Campervan under 3.5tonne / SWB plus high top / pop up

[Dayshiftdoris]

I am looking for a camper.
Absolute must haves:

Pop up / High top for son with ASD to have his own space / routine
So must be 4 berth
Needs to be under 3.5tonne (laden weight) due to my licence (might want to take bikes too
Must have 3 point seat belts in the back.

Would likes:
Air conditioning

Currently we holiday at the same place - son does like new places but anxiety is a major issue. I am hoping that a camper will offer familiarity and routine to a degree that allows him to experience more places I won't have to suffer centre Parcs every year until I am too old to ride the cyclone

Really like the Mazda Bongo but really put off by reports of needing lots of specialist mechanical work on coolant systems, etc and poor fuel economy. The size of the bongo appeals.
I was looking for a converted van but now happy to consider converting it as reviewed a lot of the specialists and impressed.

I am hoping to borrow off the mortgage for it but I won't have much more than £10k and want to borrow as little as possible.

What other suggestions of vans do people have to look at and what realistically can I expect in my budget?

[Takver]

True! I'm self employed and live in a tourist area, so bank holidays are the last time I go away , I forget it's different for others

[Dayshiftdoris]

It is bank holiday! They are probably away ??

[Takver]

Yes, it's ex AA so essentially just a bare van though it did have a rear window. I had it lined (insulated & carpet finish), side windows, flooring and rock-and-roll bed. In all including a bit of welding I had done it came in around £8k total. I had it done nearby as didn't want to be traipsing around, & I suspect that if you were prepared to travel you could find cheaper options than my local people for conversion work.

Obviously the main expensive bits I didn't have were pop/high top and units/kitchen. I use it as a work van too hence didn't want the full camper deal. I get around 38 - 40 mpg (diesel), but that's all rural roads, it's very rare I get up to 5th gear and it hasn't been in 6th since the motorway trip home, so I imagine you'd get 40 plus on motorway driving.

I guess the difference to a VW is it won't have the same resale value as it isn't trendy, and probably not so long lasting (though I notice most of the independent builders / small tradesmen round here now have vivaro/trafic rather than a VW, which says something about their view of the cost/reliability tradeoff).

I'm surprised you haven't had more answers from other camper drivers though, there's lots on here!

[Dayshiftdoris]

That seems a distinct possibility! Was it unconverted then?
It's one to look at

[Takver]

Not so helpful then! In terms of costs, I bought my vivaro in Feb, it's 2008 with 85000 miles on the clock, it cost £5400, which seemed to be about the going rate & mileage for ex fleet vehicles. Conversion costs depend on what you want of course (I don't have a full conversion, only pull out bed).

I looked at VWs & mercs but came to the conclusion that for my budget (£9k absolute tops with all work done) I was going to end up with something quite old and/or very high mileage. The advantage for me of a newer van is that it's nicer to drive (power everything) and much better mpg, leaving aside reliability issues.

[Dayshiftdoris]

That is a good idea for me as I am 5ft

The child however, is ten and nearly taller than me so yep... Doomed

You have however just given me the place to go when I want to hide

[Takver]

One thought which might help you with a few more options. We have a Vauxhall vivaro, dd has a bed which slides across the front two seats (home made from a sheet of ply with a piece of foam on top).

It's worked much better than I'd expected, and makes her a perfect little 'room' as she can have all her bits & pieces on the dashboard, & then a curtain across the back of the cab area to separate it from everything else. She loves it and spends loads of time in there when we're camping and she wants a bit of quiet space. In some ways that might be even better than a pop-top bed as it would be more separate from cooking etc? (She's 12 and around 5 foot, wouldn't work if she was more than a couple of inches taller.)