What questions to ask about Auto sleeper (2 Viewers)

Rolyan

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Hi Everyone

We are looking to buy an Auto Sleeper in the near future. Budget is up to £15k. Our previous experience of camper vanning is a month in New Zealand in a van similar to the auto sleeper, and 2 weeks in South America in a wicked camper! The reason we are going for an auto sleeper is it seems to have a good layout, there is a toilet (very important when you're 60+), and not too big to drive. Cooker - we can easily make do with 2 rings and an oven. Shower - don't need it. Doors/Access - we prefer side and rear doors that open to light light and air in.

I wondered if anyone could give some guidelines on what to look out for, and questions to ask the seller, when we view some vans. Are there known issues to beware of? Whats vital to get checked?

Also, I would really appreciate help and advice on:
Petro or diesel (we're a bit worried about all the talk about banning diesel etc.)
High mileage (is 75k on a van okay).
Servicing/warranties etc.
Recommended insurers.
What dont I know that I will wish someone had told me about once I've bought one!!!

I appreciate that this is a lot of info, and it may already be answered elsewhere, so any and all help is appreciated.
 

TheBig1

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Hi and welcome
as £15k is a pretty modest budget for a motorhome, you are looking at an older van. The most important things to consider are maintenance and the dreaded rust on older panel van conversions (PVCs). Tyres need to be less than 6 years old as they rot and split if left standing for long periods.
on older vans, the tendancy is for rust to start round the windscreen and is very expensive to fix properly, then the bottom of doors and underneath.
Internally, make sure you see everything working and in a good condition
Engine, make sure the cambelt has been changed as needed. again very expensive to fix if the belt snaps

75k miles is not high mileage as these vans are designed primarily as builders/couriers vans and can easily do 500k

best advice I can offer is pay your subs here and become a full member. Then you can get all the support and advice you need. We are a friendly community and being a member gets you discounts on allsorts including insurance
 
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EX51SSS

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welcome animated smiley3.gif
 
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Rolyan

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Hi and welcome
as £15k is a pretty modest budget for a motorhome, you are looking at an older van. The most important things to consider are maintenance and the dreaded rust on older panel van conversions (PVCs). Tyres need to be less than 6 years old as they rot and split if left standing for long periods.
on older vans, the tendancy is for rust to start round the windscreen and is very expensive to fix properly, then the bottom of doors and underneath.
Internally, make sure you see everything working and in a good condition
Engine, make sure the cambelt has been changed as needed. again very expensive to fix if the belt snaps

75k miles is not high mileage as these vans are designed primarily as builders/couriers vans and can easily do 500k

best advice I can offer is pay your subs here and become a full member. Then you can get all the support and advice you need. We are a friendly community and being a member gets you discounts on allsorts including insurance

Well I’ve paid the subs, so that’s sorted.

One quick question while I find my way around. I know that £15k is not a huge budget (although it’s a chunk for us) and you said that it will mean we get an old(er) van. The autosleepers at that money seem to be around 1999. I assume that you can get a half decent and reliable van at that age/money. Or is it a case of “spend loads or get rubbish”.

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TheBig1

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£15K is a lot of money to nearly everyone. I would hope to see a decent van early 2000s for that. There are some really good older vans about. Remember that these are not abused but normally somebody's pride and joy. Anything too rough ignore and move on. There will always be another.

I personally believe that the right one will be waiting for you. Good luck with your search and by all means ask advice if you see one advertised. Checking all the old Mots online will give an indication of how a vehicle has been looked after even before going to see it. Helps rule out the rubbish
 
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Rolyan

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£15K is a lot of money to nearly everyone. I would hope to see a decent van early 2000s for that. There are some really good older vans about. Remember that these are not abused but normally somebody's pride and joy. Anything too rough ignore and move on. There will always be another.

I personally believe that the right one will be waiting for you. Good luck with your search and by all means ask advice if you see one advertised. Checking all the old Mots online will give an indication of how a vehicle has been looked after even before going to see it. Helps rule out the rubbish
I didn’t even know you could do that!!!
 
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I would look at any van within your price range, Autosleepers are no better than many other makes. Bought a new one in 2006 and did not like it so only kept it 9 months.
 
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Rolyan

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I would look at any van within your price range, Autosleepers are no better than many other makes. Bought a new one in 2006 and did not like it so only kept it 9 months.
If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that you didn’t like.

We’re quite happy with any model, but as we get older, and get up frequently in the night (!!!), we want a bed that runs the length of the van, not crosswise, so that we don’t have to climb over each other to get up.
 
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Sep 26, 2013
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If you don’t mind me asking, what was it that you didn’t like.

We’re quite happy with any model, but as we get older, and get up frequently in the night (!!!), we want a bed that runs the length of the van, not crosswise, so that we don’t have to climb over each other to get up.
Just poor choice of van, it was an Autosleeper Inca, I don't believe that they made very many of them.
I was just suggesting that you keep an open mind on the make to give you more choice.

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Hi Rolland
You will get a tidey 2001 ish auto sleeper for your money.
Recently sold my moms it’s on page seven of the classified ads just to give you an idea of what you get for your money.
you will get better valve private and don,t think if you use a dealer you will get looked after any better.
Keep asking questions motorhome are a mind field IF IN DOUBT WALK AWAY
Regards Andy
 
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Rolyan

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Just poor choice of van, it was an Autosleeper Inca, I don't believe that they made very many of them.
I was just suggesting that you keep an open mind on the make to give you more choice.
Very good advice. I’ll definitely look around at everything available.
 
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Rolyan

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Hi Rolland
You will get a tidey 2001 ish auto sleeper for your money.
Recently sold my moms it’s on page seven of the classified ads just to give you an idea of what you get for your money.
you will get better valve private and don,t think if you use a dealer you will get looked after any better.
Keep asking questions motorhome are a mind field IF IN DOUBT WALK AWAY
Regards Andy
I must be going mad but I can’t find it on the classifieds. Probably a good job, ‘cos I would have wanted it!

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I must be going mad but I can’t find it on the classifieds. Probably a good job, ‘cos I would have wanted it!
Hiya welcome to the forum I've got one the same as on the advert but mines a 2000 model if you're interested with about 43000 on the clock. Good condition, serviced , MOT sept 22nd I'm down in Southampton and on the forum often
 
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You raised the question of petrol or diesel. This is a tricky question because most of us are only guessing what the future holds and Governments are prone to knee jerk reactions.

I am not keen on the idea of demonising all diesels because there are polution problems with older petrol engines too. The answer for you may depend on where you live and how you intend to use your motorhome. If you plan to visit London, older diesel motorhomes are already restricted and these restrictions are likely to grow and spread to other cities. However if you are planning lots of longer trips a diesel will probably be cheaper to run.

Alongside the good advice above about checking MOT history you could also run a registration number through the Transport For London Low Emission Zone vehicle checker to see how it would be affected.
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Rolyan

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Hiya welcome to the forum I've got one the same as on the advert but mines a 2000 model if you're interested with about 43000 on the clock. Good condition, serviced , MOT sept 22nd I'm down in Southampton and on the forum often
Hi Dilbert - the problem is that ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’ doesn’t want the overcab thing, as she thinks it’s too big. She also loves the large side door plus the opening rear door, for light and air. So we’re after the autosleeper that’s probably the model down from yours. I fancy the duetto as if I understand correctly it’s the Ford. Thanks for the info though, as it might have been bob on.

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Riverbankannie

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We had an Autosleeper Topaz on the VW T4 turbo diesel base. Don’t get a petrol one too underpowered.
It was 2001 and didn’t have any problems at all, not even a niggle. Loved the rear washroom, although we didn’t actually use the shower, I wouldn’t have been without the toilet and sink.
Was as new when we sold it on 2 years ago but we decided we needed a little more space inside.
Thoroughly recommend.
 
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Rolyan

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You raised the question of petrol or diesel. This is a tricky question because most of us are only guessing what the future holds and Governments are prone to knee jerk reactions.

I am not keen on the idea of demonising all diesels because there are polution problems with older petrol engines too. The answer for you may depend on where you live and how you intend to use your motorhome. If you plan to visit London, older diesel motorhomes are already restricted and these restrictions are likely to grow and spread to other cities. However if you are planning lots of longer trips a diesel will probably be cheaper to run.

Alongside the good advice above about checking MOT history you could also run a registration number through the Transport For London Low Emission Zone vehicle checker to see how it would be affected.
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Hi Pausim

The Petrol/diesel issue is a bit confusing for us.

We know that there may be more and more restrictions applied, but the Diesel engine will last longer. I suspect diesel gives more torque and mpg, but I’ve no experience so can’t say for certain.

There are far less Petrol autosleepers around, so much less choice. If the mpg and reliability/Power was okay on a petrol, we would probably go for that. We’re worried that we get a diesel but then they all get so restricted that we can’t use it.

It’s highly unlikely that we will ever enter London in it. We are in Yorkshire, and want it for countryside holidays, so the Lakes, Scotland etc. Plus down South on the coast.

Gut feel tells me to go for Petrol, but I need experienced heads to advise!

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Rolyan

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We had an Autosleeper Topaz on the VW T4 turbo diesel base. Don’t get a petrol one too underpowered.
It was 2001 and didn’t have any problems at all, not even a niggle. Loved the rear washroom, although we didn’t actually use the shower, I wouldn’t have been without the toilet and sink.
Was as new when we sold it on 2 years ago but we decided we needed a little more space inside.
Thoroughly recommend.
Hi RiverbankAnnie

We looked at the Topaz, but we prefer the layout where the back door opens (Duetto/Symbol). We definitely DO want a toilet (it’s an age thing) and we definitely don’t need the shower. We had a camper in NZ touring both islands, and emptied the water tank on the first night showering!!! That was the first and last time we showered in the van.

I’m guessing all Petrol engines will be underpowered, but the diesel does worry us. We don’t want to spend £15k only to find we can’t use it.
 
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If you intend European travel then more and more places are putting inner city restrictions on diesel emission, but there are generally aires just out of the zone , so you can use public transport to go in or as many do bikes (elec or otherwise) . Limiting to petrol engines , restricts you to a much smaller choice of vehicles , which is not good at the price /age band you are looking at , you might walk away from a little gem , which are out there , in all price or age levels. The overcab , can be a good storage area as well as being a bed , two singles can be handy as well as double in a smaller van ,
 
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I wouldn't worry about diesel too much, suggesting that they will become unusable is suggesting that 95% of motorhomes will become obsolete, I can't see it happening for a very long time....

Rust would be my primary concern if looking at older Transits....
https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/32077-used-van-buyer-auto-sleeper-duetto-1994-2000

Driveability has improved vastly since the mid nineties.
I'd be looking for a more modern vehicle and you 15k budget certainly allows for it.

2005 Trigano Tribute for example

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Rolyan

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If you intend European travel then more and more places are putting inner city restrictions on diesel emission, but there are generally aires just out of the zone , so you can use public transport to go in or as many do bikes (elec or otherwise) . Limiting to petrol engines , restricts you to a much smaller choice of vehicles , which is not good at the price /age band you are looking at , you might walk away from a little gem , which are out there , in all price or age levels. The overcab , can be a good storage area as well as being a bed , two singles can be handy as well as double in a smaller van ,

Hi tacr2man

To be honest, the more I think about it, the more I come around to diesel. If (IF) it becomes a problem, I'll deal with it then.

We don't intend European travel in the van, but who knows. We do travel independently, with long (off work) trips backpacking around Europe, then another in NZ/AUS/Peru, then another a short while ago around South America. All done with nothing but a rucksack and a passport. we started when there were no mobiles, no internet, nothing. Just phone boxes on the corner of a street It's not for everyone, but we love it.

I'm going to revisit the layout with SWMBO, but I think she'll stick to having big doors that we can open to let air and light in. Thank you for your help.
 
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Rolyan

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I wouldn't worry about diesel too much, suggesting that they will become unusable is suggesting that 95% of motorhomes will become obsolete, I can't see it happening for a very long time....

Rust would be my primary concern if looking at older Transits....
https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/32077-used-van-buyer-auto-sleeper-duetto-1994-2000

Driveability has improved vastly since the mid nineties.
I'd be looking for a more modern vehicle and you 15k budget certainly allows for it.

2005 Trigano Tribute for example
Hi kaasbroodje

Yeah, I think it will be diesel. There's a reason why 90% of camper vans are diesel.

I looked at the Trigano, but then reviews online seemed to suggest that if comparing the duetto, the symbol and the Trigano, then they came out in that order for build quality and ease of use. That's obviously everyone's subjective opinion, but quite a few said that the Trigano is 'less quality'!
 
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Rolyan

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Can I just thank everyone that's helped so far, for your contributions, ideas and advice. It's really helpful hearing from people in the know. I was at a large well known mobile home showroom on Friday, and the Salesman admitted that he had never owned, or even used, a camper van or mobile home. Imagine buying a car from someone who didn't drive.

As a newbie camper vanner I can't help anyone, but if anyone wants to know about backpacking, drop me a line! There are many many things that you shouldn't ever take with you when backpacking. Top of the list is a travel iron!
 
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