T25 virgins wanting camper!

[lloyd]

Ours will cruise at 70-75mph... at 15-16mpg
Or cruise at 60-65mph at 18-22mpg depending on hills and wind.
This is on gas at about half the cost of petrol.

[kermit dave]

^ ^

chill out dude!

try 55mph and you'll get 25mpg+ out of an old 2.0 Aircooled petrol - saves those important beer funds!

[mrdandandan]

yea I can cruise at 70 - 75 easily in my 1.9 high top (not that I do much) u sure ur not pressing the brake?

Haha!
Weeellll.... i've got a tall EMC hightop, and anything over about 65 and it gets a bit hard to push through the air, or so it seems. 70mph plus feels a bit wobbly and like driving a big old cardboard box.
Anyway,I thought it was alright as it goes, loaded up with family + camping gear!
I say go slow, enjoy your trip, eat a pasty. probably got one stuck under my accelerator.....

[Mick & Tracey]

Hi

To answer your question about pros and cons of Devon. We have an 85 Devon Moonraker (RHD). The pop-top is actually vinyl and goes up almost flat. It's great and we love the Devon layout. In our opinion better than a Westie because Westie's waste cupboard space with the water tank being built in (hard to clean??) wheras the Devon has a great chest cupboard instead. Top bed in the pop-top is a bit cooler than downstairs but our kids have always slept well up there snuggled up in theit sleeping bags, though when they were babies they slept with my wife downstairs mainly cos they breast fed.

We prefer Devon to other UK layouts because it's finish is cleaner, no wood veneer and less 'veloury' / 'flowery' but this is personal taste.

Another Devon plus is the split top bed system so you can have either a full double or two small beds which are fine for youngsters.

Devon downside is having to climb on kitchen units to get to bunk.

Re: condition. German vans generally better looked after BUT many UK vans which were originally built as campers have led cosseted lives (ours is a genuine 1 owner 60,000 miler in immaculate nick and there are plenty more like it out there, plus they are generaly cheaper than top notch Westies (LHD) which have a premium largely because most have been professionally imported so have a dealer margin.

Re: LHD. My wife drives a LHD multivan as her daily driver and loves it. As others have said, LHD not a major problem.

Most German (LHD) drives are diesel (more economical but noisier). UK vans tend to be petrol (LPG conversion helpful if it is a daily driver though takes up storage space)

Conclusion - find the best van that you like for your budget and don't worry too much about LHD or RHD. Prices and availability of good vans will be better at the end of the summer if you can wait. Expect to pay £5k plus for a decent van, though if you went for an earlier Aircooled T25 you could get a bargain.

[Oldjets]

Another UK conversion worth considering is the Autosleeper Trooper. Has solid sided pop top and is well equipped and has a good layout. It will get cold up in pop top during Autumn/early Spring nights though, as although the sides and roof are lined there is a ventilation gap at the ceiling. Great in summer but chilly early and late in season. Also worth noting that if you are putting child up top, there is nothing to stop them rolling off the front of the bunk platform. You might need to rig something up. Also I think the pop tops did not come with a ladder to help you get into top bunk (at least mine didn't). To access, kids have to clamber up on bed and kitchen units - they seem to enjoy doing this, but its not ideal!

Good points about a pop top in my humble opinion:
Looks neater when driving along than with something shaped like an upside-down boat on your van roof.
Less wind resistance means you might scrape another mile out of each gallon.
Warmer at night when the roof is down.

Not so good points:
Storage is not so good. You have to transfer stuff from behind rear seat to roof area at night and back again in the morning.
You have to pop it each time you stop for night and fold it again each time you want to move. Not a big deal - it takes 30 seconds to do the roof and a bit longer to any stow stuff stored up there.

General T25 points - so much to look out for, best to read through wiki, threads here. As others have said, dont rush into it (I dont take my own advice naturally, as I bought the first one I saw), see as many as you can. They ARE NOT cheap to run. Petrol ones give 22-27 mpg depending on model and driving style. Dont think diesels are dramatically better. lpg conversions are around, but check forums for pros and cons they have.

Only remains to say that if you get a good 'un, they are brilliant vehicles. Tons of character, nice to drive, fun to camp in and versatile as any modern people carrier.

Good luck with your search,

oldjets

[katkin77]

Yay! what lovely people you are. Thank you so much for all the advice. Sorry it's taking so long to get back here and say that.... far too much stuff going on at the mo.
We're thinking now of a westfalia pop top. On our quest for a 'nice' camper we have come across some real rubbish! We took one van to our local mechanic who hoisted it up and poked and prodded around underneath and bits were falling out everywhere it was such a dodgey van. Was a tad embaressing as the guy selling it on had only bought it a few weeks earlier to start a camper hire business ( before realising it would cost too much in insurance to actually run the biusiness!) and he had no idea how crap it was!
We've found one van in essex on ebay but requires cosmetic work to exterior- and is showing rust on seams. Does anyone know the cost of a respray? and any good places to go and get one done? we live in Gloucestershire so local would help.

thank you again

[windysurfer]

Always good quality vans for sale at Eastfalia
http://www.eastfalia.com/vans.aspx

[minke]

Hi Guys,
My son has just bought a VW T30 Sportline & is spending his dosh on that. He has a mid 80's T3/25 Hi top, which he has had for about two years and he is now doing up to sell.

Presently he is looking for a distributor for it & when he got it fitted & running he is gonna sell it on.

Its a white hitop, lined out inside, sleeps 4, air cooled. Its a nice van & body is in good nick, no rust around windows or owt like that.

He lives on the wirral ?Cheshire, if anyone is interested I'll pass on a message.

Kev..PM me

[Big Boris]

Hi katkin.....we are in Gloucestershire too!!!

We have had our VW jsut over 12 months having looked on line at virtually every van for sale at the time! We did go and see several and you soon get to realise what one person thinks is in 'good condition' may not be what you would say is good condition. Basically we saw some right rust buckets! I dont want to be mean to the VW's!!!

Best thing you can do is as you are. Keep looking, don't panic buy and view different conversions and drive different engine types.

[Oldiebut goodie]

They ARE NOT cheap to run. Petrol ones give 22-27 mpg depending on model and driving style. Dont think diesels are dramatically better.
oldjets

My 1.6 diesel gives 35 - 40 mpg fully loaded on an extended trip (mountains included) without watching the right foot.

[katkin77]

patience is a virtue eh?!! How annoying- just wish more people wanted to sell in Glos!!
again, if anyone has any info on respraying that'd be fab.
the sun keeps putting his hat on and i just want to get out there in a nice big field, and appreciate the finer things in life! ( yes, yes, i know i can go and get a tent

[reddwarf]

Hi, been away in our '89 Wetsfalia Hi Top so have just picked up on your post.

It's our first and we're very happy with our choice.

You are right, there is some real cr*p around and what ever you buy you will spend more than you expected bringing it up to scratch.

I've always been a petrolhead but now convinced that diesel makes sense for a camper.

Much more economical but don't buy a non turbo 1.6.

And if you do buy a 1.6turbo check the boost controller works as they are expensive and almost impossible to get in the UK,just ask Brickwerks.

Mine has gone and I am having to get a new one from Germany.

Hi top suits us as it is warmer, has more storage, has less to go wrong/break/tear and you can stand up in it without having to lift the pop!

A decent respray including the preparation and fixing/treating anything you find before the respray may well cost +/- £3,000 unless you have a friend in the trade. a £1,500 respray will usually need doing again very soon!

Fine a good one and you'll be very happy, find a bad one and it'll be a money pit.

Very best of luck

[goat29]

Yay! what lovely people you are. Thank you so much for all the advice. Sorry it's taking so long to get back here and say that.... far too much stuff going on at the mo.
We're thinking now of a westfalia pop top. On our quest for a 'nice' camper we have come across some real rubbish! We took one van to our local mechanic who hoisted it up and poked and prodded around underneath and bits were falling out everywhere it was such a dodgey van. Was a tad embaressing as the guy selling it on had only bought it a few weeks earlier to start a camper hire business ( before realising it would cost too much in insurance to actually run the biusiness!) and he had no idea how crap it was!
We've found one van in essex on ebay but requires cosmetic work to exterior- and is showing rust on seams. Does anyone know the cost of a respray? and any good places to go and get one done? we live in Gloucestershire so local would help.

thank you again

hi just decided to sell my 87 leisuredrive hi top diesel ,5 speed,with 81000 miles on the clock complete with towbar tax and tested and in very good condition if any bodys interested cheers.

[Westy End]

what everyone else says......and

i bought my westy pop top last year and have not regretted one minute. i went into it with my eyes open - there will always be pros and cons to each van, they are all over 20 years old after all (well nearly). I went against conventional wisdom - mine had good mechanicals (a newly recon engine) and fittings but the body needed work. I looked at a couple of other vans but they were dubious all round and if you spot some surface problem you can be sure that there is more underneath. i negotiated the price down given that i knew that i would need to spend some money on welding and overall i have spent that saving on the repairs needed. I now have a van i can trust and use it as my only vehicle for which it is so versatile i dont know how i will ever go back.

if you have a mechanic friend then bring him/her along to look at any potential purchase - dont fall in love with a van - there really are plenty out there even if you want a westy.

as to westys - the layout is brilliant and my family of four fits in nicely - we even made room for another five to shelter from the welsh rain whilst i cooked pasta! Make sure that the gas holder works properly and (if you care) that the rear heater (eberspacher) works - both of these are relatively expensive to get parts for.

hope you find one!