You shouldn’t buy a VW camper if…

• You just have to have a VW camper and it becomes an emotional, not a rational decision

• It just looks cool or well restored (look underneath, check it thoroughly, think about it, compare several campers…)

• You haven’t thought about how much time you want to spend maintaining it

• You’re about to go on a trip and won’t have time to spend checking it over, doing some shorter runs etc

• It is old, has done a lot of miles or has a six volt system when you want reliability

• You think it will be fast and/or economical

Beware…the nostalgic appeal of old VW campers can override rational thinking:

http://www.vwcampersforever.com/category/buying-and-selling

Beware of seductive pictures of rustbuckets, next to beautifuly retored examples -unless you have time, money and high levels of skill and resourcefulness.

OK, so you’re still looking, take this checklist with you …

Look out for rust and poor repairs, checking for

• Rust on the bottom 6 inches all around…
• Rust on chassis box sections
• Rust on front and rear outriggers
• Rust on roof guttering, sills, wheel arches
• Rust on floors in front of the rear wheels
• Rust behind front seats
• Rust round the fuel tank
• Welded repair plates which can hide trapped moisture and rust

Take some old clothes and GET UNDERNEATH TO LOOK!

Engine/gearbox checks

• Oil leaks near the gearbox flange usually mean an ‘engine out’ job
• Listen for bearing whines in the gearbox
• Check all the gears work and don’t jump out of gear (VW Campers tend to have a floppy gear change –that’s normal)
• Pull and push the bottom pulley wheel: if you can feel a loud ‘clunk clunk’ the engine needs to be rebuilt. A very small movement is OK

Other things to look out for

• Check heaters and controls – if they don’t work they will require new heat exchangers
• A smell of petrol inside the vehicle can mean rubber pipes have perished and need replacing
• Check round the fuel tank - they can rust through where they come in contact with more rust
• Steering should be direct with little play. If not check the steering box

Checking the inside

• Look at the state of the interior
• Check level of equipment and what’s in working order
• Check working order of beds,
• If it’s a pop-top, check the state of the bellows, struts etc
• Check the state of the headlining, floor and inside cupboards for mildew, dirt and damage

Balance what you find against what you are prepared to pay, what work you are prepared to do and the time you have.

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