Good starter vans. (1 Viewer)

[Snowbird]

As some of you know I am a lover of quality older motorhomes and spend a considerable amount of my time searching the net both here in the UK and Europe and America looking for these rarities.
So, if it will be of any help to potential first time buyers who are like me on a limited budget I will put on this thread from time to time what I consider a good buy for what is a good van at the right money.
Some of the vans you will see on this post you will never have heard of, but don't be put off by that as one of my main priorities when purchasing a MH for myself is parts availability. Body panels on motorhomes are obsolete when the vehicle is only a few years old, so this will not be taken into consideration, but mechanical parts are of course the main thing to worry about when thinking of an older MH. So any vehicle that appears on this thread will have to have good parts availability.
This is one of my favourites and one to start you off. Its an Orion, built on the Mercedes chassis and of monocoque construction. Link Removed

 

[Terry]

Hi Dave the only thing I dislike is the darkwood interior I would have to change it to a brighter Cherry
terry

 

[Snowbird]

That was one of the reasons I like mine. I think they call it light ash. Much more modern and brighter than the old brown wood.

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[chesterfield hooligan]

Hi I like this

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[Snowbird]

Hi I like this

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On face value that does seem like a nice well cared for van. It will be interesting to see what it finishes up at.

 

[pablomc]

Prime for a conversion, especially if you have special access needs.

Would you keep the paint job.

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[Terry]

here's another newly listed :thumb:
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terry

 

[Snowbird]

Prime for a conversion, especially if you have special access needs.

Would you keep the paint job.

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I saw that the other day and thought it would make a good conversion. I would think the "paint" is in fact a wrap so with a hot air gun and plenty of time it would come off. A good reliable chassis that will have been cared for with no expense spared and with that mileage on what I would imagine is a Cummins engine, its not even run in yet.

 

[yodeli]

here's another newly listed :thumb:
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terry

Love it!!! Very feminine with all the little roses on:Blush:. I like the layout as well .
The last 3 vans you've put the link on (Dave and You ) are quite good .
I think they were all LHD

Anyway ... I 'm dreaming in front of my computer

Frankie:Cool:

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[chesterfield hooligan]

this might be a little underpowered

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[Terry]

This is relisted 3rd time around, may well be worth a low bid
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Terry

 

[Snowbird]

This is relisted 3rd time around, may well be worth a low bid
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Terry

Now they were a very good van, its almost exactly the same layout as my old 660 FFB. That layout is very good indeed with loads of living space and 2 couches for lounging. The furniture is all solid wood and they are winterised properly with everything inside. If that would go at 10K its a bargain, although am a little concerned regarding the fridge as I know they are expensive to replace, from experience. The only fault I have with the FFB is as its so well built, they are HEAVY. But if its anything like the one I had the gearing is long legged and will cruise all day at 70 MPH at low RPM.

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[Terry]

Fridge? No mention of fridge do they not have one ? 600/700 quid for a decent sized 3 way so that's down to 9k
Terry

 

[Snowbird]

Fridge? No mention of fridge do they not have one ? 600/700 quid for a decent sized 3 way so that's down to 9k
Terry

It says something about the fridge is mains and works from the solar panels. I presume through an inverter. Your right about fridge prices though. I put a new one in the FFB and it was around the £750 mark.

 

[Terry]

It says something about the fridge is mains and works from the solar panels. I presume through an inverter. Your right about fridge prices though. I put a new one in the FFB and it was around the £750 mark.

It's easy to miss blurb, I read it twice before posting and still only just found that it has solar that run the fridge no problem
Terry
Edit after buying all new for our van the prices are burned into my memory banks hehehe

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[Snowbird]

It's easy to miss blurb, I read it twice before posting and still only just found that it has solar that run the fridge no problem
Terry

Solar powered fridge eh....I wish .

 

[pablomc]

Solar powered fridge eh....I wish .

“AUTO”-operation
RM7XX5 L - models are equipped with an “AUTO”-MATIC function.
Explanations:
Upon switching on, the electronics automatically select one of the three
possible energy types: 230V - 12V - liquid gas. The control electronics
automatically ensure that the refrigerator is supplied with the optimum
source of energy in each respective case.

Priority
1.) Solar (12V DC)
2.) 230V AC
3.) 12V DC
4.) Liquid gas
The selected energy is displayed by the corresponding LED (i.e. 230V).

 

[Snowbird]

Have same fridge in my RMB, BUT you would need a bank of solar panels the size of a house to run it. I also put the same AS fridge in my FFB and never saw it running on solar even in Morocco.

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[duane0001]

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Odd van but looks okay

 

[Snowbird]

I agree it is a little odd looking on the outside, but the layout is good and the mechanics are pretty straight forward. There really is a lot of van for very little money. You don't live on the outside, you live on the inside, so it doesn't really matter how odd the outside looks, unless of course you are one of those that cares what others think .
A good find in my opinion, and a great starter van for someone that does not want to throw a lot of money away. If you bought that and didnt like the lifestyle you wouldn't loose anything on it :thumb:.

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

Hi what about this
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[chesterfield hooligan]

On face value that does seem like a nice well cared for van. It will be interesting to see what it finishes up at.

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Hi I contacted him through ebay it sold for £6000 ​

 

[Snowbird]

This is a cracking bargain, it has everything on it including aircon, cruise control, turbo charged Merc diesel, full garage with access from both sides, every conceivable extra you could have fitted by the factory. Will last a lifetime. One of the last ones of this shape. .

 

[Terry]

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Use this for a few years and get your money back come sale time
Terry

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[Terry]

Heres another newly listed
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terry

 

[Snowbird]

One here for Frankie or the single traveller or couple that want a van conversion. Its an older model but extremely well looked after. Link Removed

 

[Terry]

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terry

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[yodeli]

One here for Frankie or the single traveller or couple that want a van conversion. Its an older model but extremely well looked after. Link Removed

Thank you Dave! I wish i could see it ! I think that when you put the name of the van I can see it when you put a number I can't ! So I can see all vans Terry send the link of and not the ones which are named by numbers! May be here is the clue?


Frankie

 

[Terry]

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Try this Frankie ......no idea if it work's
Terry

 

[Terry]

This could be a nice samll van for one or two without breaking the bank and ok for a everyday runaround
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terry

edit forgot to say make sure it's not a scam because it's very cheap

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[yodeli]

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Try this Frankie ......no idea if it work's
Terry

No this one won't work ... for some reason

Quite a few others work though

Frankie