Motorhome-Mercedes content.

[Royale80]

Happy New Year all!

 

Thinking about getting rid of the caravan and getting a camper van for a few years. Obviously do not want (i.e. cannot afford) a modern one.

 

I've always likd these

 

 

£5000-here's the advert 

 

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C931396

 

There are a few out there and saw a nice one last year in Aberaeron.

 

Any thoughts good or bad, as always, much appreciated.

 

Steve

[spike60]

As a past camper ownerI can say you have to get the right head on, that will be very slow. I had a petrol 210 from the same era which wasn't fast with the 2.3 4 pot engine a pile of wank and the rest crude by 80's van standards, followed by a Transit Di coachhbuilt which was worse made (Ford bit) but much easier to drive about despite being bigger. Condition is all, miles don't matter, give anything leaking water through the roof a swerve. You will see some jaw dropping shockers.

This is the late Mk2 I had for about 10 years and me and the kids spent lumps of every summer in Europe in.

 

 

Advantage of Merc over Ford is general build quality and availability of spares; 12 years ago doors and wings for Transit Mk2 were non existent. I've just sold a 1989 Merc car and dealer spares were excellent.

[spike60]

If you've not owned a camper before you should think about where you'll be going, the height can be a pain, you see lots of coachbuilts ( mine inc) with damage on the passenger side roof front from hitting branches. Mine was a galve steel and wood frame clad in aluminium skin so it was battered but intact, - important when there's a bed over the cab.

Quite a few touristy bits in the UK have height restrictors all over inc supermarket car parks so you can't stop anywhere and even shopping may be difficult. The pic above was taken about 1/2 mile from my house but this now has resrictors, - I live in Teesside FFS!  Because of this a steel bodied van may be better, my coachbuilt was 10 feet high, the van bodied Merc 7 feet. You can imagine the face when my 14 year old sons Marin mountain bike laid on the roof got biffed on a tree in Scotland!

Europe, especially France is much more camper friendly with free reserved places in village centres, - so you'll stop and spend your money. Seems fair to me.

Sorry, just noticed you're a caravaner so some of this won't be news to you!

[Keymaster]

I've got a similar Autotrail coachbuilt, but on a Talbot chassis. In terms of the base vehicle you need to inspect and maintain it in the same manner as another old crock you might buy. In terms of the coachbuilt section I've found the autotrail construction quality is OK, but I did have to do a fair bit of work on it last year to resolve some water ingress that had crept into the front and rear corners. Seems fairly common for autotrails to suffer in those areas. It's all straightforward woodwork and sealing - just a bit time consuming stripping it all back. It's no different to the problems you risk/might have already seen as a caravan owner. Link showing the work I had to do here: http://autoshite.com/index.php?/topic/28098-Keymaster's-Road-To-Nowhere:-DANGER!-Contains-Talbot-Motorhome-Misery

 

As already said old motorhomes are too big to park anywhere, slow, ponderous and thirsty. What are you waiting for?

[Stanky]

My father-in-law had one exactly like this - it was a D207 Foster & Day in beige.

 

They paid about £3k for it but it turned out the roof was rotten and he spent about 6 months ripping loads of rotten wood and bathroom sealant out and replacing it. He sold it for about £3200 later.

 

I've been towed in one, his failed its MOT on a seized-on front caliper and he towed me home behind his t4. It was terrifying, the steering wheel is practically flat, like what driving a bus must be like and is about 900 turns lock-to-lock.

 

they did go away in it once, with bikes on the back. They went over a bump and the bike rack ripped itself free as the back end cracked like a whip on the suspension rebound.

 

Its still local. It had done 47k in ~28 years which seemed low but I expect it took most of those 28 years to manage that distance at 45mph.

 

That said, inside was nicely appointed, proper wooden cupboards - carpet - a wet room/bog - loads of sleeping everywhere and you could easily stand up and walk about inside. It seemed well made as other have said.

[Wingz123]

Happy new year - well quite glad someone has kicked a thread off asking for some camper advice as I too am in two minds as would like to see more of Europe with the kids at our own pace during the holidays without being rinsed for £800/1000 renting a villa for the week not only that its the menories you make aswell

 

Anyway, re that Merc, I suppose I can chip in with my past experience with a Merc 307d (well it was my friends but I used to drive it regularly before I had my own truck) it was a 307d recovery truck and as said above was extremely extremely slow (even when empty). I live in Westbury at the time and the hills round Bath it simply couldn’t cope with. They certainly are plodders but in the end it just wasnt a pleasure to drive being it so slow and struggling. The headgaskets are proun I believe on those old OM616 engines (it had the better of my friends in the end) but most have gone for export. They are very loud too as the engine is accessible under a hump in the cab though in a camper it might be better sound-proofed. I did actually see someome who had fitted a later Sprinter engine in one of these 307d’s....that must have gone quite well! Oh and they have a dog leg gearbox.

 

I do like these old Merc’s but they just can’t keep up anymore (well this 307d couldn’t).

 

Does building/making your own from a LWB newer shaped Sprinter appeal to you?

 

 

 

 

James

[busmansholiday]

Being a caravaner you'll know about getting the right internal layout to suite your needs. I traded my French bed one (in the corner for those who don't know) for an island bed one earlier this year as it was a pain getting in and out of bed for us both.

 

I've driven a few of these Merc's as minibuses, and will agree that they are very slow and noisy. Good thing about Merc's is you can get spares, albeit at a price.

 

Buy the best one you can afford, service regularly and keep an eye for any damp coming in . Then do a post of your European adventures.

[Noel Tidybeard]

This is the late Mk2 I had for about 10 years and me and the kids spent lumps of every summer in Europe in.

 

S6302020.JPG

 

 

how ironic a fraud transhite with bedford cf lights!

[cort16]

That looks nice. As a bit of a gumtree camper advert perv it seems to be water leaks in the body that kills them. You seem to almost have to destroy the interior to re seal them.

[spike60]

I never found out where body was made, LHD body on RHD chassis. Only ever saw 2 similar, Ford Cargo locally and VW LT in Belgium. Very well made compared to caravans I've seen.

[Zelandeth]

As has been said, for all they are charming old beasts those old Mercs are rather slow.  Not quite as bad as a CT (1.6) engined early VW T25...but close.

 

I still love them though, there's something just "right" about them.  Especially the bus-like dashboard with its six huge warning lights flanking an even huger speedo. 

 

It's always funny watching the confusion on other peoples faces when they drive it and have their first run in with a dogleg gearbox too...

 

I've no experience with larger more powerful engined versions, but my T25 seemed to be a really nice driving thing and rode far, far better than any van has any right to.  I reckon one with more grunt could be a really nice old bus.  They do however seem to command ridiculous prices because VW.

[mat_the_cat]

Surely this is the shiter's VW of choice? Albeit they too are starting to become 'scene', and prices rising correspondingly.

 

 

Ours is a van conversion rather than a coachbuilt, with 95bhp and not over-endowed with power - so the ~70bhp from a 307 might become annoying in a bigger vehicle! That said, if you don't have to be anywhere for a tight schedule it's quite relaxing to pootle along at 55mph, with a pleasant sounding 6-pot chugging away beneath you.

[Zelandeth]

I've never had the chance to drive an LT.  Only been in one once when a mate gave me a lift home because it was chucking it down. 

 

Main memories were that it felt massive and sounded absolutely gorgeous.

[Timewaster]

My dad had a Lt35 with a camper conversion.

The interior was all beautifully hand made in wood by someone obviously very talented.

The van however, was shit.

 

Even my dad complained it was too slow, so that meant it barely moved.

[Royale80]

Thanks all!

 

Some very interesting points!

 

I do like the "ruggedness" of the old Mercs but could I put up with the performance?-I'll test drive a couple. With a caravan on tow I don't have a performance problem as I tow with my Range Rover.

 

I like old campers as I like old cars-I'm well aware of damp problems being a caravanner for many years.

 

Modern campervans scare me with their modern diesels and their cost-ideally a mk2 Transit or a CF with a pop up roof would be ideal for me (would have to persuade the other half who wants a more modern one).

 

I'm firmly of the view (I am biased) that "all moderns are shite"-but if SWMBO insists -that's the way it will have to go. Saying that though, she did like the couple of Mercs I showed her.

 

I'll keep looking and any more advice as always would be more than welcome.

 

Regards

 

Steve

[spike60]

The Merc you showed at the start of the thread had 72bhp when new, I'd guess it would tip the scales at about 3000kg ready to roll. My Transit was very similar, it was about 2800 kg on our weighbridge unloaded. I used to wind up running with the wagons on the motorway, - until we got to a hill! It didn't bother me, you just have to accept it.

1st gear on Merc dog leg boxes isn't normally used on the ones I've driven, too low to be normally used.

[Wingz123]

Where are you OP? Come and drive my Sprinter of you like...

[Wingz123]

***if

[DodgeRover]

Transit mk1/2 panel availability is decent (for a price). Pop tops command a significantly higher price than the coachbuilts as they get turned back into vans.

 

Mercs have mostly been exported.

 

Camper bodies will flex and move over the years and miles increasing the water leaks which will soften the wooden framing causing more flexing etc. buy a damp meter and use it to work out how much you need to replace.

[BorniteIdentity]

I owned one exactly the same.

 

Fucking. Brilliant.

 

No other words. Perfectly drivable, good bed overhead and comfy AF throughout.

 

Buy.

[spike60]

Doors and drivers side wings for Mk2  Transit were only available 2nd hand when I wanted them about 10 years ago. The dash had been bodged when I got it, a tradition I kept up every MOT for 10 years. When I paid good money for an 1985 C in early 1999 it was already at stage where it would have been crushed if it was a pick up. I find it hard to believe there are a lot of structurally good Mk1/2 Transits left that aren't mega bucks, mine was a late one, been waxoyled, only ever been a camper and still the cab was falling to bits 15 years ago.

[andy18s]

Winner winner,chicken dinner!!

[Cavcraft]

That Merc would be ideal if you're not in a hurry, or you're a fan of sticking a golf club into an olympic sized swimming pool full of wet cement and trying to find a gear.

[spartacus]

The gear selector plates used to break on those, easy fix but it would leave you stranded in whatever gear you were in when it broke.

It will be slow but do you really want to drive it quick? Test drive it and see if you could put up with it.

[jonathan_dyane]

You've never lived unless you've had the *pleasure of nursing an overloaded 307D up a steep hill and rapidly running out of steam in second gear and knowing that to find first was going to require an unprecedented level of timing, finesse and luck. Once you find first however you could climb the side of a house mind, but at about 8mph.

 

What you really need is a Sherpa.

[Eddie Honda]

You've never lived unless you've had the *pleasure of nursing an overloaded 307D up a steep hill and rapidly running out of steam in second gear and knowing that to find first was going to require an unprecedented level of timing, finesse and luck. Once you find first however you could climb the side of a house mind, but at about 8mph.

I had a 16 year old 207D. Got a tug from the Met and sent to weighbridge. 10kg over on front, 20% on rear. Overall just under 17% over and just short of getting a ticket. I only had two pallets in the back.

 

When asked "did you not notice it being slower than usual?", I replied "it's always this slow"

[paulplom]

I got done for being 500kg overweight in a works transit down Birmingham. It only had our tools in and a ladder on the roof. The guy said swb t280 was only meant for couriers and light weight stuff. The firm I worked for had about 30 transits and they all must have been overloaded. Anyway I got fined £1 per kilo over.

[DodgeRover]

A 280 is 2.8tonne isn't it?

[Wingz123]

No that denotes the max weight the vehicle can be... so the van itself will probably weigh somewhere in the region of 2200/2300 at a guess as a camper (that really is a guess)

 

Then once you have passengers and all your gear aboard...that’ll take it up to closer the max weight...hence why us chaps with recovery truck like to make them as light as possible so they can have max payload i.e broaden what they can carry.

 

Notice an increase in vauxhall Movano recovery trucks and those Nissan NV’s and the Ducatos etc etc well mainly because they are FWD unlike my Sprinter which is RWD so immediately they are saving weight by not having a rear diff or prop or rear driveshafts. Then ive seen some do away with spare wheel and the two front seats in the cab oh and there is the aluminium bodies as opposed to steel framed ones. I remember pulling into a service station up North just outside Manchester and I spoke to the chap who said he can carry somewhere in the region of a 5 series GT (the bigguns!) legally because of the above....

 

Hope that helps explain things a little

[mercrocker]

Good Morning, Autoshite Camper Division.  Can I help you, sir? 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mitsubishi-L300-Hymer-Motorhome-1-6-petrol-LHD-Swiss-import/173069034848?hash=item284bb7e560:g:1DUAAOSwZB9aDFCg