Bongo Fury

hi there!
we're looking for our first bongo and are considering a converted van from bringmeabongo in warrington
they do a kind of rear conversion with two units on opposite sides of the van at the back then a row of original seats, facing forward in the middle of the van.
I've seen posts here about the practical aspects (comfort/access/etc), and have some doubts (we were thinking a side conversion would be better), but was attracted by 5 seat belted seats which would be good for shipping kids and friends around
the van is registered as an mpv
my question is: can it be registered as a motor caravan with this conversion? i suspect the seeming lack of fixed table rules it out
anyone got a conversion like this? any ideas?
thanks a lot!

Hi.

Guidence on registering as a motor caravan here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... iy-caravan

Personaly I would try and get along to some Meets and look at conversions/talk to owners.

They will be honest about what works and what doesn't, and perhaps anyone with expreience of this dealer would please PM Chrisg with experiences.

I've not used them as we're a long way down south.

Have you tried a search on "bringmeabongo" on here ?
viewtopic.php?p=694550#p694550
Its not to say that they haven't improved or that other sellers haven't degenerated but mind the warnings!

thanks for the warning ....
I had seen the negative comments about the company, and there are a couple of things that are making me suspicious....
big discount on price and pushy salesman...
might give it a miss....

the plan is to get a van to drive down to italy at christmas... but we've been looking for a while and had a couple of problems so we now find ourselves pretty short of time to get things sorted!
still optimistic though!
cheers

Don't forget that an unconverted Bongo is perfectly good for camping.

We use 4 sections of those kneeling mats you get in the garden centres and cheapie shops cut to size to fill the hollows in the seats. Two large and two small, works well for us.

We sleep on the front/middle seats leaving room for a camping loo in the back and room to get changed. Split rear seats are good, or you could just remove the rear bench.

Camping stove and water container and you're set to go.

However... I wouldn't be too keen setting off to Italy in an oldish vehicle that I'd only just bought, but that's just me.

it's the cheap insurance on a camper van that appeals, as well as the fun of having a moving house!

I lived in italy for 20 years before moving back to manchester, and uk insurance companies don't recognize my no claims! I'm paying a fortune for car insurance, so the plan is to get the van and a real small cheap hatchback
the quote I've got for camper insurance is about a third what I'm currently paying on my estate car

regarding the trip we've been driving round europe in dodgy cars for years... had a wheel bearing self destruct in the middle of germany a couple of years ago, which was fun!

I think we might have found something at bongo camper van sales in wales, who seem to have a much better reputation
van has just been serviced and mot'd so hopefully will last the trip!

(we've got rac european recovery to be on the safe side)

all advice is very welcome- the bongo world is all new to me (but very happy to be getting into it!)

Make sure the European recovery covers vehicles more than 20 years old ...... (if yours will be more than 20 years old!

Hi and welcome.

Back to your original posting regarding number of seat belts.

I have a side conversion with 6 seats with belts.
Drivers and passenger seats, and in the rear, the original seats have been cut down to 2 seaters, one set facing to the rear and the back seats facing front.So the passengers in the back are facing each other.

Hope you find a great van,

regards Marion.

Great advice from everyone on here and good luck with the Bongo hunting. Like Bob, I really would make sure that any old Bongo is gone over plenty and taken on some UK drives before committing to a big trip abroad. They're a great car, provided everything is maintained/replaced etc as it should be i.e. ahead of things failing rather than after them. One or two of the failures Bongos can have might be tricky to get fixed properly on the Continent, where they don't know them at all.

thank you everyone!
lots of good advice
Ive called off the meeting with bring me a bongo and i'm off to wales and gloucester tomorrow to see a couple of vans that look promising... I'll let you know how it works out.

really happy to be on the group here- seems like a great crowd!

all the best!
c

Check out Wheelquick, Wigan, and Ian Taylor, Stoke.

Ours came from Phil at JAL, Worcester, and I'm still happy 10 years on.

I did try them both (not least because they are much closer!), but they don't have anything ready and we're kind of committed to the italy trip...my wife is italian and we need to see all the relatives (her folks haven't been too well and they're all expecting us now!)

we've been looking for a van for a while but haven't seen anything that ticks all the boxes so far... problem is, time is running out!
worse case we'll have to fly to italy, but that's going to cost a fortune at christmas

trying to be sensible with the purchase of the van... but this one in wales does look nice!
I'll let you all know how it works out tomorrow and see if i can work out how to post photos!

Fingers crossed for you, agree family comes first.

Have you considered private. There's one viewable in Oldham or Sheffield in the for sale section:

https://igmaynard.co.uk/for-sale/

With one that age a good inspection, especially for rust, is strongly advised unless you really know your Bongos. There's a good Bongo garage in Sheffield (
http://doreservicestation.co.uk/ ) or if it could be got to Bury i can highly recommend my mechanic Adrian at Japandirect. You could see what they might charge for an inspection AND (if it leads to a sale) keeping it in and doing any pre-Italian trip servicing and preparation. Could work out no more expensive and more satisfactory than a distant dealer (i'd recommend Adrian any time as your local ongoing service and repair person). With few exceptions, dealers' post sales warranties aren't worth a lot with something like a Bongo

argh!
the deed is done!
after 5 hours (should be 3) on the M6 to get to wales we finally reached "bongo camper van sales"...

we have now officially entered the bongo world and bought a side conversion 1999 2.5 petrol (with gpl system) freda van!

had a good poke about, crawled under it with a torch and gave it a go with a magnet... very clean, no rust at all underneath, no signs of filler or welding as far as i can see (not an expert, but a long history with dodgy cars)
the lower sides have been repainted, but seem pretty straight and no obvious signs of rot or filler, all the seams look clean

also mots all check out- in the country 5 years and 5 passes with advisories only for things like brake pads...

engine all looks very clean, no signs of leaks or weeping, cam belt changed 10,000 miles ago (with receipts)
the garage is getting an mot tomorrow, doing servicing with oil/coolant/transmission fluid changes,
new tyres going on (we're splitting the cost of that- one needs changing anyway, I'd like winter tyres on, so I'm paying the difference for a new set)

side conversion is brand new and just what we wanted, original electric pop top, new radio, parking sensor, very clean interior, showing 70,000 miles on mph speedo (I am aware that doesn't mean much)....

I'm pretty cynical and have tried my best to be objective (agree that warranty is very subjective if anything actually goes wrong, and obviously a dealer is only going to tell you the good stuff) but this does seem like what we were looking for...

we're picking it up on wednesday, and may well be that we find the transmission drops out the bottom in the middle of germany or we get stuck up the alps as all the wheels fall off, but just now VERY HAPPY!!!!

I agree it would be a good idea to get it checked by an independent party before leaving- I'll try some of the garages you suggested and see if they can fit it in, or else go with "campervans4fun" in macclesfield- they hire and repair vans and the owner james has been a massive help in weighing up possible vans and advice on what to look for... obviously not had a chance to use him as a mechanic yet, but i reckon worth checking out if anyone is looking for a mechanic near manchester

thanks for all the advice, really appreciate it!
see you at the next bongo bash!