Buying a Camper van and what I considered.
SO, I bought a van
Here is how I went about finding and buying a van that works great for our needs.
Who are we, and what do we do:
We are a family of four, two adults, and two kids. This means that two beds would be ideal for us. It needed to include a cooking stove, standing room, easy to park in cities and easy to drive. ample storage, sturdy and withing a reasonable price range.
Our Budget = 15K + /-
Skill level to fix engine problems = 2 (on s scale from 0-10, 10 being a mechanic)
Skill level to do small repairs such as water pump and Furnace / thermostat stuff ( 0, never done this stuff before)
We looked at Sprinter Vans, Eurovans - both full camper and weekender, Asto Vans, as well as a couple of different pull behind pop top campers and pick up truck bed campers. After spending a weekend camping with some friends and their pop top pull behind, it was clear for us that we did not want that. They have their advantages, more space, as well as price, and definitely could be a better option if you plan on staying at a place for longer periods of time. BUT the time to get it all set up and get the beds ready was not ideal for us, and the driving in cities was a huge minus.
This meant that we were down to the Vans.
Sprinter Van: is big inside, it is tall and pretty sturdy. Most of the once we could find for around 15K were in pretty bad shape, and all had rear wheel drive, and that is not ideal for Colorado snow. Few of them have seating for 4, and most needed some modifications to get enough bed space and seating. Also, we would have to store it outside as it would not fit in our 7ft garage. Sprinter vans are awesome, but price is a huge issue.
Astro Van - Nope, just Nope, after doing some research the engine just does not do well in altitude, and we live in Colorado, so not for us.
The Eurovan: We looked at the two most common once around here, the Eurovan Weekender,and the Eurovan Camper (winnebago)
- The weekender: it has ample sleeping space, with the pop top bed, and the pull out bed "downstairs", it has a AC battery for lighting, a table for eating and just the right height. I can pull in to my 7ft garage with about 1" clearance.
- The Camper: has it all. It has a pop top bed, a pull out bed downstairs, a sink, fresh water tank, wastewater tank, two burner gas stove hooked up to the LP tank, a fridge and a furnace, as well as swivel seats up front, and a dining / coffee/ cooking table. The Eurovan is more expensive than the pull behind campers, but less than the Sprinter. One huge plus is also the front wheel drive.
We decided to go for the Eurovan Full Camper!
After reading about the different model years, anything including as well as after 1997 would have a 140 HP, 2.8-liter V6 engine vs the earlier versions of 109 HP 2.5 - liter 5 - cylinder engine, and that helps getting over the mountain passes in our home state. So we started looking for 1997 and up with no more than 150 K miles on it as well as no transmission problems.
We clicked through every Craigslist add for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming as well as called every used VW car dealership withing a 500 mile radius. Finding a Van that is 1997 or newer with under 150 K miles in good condition proved to be difficult. The Eurovan people value their Vans more than money, and most listings were in the early 20's for what we looked for.
But luck would have it that one van owner answered my price of 15K, it was listed for 21K, but I sent a email saying I could only afford 15, and they got back to us after just a couple of days. It had 110K miles, interior was in great condition, but the water pump needed to be replaced as well as the gas to the fridge had been capped. When I took it for a test drive,the transmission was slipping. Me and the owner took it to a guy who is considered the specialists in Eurovan Transmissions, and he gave a price of 4K to get it fixed, the Transmission was F*&%. The owner of the Van took it to another place and they confirmed, the Transmission needed to be re built. As Craigslist adds go, you newer know what you will get when buying a used car. I told the owner that I cant afford the Van, because the 4K transmission would be way to much, she decided to pay 3K of it, and after a few back and forth, we settled for 12K, and I would pay the 4K transmission repair . I am now a 35 year old man with a wife and two kids that asked my parents for 1K loan, Not proud of that, but it got us a Van!
The Van:
The water pump was original and needed to be fixed, the gas had been capped to the fridge, because the lady that owned it was afraid it could leak when she was sleeping. After googling a bit around, I found that working on a Eurovan is super easy. I have by no means been gifted with technical skills, but so far I have been able to do all the repairs by my self. There was a crack in the roof of the pop top that I taped with EternaBound Mobile RV Roof repair Buy here, One role cost 14 bucks, and was easy as heck to apply. I also ordered a new water pump for 35 usd, as well as a new Thermostat This one The reason I bought a new thermostat was that it had a dedicated ON / OFF, the old one (Original Thermostat) newer turned off, it kept kicking on at 32F and that drains the AC battery. The Transmission took 1 week to get rebuilt, I never did anything but hand them a credit card. Some of the cabinets was a bit loose, so I tightened the screws, and on some I put new hardware on. two screws, the holes were already drilled, it was easy as can be. The Van passed the transmission test, and that meant get some plates on it, register, and she is good to go.
As for buying a van, you should expect some work, if it is just water pump, or interior finishes, it is easy and any half wit can do it, but if the transmission slips you are in for a more costly affair. The Eurovans have had a reputation for transmission problems, and if you need a full rebuild, you are looking at 4K right there. The best guy around here (Denver/Frontrange is custom Transmission, he has been working on Eurovans for 30 + years, and got mine driving like a new car. It took him a week to do, and it was costly, but it drives like a dream.
So there was my two cents on it. Let me know if you have questions or comments.
Cheers!
Here is how I went about finding and buying a van that works great for our needs.
Who are we, and what do we do:
We are a family of four, two adults, and two kids. This means that two beds would be ideal for us. It needed to include a cooking stove, standing room, easy to park in cities and easy to drive. ample storage, sturdy and withing a reasonable price range.
Our Budget = 15K + /-
Skill level to fix engine problems = 2 (on s scale from 0-10, 10 being a mechanic)
Skill level to do small repairs such as water pump and Furnace / thermostat stuff ( 0, never done this stuff before)
We looked at Sprinter Vans, Eurovans - both full camper and weekender, Asto Vans, as well as a couple of different pull behind pop top campers and pick up truck bed campers. After spending a weekend camping with some friends and their pop top pull behind, it was clear for us that we did not want that. They have their advantages, more space, as well as price, and definitely could be a better option if you plan on staying at a place for longer periods of time. BUT the time to get it all set up and get the beds ready was not ideal for us, and the driving in cities was a huge minus.
This meant that we were down to the Vans.
Sprinter Van: is big inside, it is tall and pretty sturdy. Most of the once we could find for around 15K were in pretty bad shape, and all had rear wheel drive, and that is not ideal for Colorado snow. Few of them have seating for 4, and most needed some modifications to get enough bed space and seating. Also, we would have to store it outside as it would not fit in our 7ft garage. Sprinter vans are awesome, but price is a huge issue.
Astro Van - Nope, just Nope, after doing some research the engine just does not do well in altitude, and we live in Colorado, so not for us.
The Eurovan: We looked at the two most common once around here, the Eurovan Weekender,and the Eurovan Camper (winnebago)
- The weekender: it has ample sleeping space, with the pop top bed, and the pull out bed "downstairs", it has a AC battery for lighting, a table for eating and just the right height. I can pull in to my 7ft garage with about 1" clearance.
- The Camper: has it all. It has a pop top bed, a pull out bed downstairs, a sink, fresh water tank, wastewater tank, two burner gas stove hooked up to the LP tank, a fridge and a furnace, as well as swivel seats up front, and a dining / coffee/ cooking table. The Eurovan is more expensive than the pull behind campers, but less than the Sprinter. One huge plus is also the front wheel drive.
We decided to go for the Eurovan Full Camper!
After reading about the different model years, anything including as well as after 1997 would have a 140 HP, 2.8-liter V6 engine vs the earlier versions of 109 HP 2.5 - liter 5 - cylinder engine, and that helps getting over the mountain passes in our home state. So we started looking for 1997 and up with no more than 150 K miles on it as well as no transmission problems.
We clicked through every Craigslist add for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming as well as called every used VW car dealership withing a 500 mile radius. Finding a Van that is 1997 or newer with under 150 K miles in good condition proved to be difficult. The Eurovan people value their Vans more than money, and most listings were in the early 20's for what we looked for.
But luck would have it that one van owner answered my price of 15K, it was listed for 21K, but I sent a email saying I could only afford 15, and they got back to us after just a couple of days. It had 110K miles, interior was in great condition, but the water pump needed to be replaced as well as the gas to the fridge had been capped. When I took it for a test drive,the transmission was slipping. Me and the owner took it to a guy who is considered the specialists in Eurovan Transmissions, and he gave a price of 4K to get it fixed, the Transmission was F*&%. The owner of the Van took it to another place and they confirmed, the Transmission needed to be re built. As Craigslist adds go, you newer know what you will get when buying a used car. I told the owner that I cant afford the Van, because the 4K transmission would be way to much, she decided to pay 3K of it, and after a few back and forth, we settled for 12K, and I would pay the 4K transmission repair . I am now a 35 year old man with a wife and two kids that asked my parents for 1K loan, Not proud of that, but it got us a Van!
The Van:
The water pump was original and needed to be fixed, the gas had been capped to the fridge, because the lady that owned it was afraid it could leak when she was sleeping. After googling a bit around, I found that working on a Eurovan is super easy. I have by no means been gifted with technical skills, but so far I have been able to do all the repairs by my self. There was a crack in the roof of the pop top that I taped with EternaBound Mobile RV Roof repair Buy here, One role cost 14 bucks, and was easy as heck to apply. I also ordered a new water pump for 35 usd, as well as a new Thermostat This one The reason I bought a new thermostat was that it had a dedicated ON / OFF, the old one (Original Thermostat) newer turned off, it kept kicking on at 32F and that drains the AC battery. The Transmission took 1 week to get rebuilt, I never did anything but hand them a credit card. Some of the cabinets was a bit loose, so I tightened the screws, and on some I put new hardware on. two screws, the holes were already drilled, it was easy as can be. The Van passed the transmission test, and that meant get some plates on it, register, and she is good to go.
As for buying a van, you should expect some work, if it is just water pump, or interior finishes, it is easy and any half wit can do it, but if the transmission slips you are in for a more costly affair. The Eurovans have had a reputation for transmission problems, and if you need a full rebuild, you are looking at 4K right there. The best guy around here (Denver/Frontrange is custom Transmission, he has been working on Eurovans for 30 + years, and got mine driving like a new car. It took him a week to do, and it was costly, but it drives like a dream.
So there was my two cents on it. Let me know if you have questions or comments.
Cheers!
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