This is my first post having only joined this week and I wanted to say “hello
”. Me, my wife (Clare), and our 8-year old son (James), have been going to Cornwall to stay with friends for many years. Our friends run a number of VW campers – T2’s and T25/T3’s – and Beetles, and are, well, passionate, about them. Hardly surprising, then, that it’s rather rubbed off onto us and, well, we’re now looking to buy our first VW camper.Researching it has shown that Split-screens and Bays are out of our price range, and not really suited for what we need the bus to do, so we’re looking for a water-cooled T25/T3. As the bus would be the main transport, fuel costs are important, so we’re going for a diesel. The 1.6JX/1.7KY versions as standard would be fine though if the bus had been converted to a 1.9 turbodiesel, great. If not, I’d be planning, eventually, to install a 1.9 lump in, all price/time dependent of course and not a priority swap.
Also, the bus would be used for holidays so additional roof space would be needed (bed for a certain 8 year old...). In order to fit under the barriers of the majority of car-parks (supermarkets and the like), a high-top is not going to work, so we’re looking for a pop-top. Sure, some barriers may prevent a pop-top from going in but at least it should work in the majority of cases. Not worried about the converters name on it, more concerned about reliability/reputation of the converter.
We’ve a budget of £7,000-£8,000. That should (hopefully) allow us to find one in good condition, without too much rust, having read about the problems with seams, fuel tanks, sills and such like. We don’t want to go to the £2,000 region for a project bus, but can’t go above our budget for a fully restored, mint, version. I’m good with spanners so if it needs any light work then I can and will, but I don’t want to get one to suddenly start doing big mechanical repairs – most important, it should be in good fettle and a sound runner.
What I cannot find out is any information about pop-tops – what to look for, what to avoid, which converters were good and which have shown, over time, to be less than good.
People, may I ask:
1. Does all this sound a sensible approach?
2. Is the budget anywhere realistic?
3. Any pop-top converters names to go for/to avoid?
4. Are there any problems/warnings regarding the pop-tops to look out for?
Thanks in advance for your help – all comments/guidance gratefully received. We’re planning on going to Busfest 2017 to carry on the research “up close” as it were; hopefully get to compare the different arrangements of pop-tops with your comments in mind.
Thanks once again everyone,
Dave.
near changing lanes isn't fun lol
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