[Closed] Talk to me about old Merc Vito's as campers

I wouldn’t touch anything older than 2006 as they weren’t galvanised.

I have a 2006 120cdi (V6 3L), 210,000 miles, still goes like stink, no rust. Will be getting another.

Great for a tin tent that you'll spend most of your time rearranging the interior , you'll enjoy it though as that's the same as every VW bay I've been parked beside.

Rust though. Especially on that age. Check the not history carefully

That's a shame. Anything 06 or newer is about double my non-existent budget.

Yeah I think the rust thing might be a buggaration the one I looked at failed it's MOT in Feb on:

Reason(s) for failure
Front Subframe mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)
Nearside Front Upper Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded (2.4.A.3)

though it currently has an MOT I wonder how much other rust hasn't been fixed...

There's not a lot about for my meagre budget...

Im assuming that T4 vans of a similar age are going to be rust buckets with dodgy injectors for the money I want to spend?!

I note they are all of 82bhp with a 0-60 of 22seconds coming from my 300bhp 5.7secs Volvo am I going to find this completely soul destroying?

LOL it should ease you back to the '73 van....

What do you actually want it for? Proper camper camping or getting places with stuff and not having to put a tent up? If it's the latter than any van will get you out and about for the summer with a minimal layout on sleeping and sitting etc.

The '73 bay has a 2.0litre 160bhp Subaru engine in it so it's not actually that slow. Or at least it wasn't. When it worked.

The latter I guess, I abhor tents. I just want something We can put the bikes on the back of and have a bed inside I can pull out / fold down and use for a night or two for weekends away riding.

Mostly it's something I can kip in at Ard Rock. Which is getting closer by the day...

"Im assuming that T4 vans of a similar age are going to be rust buckets with dodgy injectors for the money I want to spend?!"

To be fair the same could be said of Vito's of the same age.

If you can find a non rusty one (tough) but you still get a lot of transit for your money you just need to look at a few.

I wouldn't get fixated on buying a camper conversion at this price point as the conversion adds a premium you could do without at this level.

Vito's of that age are rust buckets, and t4s are massively overpriced. That's why I ended up with an lt35.

I wouldn’t touch anything older than 2006 as they weren’t galvanised.

This.

Flipside is I enjoyed driving the one at my previous job; not as much of a handful as I expected. I'd definitely consider one when we look at replacing/biggerising our camper.

Im assuming that T4 vans of a similar age are going to be rust buckets with dodgy injectors for the money I want to spend?!

I think that's a fair assumption.

The latter I guess, I abhor tents. I just want something We can put the bikes on the back of and have a bed inside I can pull out / fold down and use for a night or two for weekends away riding.

Well pic the best thing in your budget that has 11 months of MOT

To be honest I'm not that fussed about having a full camper conversion, though a fold out or rock and roll bed installed would be a bonus as I've only got a few weeks to sort something as mine is definitely not going to be ready in time...

I've been looking at a couple of vitos around the £2.2-£2.5 mark which obviously are older than 06 but I'm kind of limited by budget, and not wanting to spend a massive amount as eventually I'm going to have to sell it to fund the proper camper when (if) it's ever finished.

2.5 should get you a resonable transit etc. and a B&Q/Ikea mash up can deliver you a bed fairly quick if that is all you need for a start

Hire van and futon?

I’d rent a van when required and throw a camp bed in it if you're just worried about the odd trip until the Bay is done. That way you don’t have insurance, tax or random massive bill to worry about.

Beaten to it!

Pffft that sounds far too sensible! Surely the STW way is to recommend a T5/T6 that's eleventeen times my budget 😂

Find an old Hiace in budget? bombproof those things.

Pffft that sounds far too sensible! Surely the STW way is to recommend a T5/T6 that’s eleventeen times my budget

Yeah I've been hiring what I need and it's about 100-130 for a weekend from one of the main hire spots for a brand new transit or equivalent which if it's a shot gap thing should be what your insurance/tax/depreciation is for the summer

Rust is bad well past 06. Don't believe the it's fixed after stories. Coloured vans are much better than white for rust, metallic better again.

Despite the slagging that they get in some quarters, our '54 Vivaro has been pretty darnned good. We put an opening side window in it. Insulated it, put a shelf in, bunged a futon in and used it. Has many trips in it, UK and France. Been ace. And cheap.

Vivaros are a good shout. Not prone to the same levels of rot as the others.

Most injector/cylinder head issues with them.... Easy enough to sort if you use the right people

Buy a cheap caravan.

If you can manage 1cu metre smaller then the original shape Scudo / Expert / Dispatch was a good van. Don't rust, nice drive and the 1.9 td was a great engine. Non turbos were slow and lower geared which made them noisy. About the only weak spot was clutch cable breaks every 40-50k but cheap and easy to replace.

Buy a cheap caravan.

No. Definitely no.

Also nothing to tow it with.

Nobeerinthefridge

Find an old Hiace in budget? bombproof those things.

Agreed, we had a couple and they were unbreakable despite being hated by the guys driving them as they were low spec.

Passenger space/seat not great

Cheap to run, 11 quid for a door mirror assembly springs to mind.