Newbie - lots of questions

[booms]

Hi all,

I’m thinking about buying a Bongo campervan, or something similar. I’ve read FAQs and have a bunch of questions still - if I’ve put this in the wrong place please tell me where to put it instead.

What we’re looking for is a campervan that’s comfortable for two adults, but that’s small enough to park in a normal sized parking space, and Bongos seem to fit the bill.

We’re planning to take a big roadtrip around Europe in it, probably at least 10000 miles over 3 months - we’ll cover Switzerland, Spain, Albania and lots of other countries so the vehicle needs to be solid as a rock, able to deal with sharp inclines, have good heating/air con for high and low temperatures, and generally be well kitted out as we like the idea of wild camping, but also want the flexibility to just stay in a hotel should we want to.

Having looked around the forum, the feeling I’m getting is that we’d be better with a petrol in terms of BHP.

In terms of cost, we’d consider around £10000, obviously less would be nice and more possible if it somehow made all the difference.

Something like this looks like it should work pretty well?

https://www.campermonster.co.uk/vehicle ... Bongo-U23/

A couple of questions

-Broadly is this a realistic plan? Anything big I’ve missed? Should we be thinking about LPG?
-Is the Bongo (and the part that forms the conversion) reliable? The idea of relying on a 15 year old camper van worries me a lot. What kind of realistic ongoing costs do you see yearly to keep everything shipshape? Are there any other costs I should be thinking about?

[TheLongRoad]

Welcome. I have a 2.0ltr like the one in your link. It copes ok, albeit slowly, with steep hills but if its maximum power you are after look for a 2.5 V6. Also you link to what’s known as a tin top - the AFT or one with the pop top would give you lots more space for kit whilst you are downstairs. Check the forum for info on the cooling system- there’s lots of pipes and hoses that need to be checked due to age. However like many of the Bongos on this site ours has provided great service and never let us down. The trip plans sound ace - just the sort of thing a Bongo loves. Good look.

http://minicampersne.com/van/2001-mazda ... -free-top/

[mikeonb4c]

Welcome. If you go for the 2.0 litre (which i think is the best bet in terms of mechanical / servicing simplicity) then i'd strongly recommend a tintop as in your example - the factory AFT weighs a lot and the smaller engine will really be hampered by that up and down hills. Tintop handling also much nicer for the same reason. Get a quick erect side awning as otherwise you'll miss the sleep/storage bonus the AFT brings. The diesel is the best engine for torque and economy on runs (you really cant beat it and it copes with an AFT no trouble) but has its own issues (clean air, overheating, late/good condition ones have more complex pump and variable vane turbo).

[Bob]

Good tips above, many Bongos have performed very well on extended trips, and the 2 ltr is certainly the easiest to get work done on while away.

Welcome aboard.

[Bob]

Another thought, the turbo diesel requires an oil change every 3000 miles and service at 6000, so you would need at least 2 oil changes and a service while away.

The petrol should see the trip through.

[mikeonb4c]

Another thought, the turbo diesel requires an oil change every 3000 miles and service at 6000, so you would need at least 2 oil changes and a service while away.

The petrol should see the trip through.

Have to confess to being a norty flowerpotperson Ben. Perhaps because i'm too often weeded out, but i only change my diesel's oil every 5k or so miles

[Bob]

There is an argument that modern oils are much better than when we were tiny Flowerpot Boys, so longer intervals are fine.

I do mine as recommended as I think oil is much cheaper than a turbo, but others with more techie knowledge than me go longer.