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Started by hoilpark, March 06, 2017, 11:45:29 PM

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hoilpark

Hi my name of Hoil and it's very lucky to find this blog as I plan my European vantravel starting 2018. Few past experience in camper travel with my Octavia but this time much longer period, hope to chase Tour De France 2018 route during the journey, with proper facility and thinking to buy a T5 campervan. I have residence both in London and Seoul and will travel 5 to 6 months starting May (?) and would like to repeat this every year which could well be out of Europe as well. Look forward to seeing and experiencing lots of things from this blog...

Camper_Dan

Greetings & Welcome!

Holler if we can be of any assistance.
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Pass them on!!!

hoilpark

Any advice/idea to buy a used LHD T5 campervan which seems not easy to find in the UK.

Camper_Dan

I'd probably start by googling something like "Online free classifieds for the UK" and start checking all of them.
Smiles are extremely contagious,
Pass them on!!!

hoilpark

Quote from: Camper_Dan on March 12, 2017, 01:34:28 PM
I'd probably start by googling something like "Online free classifieds for the UK" and start checking all of them.
Hi Mike, after searching a campervan for a few months and reading your various advices, I think I need to narrow the spec's to find the right one and need your help as there are too any choices.

I will use it 5~6 months/y (May-Octo) for the next few years to travel Europe and N Africa.

Will stay mainly in campgrounds but sometimes in the city car park,  use hook ups if necessary.

Will travel mostly by myself. I am not fancy cooker so will use ready made food or local restaurants (eat and drink local food is my favorite and also one of my travel purpose).

I want a reliable vehicle as I donot want to see broken down situation. I prefer a already builtin campervan and just add few bits and pieces required for journey.

I personally like to drive VW T5 as it seems reliable and many choices in the UK. I am not concerned about resale value in particular in few yrs time.

Can u help me to narrow down the range of choice so that I can look into the market more in depth?

The sites Im looking are ebay, gumtrees, and Preloved and focus private sellers..

Thks in advance..

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Camper_Dan

Greetings Hoilpark!

Sorry, I'm not Mike, and I'm in the USA, which is the reason I couldn't be of more help to you.  It has been years since I visited Europe, and I'm not up to date on their vehicles.

During my travels, I did basically the same thing that I do here now...  I would buy the best cheap passenger van I could find from a private seller, remove the rear seats, and move my camper interior in.  A cot with a nice foam pad will work, or I have now switched to futon style sofa/beds, and extend the legs high enough to clear the wheel wells.  Plastic drawers are great for storage, and if you add a wood shelf on top, it makes a durable kitchen counter as well.  Then I just use a camp stove on top, and dishpans on top for sinks, and trigger spray bottles for the water.

Next, I add my bathroom, some type of camping toilet, and a shower.  I use a hula hoop for a shower curtain, then normal shower curtains and hooks.  It can be hung indoors or out, and doubles as a toilet enclosure as well.  A weed sprayer with a kitchen sink sprayer nozzle added makes a fine shower, and you can use any storage tote or ice chest for a base to catch the water.  If your van isn't tall enough to stand in, you can sit while showering.

You camp stove with a big pot of dirt or sand on top can be used for a heater if needed.

For house power, I get a deep cycle battery from a junkyard.  Put it in a plastic marine battery box, and get a battery to cigarette lighter adapter that has battery clamps on one end, and a female ciggy outlet on the other.  I plug a single outlet to 3-4 outlet adapter into that, and fasten it to the outside of the battery box.  Then I use a male to male ciggy lighter jumper cable to go from there to the one on the dash to charge my house battery, and just unplug it when I'm not driving.  I also have a gas generator and a shore power battery charger, but rarely use them.  If I want shore power, I just string an extension cord in through a window.

Some of the best advice I ever got was to treat a van like a tent.  You never modify it in any way, or drill holes etc.  You simply move your stuff in.  Do secure it though.

Good Luck & holler if you need more!
Smiles are extremely contagious,
Pass them on!!!