WANTED VW T2 Bay

UPDATE: No longer looking but thank you all for such wonderful advice and help.

 

Full width bed - the spare is only in the way if you sleep the wrong way round. (Cue argument lol)
You can't pull your trousers up in a tintop without lying on the bed.
Tintops are rather claustrophobic compared to poptops and it's nice to be able to stand up.
Don't buy a panel van conversion, get one with factory fitted windows.
Happy hunting.

 

We had a very similar wish list when we were looking last year. I went all over the country looking at poorly restored and overpriced campers before finding the one we bought and are happy with.
Good luck

 

Thank you so much for the wonderful tips, I've made a note of them. I remember the days (1970's) of pulling up jeans whilst laying on the bed! Oh and which way round the is the right way round for the spare tyre in the bed area, I'm guessing feet near the tyre?

 

Thank you so much!

 

That is my view - I can make a cuppa, access the fridge, light switches, cupboards etc from in bed and it's easier to get in and out IMO... but a LOT of people want to sleep the other way round for the romantic campervan notion that they can lie in bed on a sunny morning with the rear hatch open (and your pillow can't fall off the bed in the night).

 

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@The Steels are you going to keep it in the garage ? Might want to consider height of said van ;-).
Welcome aboard! This lot don’t bite much!

 

Here are some basics to consider in case they're not on your radar yet:

Don't jump at the first one you see.

If it's too good to be true it probably is.

Definitely go mob-handed with others who know their onions.

Decide how much obvious rust/welding is acceptable to you.

Pop tops mean much quicker set up as you don't need an awning necessarily, with just the two of you.

You can get a full width bed by having sections of cushion down the side ... as a lid for a bedding box for example.

To what extent has it been insulated, and do you care!

Will you want to cook inside.

Decide a strict max budget and keep 5 to 10% (depends what your budget is) for the inevitable "surprise" first-year-work requirements.

You should be worried if there's no spare!
It can always go on the front or on top.

Do you want stock suspension?

"Anyone else?"

 

Thank you so much for the lovely welcome, people have been so friendly and helpful already! We are going to keep it in the garage, it used to house my beloved Land Rover Defender 90 which had a height of 2037mm which I understand is a little taller than a T2, I found a measurement of 1940mm for the T2? This was our last Landy, I (Mrs S.) have been driving them for over 18 years as my everyday car.

 

It helps a lot thank you!

 

Superb tips, thank you so much! We hadn't realised you could achieve a full width bed with cushions down the side, presumably that would then allow for storage, I can't imagine how is would work though, are there any photo' references with people in them?

 

We're in the hilly bit, south east. That's so kind of you but rather annoyingly I'm clinically vulnerable to covid so have not been out (other than hiking in the fields near us and to have our jabs) since the first lockdown, my husband is still continuing to shield and is working from home. It's one reason we decided to finally buy our dream van, and plan to find remote fields away from everyone!

 

Brilliant thank you, the garage aperture is 2220mm with a door clearance of 2160mm so we're hoping that will work.

 

Here's a good one. A teeny bit of bubbling paint on most panels is going to need a lot of prep and a full respray. It might not look bad now, but at some point it will bite your chequebook.

 

This is a nice place and nobody here likes it when a new member posts pics of his/her bus and we see they've had their pants pulled down. What we like is pulling them apart before you buy them. Yep - we love that.

 

I jump in and out of these things all the time and really don’t care if they’re right or left hand drive, mines a lefty as are many on here it’s a shame to discount them as they’re usually in better nick!