Van Buying Tips! Choosing the right one for your campervan conversion

BUDGET

The first thing to consider when buying a van is your budget! Not only for the van base but also for the actual van build.

Both are dependent on what you’re looking for - whether that's a long wheel base or short, high or low mileage, old or newer models, it really does vary.

For us, we wanted something from 2012 onwards, average mileage, high top (because we’re both tall), long wheel base for maximum room, and in good condition externally.

Therefore we budgeted £8 - £12,000 for the van base. With our minibus coming in just under the top end of our budget.

In terms of the actual van build, we’re completely new to this so we pulled together a draft budget of all the core items that we’d need to buy for the build, to give us a guideline total cost.

For this we’re aiming to spend £6 - £8,000 on the van build and will be keeping a careful eye on this throughout the process.

VAN PURPOSE

Thinking about what you’re going to be using the van will influence the size of van you’ll be looking for - and also affect your budget

Some key points to consider are ….

• Are you going to be living in it 24/7 or will it just be a weekend camper??
• Are you going to need to work in your van
• Who is it catering for i.e. couple, family, or even your pets, or are you a solo traveller?
• An easy one to miss, but essential to consider - do you want to be able to stand up in it - if you're fairly tall like us this can add an extra challenge when finding a suitable model.
• And lastly, what do you want it to contain, i.e. just a bed, a kitchen area and even an inbuilt shower/wet room??

PANEL VAN VS MINIBUS

Next is whether you opt for a panel van or minibus - For us we actually started our search for a panel van but quite quickly started to consider minibuses due to a few little advantages…

• Mileage - one main thing was that minibuses seemed to have a lot lower mileage. I think because panel vans tend to be used for delivery services and so cover a lot more miles. Compared to minibuses which are normally owned by schools or colleges are only used for shorter distances.
• In turn this also affects a couple of factors - condition and price!
• Minibuses that we viewed seemed to be in a lot better condition, as they tend to not be bashed about so much.
• And price, well because panel vans are normally in higher demand because they are considered to be a bit less work to convert.
• And lastly windows. Panel vans mean you need to cut in to add windows, when minibuses have these already added!
• The only negatives of having a minibus over a panel van (that we’ve found so far) is not being able to change the windows and spending a week or two removing the seats and plastic moulding! But we’d choose this extra work over rust any day...

MAKE AND MODEL

Another point to consider is what brand and model you want - There are loads of options out there, but this will depend a lot on everything we’ve mentioned so far. Some of the top favourites that we’ve heard of are….

• Mercedes Sprinters - excellent but can be a lot more expensive for both the base and parts
• Ford Transits - all round goodness and generally more affordable, especially cheaper parts and maintenance
• Volkswagen Crafter - another solid choice but more rare

SIZE

And when considering a van, size matters! Again depending on what you want out of the van, you might want to look for a long or extra-long wheel base and high top roof - like ourselves.

To make it easy for you, we’ve created a Google sheet of all of the different van models, sizes and dimensions - check out the link here!

And a couple of last points to think about are...

• Cruise Control - If you’re looking to drive long distances then you might want to consider a van with cruise control. This is something that we added to our nice-to-have list and lucky for us, we managed to find a minibus with this feature
• Parking Sensors - mainly if you are looking for a long wheel base van because they really are hugeeeee! And so parking sensors can be super helpful! Again - something our minibus luckily already has.

For us, we found that a Ford Transit was going to be the best option for us - both in terms of size, price, and everything else we needed!

The minibus side of things was an extra bonus to our eyes, in terms of already having windows, being in great condition - all of those great points we already highlighted earlier on. But a couple of extras are...

• Due to the windows, we can actually fit a full double size mattress in sideways - without having to add side flares!
• Windows in the rear doors makes it easier to navigate when driving
• As it's a minibus it has twin rear wheels, meaning we get double the amount of traction at the back - great when you're parked off road, or generally driving a heavy load.
• It already has a roof window which adds loads of extra natural light!
• The current windows have four which are able to be opened
• There is an air-con in the back of the van - great if we are in hot countries
• It has a sound system already fitted and Bluetooth
• And lastly, Tristan's favourite feature - the electric, automatic side-step feature!