Motorhomes. Am I too you young?

[SA_SA_SA_SA]

Wouldn't it make more sense for old* VW Type 2s to be converted to an EV rather than continually refurbish an old engine that will spew out much much more nasty stuff than a modern engine?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40998128
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGZ1zbqAGA0
I think this one featured in the Nissan Leaf thread

A) Interesting, although it manages to look smaller than original whilst being bigger on the outside (as is the modern way). However, that leaves all the original type 2s sputtering fumes. Also, I like the narrowness of the original type2.

B) I saw that DIY one but why no off the shelf 'leave van in at garage' style EV refits? Old Type 2s are presumably still numerous enough to be worth it?

[Jakob W]

In another place I saw a figure of £25-30K bandied about for the conversion of a classic car to EV; presumably the cost would be even higher for a van (more batteries etc?).

[Wowbagger]

I have seen that piece about the VW electric van several times. I have also detected some considerable cynicism that it will ever be built.

[canny colin]

I am looking forward to the release of the LDV ev 80 . Trials  are on going in oz  and suggested prices for a high roof van are very competitive .  Not much more than an nissan e 200 van .   

[harvey]

I sold my VW T3 diesel California last spring. I bought it in 2013 in Birkenhead, and after some repairs to make it road worthy had invested £8K. It had a bit of superficial rust that would bother the purist, so got it fairly cheap. We spent our summers traveling Europe from Sweden to Croatia, then shipped it to America (Galveston from Southampton) in 2016 and did a four month 13,000km trip through the Rockies to Vancouver Island, then down the Pacific coast. I sold it in the US for $10k. The 1.6 turbo diesel was slow going but what a reliable engine. I put around 40k miles total and only changed the oil & filter. The headlamp switch melted in the 'on' position, and had a rear wheel bearing issue that led to having the rear brakes repaired - that was it.

[MalRees]

Picked up our van on Friday......  Two nights out and we are having a great time.

[SA_SA_SA_SA]

An off the shelf Electric VW T2 (seen in VW Camper Magazine*):
https://electric-campers.com/
Uses Tesla batteries.
For some reason the motor goes thru the gearbox (can be left in 4th...) which presumably incurrs an efficiency hit?
Front lowered to counter weight in back and keep bus level.
Presumably T25s could be done too.

*https://pocketmags.com/vw-camper-magazine

[Kim]

Keeping the gearbox seems to be common in electric conversions.  Presumably it makes specifying/installing the motor simpler.

[Oscar's dad]

There's an obvious decision to be made between Caravans and Motorhomes.

I'd summarise it as:

Caravans -
Pros - Cheap especially used. You have access to a car to drive into town car parks.  Spacious for the length.
Cons - Overall length of car and Caravan is large.  Harder to go "off grid".

Motorhomes -
Pros - It's easy to pitch up anywhere quickly.  Self contained (water on board, waste on  board).  No 240v required. No hitching, towing, unhitching. (Handbrake on, engine off...you're camping).
Cons - Expensive, even used.  Something else to MOT, tax and insure. A pain to get into some towns. Not so much internal living space for the same footprint (usually).

What appeals to me most about Motorhoming is the self-contained nature of it.  With 100L of water on board, large LPG Gas bottles and Solar-charged batteries, you can pitch up just about anywhere and have everything you need.  Delays at the ferry terminal are no issue, we're good for about 4 days with a full water tank.  They lend themselves perfectly to overnighting en-route to somewhere, or just sightseeing somewhere for the one night and moving on. 

Another Pro, abroad, is that Motorhomes are well catered for by "Aires".  That is basic overnighting areas (sometimes nothing more than a municipal car park) but with water/waste facilities.  There are thousands of them in France, either free or a couple of Euros, and, as far as I know, not open to Caravans.  That really takes the pressure off trying to find campsites.  You know that there will be an "Aire" within 10km or so.  Failing that....just park up on a back road somewhere and go to bed.

We now have a caravan and I’d say your summary of motorhome v caravan is spot on.  The ideal solution would be to have a caravan and a motorhome!

[Torslanda]

Keeping the gearbox seems to be common in electric conversions.  Presumably it makes specifying/installing the motor simpler.

Yes. It gives them something to bolt the motor to AND it means they don't have to build a transmission...