Basic camper as primary vehicle

pegdrums

Hi all.

I have done some reading of various posts and am more confused than beforehand.

We want to sell our micra and replace it with a camper as our primary vehicle. A transit or transporter or similar with a flat roof.
Nothing flash.

Min requirements ( cooker, sink, bed etc) I get.

Height restrictions I don't.
Vrt, motor tax and insurance seem to have different hoops to jump through.


Can someone point me at a definitive guide to read?


I surf and basically just want a van but apparantely that's not possible if I'm not self employed or something so a basic little camper is the solution.

Cheers

Alkers

In order to get campervan insurance it will need to be converted to a high standard so you won't get away with something barebones. I think only one of either Stuart's or dolmens permit having the camper as an only vehicle (at double the insurance premium) and Richardson's allow it also but you need to be a member of the motorcaravan club who will inspect your vehicle before letting you join

Buford T Justice

Expect to pay a high insurance premium for it if you don't have a car as a primary driver. This is deliberate to prevent people taking advantage of cheap leisure insurance to avoid the cost of a regular policy

pegdrums

Thanks for your replies.

I don't mind paying normal tax and insurance on it at all. As a daily driver and only vehicle I wouldnt expect any concessions.

My concern is more getting it classed as a campervan (motor caravan). I've read things about minimum height restrictions and stuff.
We don't want a high top and don't want a pop up.


I had a 71 kombi over a decade ago. I was 23 and it was my only vehicle. Insurance was ASTRONOMICAL!! I think the fact it had a pop top helped with the classificatin end of things.

LifeIs TooShort2

"I surf and basically just want a van but apparantely that's not possible if I'm not self employed or something so a basic little camper is the solution."

Be careful, if you are converting a van to a camper.

I do a lot of outdoor stuff and wanted a surf van also.

In this ridiculous little country, a man (or lady) cannot buy, tax and insure a van if that is what they want to do. I discovered this insane stupidity AFTER i had purchased a van and rocked into the Tax office to tax it..

I could write a book about the hoops I had to jump through to circumvent this stupid bureaucracy. The short of it is, you have to register a business name in order to be able to tax and insure a van, then fabricate an alternate reality story, then get a form stamped in a Garda station. Bananas, we have fools running this country. As you can tell, I'm still fuming about it (and will be voting accordingly), you would have more freedom in a communist country.

Captain Red Beard

LifeIs TooShort2 wrote: »

"I surf and basically just want a van but apparantely that's not possible if I'm not self employed or something so a basic little camper is the solution."

Be careful, if you are converting a van to a camper.

I do a lot of outdoor stuff and wanted a surf van also.

In this ridiculous little country, a man (or lady) cannot buy, tax and insure a van if that is what they want to do. I discovered this insane stupidity AFTER i had purchased a van and rocked into the Tax office to tax it..

I could write a book about the hoops I had to jump through to circumvent this stupid bureaucracy. The short of it is, you have to register a business name in order to be able to tax and insure a van, then fabricate an alternate reality story, then get a form stamped in a Garda station. Bananas, we have fools running this country. As you can tell, I'm still fuming about it (and will be voting accordingly), you would have more freedom in a communist country.

Is there much involved in registering a business name?

LifeIs TooShort2

Captain Red Beard wrote: »

Is there much involved in registering a business name?

Its all here https://www.cro.ie/Registration/Business-Name

Captain Red Beard

So I can set up Captain Red Beard Solutions, pay 20 euro online registration and I'm good to go?

autumnalcore

Captain Red Beard wrote: »

So I can set up Captain Red Beard Solutions, pay 20 euro online registration and I'm good to go?

You could also just put your PPS in the vat number field last time I taxed a commercial. Bear in mind that you cant have windows in the side or seats in the back of a commercial unless its a crewcab and a crewcab need half the floor area dedicated to carriage of goods. I wouldnt fancy my chances in the event of a claim if there was camping gear affixed in the rear.

_Brian

We do lots of hiking and cycling, a day style van would be great for us.

But it’s not really something this country allows. I can’t understand it.

Day Lewin

_Brian wrote: »

We do lots of hiking and cycling, a day style van would be great for us.

But it’s not really something this country allows. I can’t understand it.

I can't understand this either:
Seriously, WHY?? It's not as if you were going to make a handsome profit by carrying your surfing or canoeing gear and camping at the beach. Or even by driving your kids to school in it.
Also, I'm pretty sure the insurance companies keep their own @rses shrewdly covered: they certainly don't need the law to protect them!

What Govt department deals with this? What minister? Time to write to your TD!

beveragelady

LifeIs TooShort2 wrote: »

"I surf and basically just want a van but apparantely that's not possible if I'm not self employed or something so a basic little camper is the solution."

Be careful, if you are converting a van to a camper.

I do a lot of outdoor stuff and wanted a surf van also.

In this ridiculous little country, a man (or lady) cannot buy, tax and insure a van if that is what they want to do. I discovered this insane stupidity AFTER i had purchased a van and rocked into the Tax office to tax it..

I could write a book about the hoops I had to jump through to circumvent this stupid bureaucracy. The short of it is, you have to register a business name in order to be able to tax and insure a van, then fabricate an alternate reality story, then get a form stamped in a Garda station. Bananas, we have fools running this country. As you can tell, I'm still fuming about it (and will be voting accordingly), you would have more freedom in a communist country.

Nope.
I, a lady, am on my second van, taxed and insured as a private vehicle. No business name, no VAT number.

Buford T Justice

LifeIs TooShort2 wrote: »

"I surf and basically just want a van but apparantely that's not possible if I'm not self employed or something so a basic little camper is the solution."

Be careful, if you are converting a van to a camper.

I do a lot of outdoor stuff and wanted a surf van also.

In this ridiculous little country, a man (or lady) cannot buy, tax and insure a van if that is what they want to do. I discovered this insane stupidity AFTER i had purchased a van and rocked into the Tax office to tax it..

I could write a book about the hoops I had to jump through to circumvent this stupid bureaucracy. The short of it is, you have to register a business name in order to be able to tax and insure a van, then fabricate an alternate reality story, then get a form stamped in a Garda station. Bananas, we have fools running this country. As you can tell, I'm still fuming about it (and will be voting accordingly), you would have more freedom in a communist country.

Just tax it privately. Its more expensive but that's not an accident

LifeIs TooShort2

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Just tax it privately. Its more expensive but that's not an accident

It really depends what county you are in. Where I am they are strict, I'm told that it's is no problem in Limerick or Dublin.

I had absolutely no luck ringing insurance companies and getting private insurance. 3-4 told me they don't do it period.

It's amazing stupid stuff. I had to go as far as changing the ownership of the van.

Note, you can't modify the vehicle (window etc) as this would invalidate your insurance but that okay for me, it's not on the road as I convert it.

beveragelady

LifeIs TooShort2 wrote: »

It really depends what county you are in. Where I am they are strict, I'm told that it's is no problem in Limerick or Dublin.

I had absolutely no luck ringing insurance companies and getting private insurance. 3-4 told me they don't do it period.

It's amazing stupid stuff. I had to go as far as changing the ownership of the van.

Note, you can't modify the vehicle (window etc) as this would invalidate your insurance but that okay for me, it's not on the road as I convert it.

Nope again.
The law applies country-wide. The law is the law. It is possible to tax a van privately. It is more expensive than taxing a van commercially, but not crazy expensive. I know of a number of people in different parts of the country doing exactly this.
I'm insured as a private van, for a price that is slightly more than I was paying when I had a car, but again, not much. I've been insured with two different companies since I switched to vans, and though it has become more difficult to find an insurer in the last five years, it's still possible. I'm with Allianz at the moment.

I know this isn't the purpose of this thread, but it's relevant to the OPs post and for some reason there are a lot of people who are very quick to misinform, telling others that it's impossible to drive a van privately.

LifeIs TooShort2

beveragelady wrote: »

Nope again.
The law applies country-wide. The law is the law. It is possible to tax a van privately. It is more expensive than taxing a van commercially, but not crazy expensive. I know of a number of people in different parts of the country doing exactly this.
I'm insured as a private van, for a price that is slightly more than I was paying when I had a car, but again, not much. I've been insured with two different companies since I switched to vans, and though it has become more difficult to find an insurer in the last five years, it's still possible. I'm with Allianz at the moment.

I know this isn't the purpose of this thread, but it's relevant to the OPs post and for some reason there are a lot of people who are very quick to misinform, telling others that it's impossible to drive a van privately.

You are completely wrong here, this is not the case. The standards are definitely not applied the same county wide.

Want proof? Ring the Galway tax office!