This is a thread about a van that doesnt exist yet.
Well it exists, just I havent bough it yet.
This will be our second van, we converted a Nissan Primastar in 2021. We didnt know if we'd get much use of the van, or if we'd even finish it so we decided to just buy a cheap van to start with so bought a 300k km passenger van that had some work done to it with Renault Espace seats and the espace engine swapped in too. (turned out after it was an ex taxi and clocked 200k km just before I bought it)
We built it with the aim of sleeping two adults and two small kids, but also hoping to retain as much van capabilty as possible. It was a LWB twin slider and we ended up with a bed that folded down over two seats in the back and the kids slept crossways on a camping mat and self inflating mattresses on the floor. The kitchen was in a sliding cabinet that popped out when needed and there was a huge boot under the bed. (should have patented that idea before VW copied it for the T7 Multivan California)
So it was an experiment, what was the outcome? We did 40k km in 2.5 years and that was with having our two cars for daily driver duty, so yeah we used it.
We did day trips, camping trips, pulled trailers, carried building materials and tools to various projects at home or at both myself and my wife's home place's. Our camping trips tended to be a night or two in a single spot, we're not really "week at a campsite" people. This summer we drove to austria and back (from Ireland in case anyone hadnt figured that out). In that time some things changed and we learned much more about what we want from a van.
The kids are bigger and no longer fit across the floor so we're back to camper and popup tent (which is fine, suits everyone). Towing a trailer out of a wet field with a FWD van can be challenging, it will spin the tyres at the slightest hint of an evening dew. The size does at times limit parking options in small towns/villages. But on a whole we love the concept/layout and want to go again, but this time with a nicer base vehicle and some more traction.
I'm currently shopping for my perfect van. T5.1 or T6, 4Motion, 140hp, manual, twin sliders, air conditioning are the mandatory requirements. Ideally I'd like a SWB, not black, and plastic bumpers. Tailgate, T32 capacity and diff lock would be nice bonuses.
The Irish market is a relatively small pool to draw from so it could take me a while to find the perfect van. In the past I'd probably have jumped straight over the Irish Sea, but for reasons that's now a more expensive and complicated process so I'm not ready to go there yet.
Well it exists, just I havent bough it yet.
This will be our second van, we converted a Nissan Primastar in 2021. We didnt know if we'd get much use of the van, or if we'd even finish it so we decided to just buy a cheap van to start with so bought a 300k km passenger van that had some work done to it with Renault Espace seats and the espace engine swapped in too. (turned out after it was an ex taxi and clocked 200k km just before I bought it)
We built it with the aim of sleeping two adults and two small kids, but also hoping to retain as much van capabilty as possible. It was a LWB twin slider and we ended up with a bed that folded down over two seats in the back and the kids slept crossways on a camping mat and self inflating mattresses on the floor. The kitchen was in a sliding cabinet that popped out when needed and there was a huge boot under the bed. (should have patented that idea before VW copied it for the T7 Multivan California)
So it was an experiment, what was the outcome? We did 40k km in 2.5 years and that was with having our two cars for daily driver duty, so yeah we used it.
We did day trips, camping trips, pulled trailers, carried building materials and tools to various projects at home or at both myself and my wife's home place's. Our camping trips tended to be a night or two in a single spot, we're not really "week at a campsite" people. This summer we drove to austria and back (from Ireland in case anyone hadnt figured that out). In that time some things changed and we learned much more about what we want from a van.
The kids are bigger and no longer fit across the floor so we're back to camper and popup tent (which is fine, suits everyone). Towing a trailer out of a wet field with a FWD van can be challenging, it will spin the tyres at the slightest hint of an evening dew. The size does at times limit parking options in small towns/villages. But on a whole we love the concept/layout and want to go again, but this time with a nicer base vehicle and some more traction.
I'm currently shopping for my perfect van. T5.1 or T6, 4Motion, 140hp, manual, twin sliders, air conditioning are the mandatory requirements. Ideally I'd like a SWB, not black, and plastic bumpers. Tailgate, T32 capacity and diff lock would be nice bonuses.
The Irish market is a relatively small pool to draw from so it could take me a while to find the perfect van. In the past I'd probably have jumped straight over the Irish Sea, but for reasons that's now a more expensive and complicated process so I'm not ready to go there yet.
