T25 for Europe Tour

[Biblin]

My wife and I have some hair brained idea to take 3 months of work and go travelling around Europe which has led to us showing some interest in an '81 T25 Pop Top in very good condition.

As an utter newbie, is there anything I need to watch out for? The question which immediately springs to mind is whether an air-cooled engine will cope with the long distance travel or do I need to be wary of overheating? And what kind of mpg can I expect from it? Any advice would be most welcome.

[Clagmeister]

Hi,welcome.

Check levels turn the key and go. If it breaks then thats just part of the trip. Best pub stories are always the ones where it goes a bit pair shaped. These vans are pretty much bullet proof.

Have fun

Claggy

[Westy.Club.Joker]

The engine has been around for years, and was designed to cope. As long as it`s been serviced before you go, a proper service, not just change the oil and kick the tyres then you should be OK. I would have a good day run first just to check that all is well. Don`t expect to be able to drive it like a modern car and do 85 everywhere !

20mpg

[sixsprings]

whether an air-cooled engine will cope with the long distance travel or do I need to be wary of overheating? And what kind of mpg can I expect from it? .

as they say, if it's running ok, then yes. if the engines approaching 400000km then it's due to break

20mpg tops to be honest, and mine did drive fine at 70+mph all day

everytime you stop for fuel, check the oil. and every moring before you set off check the oil. and in between oilchecks, check the oil
do it often, if it's low on oil, it will die.

the washer bottle lid is under the carpet, by the clutch pedal.

the brake & clutch fluid reservior is infront of the speedo. you have to give the speedo house a really good firm tug to remove it, there are two finger slots at the front. remember, front means front.

good luck and enjoy it

[stuckin88]

Hi mate--I'm selling this 1988 camper somewhere between now & next yr- got 45k miles on genuine VW recon 1.9 petrol engine --a recon gearbox & new clutch were fitted last May--so should have the reliabilty you need for a Euro trip--van nr Colchester Essex-price around £3k with yrs MOT----I'm not a salesman btw--Ive owned this van for 7 yrs--email me at camping@tesco.net for details if yer interested

[Ian_Fearn]

Stuckin88's van does look really good. I'd have probably gone for it had i not talked myself into a life of being terminally poor with a Syncro!

I've owned my 1.9 waterboxer Syncro for about 2 months now. The biggest problems i can see so far are 1: the engine, they're working damn hard in these things and 2: the cooling system.

I've just finished changing the waterpipes on mine. The job was made harder by the lack of pukka pipes for the syncro but i'd check and then double check the condition of these pipes before you buy.

The bodywork is utterly crucial, mechanical work can be done if you've either got the money or time (or both!) but i think the body is the most important aspect to begin with.

I'll probably get shot for this comment BUT my money would definately be on a watercooled model. They may be slightly more expensive but they are more economical, faster and providing the cooling system is in good order they're apparently more reliable.

[sixsprings]

I'll probably get shot for this comment .

where's my gun?

i don't think water cooled ones are more reliable
faster, quieter, more economical, yes.

i've had a/c, diesel & 2.1i and the Aircooled was simpler, with much less to go wrong. the gearbox was smoother. and you can forget about coolant & coolant pipes. the engine will also last longer, much longer

are you leaving the fold billy? or just swapping for a better t3?

[camper2555]

i am just building my tour camper , i am going Aircooled as some of the places i am heading for are -25 degrees in the shade just for the lazy part i have also gone auto no slamming my left knuckle into the door trying to change gear with the window winder ! another year of building and planning left......only had the van for 3 years.
good luck on your tour let us know how you get on

[Biblin]

Thanks for the advice guys, and the offer of a van. We've already spotted one that we're going to try and nab before someone else does. It's air-cooled but it's got so much going for it I reckon I'm prepared to make the trade off providing it's not about to break on me.

If I miss the boat, I may well be in contact re the other van though. Need to get one fairly soonish so I can get used to it before doing anything strenuous like driving over mountains.

[SteveW]

Where and when are you going? I am off next September see here
http://archive.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic ... highlight=

[Biblin]

Next April. Rough route is something along the lines of

Belgium, Luxembourg, South Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Ferry to Greece, Istanbul, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, E & N Germany, Netherlands and back home.

Around 5k miles before we start bouncing around the place. If we find we're enjoying sauntering along at a slower pace than we planned then we'll cut off the SE Europe part and drive back up Italy to Austria and continue from there. Looks like you're doing the bits we're skipping!

[Bowton Lad]

everytime you stop for fuel, check the oil

Good idea to regularly check the oil level but it's a waste of time checking
it when you stop for fuel because you'll just get a false (low) reading. The engine needs to have been stopped for 15-20 minutes to allow the oil to return to the sump before a dipstick reading is taken.

[SteveW]

Sounds great. The fuel cost is going to be a bit on the high side have you considered an LPG conversion? I paid around 27p per litre in Belgium earlier this year. Best change I have made to my bus so far it is so good that I use her as my daily driver, passed my Golf on to my daughter and the wife has our 2 year old Megane. If i need to go out I will jump in the bus in preference to any other vehicle on the drive. If it was still on petrol I think it would be sitting on the drive more times than not and the holidays would be a lot closer to home. For example we went to North Devon in September for a week and we managed to clock up 1200 miles seeing so much more than we would have done if we just went to one site for the whole week doing only 400 miles.

If I were you I would get the van of your choice ASAP get used to it make any changes that you will want to do before you go sooner rather than later to make sure every thing works. If you do go for the Aircooled get a propax or simular heater for those cold days to come and when you are up the top of some mountin on your trip.

[Biblin]

Just put a deposit down on this one: http://www.southwestsplitz.co.uk/extra.php?which=181. It's having a recon engine put in and a final check over and should be ready weekend after next. Plenty of time to get used to driving it! I hadn't thought about LPG. I may look into it, cheers.

[sixsprings]

Just put a deposit down on this one

very posh