Fetch Camper Vans

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The Belly Is Gaun Tae Get Ye Jun 2021 9:40am, 17 Jun 2021 290 posts	0 The Belly Is Gaun Tae Get Ye Anyone with recommendations for smaller sites in Northumberland preferably with EHU?
Big_G Jun 2021 5:28pm, 17 Jun 2021 955 posts	0 Big_G Hi all, a good few years ago now I used to have a campervan - it was an N-reg, Peugeot Boxer conversion, and I got rid of it about 8 years ago as it was becoming uneconomical to run. We had a great time in it though. I know probably now isn't the right time to be looking again in terms of prices, but well....I am looking again. I went to a forecourt the other day and really like the look of a 2014 VW T5 "Camper King" conversion with a "pop top". It's supposed to be 4 berth but really I can't see how it would comfortably sleep 4 normal sized adults, but that's okay. It'd mainly be OH and I (both tall) and the dog. I did search for "Camper King" on Fetch but didn't spot anything. Has anyone had one of these, or are there any other similar alternatives? Does anyone use one a daily vehicle? They did have a Ford Transit Pop Top version of it on the forecourt as well, but for whatever reason I liked the look of the VW more. Requirements as far as I can tell: - reliable. My days of scratching around with my head under the bonnet are over. - I am tall (6ft3), and I want to be able to stand up in it. - not too worried about a shower. The VW didn't have one. The sites we would generally go to will probably have facilities. - 4 seat belts (my old Pug only had two). - I'm fine with making up the bed each night, presuming it's a 1-2 min job. - Rack for bikes a must. - An awning is a very nice to have, or at least something to upgrade at a later date. - I had (naively) thought £20k would see me okay, but probably point 1 above means I need to push that budget up! I know I can go older to bring the price down, but reliability (and I suppose a bit of comfort) really is a must. - I know this is probably a strange question, but with demand outstripping supply at the moment, is there room for haggling at a dealer, or is the price stated pretty much set in stone?
♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Jun 2021 5:50pm, 17 Jun 2021 41,149 posts	0 ♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Big G, we bought a Camper King van last year and are very pleased with it. I’ll put some thoughts down here in the next day or two.
♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Jun 2021 10:38am, 18 Jun 2021 41,151 posts	0 ♪♫ Synge ♪♫ Big G, we have a 2017 Camper King T6 which was converted new in 2020 and which we took delivery of a day or two before the first lockdown. We got it from Somerset Motorhome Centre outside Taunton; they are one of a number of regional dealers who sell for Camper King. The company itself is based just outside Banbury and I went to visit them this year when I took ours in for its first MOT, service and habitation check. They have quite an impressive set-up there with showroom, servicing, accessories shop and they seem to do a lot of mods there for people who want different wheels, solar panels, extra leisure batteries, brighter headlights, diesel heaters, gas struts for the bed etc etc. Of course, you may buy the van and never deal with Camper King direct - there's no reason why you should. But I would say that their attention to customer service is very good. As for the van itself, the quality of the conversion seems very good (albeit we haven't used it a great deal yet!) and I would buy it again if we were starting now. I won't address all your bullet points, as you can probably work out for yourself whether the van you are looking at satisfies these. We sleep downstairs and would probably be just over the recommended weight allowance if we both tried to sleep on the platform. I would see it as perfectly good for one adult or two children, though. We have the double passenger seat in the front, which means a total of five seat belts. A lot of couples switch this for the "captain's chair" which is probably more comfortable, but we like it as it is. I am 6' 1" and the pop top gives all the headroom I could want. As regards price, I think Camper King are pretty careful to control this and make sure their dealers follow suit. We got £500 off the windscreen price and we spoke to another purchaser on the same day who achieved the same. So I guess they work hard to maintain a part-exchange/resale structure that protects values overall. As vans get older, though, and go through independent dealers, that may drift. Our journey began at a motorhome show at the Westpoint Arena at the start of 2020 and there was one well-known dealer from your town there who it was very clear would throw mention of at least a £5,000 discount into conversations as soon as you looked at one of his vans, and the conclusion must be that his approach to pricing and discounting was very very different (he didn't sell Camper Kings, though). I agree with you on the VW vs Transit reliability issue. Other than that, that's my random thoughts as sparked off by your post! Enjoy the search. (Happy to get into more specifics by fmail if you like!)
Big_G Jun 2021 1:46pm, 18 Jun 2021 956 posts	0 Big_G Thanks Synge, that’s appreciated. I’m hoping to go and have another look at it over the weekend with my girlfriend, and then we’ll take it from there.
Too Much Water Jun 2021 1:40pm, 19 Jun 2021 8,841 posts	0 Too Much Water Saw an interesting - and big - van today. Looks like it’s local. The van had a sticker promoting its Instagram account if anyone wants a look @bobbi_the_vario
Northern Exile Jun 2021 11:13am, 20 Jun 2021 7,752 posts	0 Northern Exile Currently at Glen Nevis campsite, midges absolutely terrible. Our recent vent modifications keeping them out, but still need some way of maintaining airflow while being midge-free
Gobi Jun 2021 11:47am, 20 Jun 2021 74,331 posts	0 Gobi Progress NE , no midges is a good start Should have my new van in a week, now for ebay and cheap giveaway van auction
Northern Exile Jun 2021 4:01pm, 21 Jun 2021 7,753 posts	0 Northern Exile In situ at Glenmore in the Cairngorms after a nice drive up from Glen Nevis , temperature has dropped a little and apparently they had a bit of snow last night above 3,800ft which could make tomorrow a bit interesting. The nice lady at reception told us that they are booked solid over the school holidays period, why am I not surprised?
GimmeMedals Jun 2021 4:49pm, 21 Jun 2021 21,179 posts	0 GimmeMedals That's one of our favourite sites, NE; it is beautiful. I'm glad they are busy - hopefully the Pine Marten bar will get lots of trade as they have been brilliant during lockdown, supporting the local community, and have made a number of changes to the facilities so they can welcome back customers safely.