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May 17, 2021 16:00:56 GMT
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So I've got a friend who wants to convert a small-ish van (just long enough to lie down in) into an occasional camper. she's fairly confident she can do most of the work herself, but are there any legal hoops to jump through with this sort of thing?
Would the DVLA need to know about the change of use?
Would it need to be inspected or go through the BIVA process? I'm sure she's not planning any structural changes to the van, except possibly some side windows, so I can't see why it should.
Has anyone here done this lately who can offer any advice or links. I presume there are websites and social media pages for this too so if anyone knows any good ones let me know and I'll forward them on to her.
My friend isn't really into cars or vans in any way so she's not really bothered about the base vehicle as long as it's fairly modern, reliable, has the usual modern conveniences (power steering sound system etc) and isn't too big for parking.
Any advice gratefully received.
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Camper van conversionfr€$h&m1nt¥
@freshandminty
Club Retro Rides Member 99
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May 17, 2021 16:04:15 GMT
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The only legal requirement would be if she wanted to change the taxation class to camper van. For that it needs to have a minimum spec, such as permanent bed, minimum number of windows, possibly a plumbed in sink and cooker etc. If she is happy to leave it classified as a van then AFAIK then there’s no legal requirements or minimums. Edited to add: I follow this guy on YouTube as I used his videos for tips on fitting a window to my canopy… youtube.com/c/TheCampervanBuilder
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Paul
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,899
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May 17, 2021 16:37:53 GMT
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We're nearing the end of our conversion (I need to update my ongoing thread with more pics) - actually changing the tax class to camper is fraught with inconsistencies and often come back as 'van with windows'. You need to have stickers (no, seriously) that make it look like a camper apparently. We've put one extra window in, and might put a couple of porthole-style ones in the rear doors, but won't be looking to change the tax class any time soon.
The only issue is when coming to insure, as likely the value of furniture, lights, leisure batteries, carpets, flooring, sink, cookers etc. etc. will well exceed what a standard policy will cover for contents should the worst happen.
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spiny
Club Retro Rides Member
Wiki Admin
I am abivalent towards car electrics ...
Posts: 1,330
Club RR Member Number: 167
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Camper van conversionspiny
@spiny
Club Retro Rides Member 167
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,748
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I have a t5 I have just put a Rock n roll in, fully lined, soundproofed, and insulated the interior, I'm not going with a fitted camper interior, so we bought a used drive away awning off Ebay at the weekend, its magic As Paul saiid above, Taxation changes are a nightmare, we were going down that route, but some of the rigmaroles you have to go thru to do this are just plain stupid, but on the other side of that, the resale value increases disproportionately, Speed limit on a campervan on a motorway is 70, and you can use the outside lane, on the unregistered van its 60 on the motorway and you cant use the outside lane,
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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May 19, 2021 10:35:57 GMT
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Cheers, that looks like some useful information to pass on there.
From recent experience, the 60mph speed limit seems to be universally ignored by all the vans I've seen anyway.
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spiny
Club Retro Rides Member
Wiki Admin
I am abivalent towards car electrics ...
Posts: 1,330
Club RR Member Number: 167
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Camper van conversionspiny
@spiny
Club Retro Rides Member 167
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May 19, 2021 11:02:07 GMT
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on the unregistered van its 60 on the motorway and you cant use the outside lane, that bit isn't true, it's 70, same as normal cars: www.gov.uk/speed-limits
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spiny
Club Retro Rides Member
Wiki Admin
I am abivalent towards car electrics ...
Posts: 1,330
Club RR Member Number: 167
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Camper van conversionspiny
@spiny
Club Retro Rides Member 167
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May 19, 2021 11:03:49 GMT
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Cheers, that looks like some useful information to pass on there. From recent experience, the 60mph speed limit seems to be universally ignored by all the vans I've seen anyway. it's an easy win for ANPR parked in a dual carriageway layby / on a bridge though.
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,748
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May 19, 2021 11:29:10 GMT
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on the unregistered van its 60 on the motorway and you cant use the outside lane, that bit isn't true, it's 70, same as normal cars: www.gov.uk/speed-limitsNot disagreeing with you on that, it says it plainly, but a few months ago, I was on a speed awareness course, Ooops, and I asked the very same question, and was quoted the 60mph motorway bit
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,152
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Camper van conversionmadmog
@madmog
Club Retro Rides Member 46
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What about using an estate or something like converting a FiatDoblo/Citroen Berlingo/Peugeot Partner into a micro camper since
"just long enough to lie down in"
is one of the criteria. Same size as a car and could be used just like a car then you add the removable camping stuff as you need it. Or go the whole hog and remove he rear seats.
There are often used wheelchair access versions that don't seem very expensive that could work well
Plenty of, "How I converted my Doblo" youtubes for inspiration
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Not disagreeing with you on that, it says it plainly, but a few months ago, I was on a speed awareness course, Ooops, and I asked the very same question, and was quoted the 60mph motorway bit It depends what size van your talking about. Car derived and small vans can do 70, but 3.5t transits, ducattos, ect are limited to 60. The actual cut-off point is 2.0 tonnes. It can get confusing to people as to what unladen and laden weights mean. A camper/motorhome can do 70 on the motorway, but a transit with a bed slung in the back cannot.
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Last Edit: Jun 6, 2021 11:46:23 GMT by carat 3.6
1988 Mercedes w124 superturbo diesel 508hp 1996 Mercedes s124 e300 diesel wagon 1990 BMW E30 V8 M60 powered! 1999 BMW E46 323ci project car
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frag
Part of things
Posts: 335
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You sure about that ? The 2 tonne thing seems to apply to car derived vans. Which would mean fiesta van and car,70mph Same with escort van Astra van etc. There’s no car derived version of a 3500 tonne transit To be fair there’s nothing I can think of with more than 2 tonne kerb weight that’s ‘car derived’
It’s a minefield ‘crew vans’ also fall into lower Van speed limits.. It’s usually doing 70 on a dual carriageway that trips folk up.
3500 kg vans can do 70 on motorway,the only place it differs is dual carriageways (60mph) And 50 mph on what would normally be a 60 limit for a car. Single carriage way.
3500kg is the cut off on motorway Above that you’re legally speed limited to 56mph,in a goods vehicle.
So a 4.3tonne transit is factory limited to 56mph But the 17 seat bus version of same van is 62mph,just to add to the confusion.
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Last Edit: Jun 6, 2021 17:38:17 GMT by frag
'69 Holdsworth bay '88 T25 Panel van ‘72 beetle ‘78 vw champagne T2
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You sure about that ? The 2 tonne thing seems to apply to car derived vans. Which would mean fiesta van and car,70mph Same with escort van Astra van etc. There’s no car derived version of a 3500 tonne transit To be fair there’s nothing I can think of with more than 2 tonne kerb weight that’s ‘car derived’ It’s a minefield ‘crew vans’ also fall into lower Van speed limits.. It’s usually doing 70 on a dual carriageway that trips folk up. 3500 kg vans can do 70 on motorway,the only place it differs is dual carriageways (60mph) And 50 mph on what would normally be a 60 limit for a car. Single carriage way. 3500kg is the cut off on motorway Above that you’re legally speed limited to 56mph,in a goods vehicle. So a 4.3tonne transit is factory limited to 56mph But the 17 seat bus version of same van is 62mph,just to add to the confusion. Yes your correct, 3500kgs can do 70mph on a motorway. Vans under 2 tonnes max laden weight come under the same category as car derived vans, or dual purpose vehicles. I never said there was a car derived transit 3.5t, HOWEVER there are a few vehicles that you might think are classed as a car derived van which are not. The Discovery commercial being a good example, limited to 60mph on a dual carriageway and a class 7 mot. Now that we have left the EU the HGV speed limit for 7.5 tonnes and above is back to 60mph on a motorway, minibuses and coaches are 70mph. One thing that isnt well know is that campers/motorhomes are classed differently based on their unladen weight. As such if it weighs more than 3.05 tonnes you are limited to 60mph on dual carriageways like a van, but if it's under 3.05 tonnes you can do 70mph like a car even though it isnt a car derived van.
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1988 Mercedes w124 superturbo diesel 508hp 1996 Mercedes s124 e300 diesel wagon 1990 BMW E30 V8 M60 powered! 1999 BMW E46 323ci project car
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mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,937
Club RR Member Number: 77
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Camper van conversionmk2cossie
@mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member 77
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You sure about that ? The 2 tonne thing seems to apply to car derived vans. Which would mean fiesta van and car,70mph Same with escort van Astra van etc. There’s no car derived version of a 3500 tonne transit To be fair there’s nothing I can think of with more than 2 tonne kerb weight that’s ‘car derived’ It’s a minefield ‘crew vans’ also fall into lower Van speed limits.. It’s usually doing 70 on a dual carriageway that trips folk up. 3500 kg vans can do 70 on motorway,the only place it differs is dual carriageways (60mph) And 50 mph on what would normally be a 60 limit for a car. Single carriage way. 3500kg is the cut off on motorway Above that you’re legally speed limited to 56mph,in a goods vehicle. So a 4.3tonne transit is factory limited to 56mph But the 17 seat bus version of same van is 62mph,just to add to the confusion. Yes your correct, 3500kgs can do 70mph on a motorway. Vans under 2 tonnes max laden weight come under the same category as car derived vans, or dual purpose vehicles. I never said there was a car derived transit 3.5t, HOWEVER there are a few vehicles that you might think are classed as a car derived van which are not. The Discovery commercial being a good example, limited to 60mph on a dual carriageway and a class 7 mot. Now that we have left the EU the HGV speed limit for 7.5 tonnes and above is back to 60mph on a motorway, minibuses and coaches are 70mph. One thing that isnt well know is that campers/motorhomes are classed differently based on their unladen weight. As such if it weighs more than 3.05 tonnes you are limited to 60mph on dual carriageways like a van, but if it's under 3.05 tonnes you can do 70mph like a car even though it isnt a car derived van. Discovery commercial and anything 4x4 is class 4 test. 4x4 makes it dual purpose for testing class purposes just to confuse matters further
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Yes your correct, 3500kgs can do 70mph on a motorway. Vans under 2 tonnes max laden weight come under the same category as car derived vans, or dual purpose vehicles. I never said there was a car derived transit 3.5t, HOWEVER there are a few vehicles that you might think are classed as a car derived van which are not. The Discovery commercial being a good example, limited to 60mph on a dual carriageway and a class 7 mot. Now that we have left the EU the HGV speed limit for 7.5 tonnes and above is back to 60mph on a motorway, minibuses and coaches are 70mph. One thing that isnt well know is that campers/motorhomes are classed differently based on their unladen weight. As such if it weighs more than 3.05 tonnes you are limited to 60mph on dual carriageways like a van, but if it's under 3.05 tonnes you can do 70mph like a car even though it isnt a car derived van. Discovery commercial and anything 4x4 is class 4 test. 4x4 makes it dual purpose for testing class purposes just to confuse matters further No, legally class 7 as it's a goods vehicle over the weight limit for class 4. It being a 4x4 is irrelevant as it isnt classed as a passenger vehicle, much the same as a transit/sprinter 4x4 isnt dual purpose. It's silliness like this which is why all these rules need redoing, too many loopholes and catches.
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1988 Mercedes w124 superturbo diesel 508hp 1996 Mercedes s124 e300 diesel wagon 1990 BMW E30 V8 M60 powered! 1999 BMW E46 323ci project car
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mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,937
Club RR Member Number: 77
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Camper van conversionmk2cossie
@mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member 77
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Discovery commercial and anything 4x4 is class 4 test. 4x4 makes it dual purpose for testing class purposes just to confuse matters further No, legally class 7 as it's a goods vehicle over the weight limit for class 4. It being a 4x4 is irrelevant as it isnt classed as a passenger vehicle, much the same as a transit/sprinter 4x4 isnt dual purpose. It's silliness like this which is why all these rules need redoing, too many loopholes and catches. For MOT testing purposes the 4x4 part makes it class 4. I've been through this right ole faff before, and it is an utter pain! Had a 2 door pickup in with a cherry picker on the back that had been class 7 in the past. Went through all the regs and shizzle on the MOT guidelines section to confirm, and it should be class 4. Transit vans with 3500kg DGW and 4 wheel drive are also class 4. Its when it is something 2WD and crew cab that it gets interesting
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Which speed limit applies is a minefield, vans under 3500kg can be type approved as a van (N1) or passenger vehicle (M1) most uk ones are N1 because of lower personal tax rates but imports do differ.
The easy way to check which speed limit aplies for relatively modern vehicles is to look at the dvla tax checker, it will list a type approval field, if it say M1 it is as per a car, if it says N1 it is a van with the 60mph a road limit.
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