mercedes Vito camper

Ryland06

Hey,
i'm new to this so excuse me if i get things wrong.
i have a mercedes vito 108d and decided i wanted to make it into a two berth camper. Seen some of them on ebay and thought they were great.
So when the brain wave was fresh in my head i rang the revenue to se if it was possible to do so. he said cause the van was less than 1.8m in height it would fall into cat A 30% vrt. is this correct? With that news i began my build. insulating all walls plylineing then installed a two hob cooker and a sink, and some shelves. removing the double seat from the front of the van and replacing it with a single so up from there only two seats. i placed the double seat in the back and now works as part of my bed. put a roof vent in and some rear interior lights. do i have to put in rear windows? its a small van and the rooflight throughs in great light. has anyone any idea what the vrt is gonna be on it?
Mercedes Vito 108d
1999
115000miles

cheers

stapeler

A few windows might be worth considering, No toilet/bathroom so I'm guessing omsp of approx €9-12K so approx 30% of that

GaryLab

Hi Ryland06,
Make sure the height inside the van behind the drivers seat is 1.8m in height. The normal vito van won't do, unless you have the hi-roof version. Here is my van I converted...

hynesie

That's a nice looking van Gary.
Did you buy the board rack for the side of the van or did you make it yourself?

GaryLab

Hi Hynesie,
I made those myself. I used some aliminium unistrut and some mildsteel flatbar bent into a U shape. I then covered it with pipe insulation. She's a real surfwagon. It can carry 5 shortboards no problem

Robster

Hi, can anyone tell me of anywhere that produces a GRP high-top to convert by '99 vito? does anyone know if one for a VW T4 SWB would fit?
Thanks

GaryLab

Hi Robster,
I had to take a trip to the UK to get mine done. I got it done in London by Beckenham motorhomes. Its a Reimo roof specificaly made for the Vito, so a VW won't fit. There's another place called rainbow conversions (also uk) give them a ring(they also have a website) to get an idea of the cost.
Regards
Gary

bushy...

GaryLab wrote: »

Hi Ryland06,
Make sure the height inside the van behind the drivers seat is 1.8m in height. The normal vito van won't do, unless you have the hi-roof version. Here is my van I converted...

Lovely job ,
In (the you-probably-know-already-category) some of them had cab heaters fitted standard , just need 12v & diesel feed , saves running the engine to thaw yourself out

(Removed with an axe) example off ebay :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/eberspacher-heater-diesel-mercedes-vito-heater_W0QQitemZ180346383768QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090414?IMSfp=TL090414163003r26132

santryman2

Folks, similar to Ryland I am looking to convert a Vito (108/109) to a 2 berth camper.

I am obviously aware of the VRT issue but would it not be easier / cheaper to avoid it by keeping the van as commercial (i.e. Tax Eur288 and Insurance Eur350ish) and proceeding with the renovation. Am i missing something?

paddyp

santryman2 wrote: »

Folks, similar to Ryland I am looking to convert a Vito (108/109) to a 2 berth camper.

I am obviously aware of the VRT issue but would it not be easier / cheaper to avoid it by keeping the van as commercial (i.e. Tax Eur288 and Insurance Eur350ish) and proceeding with the renovation. Am i missing something?

your missing it being impounded by customs for using a commercial vehicle for private use and your insurance likely not covering you in the event of an accident remember they are looking for any excuse not to pay out.

Buford T Justice

santryman2 wrote: »

Folks, similar to Ryland I am looking to convert a Vito (108/109) to a 2 berth camper.

I am obviously aware of the VRT issue but would it not be easier / cheaper to avoid it by keeping the van as commercial (i.e. Tax Eur288 and Insurance Eur350ish) and proceeding with the renovation. Am i missing something?

You also need to sign a declaration in the Garda Station stating that its for the carriage of goods only and not social and domestic. You'll also need you're revenue income tax number too.

Macy0161

Plus, as you now don't need the 1.8m internal height, whatever you pay in VRT converting to motorcaravan, you'll recoup to some degree on road tax over a few years. Bulford has several good threads on both the build process and registration.