Second hand camper or pay for a conversion - which is more cost effective?

[fozz1e]

Hey everyone,

As per the subject... I've been looking at converted T6s and can't help but feel I'd get a bit more for my money buying a panel van and paying a company to convert it for me and then benefit from being the first owner of it as a camper plus having it done to my taste and requirements.

For example I'm seeing full camper conversions on 2018/2019 vans, low mileage, roughly £40,000.

Whereas it feels like I could buy a panel van that is a couple of years newer and lower mileage for 20-25, pay 20 to convert (assuming going for a good spec). Is this generally a more cost effective way to go or is that not a thing?

I'd love to do the conversion myself but have to be realistic that with 2 young children and a house that needs work it wouldn't happen!

 

[Matt-T68]

We had the same issue. There was always something 'not quite right' with all the conversions we looked at. So we bought a Kombi and have had it done to what we feel would suit us better. We didn't want a full on kitchen as wife likes dining out when we are away so have a couple of tables to boil a kettle for drinks. Fridge for a cool beer. And a kingsize bed. With the added benefit of keeping 5 seats. And a lot less than some of the ready converted we looked at. And you'd be amazed at the amount you can do yourself.

 

[TallPaul_S]

I think your numbers are a bit out, I'm afraid. Cheapest 2020 vans on auto trader are 20-23k + VAT, so 25k minimum. Easily add on another 5 or 10k if you want an actual decent spec.

Conversion costs - you'll be looking at £5k just for a pop top. I think 20k for a full conversion is more towards the budget end of the market. So all of a sudden you're staring at 50k+....

But you'd really need to look at proper costs, not just finger in the air stuff, as it can vary massively.

 

[Drive Wayne]

Before we bought our van we hired a rental T6.1 to jump straight into the NC500. That was when we decided a camper was for us.
With a wife, two needy daughters and a 3 year old grand daughter my time is not my own! Consequently we bought, didn't build.
With the exception of some initial snobbery that I didn't build it myself, it was the right choice for us and it meant we could get straight out and enjoy the experience!
No regrets, quite a few upgrades since, there is always something to spend money on, but I think we have it the way we want it now, loving it!
Edit.... I do want one of those Hotty Boily taps and I could lose the sink (bread bin), but that can wait.....

 

[Burner]

We’ve just bought a full conversion a few months , it was a long thought process, like yourself , weather to buy a van and kit it out or buy ready made. Depending on what year van and what spec you want it’s anything from £45-60000, by the time you source everything. We finely just just went with a second hand van with new conversion.

We got ours from camper versions in Blackburn, highly recommended
Good luck

 

[middle-englander]

I bought a 100k mile Startline for £17k with a view to convert it myself, because that's all I could afford at the time and I thought it would work out cheaper.

It's not quite finished and there are still some pricey things I need (and many more I want), so I reckon by the time I'm done I'm going to be somewhere around £35k, give or take a few thousand. That said I have generally used very decent equipment throughout.

You've stated that you would hand it over to a company for conversion, which would obviously cost a bit more than DIY, but I think the point I'm making is that you need to do your sums very carefully as the difference between your two options may not be as big as you think.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

You’re cheaper buying a converted van.
There’s plenty good ones out there and to adjust them so they are perfect for you would still be a lot cheaper than to start from scratch.
Take Middle Englander.
£35k and how many hours??

 

[Burner]

As above if your confident in doing a diy job, go for it !. But if your not sure , there’s loads of things to think of that you never knew, Elecs etc…, if you do go with a conversion, go with a company with a warranty on the work, some are only 3 months, but some good ones give longer on their work like 3 year!

 

[middle-englander]

You’re cheaper buying a converted van.
There’s plenty good ones out there and to adjust them so they are perfect for you would still be a lot cheaper than to start from scratch.
Take Middle Englander.
£35k and how many hours??

A bloody lot!
I do now possess the skills to start a camper conversion company. Would I want to? No effing chance!

 

[TallPaul_S]

A bloody lot!
I do now possess the skills to start a camper conversion company. Would I want to? No effing chance!

Hundreds of hours, easily - if my experience of 'only' building a couple of bits in my caravelle is any thing to go by!!

Don't forget a couple of grand for all the tools you'll need to get the job done too!

And yeah the costs soon add up. Take a typical decent spec electric set up:

230ah LiFePO4 battery - £800
DC-DC charger & MPPT - £400
Solar panels - £400
EHU parts - £200
Fuses, switches, cables etc - £200

There's £2k gone already...

 

[Chris Sherwood]

An advantage off buying a secondhand camper rather than a van and getting it converted, is that the campers tend to have lower mileage.
My camper was 5 years old with 20K miles on it, similar aged vans were much higher than that.

 

[fozz1e]

Thanks very much for all the input everyone and sorry it's taken a while to get back, I had to go away for work at short notice but lots of good advice.

A colleague pointed out my rookie error that I think TallPaul is getting at... I didn't realise a lot of the prices I was looking at for panel vans were without VAT so some of the conversions I've seen do seem a bit more attractive with that in mind.

The other option I'm looking at is the same colleague has done a couple of conversions and the latest one I've seen is done to a great standard so we may work together to convert something. Either way I'll be sure to share some pictures once the project is under way!