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Post by bigbear67 on May 5, 2021 12:33:27 GMT
Just a likkle bit very fucking shiny my friend! Certainly looks the part, & sensible money at 2.5k if the welding is not too severe. Interior not my thing but looks roomy, & tidy with some quality fittings (waeco fridge for example) Just beware of the rot buddy, might be no better than the present dragon. Least its got the correct badge on the front....🐻😁👍 |
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 13:06:13 GMT
Interiour is not my thing at all and I would have to hippy the shit out of it as well as stick in a burner. Have got to have a bed across the back too with shit loads of storage under it.
Ye olde tin worm is the main concern, but apart from that she looks smarter than the dragon from what I can see and three quarters of the mileage. He also changed gearboxes recently and it turned out that was not the prob but a prop shaft prob so he has had a prop made up with grease nipples on the joints which I am not sure if I like the idea or not,as I do like original parts for it helps when you need to get parts from somewhere. We will see, but I do like it :-)
Hopefully I will hear back from the welder guy later and know a bit more. Welder guy also things mine could be welded but is a little concerned about the lpg system !!
Back of to finish my clearing up then will post some piccies of the finished pointing job :-)
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 18:52:30 GMT
Am going to sleep on it but am pretty much decided that I am not going to go for that lovely looking van. It saddens me a little as I would be a proud owner of that lovely lady as she is everything I want in a marriage, almost.
I could take enough of a risk with the having to bring it back to britain to get the welding done, albeit there would still be the risk of me going a good three to four hundred miles out of my way to find other small faults, bvut that is within my risk zonz. The reason why I am thinking no is because the cam belt has not been changed since 2009 and even though it has only done thirty thousand miles over that time (a year for me) there is every chance she will be cracking up and rotting. I can not justify the financial and time risk of going down into the southwest and buying a van I could get Twenty miles up the road in and bang goes the engine. It is not a ford Di and it would be the end of the engine and a real pisser on my plans of getting back to the uk again.
Damn sham though, as I have taken a bit of a fancy to her, but I have been patient thus far and have stuck to my own rules of battle that have always served me well and I know that my decisions are made on sound judgement and logic. There is little chance that he could get the belt changed quick enough to make it interesting and the price some garages charge to change the distribution kit is sometimes ludicrous. I did think of bringing it back the 180 miles to my friends garage in Aveyron but again same problem.
I know sometimes we have to take risks but when thats a good slice of your savings thrown away, well that in my mind is not a risk worth taking. another time and another place maybe, but this time and this place no.
I shall send the chap a message in the morning ! Am feeling much lighter having thought this as it was pressing on me this afternoon and that could well be because I was considering going against mi instincts and thats often the moment when things go tits up.
Decision is made, voila :-)
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Post by graceomalley on May 5, 2021 18:56:20 GMT
When we saw Bessie advertised we really liked her.just got "the feeling"..went to see her and fell in love..hope you find your new home soon
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Post by VanWoman84 on May 5, 2021 19:02:41 GMT
itinerantchild whilst what you are saying is true, you have to decide between reliability and rust. It's that simple.
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 19:31:25 GMT
Nah, one must decide on what is right and it is not a case of one or tuther. That van needed welding so had rot and the fact that the cambelt had the potential of snapping also meant that it was not reliable at this moment. only a small job away from maybe being so, but I have not got the luxury of waiting around to sort that out. I dont mind a bit of rot, but ideally a vehicle without it is much better and will always be my first choice. also lowish mileage is helpful and a cambelt is always one of my first considerations. The belt snapping on my di was a pain and it stopped my last trip to see my mum,but at least it was sortable, if I had to change engines at this moment in time with everything else that is going on and trying to avoid the cops,it could become a logistical nightmare.
Rule number one of vehicle buying is do not rush out and buy, but consider carefully your needs and look at the possibilities and evaluate with a logical mind. Logic is maths with items and scenarios instead of numbers. its just about making the numbers add up right :-)
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 19:38:08 GMT
When we saw Bessie advertised we really liked her.just got "the feeling"..went to see her and fell in love..hope you find your new home soon I have still got the dragon for the time being and because of this other van that I have been deliberating over ( that is not a euphemism ) I have been in touch with a welder guy and he has given me a bit more re-assurance that the dragon could live on, so if it was not for this situation I would not have had got that knowledge from a pro who owns his own fabrication and welding company. I just happened to ask my little bro in wales could he keep his ears open for me to find out who the local man to see is and it turned out it is one of his best friends since school. He is a bit concerned about my lpg system in the van though so can not guarentee that he can do the work until he see's it which is fair enough.
No matter what van I get, I will put the time into it to make it very tidy and reflect my charecter, but it would be nice if I find one that is already there. That iveco I thought was quite sexy, just like me !!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by graceomalley on May 5, 2021 19:42:51 GMT
It did look a tad cheeky😜..but would definitely need the hippy touch decor wise x
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 19:51:50 GMT
You are right on both accounts there :-) It looked like an operating theatre inside. I would have changed it all to wood and colour and pretty much gone for a similar build as I have got now. Its the open space that makes it feel homely for me and partitions all over just make it feel cramped.
I am flattered that you only think of me as a tad cheeky xx
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Post by bigbear67 on May 5, 2021 19:58:11 GMT
When we saw Bessie advertised we really liked her.just got "the feeling"..went to see her and fell in love..hope you find your new home soon I have still got the dragon for the time being and because of this other van that I have been deliberating over ( that is not a euphemism ) I have been in touch with a welder guy and he has given me a bit more re-assurance that the dragon could live on, so if it was not for this situation I would not have had got that knowledge from a pro who owns his own fabrication and welding company. I just happened to ask my little bro in wales could he keep his ears open for me to find out who the local man to see is and it turned out it is one of his best friends since school. He is a bit concerned about my lpg system in the van though so can not guarentee that he can do the work until he see's it which is fair enough.
No matter what van I get, I will put the time into it to make it very tidy and reflect my charecter, but it would be nice if I find one that is already there. That iveco I thought was quite sexy, just like me !!!!!!!!!!!!
Just thinking about your situation IC,& a thought occurred. If you have access to your friend/clients house, & plan to scrap the dragon when you get something else, how about this... Look at buying a bare van, then strip the dragon for the interior to fit the new van out. Then scrap the dragon. All this hinges on being able to use your mates house/yard to do the work. Scrap could be collected by local scrapman when you're done with it. All this is speculation on my part, not really knowing your situation, but maybe food for thought.... Or alternatively, I shall mind my own business....😁👍😉🐻 |
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Post by VanWoman84 on May 5, 2021 20:14:10 GMT
Personally, better the devil you know  |
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 20:20:38 GMT
How dare you !! Indeed that is part of my plan my friend and even if it happens no where near anyones I will still remove what I can from the van to store somewhere as if I dont use it in the next van,it may go in the one after or be able to help get someone else kitted out. Recycling all the way mon ami :-)
I have been looking more at base vans than I have campers as they can be done quickly to exactly what suits you best and with the price of campers at the mo it is a far more economical option.
I think some of these vans that are going for 25 to 50 thousand quid are laughable when one could spend half that by buying a quality base van and even get in a top notch carpenter to do it to your own specs , its a crazy crazy world !! But I guess these are mostly people that have not done it before or been around others that have so it is the easy option !!
Exactly what I do does depend on where I shall be to what tools I have access to, and even if I am not at a mates I can still knock up an interiour like mine within a week and then if it comes to cutting holes to put in windows and roof lights etc then I can do that a bit later. If I had decided to take the trip down to that chaps house in the southwest and buy his van,I would have loaded it up with everything from the dragon and either stored it at one of my friends proprties in Brittany or even brought it to wales and stored it at my mums. waste not want not :-)
Thanks for giving it some thought BB son of BB. I appreciate your kindness and how you like to help now mind you own business :-)
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Post by itinerantchild on May 5, 2021 20:26:29 GMT
Personally, better the devil you know There is a lot of truth in that hun.
Someone over here was trying to sell me an ldv devon safari camper a few days back and it is just all about the name. They are going for stupid money and like I told the guy, I do not care what name is wrote on the bodywork, but what you are trying to sell me is still an ldv of a quarter of a century that needs doing most of the things that I have had done already on mine. I may still see what price they will drop to however as it was alwo a lovely looking van and at least I would have the parts to swap over :-) I saw an ldv in a lesser condition than mine going for 8 grand recently, wtf !!!!
But yeah, better the devil :-)
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Post by VanWoman84 on May 5, 2021 21:26:25 GMT
I just saw a mark 5 high top van on ebay. MOT failure, serious corrosion to the point of affecting the steering (so chassis/rack mounting points), handbrake, one headlight and hazard lights out. It had 22 bidders and was over £1500!! Bizarrely the bodywork was better than vanman's. But £1500?? Go figure.
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boaty
Full Member
Posts: 247
Likes: 393
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Post by boaty on May 8, 2021 20:57:19 GMT
I don't have a camper ( yet ), but I do have a van - a 2008 Movano - with 200,000 miles on it and not a spec of rust anywhere important ( just a couple of stone chips ). When the factory rust-proofed them they did a great job, so perhaps worth considering one as a base.
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