converting campervans

[mark]

Hi all.



if one were to buy a light commercial van in india and convert it to a camper van (2-3 sleeper), which model/brand would be best?

the criteria are below, ranked in order of importance:

1. Price

2. Interior Space

3. Endurance

4. Speed

5. Second hand availability



Any other considerations i should take into account also would be good.

if you have a vague idea how much that model would cost let me know.

[rock_26iin]

Not really relavant to the above, but one of my friends is crazy over the Volvo B7R (its a bus ) and wants to convert one into a mini-house

[Mayavi Morpheus]

Go for a Matador!

IIRC thats the van most people use as RV.

Mahindra is offering a company made RV... the vehicle name starts with 'O'... looks ok and big enough for 3 people. Its an Australian vehicle license built by Mahindra.

[CtrlAltDel]

well....the products of Bajaj Tempo like "Town and Country", "Tempo Traveller" , "Judo" etc are popular with many film stars who buy them cheap and convert them into mobile homes.



they come cheap, are tuff, easy to maintain etc. in their original form, they are somewhat bigger than the Sumo and Qualis and are popular in rural areas as taxis.



AFAIK, their price start from just below 5 lakhs.



i think there is a dealership in Raj Bhavan road (somajiguda).

[mark]

Go for a Matador!
IIRC thats the van most people use as RV.
Mahindra is offering a company made RV... the vehicle name starts with 'O'... looks ok and big enough for 3 people. Its an Australian vehicle license built by Mahindra.

any idea how much a new/second hand Matador would cost? been looking but not much luck.

[Mayavi Morpheus]

I think this is it

Mahindra Omnibus

[Mayavi Morpheus]

I have no idea about the price of used vehicles Marko. YOu can get matador very cheap and Omnibus costs around 5 lakhs, or so I heard

[mark]

I have no idea about the price of used vehicles Marko. YOu can get matador very cheap and Omnibus costs around 5 lakhs, or so I heard

hehe. that thing is huge!



thanks for all the help guys, 1 other question. do you need a comercial vehicle licence to drive a matador style van? this would really put a hole in my plans.

[san]

That beast looks like a school bus

[lizard king]

why dont u just get a maruthi Omni?

well, popularly known as the maruthi van.

tthe best thig about it is that it is reliable, unlike the matador, and i am not very sure if it is possible to get any newer ones.

the best thing about Omni is that a 5 to 6 year old van would not cost more than a lakh or a lakh and a half (as against a Qualis which would make the ebst campervan, but would not cost less than 3 lakhs for a used car of 4 years), it is easy to convert. comfort is alright (much better than a matador); Length wise, it is better than a town and country thing that CAD mentioned.

but the engine is pretty small, 800 Cc i guess, but hey,,,, it is good enough to be a camper van, unless u are not ready to do speeds less than 100KMPH constantly.

anyway...

where are u planning to travel mark?

[CtrlAltDel]

thanks for all the help guys, 1 other question. do you need a comercial vehicle licence to drive a matador style van? this would really put a hole in my plans.

for vehicles seating more than 7 persons, u might have to pay quarterly tax instead of the usual one time Life Tax (this law might have changed now). if yr vehicle is not registered as a commercial vehicle (yellow licence number plate) u can use yr regular 4-wheeler licence (Light Motor Vehicle in legal lingo).

[lizard king]

and about the licence.... no..

just a normal licence is required for the matador.... and by the way... that big van is not a matador... its a _ mini bus.... the old ambulancecs in hyd would be the matadors.

[Red Combat]

thanks for all the help guys, 1 other question. do you need a comercial vehicle licence to drive a matador style van? this would really put a hole in my plans.

for vehicles seating more than 7 persons, u might have to pay quarterly tax instead of the usual one time Life Tax (this law might have changed now). if yr vehicle is not registered as a commercial vehicle (yellow licence number plate) u can use yr regular 4-wheeler licence (Light Motor Vehicle in legal lingo).

Even for the vehicles seating more than 7 persons, you have to pay one time life tax (9% of vehicle cost). Only if you are registering it as a commercial vehicle (yellow licence number plate), you got to pay Qtrly tax. There is a mahindra van, thats used by UPS, FedEx & DHL. Dont know what model it was. It was mahindra make tho. Looks like the Merc van (not very polished tho). I think that makes a good caravan.

[Red Combat]

Also checkout this page :

http://www.mahindra.com/mahindras/automotive/productmainpage.htm

[Red Combat]

thanks for all the help guys, 1 other question. do you need a comercial vehicle licence to drive a matador style van? this would really put a hole in my plans.

for vehicles seating more than 7 persons, u might have to pay quarterly tax instead of the usual one time Life Tax (this law might have changed now). if yr vehicle is not registered as a commercial vehicle (yellow licence number plate) u can use yr regular 4-wheeler licence (Light Motor Vehicle in legal lingo).

Even for the vehicles seating more than 7 persons, you have to pay one time life tax (9% of vehicle cost). Only if you are registering it as a commercial vehicle (yellow licence number plate), you got to pay Qtrly tax. There is a mahindra van, thats used by UPS, FedEx & DHL. Dont know what model it was. It was mahindra make tho. Looks like the Merc van (not very polished tho). I think that makes a good caravan.

The mahindra thing is called Voyager

Check these out : http://www.mahindra.com/mahindras/autom ... oyager.htm

http://www.mahindra.com/mahindras/autom ... oyager.htm

[mark]

well was thinking of converting 1, get it painted up like a 60's hippy van, using it myself at weekends but trying to rent it out to nostalgic aging hippies (or young people who want to pretend it's the 60's). and take it from there really. it'd be great for trips to Goa in the peak season, when hotels are expensive. if i fit it with AC then i'll probably park it outside my flat and sleep in it!

[mark]

well was thinking of converting 1, get it painted up like a 60's hippy van, using it myself at weekends but trying to rent it out to nostalgic aging hippies (or young people who want to pretend it's the 60's). and take it from there really. it'd be great for trips to Goa in the peak season, when hotels are expensive. if i fit it with AC then i'll probably park it outside my flat and sleep in it!





ps thanks for all the info guys, i think the Maruthi Van sounds like pretty much what i'm looking for, the others are a bit huge

[rock_26iin]

I think the Voyager is a safe bet, plus its got folding seats so you got ureself a bed also. If you wanna go for the Omni, I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

[mark]

I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

hey, i fold up real small!

[rock_26iin]

I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

hey, i fold up real small!

Good 4 u then, but fold ureself into the van and check ure comfort level b4 u take the plunge.

[Mayavi Morpheus]

well was thinking of converting 1, get it painted up like a 60's hippy van, using it myself at weekends but trying to rent it out to nostalgic aging hippies (or young people who want to pretend it's the 60's). and take it from there really. it'd be great for trips to Goa in the peak season, when hotels are expensive. if i fit it with AC then i'll probably park it outside my flat and sleep in it!


ps thanks for all the info guys, i think the Maruthi Van sounds like pretty much what i'm looking for, the others are a bit huge

Maruti van is also good for Kidnapping wimmen and kids. Drive up to a walking girl, slide the door and pull her in... always works in movies.



on topic: Have you seen any old 60's hindi movies? Most villans cruise around in a volkswagon van(Bug? forgot its name) beating up innocent people. It is modiified to have a small fridge, TV and a small fan. Watch 'DON'. Wicked. Always wanted to own one.

I think matador is a copy of the Bug, though it is no where close to german engineering.

[CtrlAltDel]

Omni is too small to be a camper van...



matador is no longer in production and you wud get only well used ones that wud belch black smoke and breakdown every 100 kilometers.



i think Voyager is a good idea, tho it has to be confirmed if its still being produced. that model was a flop.



btw, here are some pictures of the TempoTrax series i was talking abt:



The basic Tempo Trax:





Town & Country (hard top): Challenger: Gamma:



there are also Judo and Gurkha versions that are smaller.



as i had mentioned these vehicles are popular with many movie stars for converting into camper vans.

[lizard king]

I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

hey, i fold up real small!

u either got to get a matador or a maruthi van man... to get the counter cultural feel in it.

[mark]

I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

hey, i fold up real small!

u either got to get a matador or a maruthi van man... to get the counter cultural feel in it.

yeah, the worlds first air conditioned hippy van. i think maruti van sounds good, small but reasonably reliable and cheap.

[lizard king]

I personally feel it'll feel too small for a fully-grown Irishman

hey, i fold up real small!

u either got to get a matador or a maruthi van man... to get the counter cultural feel in it.

yeah, the worlds first air conditioned hippy van. i think maruti van sounds good, small but reasonably reliable and cheap.

and the best thing about it is that any mechanic anywhere in india can fix it, if at all it breaks down.

are u gonna paint a lizard on it as well?