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Looking to hire one in April - either for a short midweek hire or a full week.
We figure we'll be able to decide whether we want to buy a T5 based on that hire period.
So...who comes recommended, how long should we hire for, and where shall we go?
We have 10 days off (based in East Mids) so a week would be doable.
Was thinking of picking one up and going to Scotland so we get some motorway miles in instead of pootling round country lanes all the time and go to places we haven't been to before - want to maximise our experience. Lakes is also a possibility though we know that pretty well. Any pointers? Fire away!
No one?
We have a California for hire but are based in the West Midlands. You could try these guys, though I have no direct experience of them...
http://www.lthcampervanhire.co.uk
Make sure that you have breakdown cover...
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Try Liberty Campers in Ilkley
Have you seen the hire prices for a week? Insane. You'd be better off buying one 2nd hand and then selling it again once you're finished.
Worth speaking to Leighton Vans, who sell them too: [url= http://www.leightonvans.co.uk/vw-camper-van-hire ]Linky[/url]
This was our plan this week as we're both off work, 3 or 4 days just to try one out but very expensive. We found about 4 places to hire from, only one allowed pets - we have a small border terrier, and worked out about £400 for 4 days, none of the others allowed pets, but they also wanted huge deposits, one was about £2k, all had minimum 4 day hire, anyway we didn't in the end, so we'll never know what one of these is like, might just have to do a cheeky test drive of one for sale?
[i]This was our plan this week as we're both off work, 3 or 4 days just to try one out but very expensive. We found about 4 places to hire from, only one allowed pets - we have a small border terrier, and worked out about £400 for 4 days, none of the others allowed pets, but they also wanted huge deposits, one was about £2k, all had minimum 4 day hire, anyway we didn't in the end, so we'll never know what one of these is like, might just have to do a cheeky test drive of one for sale? [/I]
Not sure how much you were expecting to pay, but aren't they a £50k vehicle - ain't ever going to be cheap.
hiring campers is expensive they require a lot of maintenance and repair over a hire season. But then the base vehicles are expensive
Yeah I suppose they are stupidly expensive, I still think of them as a van with a bed and cooker in it and not a luxury 5 series bmw or c class merc.
I have hired various campers a few times - generally works out at around a thousand a week or a 100 a day
[i]I have hired various campers a few times - generally works out at around a thousand a week or a 100 a day [/I]
And how many days in an Edinburgh Week? 😉
Agree with the £1k per week, that's what I've seen in the past for proper motorhomes.
Sounds about the same as a yacht.
They may be expensive to hire but they are expensive to buy.
We paid about £350 to hire a VW T5 for 3 days and decided that we liked camper vans (we knew we would as we liked camping).
But on the other hand, if you hire one for a few days and truly hate it, you save the £20-30k it will cost to buy a 2nd hand one, or convert your own van.
OP - you only need a few days to work out whether they are right for you. In your situation, you could hire one for a few days, return it then head up to Scotland and stay in B&Bs. You then get to compare. Some B&Bs are great but you won't wake up on that postcard scene deserted beach (probably in the rain and wind)
This. A few days should be enough to decide if we want one or not...bit less hassle than buying and selling one just a week away as was also suggested 😯They may be expensive to hire but they are expensive to buy.
We paid about £350 to hire a VW T5 for 3 days and decided that we liked camper vans (we knew we would as we liked camping).
But on the other hand, if you hire one for a few days and truly hate it, you save the £20-30k it will cost to buy a 2nd hand one, or convert your own van.
Might get into the hiring out business 🙂
Feels like ages since I posted this question - def longer than a week anyway!
Contacted one of the suggested companies up there /\ - Mon-Thurs £400 (£1k desposit) with both of us insured, and close to £700 for a week. Kerb a wheel and it's fixed using that grand with us getting the balance back - whatever that would be (very little I would guess). A proper bump would see us wave goodbye to it. Could be a very expensive 4 days and gone a bit cold on the idea. Didn't have a bike rack either. I want to try a 'bike van' (beds and bikes in back) but you can't hire them. How can I get the camper/bike van vibe/feel without having my pants pulled down?
I considered hiring first also put off by the price. Just decided to bite the bullet and get a van. Not cheap - though nowhere near £50k, but I never intend to pay the thing off, will just keep it for 4 or 5 years while the kids are young and have some fun in it. Sell it when we're done with it and clear the credit. You can get 10year HP deals on camper vans so can get the monthly payments down to an affordable level - the same as i'd pay for a car loan. Pick her up in a couple of weeks. Can't wait now and already have about 4 short trips planned, a two week summer holiday in France and a 4 day long weekend in June.
By the way, try Don Amotts in Hilton near Derby/Burton. You can hire vans through them. Probably no less expensive, but at least they knock the cost of the hire off the price of a new van (well newly converted used van) if you go on to buy one from them.
Sounds a good plan wobbli.