Burning questions about motorcaravanning? Our expert team can help! Simply email one of the addresses below or contact practical.motorhome@futurenet.com, and we’ll do our best to answer it in an upcoming issue
SHOULD I HAVE MY CAMPERVAN RECLASSIFIED BY THE DVLA?
Q Thanks for your comprehensive report on seatbelts for designated travel seats (issue 276) – although not the answer I was hoping for! I am still trying to find a garage in or near Richmond, London, to work on my campervan.
One more question. My camper is a conversion (1); are there any plus points for having the certification changed with the DVLA to ‘motor caravan’? Ed Keogh
A Gentleman Jack replies… The most significant advantage of having it classified as a ‘motor caravan’ is that some specialist insurers offer a substantial discount on the premium. Changing the body type on the V5C can be surprisingly difficult, and took me over six months after the conversion of a minibus to a motorcaravan.
The problem many garages will have is with lifting the ’van by hydraulic ramp. Quite a few ‘car’ ramps will cope with a sub-3500kg (approx 6m long) ’van, but a high ceiling to the building is needed to keep both roofs intact!
Ford commercial garages are your obvious starting point. Secondly, an independent commercial vehicle garage. Type ‘Ford van repair garages near Richmond, London’ and ‘Commercial vehicle repair garages near Richmond, London’ into your search engine and a list of directories and garage websites should appear. Probably a map, too.
Another avenue is to seek a mobile van mechanic near you. Again, use the internet to track one down.
My grandson runs a small fleet of Transits for his carpentry business, including one with almost 500,000 miles recorded, which he is currently converting into a motorhome. He finds the online Ford Transit Owners’ Forums friendly and informative. You could ask for garage recommendations on them.
Finally, nearly all motorcaravans are ‘conversions’ because they were not built by the base vehicle manufacturer. This is true for campervans, high-top panel vans (like yours) and coachbuilts. The only current exceptions on sale in the UK are the Caddy California, T6 California and Crafter Grand California, all built from the wheels up by VW.
WHY DOES THE ENGINE ON MY COACHBUILT FAIL TO START?
Q I have a 56-plate Peugeot-based coachbuilt with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine.
