LDV Convoy Devon Sahara

[Dobloseven]

In the process of changing caravans. Took old van to local dealer yesterday, for appraisal for part exchange against the new one we're getting shortly. Put the old one in the compound round the back where they store the vans awaiting repairs and servicing. Noticed in the corner a 02 reg example of the above. Apparently it belonged to one of the bosses MiLs who had to give it up for health reasons. 32k miles. Last time they tried to move it, it wouldn't start and it's been sitting there since. For those who don't know, it was a panel van motorhome conversion on the LWB, high roof Convoy, sold through LDV dealers. Remember looking at them at the 2001 NEC Caravan show. Because of the Convoy being essentially a box on wheels, it was quite a roomy thing, wide enough to sleep crossways, with a cassette toilet etc. 2.4 Transit turbo diesel engine and box. Looked very tidy, no visible rust Assuming it was up and running, what would such a thing be worth? Bit of an oddity really. No good for stealth van lifeing, as it's obvious what it is,but certainly very usable with more room than something Sevel based, that'd be better to drive and more economical though. Thoughts? 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I posted this elsewhere here a few weeks ago which are similar.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/campervans-motorhomes/devon-kalahari-campervan-/1446892308

[Dyslexic Viking]

10 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Thoughts? 

You should buy it.

[grogee]

12 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Thoughts? 

You should buy it.

[Dobloseven]

5 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I posted this elsewhere here a few weeks ago which are similar.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/campervans-motorhomes/devon-kalahari-campervan-/1446892308

The Sahara is much bigger! No need for a pop up roof. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

2 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

The Sahara is much bigger! No need for a pop up roof. 

Yes I understood that but it is quite similar in mileage so can give an idea of value?

[Dobloseven]

3 minutes ago, grogee said:

You should buy it.

Just not for me. It made me nostalgic seeing it, as back in the early noughties we looked at buying a new SWB Convoy minibus. Not a Pilot, I hasten to add. LDV had a stand at the NEC and got chatting to a guy from the company. Told him we were interested in a minibus and he sent me some information and was able to get back to me with some answers to some technical queries I had regarding towing etc. as caravanners. Got as far as a test drive and working out a deal with the local dealer, but went for a Renault Master in the end. 

[Dobloseven]

18 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

You should buy it.

The new caravan we're getting is 8ft wide and just shy of 20ft long. Just about big enough for MrsD, myselfand the dogs  to keep out of each others way! If I was interested , I'd go in with an offer of around £4k, but interested to hear others opinions. 

[wuvvum]

4K for a non-running Convoy sounds rather a lot, even with the silly prices campers are making these days.

[Stanky]

Word on the street is that @Cavcraft is the authority on these...

[eddyramrod]

16 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Just not for me. 

So buy it for me then?

[brownnova]

One of these bad boys? 

I’d probably reckon of the road and non running  it’s not worth a huge amount. Certainly not £4k

[N Dentressangle]

Classy motor

 

Having driven big Sherpas of that vintage back in the day, be under no illusions how it would feel on the road. The Transit engine is probably more power than you'd want in a chassis that could kindly be described as 'wayward'

OTOH simple and cheap to fix.

Still not tempted.

[stuboy]

3 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

The Transit engine is probably more power than you'd want in a chassis that could kindly be described as 'wayward'

and the steering wheel was kinda tiny

[brownnova]

5 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Still not tempted.

I would be… but… the wife is insisting that any future Campervan has 3 point seatbelts for the little people, so it would probably rule it out! 

[Cavcraft]

What time are you collecting it?

[eddyramrod]

Just now, Cavcraft said:

What time is @worldofceri collecting it for Eddy?

EFA

[Dobloseven]

22 minutes ago, brownnova said:

 

 

23 minutes ago, brownnova said:

One of these bad boys? 

I’d probably reckon of the road and non running  it’s not worth a huge amount. Certainly not £4k

Very close, but the one I saw had twin  rear wheels, as was the one I tried. The £4k I suggested would be for running with Mot. As it is, it's a bit of a dead donkey. I suggested he got a mobile mechanic out to it with diagnostic kit as I guess it would be new enough for that sort of thing and its a Ford engine,so surely someone should be able to do something with it. 

[Matty]

2 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

In the process of changing caravans. Took old van to local dealer yesterday, for appraisal for part exchange against the new one we're getting shortly. Put the old one in the compound round the back where they store the vans awaiting repairs and servicing. Noticed in the corner a 02 reg example of the above. Apparently it belonged to one of the bosses MiLs who had to give it up for health reasons. 32k miles. Last time they tried to move it, it wouldn't start and it's been sitting there since. For those who don't know, it was a panel van motorhome conversion on the LWB, high roof Convoy, sold through LDV dealers. Remember looking at them at the 2001 NEC Caravan show. Because of the Convoy being essentially a box on wheels, it was quite a roomy thing, wide enough to sleep crossways, with a cassette toilet etc. 2.4 Transit turbo diesel engine and box. Looked very tidy, no visible rust Assuming it was up and running, what would such a thing be worth? Bit of an oddity really. No good for stealth van lifeing, as it's obvious what it is,but certainly very usable with more room than something Sevel based, that'd be better to drive and more economical though. Thoughts? 

Thoughts? Really? Bought it yet? Ran  as tippers on the power lines and one as a lwb hi top. Loved them. Also had use of an ex transco 400 turbo (like @BeEPs for a bit) that was even better. Proper vans

[Matty]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

wayward

Nah, workout. Couple of thousand miles of constant correction you end up with forearms like popeye. Set it to dance music and charge a tenner, women would que up like its the new zumba!

[Cavcraft]

1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

 

Very close, but the one I saw had twin  rear wheels, as was the one I tried. The £4k I suggested would be for running with Mot. As it is, it's a bit of a dead donkey. I suggested he got a mobile mechanic out to it with diagnostic kit as I guess it would be new enough for that sort of thing and its a Ford engine,so surely someone should be able to do something with it. 

Is it the 2.4  lump? They're wheezy old shit boxes in a standard Transit tbh.

[Dobloseven]

Must admit, if I was into that sort of thing, which I'm not at the moment, that's the sort of thing I'd be looking at. The one I drove didn't seem too awful,I suppose it was new, though, we had a LWB T4 VW at the time. One of the attractions was the RWD for towing the caravan. The VW was awful on wet grass.

[djoptix]

Buy it

Immediately

 

Have you bought it yet?

[Matty]

13 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

Is it the 2.4  lump? They're wheezy old shit boxes in a standard Transit tbh.

Tbf the ones I had were 2.5 Di's. For wheezy shit box you'd need an earlier 2.3 pug lump. That struggled to drag a Sierra along. Though the ex transco van had a turbo indenor (from memory) and that went ok

[Dobloseven]

3 minutes ago, Matty said:

Tbf the ones I had were 2.5 Di's. For wheezy shit box you'd need an earlier 2.3 pug lump. That struggled to drag a Sierra along. Though the ex transco van had a turbo indenor (from memory) and that went ok

Think the Sherpa 400/Convoy engine timeline is quite complex with Landrover, Peugeot, 2.5 and 2.4 Ford engines.

 

12 minutes ago, djoptix said:

Buy it

Immediately

 

Have you bought it yet?

A problem for any potential purchaser, apart from it not going, is that they're caravan dealers, who sell the occasional motorhome, so they'll know the market. If anyone is interested, I can make enquiries when I collect the new caravan, hopefully very soon. It's in Leicestershire. Reason for posting is that it's a bit of an oddity with a nice Autoshite feel to it and brought back some memories,particularly how helpful the LDV guy was with my queries. Was quite sad when it all went pear shaped for them. 

[Zelandeth]

I remember the one I drove with the 2.4 Transit engine in going pretty well, and that was with four people and half a Lada Riva of parts in the back.  

If it's not rusty I imagine a van that size once it's roadworthy would probably be worth a decent amount.  Not running though, probably not much.

Probably something daft like a fuel supply issue if it was left sitting for a while (do these have a separate lift pump?).  If it were local to me I'd be wanting to spend a couple of hours seeing it I could get it going!

[Dobloseven]

The guy at the dealers said he suspected the fuel pump. To me it's an interesting vehicle in that it was sold via the LDV dealer network rather than motorhome dealers. There's only really VW who've done that, with the California. I suppose it all depends what someone would plan to do with it. To me, it'd be great for moving between cliff top car parks, kettle at the ready. I wish I hadn't mentioned it now, I can't stop thinking about the bloody thing! 

[Dave_Q]

The only people interested in saving it for it's LDV-ness or rarity would be on here and even then not many are fessing up to that.

I think it's retail value at any point in time is £1000 less than the next cheapest viable non-LDV camper.

[Mally]

Probably worth 2K as a gamble, if you have the space and time.  6K running with MOT.

Trouble is transport cost and storage whilst you fix* it.

Always remember you will run out of patience and possibly cash. and at the end of the day, it's still an LDV.

[Dobloseven]

Been looking and seems prices of up to £15k are possible. To me it is an excellent conversion. Due in some part to the width and boxiness of the Convoy base vehicle. Devon is a respected brand as well. I'm sure it'll see the open road again one day. At least it's as safe as it can be, in a secure compound, surrounded by millions of pounds worth of caravans. I've never had any interest in motorhomes, but there's something about that one that makes sense to me.