I'm thinking about buying my dads old minibus, its a V reg 16 seater LDV with a double axle on the back. I know these thing are rough but how bad are they really? All I really want is something like my old Golf, basically fixable with a hammer, cable ties and gaffer tape!! Aint bothered if it looks rough!
She's going cheap and after a very quick look over I can't really see anything wrong with it, engine is clean and pulls smoothly, drives straight etc etc there is just the normal rust that these things seem to come from the factory with! Its been inspected regularly due to the vehicle licensing laws so well looked after, probably haha! Anything I should look out for?
I assume after taking the seats out I will have to reclassify the vehicle from a bus to a van or a camper, anyone any better info on this? The government sites I have found are very vague!
Going to convert her into a pretty basic camper with just a bed, sink and cooker which will also have a bike storage area, with probably 2 front passenger seats and three rear seats. The van will just be used for weekends away racing mountain bikes so it just needs to be basic and function it wont be flash!
Again I'm very new to all this and just looking for any info available, mainly from a legal side because I am converting a bus to a camper.
Mike.
Hi Mike,
According to the DVLA site I don't think you need to necessarily reclassify the minibus but it sounds like you need to update the details on the registration certificate (click to DVLA page) with regards the seating capacity. Unfortunately I think that means the road tax might also go up by a bit (£165 to £185)? No experience of LDVs but I reckon if you've looked at all the obvious it's as good a bet as most vans.....
club penguin
Hi, I am 2 thirds of the ay through a convoy 400 conversion.
Good points - Hmmm let me think.... well once you take the seats out there are loads of anchor points to start building and head room is great et. simple mechanics etc, bonnet cables last about a week!
Doors dont fit well, i can see the sky through top of my passengers door!
mines a w reg with only 21K on the clock, the 2.5 diesals Use transit running gear so second hand parts are around, but be warned unipart took over when ldv crashed and new parts are getting harder to source. LDV no longer exist
Dont lose your ignition Keys!!!!!! it will cost over £300 to have a new lgnition lock supplied and programmed to new keys, its a nightmare!!!! (and thats if you can find a dealer to do it!!!!)
I kept the twin seat behind the drivers and binned the rest. I will notify dvlc when the conversion is complete so for now its still officially a bus and its great as i can still use bus lanes!!!!
Hi,
I converted a Ford Transit to a camper van last year. During the conversion I was insured on a 'conversion' policy and then when I'd completed I got my bus reclassified as a 'Motorcaravan' and so I'm insured as that now.
It also means I can go a bit fatser (legally) that a minibus !
Anyway if you are interested some photos and video are here :
http://picasaweb.google.com/103248204458793768277/VanWebSitePhotos#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF_DtyUfYOM
Regards
Campervanman
http://www.camper-van-conversion.co.uk