A forum for van conversions, van living and travel

The vanlife => Van Conversion => Topic started by: Danp83 on July 22, 2017, 10:18:17 PM

Title: Pre conversion problems?
Post by: Danp83 on July 22, 2017, 10:18:17 PM
Hi all,

I've got my van and I'm just making sure everything is mechanically sound before I start on the conversion. What problems did you find before you started? I've found that van bodywork doesn't age well compared to a car of the same age, I'm currently researching Mig welders...

It seems at the moment all I seem to be doing is fixing problems with the Van!

Dan
Title: Re: Pre conversion problems?
Post by: Camper_Dan on July 23, 2017, 01:14:40 AM
Greetings!

Let's start with a good description of your van...  Year, make, model, engine, transmission, etc.  Then tell us what seems to be wrong with it.

Before you spend much on it, I'd try to figure out if it's worth fixing or cheaper to sell it as-is and replace it.  If you didn't over pay to start with, you should be able to get at least the majority of your money back out of it.

Not counting typical maintenance, but counting major repairs, my usual opinion is to never put more into it than you can get back out of it.  If a different vehicle would be cheaper than repairs, then it's time to swap vehicles.  Driveability and reliability mean everything to me.  Outside appearance not so much, as long as it's legal and not too ugly.

If you keep your conversion cheap and portable, when the time comes, it is easy to swap into a new van.  Built ins don't swap easily, if at all.  The best advice I ever got was to treat a van like a tent, and to not modify it in any way.  Just take out the rear seats, and MOVE your interior in.