Hi,
I posted on the forum a few months ago regarding buying an old Hymer. Since then, I've had a bit of a u turn....towards van conversions. I met a lady recently who advised me that a van would be much more practical for me and my dog as they are not as wide. She told me that taking a camper on the continent, particularly if you want to travel up the mountain roads or park outside camp sites, motorhomes are banned on some roads, have speed limits that are monitored and are not as discreet for off camp parking at night.
With this in mind, I'm now beginning to look into buying a van and having it converted to my own spec.
I wondered if you might have any advise or recommendations? I've a few mechanical people in the family who have commercial vehicles, so I've no worries with buying one of them. Its the conversion side I'm green to.
My brother mentioned today "why not buy a van here and take it over to the UK to get it converted to a higher standard...more choice in spec in the UK etc.
While I wont ask for recommendations of people/companies who do the work (likely to get people or friends of people recommending themselves!! hehe), would be great to get advise from someone who has been through the process, understands the pricing, what to look out for etc.
I understand an insurance company requires that the log book be marked "Motorhome" and that you'd need an engineers cert. How difficult are they to get? There must be quite a bit of paperwork involved, certs etc with all the electrics etc. DO the converters themselves need to be certified for habitation tests etc?
I'd be most grateful of any advise. Many thanks
I posted on the forum a few months ago regarding buying an old Hymer. Since then, I've had a bit of a u turn....towards van conversions. I met a lady recently who advised me that a van would be much more practical for me and my dog as they are not as wide. She told me that taking a camper on the continent, particularly if you want to travel up the mountain roads or park outside camp sites, motorhomes are banned on some roads, have speed limits that are monitored and are not as discreet for off camp parking at night.
With this in mind, I'm now beginning to look into buying a van and having it converted to my own spec.
I wondered if you might have any advise or recommendations? I've a few mechanical people in the family who have commercial vehicles, so I've no worries with buying one of them. Its the conversion side I'm green to.
My brother mentioned today "why not buy a van here and take it over to the UK to get it converted to a higher standard...more choice in spec in the UK etc.
While I wont ask for recommendations of people/companies who do the work (likely to get people or friends of people recommending themselves!! hehe), would be great to get advise from someone who has been through the process, understands the pricing, what to look out for etc.
I understand an insurance company requires that the log book be marked "Motorhome" and that you'd need an engineers cert. How difficult are they to get? There must be quite a bit of paperwork involved, certs etc with all the electrics etc. DO the converters themselves need to be certified for habitation tests etc?
I'd be most grateful of any advise. Many thanks