Club 80-90 Forums

I am new to all things VW and was wondering if you can tell from the V5 whether you have an original camper or a van conversion. Or is there something very obvious when I look at the vehicle? Thanks

All campers are van conversions.

They all came out of the factory as vans

Some are converted from Caravelles, ie have factory fitted side windows and fancier trim levels etc. Think Caravelles have flat glass whilst van conversions have curved?
Westphalias are the nearest thing to factory VW campers, in that they were sold through VW dealers (I think).

I am new to all things VW and was wondering if you can tell from the V5 whether you have an original camper or a van conversion.

You may find some self converted vans that are still on the V5 as being a Goods Vehicle rather than Motor Caravan.

Main problem with that is you can only do 50Mph on a single carridgeway road in a Van, rather than 60Mph if its a motor caravan, and may be a little trickier to insure as a camper, although some are still happy to do it as long as it meets the requirements (6ft bed, table attached to vehicle, fresh water, etc...)

Chunksta wrote:All campers are van conversions.

They all came out of the factory as vans

Very very wrong....
Devons, auto homes, holdsworths leisure drive , and deli profi s all did campers based on caravelle or bus bodies

The white sticker on the crash strength under the dash should tell you what body it was , as will decoding the vin number iirc

Enzo79 wrote:

I am new to all things VW and was wondering if you can tell from the V5 whether you have an original camper or a van conversion.

You may find some self converted vans that are still on the V5 as being a Goods Vehicle rather than Motor cara van.

Main problem with that is you can only do 50Mph on a single carridgeway road in a Van, rather than 60Mph if its a motor cara van, and may be a little trickier to insure as a camper, although some are still happy to do it as long as it meets the requirements (6ft bed, table attached to vehicle, fresh water, etc...)

You will also find that a few other things are cheaper if you have your van listed as a motor caravan under Body Type on the V5.

Toll Roads (Dartford crossing), Ferry Tickets etc. I think it also effects the low emissions zone around London too ?

You can change your vehicle type to Motor Caravan by writing to the DVLA with photos of your conversion & a covering letter. I changed my V5 recently with very little drama.

Here is a useful link that I used:

http://www.campervanlife.com/building/legal

Mocki wrote:

Chunksta wrote:All campers are van conversions.

They all came out of the factory as vans

Very very wrong....
Devons, auto homes, holdsworths leisure drive , and deli profi s all did campers based on caravelle or bus bodies

The white sticker on the crash strength under the dash should tell you what body it was , as will decoding the vin number iirc

I disagree all the major uk convertors used van conversions (holdsworths, autohomes, autosleeper), leisure drive would use any as they were a smaller company,(not westys) this applies to late models 86 onwards anyway, not 100% sure on early models, but id be surprised if they were different. I think the op means "how do you tell if its been converted by a recognised approved convertor(not a home made job) If you list or send me some photos il tell you if its a homemade or done by one of the main uk convertors.There is loads for sale that say or have decals on saying they are this and that and they aint. So be carefull out there

dbz864 wrote: I disagree all the major uk convertors used van conversions (holdsworths, autohomes, autosleeper), leisure drive would use any as they were a smaller company,(not westys) this applies to late models 86 onwards anyway, not 100% sure on early models,

Some of the converters used the VW supplied Camping bodyshell (Kombi/Caravelle without interior).

I thought the shells destined for the Westfalia factory were the only ones made differently with the intention of being a campervan? I thought all others were converted vans? I know that this isn't what the chap is asking

VW supplied Camping bodyshell (Kombi/Caravelle without interior).

Is that what the CAMPING badge denotes?

All devons were Bus or caravelle , at least all the pop tops I have seen were , not sure about their Hitop eurovette
Many hi top holdsworths were factory Hitop windowed shells.
But then saying that I would say a good lot of home conversions were caravelle or buses, because they already had Windows fitted so it was much easier .

Not seen a late model devon, seen plenty of lookaliky ones (late van with a early devon interior bolted in and a set of stickers put on), didn't think devon made any in late 80s(but I may be wrong). Holdworths used vans with a roof fitted by vw, but they cut the windows in themselves, they also cut the holes to big for the windows in the roof, which is why all the hightop windows in holdsworths leak!