Newbie in the New Forest

[JunglieD]

Hi All - new member to the forum here living in the Salisbury/New Forest area so great access to some fantastic camping spots and the south coast.

Planning to buy a camper van in December 2020 (when current daily drive lease expires). Leaving heavily towards a Cali SE (80%) but haven’t quite ruled out a Transporter conversion (20%) yet.

So the next few months are about research for me - attending a show or two, hiring a couple of different models. My budget won’t cover a new model so it’ll likely be a T5 or T5.1 SE that I settle on. Will browse the forum and ask questions to help inform this decision.

Best,

David

 

[Velma's Dad]

Welcome!

 

[kurienp]

Welcome. Welcome.

I took me 3 years to take a decision on which one to purchase so don't be surprised if it goes beyond. Meanwhile, as you say, hire as we also did and enjoy the experience. You will be able to determine what are wants and needs and that will help you decide upon the one that works best for you.

The forum can help, but it can confuse as well because of the plethora of options and variables.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Velma's Dad]

You might already have seen on the forum a LOT of discussion/debate about current/potential limitations on access to some cities with older diesels, and I note you're thinking about a T5/5.1.

In that light, note that the T5 and T5.1 (post-2010, more or less) have Euro 5 diesel, whereas the T6 moved to Euro 6 which is more 'tolerated' in some emissions zones. (Although some of the first T6s in 2015 had a Euro 5 engine, so be aware of that). If that's important to you, check the V5 doc before you buy, to be sure of what spec you're getting.

This is less of an issue of course if you don't plan to use the van as a daily driver, or indeed only to use it for camping/trips outside big cities. But from your post I inferred you might be planning to use it as your main vehicle.

 

[JunglieD]

Oh wow, I hadn’t even considered this factor. You are correct in your assumption that I’m intending this to replace my commuter (38 miles per day round trip between a village near Salisbury and Bournemouth).
Regrettably the T6 Cali with a Euro 6 engine is likely to be above my price point so I’m going to have to weigh up: 1) If emission restrictions are likely to affect my rural commute 2) If a T6 Transporter conversion becomes more appealing than a proper Cali because it’s a lot cheaper 3) Whether Brexit might reduce (or increase) the risk of the emission restrictions you mention.....

In reality - I think that I’ll probably end up buying the best van to suit my need at the time of purchase and then respond accordingly to any regulation changes when/if they are realised. Thanks for raising it though - clearly depending on what happens in this space, residuals could plummet too!!

 

[Velma's Dad]

Yes those are all 'can of worms' questions on this forum and you'll get a lot of different views!

As to whether a conversion is cheaper than a Cali, well for roughly similar spec that may not be the case. But a 'used conversion' may be, as used Cali prices have been holding very high for past few years (I've not been in the market myself so a bit hazy).

Enjoy your research anyway.

 

[owen_h]

One other can of worms question that you may not have considered is SE vs Beach version of the California. It wont suit everyone but another option is a Beach + 'pod' or partial conversion to add cooking & fridge). VW do the difficult bits of the conversion (roof, sliding / crash tested seat, electrics, windows & blinds + lining). You or a conversion company add the rest.
I went that way after looking a costs and difficulty in getting a good base van and finding a good conversion company (that wasn't fully booked for months).
I'm not far away from you and often visit the New Forest (was at Lepe yesterday kayaking) so if you see a dark blue T5.1 Beach come and say hello and have a nose around.

 

[Karlos]

If a Cali is out of budget another option taking emissions into account would be too spend more on a used T6 with the euro 6 engine, Have the pop top and lining done then complete the rest as and when funds allow. You would still have a usable vehicle and could still use it for camping and if you chose a pop top with a bed you would at least have sleeping accomodation for 2 people.