Thinking of buying camper

[Kontiki]

Thinking of buying a camper, we've had campers/motorhomes going back to the 1980's but always something to learn. At the moment considering a Camperking Monte Carlo swb t6.1 highline, sold as new but pre registered in September last year. Interested to hear of people's opinions on Camperking, notice they don't insulate the vans. Our last van was a Elddis CV40 on the Ducato also wasn't insulated.
Still unclear as to getting type changed from panel van, from reading thread about V5 it seems you can't register as motorhome M1. I have read only a few converters are able to do it now. Does it cause any problems? Also like to know any recommendations for insurance, at the moment I'm getting around £500 to £800 is this the normal? I've got over 16 years NCB, only thing I can think of is my age (77).

 

[Georgeo]

Thinking of buying a camper, we've had campers/motorhomes going back to the 1980's but always something to learn. At the moment considering a Camperking Monte Carlo swb t6.1 highline, sold as new but pre registered in September last year. Interested to hear of people's opinions on Camperking, notice they don't insulate the vans. Our last van was a Elddis CV40 on the Ducato also wasn't insulated.
Still unclear as to getting type changed from panel van, from reading thread about V5 it seems you can't register as motorhome M1. I have read only a few converters are able to do it now. Does it cause any problems? Also like to know any recommendations for insurance, at the moment I'm getting around £500 to £800 is this the normal? I've got over 16 years NCB, only thing I can think of is my age (77).

The only comment I can make is VW don’t insulate the California. When I retired last year my insurance jumped by about 10% I am paying £520 but I have my wife daughter and son in-law on the insurance. It also depends on where you live

 

[Mike23864]

I’ve just renewed my insurance with LV. 2016 T6 campervan conversion with agreed value and wife on policy. £380.00 fully comp.

 

[EAN]

I’ve just got insurance in place for when I pick my new camper up next month.
I had quotes of between £590 to £980 with zero no claims as keeping it on my car Policy.
The cheapest was actually the best policy for me and for that I get new for old if written off in the first two years, my wife as a named driver and breakdown cover. Thought it was going to be a lot more.

 

[Deleted member 47379]

Ignore the thing about V5 change to motor caravan. It's irrelevant. The taxation class I believe relates to your road tax. The description thing is just how it looks to another road user. And from gov.uk ... If your van is a 'full camper' and weighs less than 3050kg (I think..off the top of my head) then normal car speed limits apply.

Doesn't mean any of it makes logical sense. But don't let it put you off. Just enjoy your camper.

 

[Gazboy]

I'm insured with Caravan Guard - for me they were the cheapest and the cover includes breakdown cover. The only thing I had to watch out for was their fully comp doesn't cover you to drive other peoples cars.

 

[Kontiki]

Went to dealers & ready to put deposit on van we liked, he had just had a delivery of new vans from CamperKing & we really liked the shiny black ones he had. Now trying to choose between them. Tried insurance quotes, me with 16 years no claims age 77 with almost 60 years driving with me as main driver £566, wife 11 years no claims 42 years experience £507 with her as main driver. We both share the driving often me driving in towns but the wife doing motorway driving. Also have the daughter on policy but it only cost a fiver. Is it age or sex discrimination? Maybe should have tried as non binary or transgender. The guy who I dealt with said it shouldn't make any difference but was surprised when he did the quote. It was with Caravan Guard, most of the others were dearer.
Will make final choice tomorrow & stick a deposit down.

 

[Stay Frosty]

What you probably ought to think about is the engine power and whether you want a DSG auto?
Basic camper normally starts at the 102hp 5 speed manual but given the choice most would probably plump for the 150hp 6 speed or DSG combo, I've got a 102hp 5 speed and it's perfectly adequate but a bit more HP and torque never hurts, tailgate versions tend to be camper favourites too.

 

[Bav]

Is it age or sex discrimination?

It's age discrimination. Insurers aren't allowed to discriminate on the basis of sex... despite empirical data consistently proving that women make less expensive claims than men.

Insurance usually gets cheaper with age, up to a certain cut-off, after which is starts to get more expensive again. At 77 I suspect you reached that cut-off, at least for that specific insurer.

 

[Kontiki]

It's age discrimination. Insurers aren't allowed to discriminate on the basis of sex... despite empirical data consistently proving that women make less expensive claims than men.

Insurance usually gets cheaper with age, up to a certain cut-off, after which is starts to get more expensive again. At 77 I suspect you reached that cut-off, at least for that specific insurer.

I started to notice when I got to 75, as we have only had 1 car or camper for a while we alternated whose the main driver to maintain both our NCB. As we are not likely to have 2 vehicles at the same time it doesn't really matter.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Check out A plan insurance …. Great company

 

[Salty Spuds]

Went to dealers & ready to put deposit on van we liked, he had just had a delivery of new vans from CamperKing & we really liked the shiny black ones he had. Now trying to choose between them. Tried insurance quotes, me with 16 years no claims age 77 with almost 60 years driving with me as main driver £566, wife 11 years no claims 42 years experience £507 with her as main driver. We both share the driving often me driving in towns but the wife doing motorway driving. Also have the daughter on policy but it only cost a fiver. Is it age or sex discrimination? Maybe should have tried as non binary or transgender. The guy who I dealt with said it shouldn't make any difference but was surprised when he did the quote. It was with Caravan Guard, most of the others were dearer.
Will make final choice tomorrow & stick a deposit down.

If you’re buying an un-insulated black van (personally I wouldn’t touch Camper King, buts that’s another story) be prepared to be baked in summer. We take our van to Europe for a couple of months each year in May/June. Ours is white & very well insulated, a choice we made based on our intended use. We have insulated internal blinds for the windows, when we remove the blinds on a warm morning, the heat that pours into the van is phenomenal. Multiply that over an un-insulated black van surface area & you’d be cooked before you got out of bed in the morning.
Just my 2 penneth.
PS, we pay £337 fully comp, £60k valuation, protected NCB, 180 days/year european use.
We’re 58/59. A-plan.

 

[Higgidav]

PS, we pay £337 fully comp, £60k valuation, protected NCB, 180 days/year european use.
We’re 58/59. A-plan.

That’s interesting as I’ve just been in contact with A-plan for a renewal and they cannot offer me more than 30 days European use. We are going for 10 weeks between April and June so I had to insure with LV instead who gave 180 days.

 

[Salty Spuds]

That’s interesting as I’ve just been in contact with A-plan for a renewal and they cannot offer me more than 30 days European use. We are going for 10 weeks between April and June so I had to insure with LV instead who gave 180 days.

Did you ring the Thatcham office? They are the camper van specialists.

 

[Higgidav]

Yes, I started the renewal process and as soon as we got to the European use it was a showstopper as they said 30 days was the max they could offer. I’ve been with A-Plan Thatcham for many years both with the van and several classic cars.

 

[Salty Spuds]

Yes, I started the renewal process and as soon as we got to the European use it was a showstopper as they said 30 days was the max they could offer. I’ve been with A-Plan Thatcham for many years both with the van and several classic cars.

That’s odd. How much are you paying with LV compared to A-plan?

 

[Higgidav]

Yes I thought it was odd and that were happy to loose a long standing customer. LV was £312 and A-Plan £385. We are both in our 50’s with full and protected no claims.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Went to dealers & ready to put deposit on van we liked, he had just had a delivery of new vans from CamperKing & we really liked the shiny black ones he had. Now trying to choose between them. Tried insurance quotes, me with 16 years no claims age 77 with almost 60 years driving with me as main driver £566, wife 11 years no claims 42 years experience £507 with her as main driver. We both share the driving often me driving in towns but the wife doing motorway driving. Also have the daughter on policy but it only cost a fiver. Is it age or sex discrimination? Maybe should have tried as non binary or transgender. The guy who I dealt with said it shouldn't make any difference but was surprised when he did the quote. It was with Caravan Guard, most of the others were dearer.
Will make final choice tomorrow & stick a deposit down.

Have you not thought about finding the right van first then having it converted by a reputable company

 

[Stay Frosty]

Probably wants to use the camper this year.

 

[Kontiki]

Appreciate all the comments, had a list from one of the dealers of insurance companies to try said we can get dealers discount (all the ones I tried said they're not allowed to now). Had already tried A-plan as a camper quote £928 as a day van £586??? As for getting too hot very rarely go south in summer. We've done it before in small campers & large well insulated A class motorhomes & there wasn't much difference but fully understand your view. We wouldn't be sitting inside when the weather is good.
We originally were going for a cheapish conversion, did think about buying van & getting it done (done a couple myself in the past & understand what's involved. As for quality of CamperKing I can see that they are built to a price, all of the motorhomes we've had I could find faults with. We have had 6 vans/motorhomes in the past 17 years since we retired & overall done many miles in Europe without costing us much. Some we lost money on others we sold at a profit.