Sligthly old Camper Vans, LDVs, Mercs, Citroen C25, VW LT28 etc

Old Campervans - not cool ones but big boxy ones for camping/surfing/mountain biking trip(s)!

So there are loads on Eblag, so what is there to look for on these mechanically? And which ones do ok fuel economy?

LDV 400s - these used both the PSA and transit engines, which is better for both economy and reliability?

Citroen C25 and equivalent pug/Fiat - do these all run the same engines? How reliable are they, what kind of mpg?

VW LT 28/35 (the big boxy one) - some of these have turbo diesel power - all good?

Old Mercededs Diesel vans - heaps of junk or better/worse than the above?

One would be great for my late summer running/cycling extravaganza, plus I may have a chance of an extended holiday at some stage late in the year and would love to hit France/Portugal/Morocco for a big surf trip......

[andrewsmith]

Thought about the Iveco campervans which run the same motors (in the most part) as the Fiats.
But they are tanks and will do 65 flat out

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IVECO-59-12-CA...ht_1985wt_1054

I'm liking stuff like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ht_1140wt_1139

And this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ht_1119wt_1139

And these two:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...#ht_500wt_1156

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ht_1670wt_1139

60mph would be fine, it's the economy I'm worried about on a big trip!

[andrewsmith]

The LDV's are ford motors for the turbo lumps (i'd avoid that 400 as something ain't right)

I'd speak to paul the 6th about the Vdubs as he's doing a conversion atm and did a lot of research into them.

Economy the non-turbo motors will be around 25mpg average
The fiat non-turbo motors are thirsty beasts they're 2.8 motors and do about 22 mpg (Thats what Berlin's Iveco did full laden towing a caravan)

I'd personally be looking at the ones based round the Fiat/ PSA lumps as they still use the motor and are very agricultural and rugged.

Chassis/ bodywork I'd avoid the older Mercs (and good few of the newer ones) as they seem to dissolve and every one I've used/ been in have rotten wings and alot of rust spots in the load bays

HTH

Just got this off wiki wrt LDV vans:

Leyland DAF 400 Series, 1989-97
With Freight Rover becoming part of Leyland DAF the 300 series was superseded by the 400 series, which also offered air suspension and a 2.5-litre Peugeot-sourced diesel engine(Changed later on for the Ford Di engine from the Transit). At this stage, it was given a new radiator grille, bearing the Leyland DAF badge.

So it looks like a PSA one isn't necessarily a bad bet, but is obviously older.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by andrewsmith

Chassis/ bodywork I'd avoid the older Mercs (and good few of the newer ones) as they seem to dissolve and every one I've used/ been in have rotten wings and alot of rust spots in the load bays

HTH

Oh you haven't seen the one I've been borrowing then, as that one has some load bay in the rust spot.

It doesn't matter which one you end up with - you'll still be the one with a trail of cars behind with every driver calling you a c**t as you belch partly burnt diesel in all directions!

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Oh you haven't seen the one I've been borrowing then, as that one has some load bay in the rust spot.

even tho I can believe that...

[dirtydog]

Transit engine is pretty bullet proof, main thing is the cambelt and water pump. if that does snap it's pretty easy to fix, normally just a couple of bent push rods. Drive them carefully and you should do alright on fuel economy. Anything that sort of age will have a bit of rust on.

If your not in a hurry for it you could buy a van and convert it yourself. You'll need a bed, cooking facilities and running water To get the log book changed to show it's a camper. Doing it that way you cNnhave it fairly basic which will cut the weight a bit and could improve your mpg