Thinking of joining the Bongo world

[oibaf]

Hello everyone,

Firstly, thanks for having me! I'm from Cork, Ireland, and have been looking at Bongos for the last few months. I'm mad into motorbikes and, pre-pandemic, commuted by bike regularly but fitting both wife AND dog to the bike for a holiday isn't the easiest.. .

Basically, there are two Bongos available for sale on Ireland right now which look decent. One with the AFT and one is a tin top. The tin top is cheaper and has "had welding done to the usual places" although isn't registered as a camper, weirdly. Also, the guy is removing the kitchen unit so I'd have to set it up scratch.

I suppose my question is, what do people think of the tin top. Are there advantages? Are is the AFT, plus a fitted kitchen etc, worth an extra €1000?

Choice between a tin top I would have to customise and turn into a camper myself (though it does have the bench seats) or the AFT which is pre-made and has that lovely AFT.

Any thoughts? Or am I a mad person for even thinking of all of this?!

Thanks

[Bob]

Hi, and welcome aboard.

Sadly impossible to value one over the other, it all depends how you want the AFT and camper fit.

The most important thing is to get a good base vehicle.

Difficult choice, though.

[oibaf]

Thanks Bob!

To be honest, I think my other half reckons I'm mad. Although she's coming around to the idea of it all. Whether she'd come round to the idea of "hey,got a nice Bongo,not really sorted as a camper inside but I'll do it" compared to having one which is "ready for summer" I don't know...

Seeing as I'm going to have to travel the bones of 6 hours, there and back, to see one of these where should I be looking for rust specifically? I know I need to check the sills as they're a weak point but are there bits underneath that I could see which tend to rot out?

And apart from the cooling system,is there anything a standard garage needs to know before servicing one of these?

[Tessie]

Have you seen the 'For Sale and Buying Guide' link on the front page of the site (https://igmaynard.co.uk/buying/#look). It gives good advice what to look for.

If you are wanting a true camper and think your wife might be more amenable to one already fitted out and with an AFT so you can both stand up straight when the roof is raised then £1000 isn't that much more to pay over and above a bare tin top. It really boils down to the condition as Bob says, with particular attention to how much rust there is, there is bound to be some unless it is a recent new import, where it is and the cost of sorting it. If you can weld then that would be a great help. Bongos are old technology, with the V6 models probably a bit more involved and with some expensive bits, so most jobs and servicing should be able to be done by anybody with a bit of diy mechanical skills. There are lots of Fact Sheets, telling you how to do many jobs, available if you pay the membership fee for Bongo Fury, well worth having, and other Bongo owners are always ready to give advice.

Main thing when buying is to give the Bongo a good look over using the Buying Guide advice, check the past MOT/NCT reports, but most of all go with your gut feeling. If it doesn't feel right for any reason then walk away, there will be other Bongos, although I appreciate they may be a bit harder to come by in your part of the world.

Good luck

[Bob]

Good info from Tessie, it's only the cooling system that is peculiar to the Bongo, the rest is good, old fashioned, engineering.

The 2ltr is no problem, just the diesel and V6 need to be bled. There are 3 You Tube videos covering this.

The rear arches and cross members are particular rust spots, and hopefully others will have more info.

[oibaf]

Great info, thanks!

Tessie - good point about the AFT. I can't weld although I'm handy enough with the spanners. I do all of my own work on motorbikes so can transfer a little of that knowledge to the 4 wheeled world, although I'd have a lot to learn.

I did check that website you mentioned too, it's a fantastic site actually!

[ever after.]

Hi Oibaf, welcome to the forum.

Where abouts in Cork are you located?

I've an AFT here if you want to have a look at one locally, might save you a 6 hour drive

[oibaf]

Hi ever after!

Were you around Mitchelstown today by any chance? If so, I saluted you cos I was on my way to see the Bongo in Galway!

[ever after.]

I wasn't in there today but there's at least 2 other bongos around Mitchelstown.

Which Bongo did you go to see in Galway?

[oibaf]

This one - https://www.donedeal.ie/campers-for-sal ... n/28037150

He's an Iranian guy who does a lot of camper work, he has a couple of other vans up on Donedeal. Seems to know his stuff and wasn't afraid to show me his workshop and other vans he's doing.

His kitchen and bed conversion is nicely finished but the original interior bits are a little on the tired side and it could all do with a good scrub inside. The steering wheel had that smooth and soft feel of a wheel that's seen the miles. He put new carpet over the old original carpet in the front section over the engine and it's could be cut a bit better. The switch for the AFT didn't work at first, had to really work the switch to make it move...maybe some contact cleaner would have sorted it.

Onto the mechanical stuff - it has a 2.5 litre non-turbo engine from the Mazda B2500 pickup. Apparently it's the same engine block as the original Bongo unit so it was a straight swap. Engine bay looked fine. It's a bit slow but, according to him, better on fuel. I know they're reliable lumps. He has a coolant alarm fitted, always a good sign. He has welded some bits underneath and showed those to me. He's painted it underneath as well. He also painted the body, which is kinda a shame because it's not a great job. Fine from a few feet away but you can see overspray up close.

For €6250, which is the absolute most I'd pay, is it a an OK deal? Would I feel better after a lot of elbow grease to clean the interior?

[ever after.]

The white one looks ok but I'm not sure how practical it is having the rear seats totally removed.
I'm not familiar with the engine he's put in it either so someone else might have a better opinion on that but I could well imagine it's down on power a good bit.

I'd check out either of the silver ones for sale in Middleton or Kildare. They appear to be much cleaner examples...

https://www.donedeal.ie/campers-for-sal ... r/28078226

https://www.donedeal.ie/campers-for-sal ... 4/27936963

[oibaf]

Thanks ever after!

I had a good look at the pictures of the Kildare one as it's been up for a while but there's rust around the sills which looks to have been painted over.

To be honest, both are out of our price range. We needed something around €6000 - which I know very much limits things. I'd have to go sort a kitchen for the one in Cork too (even though it'd have been a far closer trip for me to view haha!).

[ever after.]

Might have been repaired but the paint is starting to bubble out again after some time.
I've seen it happen on parts of my own only about a year after it was done

The guy who done some of the bodywork on mine told me that you need to cut the metal out altogether in problem areas and weld in new pieces to do it properly or the rust will keep coming back.

They've probably all got rust at this stage either way so it's just a case of seeing which ones will be easier to fix and maintain.

[Bob]

Just me, but I would be wary of a non-standard engine, particularly loosing the turbo.

I'm not sure fuel economy will be better, either. You'll need more wellie for a given speed.

[Alkers]

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a tin-top bongo. There are plenty of MPV type vehicles which would offer similar levels of space which you should be able to get much more-recent examples of for similar money - especially if you're thinking of taking the back seats out in any case.