Help needed - buying first camper

[Rozzo]

There is a devon conversion for sale up my neck of the woods.

1981 T25 Devon,4 berth

Its a 2litre Aircooled and will soon to be for sale,full camping interior,sink,gas burner

It will come with 1 years MOT

£2500

Can get more details if you want.

[img:800:600]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/m ... 0858-1.jpg[/img]

That looks very nice indeed a long way from me though (am based in Bristol). But that said, i guess i could pay to get in transported down?

don't know if it has seatbelts in the back do you?

drive it,,, you'll love it (or hate it) we saw ours,, did the deal, went to look and drove it home

[bigbluebullybus]

I definitely wouldn't go for a pop-top and controversially not necessarily a t25 either. Our first, and main bus, is an early bay (1971 tintop) restored from a pile of dog doo darn sarf. The drive from Leeds down to deepest, darkest Surrey took an entire day and was not done in jest believe me!!!

I've found that you can find just as much rust and the rest of the technical nightmares to go along with a t25 as with something from a whole lot earlier. The current financial situation is forcing a whole lot of bus owners to put their treasured rides up for sale - and some really nicely restored earlier VW's are now beginning to rear their gorgeous heads. They are just as much of a joy as yer T25 and tend to look prettier too - quite often with a much better re-sale value to boot!

Definitely go along with someone who knows what to look for when you're viewing whatever catches yer eye - particularly when it comes to engines (I for one know nowt about this kind of stuff). Take along a magnet to check that at least the bottom six inches is something that resembles metal and not filler and newspaper, a good torch to check nooks and crannies and wear old clothes so you can get under the bugger. Rest your head on the lower side of the van and look at the profile - check out any odd contours - this could be previous damage that's been bodged up. Demand to see paperwork and don't settle for a handful of scraps.

Take as much time as you need to view the vehicle both inside and out - if it's got an interior ask the owner to power up stuff such as fridges and cookers. If it's got an awning how do you put it up? Can you set the bed up or are the hinges seized? Go through the lot - Write down a list of things you want to check through before you go to view it - then stick to it. Leave no stone un-turned. Trawl the internet beforehand to give you an idea of what to look for if you're not entirely sure.

Happy hunting, Debby

[otleygas]

Thanks for all your advice and help so far.

I went to see the '82 pop top today. essentially it's as i thought it might be...key points were:

- pretty original condition, original engine (100k) paint, fixtures and fittings. no signs of filler.

- engine, some history of general maintenance, ran smoothly - no obvious problems. drove well, stearing pretty heavy, but i assume this is par for the course?

- interior. original and pretty good condition considering age, altough it smelt a bit 'musty' so if we did buy it, we'd probably refurbish.

- body work...hmm one of the sills looked fine (think it had been redone a few years ago, but the other had some rust on and starting to crumble slightly in places on the outer sill. some rust bubbling through in the seams (not very bad, only a couple of areas which looked like it would develop into more than surface rust without attention before long. One of the steps/footwells had a hole in and obviously needs attention. Some rust in bottom corner of sliding door. underneath looked pretty good no obvious rust underneath other than on the outer sills mentioned previously.

conclusions - am going to sleep on it over the weekend. £3,200 sounds like too much to me (altough in many ways i feel safer being able to see the rust problems than it being covered up with filler and a quick respray. my heart says buy it (the wife and kids love it!) but my head says no, unless he's prepared to go down to c£2,500.

any more thoughts anyone?

[otleygas]

forgot to add a few pics i took whilst I was looking at the van...

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper4.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper5.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper6.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper7.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper1.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper2.jpg[/img]

[IMG:640:480]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo24 ... amper3.jpg[/img]

[1664]

Just my opinion but that seems a bit excessive for a van with rust like that. That is just the visible extent.

I'd certainly go and look at the other one if only for a comparison. Remember, you do not have to buy immediately and the more vans you see, the better informed you will be, both of condition and of what you can get for your money.

The substantial proportion of people who rush in and buy the first thing they see regret it afterwards and the camping 'season' is pretty much over (unless you have heating)

Bodywork, Bodywork, Bodywork, Bodywork

[otleygas]

Thanks - have taken all your advice and am going to keep looking. I'm sure this camper will still be around in a few weeks time and I'd like to see what else there is 'on the market'. So, if anyone knows of a good solid camper for sale that sleeps 4/5 then let me know

[otleygas]

Hi all.

Well we took the plunge at the end of last year and bought a t25 westfalia style conversion for £2k . Very happy with it so far and have done several hundred miles in it with no probs. Are planning to use it for the first time to go camping in a few weeks time

Being a complete novice in these things...is there anyone n the north Somerset area that would be williing to spend an hour or so going over the van with me and giving me some general pointers on maintainance etc?

Any help much appreciated!

James

[dsa]

£2k thats a good price for a westy did it need much work

[otleygas]

£2k thats a good price for a westy did it need much work

well, it's a panel van conversion with a westy roof, rather than a true westy, as far as I can make out.

Have just had some work done (Exhaust system, brake overhaul, new tyres, seatbelts in the back and a few other bits and bobs) since buying it, which has added another grand and a half to the cost, and will need some further work - but don't they all!, but should get through it's MOT ok in July (fingers crossed)

it's got some rust (especially the bottom of the doors), but mechanic seams to think no structural issues, which is a relief, as I set out to buy one which was relatively solid, based on advice earlier in this thread. Most of the rust issues (apart from the doors maybe) I should be able to sort out myself.

Still trying to work out what engine it's got in - think it is a 1.9 (diesil), but not sure which varient (all I know is it has VW and audi logo's embosed on it.)

being a near complete novice, I want to 'get to know' the van a bit better - really basic stuff like which 'hole' to top up the oil in - there seems to be more than one option! Someone to 'show me the basics' would be much appreciated!!!

a couple of photos here: