VRT on conversion

Moomat

I'm considering converting a large van to a camper, something like Iveco Daily, Master, Ducato etc... Thinking 2004-2007.
My question is this, if I bought a crewcab would the VRT paid when first registered be enough to cover the change to camper or was there a low VRT rate for crewcabs in 2004-2007?

airhead_eire

I think you pay the low rate but you will have to pay some VRT of sorts. Only the bus type vehicles with full seating e.g. a VW Caravelle/Merc Viano etc are VRT exempt due to the VRT being paid when first registered. I think the VRT rate on a commercial van camper conversion is 13%.

Moomat

Yes I think its around 13%. I thought that big crew cabs were €50 vrt but I saw a 2014 lwb ducato for sale recently and the vrt cost was nearly €5000! I wonder have the rules changed recently or would a 07 ducato crew cab have also paid a similar amount of vrt. If it did then that should be enough to cover the change to a camper.

airhead_eire

A call to your local VRT office would clarify what the cost is ?

Aidan_M_M

Moomat wrote: »

I'm considering converting a large van to a camper

Can I ask , why?

Moomat

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Can I ask , why?

Hi Aidan, you can ask me anything you wish
We've outgrown our previous camper as the family is expanding and we need more seat belts. I want 3 point seat belts for baby seats and there is nothing available already coverted that would meet our budget of less than €4k. I think our budget may strech to a early model 2.3 Iveco or Fiats so I was interested to know if I found a crewcab would there still be a vrt liability.
Our requirments are-
1. Around €4k in total for van, vrt and coversion (I have access to cheap/free used furniture and will do the work myself)
2. Must have toilet/shower room
3. Minimum of four 3point seat belts
4. Over 1.8m inside
5. 1 double sized bed and 1 dinette sized bed
6. No longer than mwb Iveco/Sprinter
7. Usual other facilities

Why do you ask?

moodrater

Moomat wrote: »

Hi Aidan, you can ask me anything you wish
We've outgrown our previous camper as the family is expanding and we need more seat belts. I want 3 point seat belts for baby seats and there is nothing available already coverted that would meet our budget of less than €4k. I think our budget may strech to a early model 2.3 Iveco or Fiats so I was interested to know if I found a crewcab would there still be a vrt liability.
Our requirments are-
1. Around €4k in total for van, vrt and coversion (I have access to cheap/free used furniture and will do the work myself)
2. Must have toilet/shower room
3. Minimum of four 3point seat belts
4. Over 1.8m inside
5. 1 double sized bed and 1 dinette sized bed
6. No longer than mwb Iveco/Sprinter
7. Usual other facilities

Why do you ask?

Will be very difficult to fit in a shower room in mwb.

Moomat

moodrater wrote: »

Will be very difficult to fit in a shower room in mwb.

You certainly have to be creative but it's doable, sure some of the transporters even have little toilet room in them. I think the trick with a small panel van is to not leave the space at the sliding door empty. You dont need a 1.2m entry into a 3.5m van.

moodrater

Moomat wrote: »

You certainly have to be creative but it's doable, sure some of the transporters even have little toilet room in them. I think the trick with a small panel van is to not leave the space at the sliding door empty. You dont need a 1.2m entry into a 3.5m van.

Sprinter is all nose - mwb is only 3.2m in the back. I'd say you'd need front seat swivels and raise the rear seats to make your dinette.

Measure out your minimum sizes for bed, dinette, toilet, kitchen unit and cut them out of paper to scale, then you can make paper template of the various vans and move things around to wee how it would fit.

Remember too that in terms of seats and seatbelts you'll be limited in locating them by the framework of the vehicle it you get seatframe with integrated belts it makes things easier but you still need to consider safely securing and transferring the load through the chassis.

One reason the sliding door area is underutilised is that the pillars behind the doors are often used for seatbelt mounting.

Moomat

moodrater wrote: »

Sprinter is all nose - mwb is only 3.2m in the back. I'd say you'd need front seat swivels and raise the rear seats to make your dinette.

Measure out your minimum sizes for bed, dinette, toilet, kitchen unit and cut them out of paper to scale, then you can make paper template of the various vans and move things around to wee how it would fit.

Remember too that in terms of seats and seatbelts you'll be limited in locating them by the framework of the vehicle it you get seatframe with integrated belts it makes things easier but you still need to consider safely securing and transferring the load through the chassis.

One reason the sliding door area is underutilised is that the pillars behind the doors are often used for seatbelt mounting.

Good idea about the templates. Seats with integrated belts are the best way to go and strong spreader plates etc..

As far as size goes the mwb sprinter/lt are a bit small. My top preference would be the 2004ish ducato or mwb iveco. Ducato is a bit shorter but a good bit wider.
Id love to be able to get a fixed bed width ways across the back but I'm 6'4" so don't want to be cramped either. I was thinking of a drawer system, about W135cmxH25cmxD30cm that you could pull out from the exterior of the van to make the bed longer. Have to be pretty durable to make sure no fecker came up and tiddled your feet in the night time!

Aidan_M_M

I'll be well impressed if you can buy , build and VRT a van conversion for 4k , looking forward to this . Best of luck , and fair play.

Moomat

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

I'll be well impressed if you can buy , build and VRT a van conversion for 4k , looking forward to this . Best of luck , and fair play.

The VRT is the million dollar question! Everything else I can manage pretty good. I reckon to keep the VRT at less than 1k id need to be looking at pre2000 vans so need to be open minded about vans.

moodrater

Moomat wrote: »

Good idea about the templates. Seats with integrated belts are the best way to go and strong spreader plates etc..

As far as size goes the mwb sprinter/lt are a bit small. My top preference would be the 2004ish ducato or mwb iveco. Ducato is a bit shorter but a good bit wider.
Id love to be able to get a fixed bed width ways across the back but I'm 6'4" so don't want to be cramped either. I was thinking of a drawer system, about W135cmxH25cmxD30cm that you could pull out from the exterior of the van to make the bed longer. Have to be pretty durable to make sure no fecker came up and tiddled your feet in the night time!

You can just scrape 6'4" accross the ducato by going right out to the panels in the rear and using epdm type insulation bonded directly to the panel and lining e.g. leatherette bonded to that. Youd probably need 6'8 to be comfortable though

ianobrien

I was making some enquiries about changing vehicle class (commercial to motorcaravan) and I was getting two stories from Revenue. Some were saying that the old system of certification of individual components was still in effect and others saying that whole vehicle type approval was needed. If it's whole vehicle type approval, the Revenue paperwork says the inspection must be carried out by NSAI.

The changes were dated March 2014.

Moomat

ianobrien wrote: »

I was making some enquiries about changing vehicle class (commercial to motorcaravan) and I was getting two stories from Revenue. Some were saying that the old system of certification of individual components was still in effect and others saying that whole vehicle type approval was needed. If it's whole vehicle type approval, the Revenue paperwork says the inspection must be carried out by NSAI.

The changes were dated March 2014.

You need to get all coversions certified by a SQI and home conversions are still fine once they meet the standards. I believe there was changes in bringing in new unregistered conversions, something about the convertor being registered.

There had however been recent changes to what Revenue will accept as a camper. It seems the 1.8m may be on the way back. You could always challenge Revenue but how long would that take??
Some interesting reading here: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/vehicle-conversions.html#section7

gctest50

Moomat wrote: »

I'm considering converting a large van to a camper, something like Iveco Daily, Master, Ducato etc... Thinking 2004-2007.
My question is this, if I bought a crewcab would the VRT paid when first registered be enough to cover the change to camper or was there a low VRT rate for crewcabs in 2004-2007?

vaguely related & there might be better sources of shiny switches n hoses

http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/

airhead_eire

Moomat wrote: »

You need to get all coversions certified by a SQI and home conversions are still fine once they meet the standards. I believe there was changes in bringing in new unregistered conversions, something about the convertor being registered.

There had however been recent changes to what Revenue will accept as a camper. It seems the 1.8m may be on the way back. You could always challenge Revenue but how long would that take??
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The 1.8m rule may be coming back in ??

Moomat

airhead_eire wrote: »

The 1.8m rule may be coming back in ??

From the Revenue website: "Comfortable living accommodation should comprise an area where a person (of average height) could move around in a standing position."

It appears they want the "living accommodation" to provide standing room for an average sized person. I believe the average height for a Cambodian male is around 160cm, slightly less for females, interesting to see how this will play out.

Moomat

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

I'll be well impressed if you can buy , build and VRT a van conversion for 4k , looking forward to this . Best of luck , and fair play.

We'll never know now.... Bought a 99 High roof Transit that's already converted and has 4 seats on the book...Happy days! Needs some interior renovation to meet my needs but only a couple of days work in it.