How to choose a camper / van?

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How did we choose our camper?

Traveling and living in a mobile home, road romance, adventure, and discovery ... At some point, these images captured us and we got the idea to go on on a camper trip. By that time, we had already traveled most of Western Europe together, but the Balkans were intriguing us with their uncharted knowledge. And getting there from our local airport is quite expensive. We were sometimes renting cars on our trips and were initially thinking to go there in a passenger car. But quite quickly the situation changed, so we began to consider options for acquiring a camper. We did not read and look for anyone's recommendations when making this choice. Therefore, the entire list is our personal experience, our desires and needs (for a couple). Items are not scheduled in priority order. When choosing a camper, the following parameters were important to us:

1

Length

We planned to visit different cities, so we wanted the car to fit in a standard parking space, and also be able to easily drive along small alleys.

2

Height

Since this is both a car and housing, the ability to stand up inside in full height was almost mandatory. In addition, we did not consider options with a foldable roof, since with this design it is colder and more noticeable when spending the night in cities.

3

Looks

We were going to go to the Balkans and it seemed to us that an inconspicuous car was less attractive to thieves and draw less attention generally. While people in Western Europe are much more used to campers, this is not the case, when you leave the EU. We did not want to draw too much attention, so we were looking for an older model.

4

Value and reliability

In addition to an appropriate price, the issue of affordable service is also important - the model we chose had to be reliable and widespread, so that in case of unforeseen breakdown you could easily find the necessary details everywhere. In addition, it was necessary that the fuel consumption was small.

5

A bed good enough for two

Stretch your legs and wrap yourself into your blanket without risking getting your foot in the forehead. Is there anything else to add to this item?

6

M+S tires

We needed all season tires to be able to go without hesitation both to the sea and to the mountains. Not having dedicated tires for winter is also not a disadvantage as we never planned driving in the van in the winter season.

7

Maneuverability

A good and high-quality proven motor is an important prerequisite to avoid headaches on the road. Driving a 2.5L diesel with a full weight of less than 2.5 tonnes proved to be manageable even in the mountains, whereas fellow travellers driving a 1.9L diesel that we talked to had experienced problems on slopes. A rather important benefit of having a lightweight car of less than 3.5 tonnes is the ability to drive on many smaller sideroads and into city centres, which often have weight limitations, and last, but not least, not needing to pay for vignettes/tolls in many countries.

8

Ability to install solar panels

Going south and in summer provides free energy, even during those days when you are not moving. Charging your camera, phones, and laptop is a basic need and major problem, so installing a 100W solar panel on top of the roof proved to be a very valuable addition.

We did not care about a full-fledged shower and toilet inside the van, as we did not want to spend time and money on complicated servicing along the way. Indeed, the presence of these components would make us look for special drains and fill in large volumes of water. It is worth noting that we did not mind repairing something, but were looking for a car that would be ready for driving. Not immediately, but pretty quickly we settled on the 1995 Ford Transit. Having traveled with it for over 12.000 km, we are pleased with our choice. Even after having our Balkan of 9000+ km, our home easily passed technical inspection again.