Late in life to Camper Vans ... taking the first steps!!

[Tricky Dicky]

Hello to all,

Was in North Devon last week, near Braunton and we hired a Camper van locally (ex Ox Campers conversion). Well I have always wanted one for the past 40 years and now it's a Carpe diem thing ... fantastic happy time and now need to find one!
Met Wayne last week and his lovely full spec Blue Cali and a great guy, appreciated his time showing me around his 'van'- recommended joining this Club too!
We are are family of 3 (plus the dog =4) living in Cambridgeshire and decided we need to find our van - but bewildered a little what's out there, so now starting the research and set our budget.
Thanks for reading
Richard and family

 

[colintfcolintf]

Hi and welcome. Have you looked on the classifieds on this site? That’s how I bought mine, from a fellow member on here

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Hi and welcome. Have you looked on the classifieds on this site? That’s how I bought mine, from a fellow member on here

Hello and thanks for the reply. Yes started looking and saw a very nice one in buggey but sold very quickly it seems. Fellow members seems the way to go but my wife was on about the Camper Kings, but that's part of getting to know Camper Vans .... I'm after a Cali to be honest!! Cheers

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Budget NOT buggy!!!!!!

 

[KevH]

Best advice I can offer is to look at as many vans as possible and don’t fall for the first you see.
Get a feel for the layout, ask yourself how you would sit, eat, and sleep in it.
If possible try before you buy.
Good luck.

 

[rod_vw]

@Tricky Dicky remember the LWB T4, T5 & T6 is 14" (35.5cm) longer than a SWB and a high roof is a lot warmer and quieter to sleep in over night, not to mention the extra space available.
Unfortunately if you are a California fan VW only ever made one LWB, goodness knows why.
Not as though I'm biased...

I converted and used all three of these plus a few more.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

@Tricky Dicky remember the LWB T4, T5 & T6 is 14" (35.5cm) longer than a SWB and a high roof is a lot warmer and quieter to sleep in over night, not to mention the extra space available.
Unfortunately if you are a California fan VW only ever made one LWB, goodness knows why.
Not as though I'm biased...
View attachment 139628
I converted and used all three of these plus a few more.

Thank you for message and the Transporter converted by OxCampers was a LWB. Will look around and take time to see. Need to be patient and not get to over excited!!! Cheers

 

[Up10]

Hi @Tricky Dicky and good luck in your search for a van. They come in all shapes and sizes.
We entered the market just 3 years ago never having camped before so started with a converted T6. Well we were smitten. The van did everything we wanted, however, there were niggles.
The main one for me was how dark the van felt with heavily tinted windows. When it was overcast outside, it felt depressingly dark inside and we didn't want to exit the vehicle.
The bonus with our conversion was it was lightly fitted, ie no unnecessary bulk heads so we could fit boxes under the bed.
The reasons we chose the Ocean were, the light tint and plentiful windows, the heater (previously stuck in snow in Germany!), the electric roof, automatic gearbox, two swivel seats at the front and the sliding rear bench which helps the passengers to feel part of the group and not remote to any conversation.
We do not regret the move to an ocean and feel very at home in it.
I hope this helps but if you have any questions, please ask.

 

[Kayleigh]

Hi @Tricky Dicky - You are not far from me, I’m near St Ives. Happy to show you around my Beach if you want. It’s been modified with a pod inside and may give you another perspective on van options.