Help needed to choose a van

Wandererone · Veteran Member

Help needed to choose a van

oldbobsbus · Guru

It is good for a change to see someone asking for advice that has already spent some time on the caravan trail..

I really know nothing about vans but I 100% agree that a shower and toilet are a must for any form of mobile living quarters, even if you only use then on the odd occasion it is important for them the be there when you want them..

Hopefully members with knowledge of vans will come to your aid as I'm a MHer..

Bunkerbob · Senior Member

We also bought second hand, was North of $50K but we already had a 4WD to tow it. Don't limit to "On-Road" only. Semi-Off road do have a more substantial A Frame as well as normally being slightly stronger in the suspension. While we do spend most time on the tarmac, there are places like the road to Fowlers Bay, Sth Aus, the road into Starvation Bay in WA and a few other places that the stronger set-up is helpful. It also helps that the tyres (Tires?) are also normally 4WD LT. A lot bigger and a lot more robust. Go into websites like caravansales.com.au. Hasten slowly. There are a lot of vans out there that are on the market for a large number of reasons. See you out there. It is the best decision we have made.

Under $30K will also get you a van that is "Under $30K". Sometimes, (- Most times? _) you gets what you pays for. The older the van, the less it would cost, the more troubles you may find. The diamond in the rough is not often found.

Bob

oldbobsbus · Guru

We are currently on the road traveling down the coast from Northern NSW to eventually SA and we see lots and lots of vans on the side of the road for sale so there are more places to look than in Van yards and on the net..

I spotted one today that I thought was a good Van it was a Jayco poptop of some sort but we were moving and I was driving so I didn't see any details but it was at a CP between Merimbula and Lakes Entrance where we are at the moment..lol smile

hako · Guru

I just had a look on Trading Post and there are 103 vans under $30000 with shwr/toilet...try this list:
http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Caravans/Caravans/Search?q=shower+toilet&filter-sort-by=Price-Asc&cat=Caravans%2FCaravans&make=&model=&photos=First&filter-state=&filter-seller=&filter-condition=&HotlistID=&filter-location-text=&filter-location-dist=10&minPrice=5000&maxPrice=30000

Rip and Rosie · Guru

Before you can look at updating your van you need to know the towing capacity of the car.

More important than the budget.

Nelly · Guru

At one of the camping shows I saw a Roma Pinto - I think about 18' - it was a very well set out little van - not sure of the price now but maybe worth a look.

aussietraveller · Guru

As Rosie said it is critical to know the towing capacity of your car

Some thoughts on vans we have towed pop tops and full size vans and really find the fuel consumption is insignificant and the convenience and storage capacity of a full van certainly outweighs any minor fuel variation.

We currently tow a 2005 Jayco heritage 21 foot van with a full en-suite which we both use daily and believe it to be excellent My cousin has an all in one en-suite in a 20 foot Corimal and it is up for sale as they want separate shower and toilet so that you don't spray water over everything whilst having a shower can be quite messy.

If you shop around you will get a van like mine (see avatar) for the sort of money you are looking to spend and the Jayco has one of the strongest chassis on the road but most most important ensure that your vehicle can tow it safely, our van has a tare weight of 1958 and a GVM of 2223.

Hope this helps

Wandererone · Veteran Member

Thanks all for your advice.
Rosie we have bought a diesel Mitsubishi Challenger with a tow capacity of 3 tonne so weight is not really an issue anymore.

Wandererone · Veteran Member

aussietraveller we quite like the Jayco's.
'Pokey' is a Jayco and our first van was a Jayco Swan or Dove (can't remember) campervan.

The layouts seem to be good in the Heritage, Discovery and Freedom styles.

Thanks Hayco we are looking on all the web sites but just wanted some opinions from some more experienced caravanners.
It is amazing that prices can be similar but there can be up to 10 years worth of age difference

Sherio · Veteran Member

Not sure how effective an air con would be with a pop top - perhaps someone who has one could comment on this

Gerty Dancer · Guru

We have a pop-top, have used the air-con and the heater in it. We prefer to use a little fan heater as its quieter, and its very effective. The air-con works ok, need to close as many vents as possible, but we don't like it as its noisy. Obviously in a full caravan it would work better, but are they still so noisy?

golivers travels · Guru

Wandererone,

Good luck on finding your van.

Just one word of caution re towing capacity. Check the tow ball weight of the van, anything over 180 kg will drop the towing capacity of your Challenger down to 2500 kg. Something the manufacturers don't let you know this.

we have a Pajero and the same applied.

Cheers

Glenda

the ginger nomad · Senior Member

We have a 2011 challenger, did almost 20,000km last year towing 17ft jayco discovery pop top.Did it easy. The challenger is slightly different to the pajero as it has 300kg ball weight.From all I can find out the ballweight with the challenger dosn't change the tow capacity.
John

golivers travels · Guru

the ginger nomad wrote:
We have a 2011 challenger, did almost 20,000km last year towing 17ft jayco discovery pop top.Did it easy. The challenger is slightly different to the pajero as it has 300kg ball weight.From all I can find out the ballweight with the challenger dosn't change the tow capacity.
John

Sorry Ginger, you are correct, was thinking of the Overlander! My apologies.

Cheers Glenda

Wandererone · Veteran Member

golivers travels wrote:

Just one word of caution re towing capacity. Check the tow ball weight of the van, anything over 180 kg will drop the towing capacity of your Challenger down to 2500 kg. Something the manufacturers don't let you know this.

It's all good