which would have commuted us to only holidaying in the van for ever.

but - if you wanted this the demand is sky high and wait times long. We paid a deposit in oct. Friends waited a similar time for a VW last year. Ours has increased in value as we have waited 😂.

there are 2nd hand Japanese vans available though for reasonable prices still- all these vans are thirsty and not necessarily low emission zone compliant . LPG conversion for the win.

However I know the dubbers look down their noses at us 😂

Friend's dad had one when they were fairly new, so a few years ago. Slow, thirsty for fuel, never mind cost of parts etc nowadays.

I think the tent idea you are considering is better.

Two guys in my office both have camper van's, one of them has two in fact

They often talk about how expensive they are to run etc

Tbf to them they do both go away in them quite a lot but both are child free so no ties

I'd rent one and see how you find it as I think a lot of ppl get in to it with rose tinted glasses on

You will need a rapid boil kettle for all the time you spend broken down in lay-bys!

We love ours but it is an ongoing (very expensive) project.

We've got a newish T6 VW (vdub) , kinda scooby doo-ish not an old split screen type. Windows in the sides, pop top, captains chairs in the front, sleeps 4. Google T6.
We have a fridge, TV, microwave, gas hob, sink with hot and cold water.
We also have a camping stove for fry ups so we don't splash fat /cooking oil in the van.
We've had a diesel heater and a solar panel fitted recently.
We don't have a built in toilet, we have a portable bucket type toilet (go outdoors sell them), it has a lid, underneath the lid is a toilet seat but we have a strict NO POO rule, it's only for wee's.😁
If we need a no2 we use pubs, restaurants, public toilets or pay to use the facilities on a camp site.
We use the van all the time, sometimes we drive to the coast, sleep in a layby and get up early and driven to the beach and have a brew and a bit of brekky. Lots of councils won't let you park up overnight but you can overcome that.
Apart from diesel you can do it quite cheaply, once you've got the van the world's your oyster, best money we've ever spent.
Plus you make friends with other owners (if you're in your van and drive past another vdub you have to wave at each other, it's etiquette 😂)
But one op, you won't regret it ❤️