Picked up this today.

After a fair amount of searching I finally got a van that fits the bill. It's a 2005 Citroen Relay, 2.2 LWB hi top. 100k on the clock, 12 months MOT, full service history inc cam belt just done for the sum of £1600. It's got plenty of room inside and already ply lined and pretty clean. Few knocks and scrapes here and there but nothing too bad.

Keep them peeled for updates over the winter.

side windows and roof light planned, Ross?

Looking forward to following this thread.

Looking forward to this

My "father in law" has his own (very small) business converting vans into campers and offered for us to make one together.....I'm intrigued to see how you get on converting this as I'm tentatively hunting for a cheaper alternative to a VW T4/caravanette.

So when are you fitting a 1.8T? :P

Looking forward to this

My "father in law" has his own (very small) business converting vans into campers and offered for us to make one together.....I'm intrigued to see how you get on converting this as I'm tentatively hunting for a cheaper alternative to a VW T4/caravanette.

 

 

have you checked out www.vwt4forum.co.uk ?

have you checked out www.vwt4forum.co.uk ?

Not for a fair while TBH as other things have had to take priority??

T4s are good, but not as big as this and over twice the price for something older with more miles on it.

T4s are good, but not as big as this and over twice the price for something older with more miles on it.

And you got this at an amazing price! Any idea how reliable these are?

I will give you a few months to get things off the ground and will book in for cruise control and a wee peek if you don't mind?!?!

I am dead jealous :(

T4s are good, but not as big as this and over twice the price for something older with more miles on it.

 

Yep, nice as VW Vans can be, if you aren't so bothered about fitting in with the scene there are much better value options out there.

Will be interesting to see the end results

side windows and roof light planned, Ross?

 

I doubt he'll need a roof, these are huge in the back because of how low the floor is.

I can stand up in the back and I'm 6ft 2 ins

I doubt he'll need a roof, these are huge in the back because of how low the floor is.

 

Yes, front wheel drive has it's advantages in these vehicles.

Yep, nice as VW Vans can be, if you aren't so bothered about fitting in with the scene there are much better value options out there.

Will be interesting to see the end results

What heresy is this? :-)

I've driven Citroen, Renault, Ford and ldv. None a patch on my T4 and T5.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

What heresy is this? :-)

I've driven Citroen, Renault, Ford and ldv. None a patch on my T4 and T5.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 4

 

Better value doesnt have to mean they are better to drive. I just dont think the price hike justifies the benifits and for what i plan to do VW dont offer the same space without going up to LT/Crafter bracket.

 

Plus been very put off with T5 since Stu paid £50k+ for his California and took it to a dealer to complain about his knocking steering and to be told "its just a van, they all do that".

What heresy is this? :-)

I've driven Citroen, Renault, Ford and ldv. None a patch on my T4 and T5.

 

 

Oh, I know the VWs are supposed to be more car like to drive than the competition, and they look better.

That doesn't necessarily make them better value for money though.

yeah fair enough. The Crafter or LT make a great camper. 

 

Buying a california was a biiiig mistake   Much better options out there (for way less than £50k!)

 

 

And no, they don't all do that. 

The other halfs parents have a mwb boxer van that hes converted into a camper, i asked why he didnt get a bigger van and he said so i can get into carparks with height barriers on them.

My dad had a older lwb high roof boxer and it was massive inside but it died due to rust underneath as it didnt do many miles (about 5k a year) altho a good wax oil would have prevented it.

He has a ldv maxus now and its a complete heap of junk compaired to his old boxer van

Yes, we tried the LDV maxus.  Two was enough thanks.  Good job they were seriously cheap!

The Boxer/Ducato/Relay and Master/Movano are good basis for a conversion IMO.

We get a few driveshaft issues and gear linkage issues, but other than that they are fine.

Better than a Transit (which are very popular with thieves and rear wheel drive) and I personally find all Merc and VW vans overpriced.

_{Update - well a photo one anyhow}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots still to do but its coming along now with the important stuff pretty much in.

Intelligent dual battery system wired up. This will use a proper leisure battery when installed in the units when they are built.

With both batteries connected, it works

With the engine running, charging away.

Alternator voltage at aux battery, all good.

Floor prepped, holes from previous flooring treated and sealed to stop corrosion.

Ready to build the floor up tomorrow.

Coming along well now then

Getting there. There is a lot of stuff that needs to be in place before it can be insulated and boarded but the last few weekends have seen quite a lot of progress. What you don't see is the time is takes to make all the battery and amp leads, all properly soldered and heat shrunk. Amp wiring is all in now ready for the 5 channel amp I've got ear marked

Yeah, it's the fiddly things and doing things properly that takes the time I guess. Any plans on a respray or keep it white?

Good progress, Ross. Quality takes time.