Gutted about camper

irishguy19772

After buying a camper and getting it serviced. Now getting a list of advisories below from mechanic.

Is this going to cost me thousands.

Finding it very hard to get a welder in Clare/Limerick area to look at it

Shoog

That's a significant amount of welding and some might require you to strip out internal fittings. I would expect it to expensive and you will struggle to get anyone to take it on. Get a second opinion from a welder.

Van Doozy

Who in the right mind buys a second hand vehicle without paying for a detailed mechanical inspection? It costs what like a hundred quid? One fifty? Worth every single cent in my opinion.

I am sorry for your troubles OP and I know you didn't want to hear that, but on the off chance that there is anyone else reading this and thinking of taking the plunge, for heaven's sake get it inspected before you pay!

Even if the vehicle is sound, the inspector will surely find something you can use to knock a few bob off the price to cover his fee!

irishguy19772

Great comment. Thanks for the advice.

mikelan

Had a 93 ducato globetrotter a few years back with rotten rear floor as well. Didn't know when I bought it but I took a look under it one day and realised the entire back end could have landed out on the road if I'd hit a big enough pothole.

Anyway I stripped it out and replaced the floor easily enough with some battens and ply. It's just time if you're DIY orientated so don't get disheartened on that part at least.

Van Doozy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118901998#Comment_118901998

You're very welcome - but it was aimed moreso at newbies who are thinking of buying (there are a lot of them on the forum), so that they might avoid making the same mistake.

rustynutz

That's a tough break, it's easy to get caught out, especially in the camper market for the past couple of years, you often feel pressure to buy before someone else comes along and snaps it up. Anyway, all is not lost, try and find a garage that specialise in chassis welding, there are a few about the country I have seen advertised, a regular garage with lots of work on won't want to know.

On the rotten floor, if you are any way diy minded this is something that can be tackled yourself, it will be expensive if you have to pay someone to do it, most of the cost is labour though.

I was in a similar situation to yourself after buying my first camper, it's very disheartening to be told its rotten, I ended up fixing it all myself and gained a lot of knowledge, and it's very satisfying to complete yourself.

Good luck with it either way

CubicleDweller

How old is the van? Many of those comments should be expected on an older vehicle. I mean - "sills below the doors are starting to rust" - that's probably true of a huge percentage of vehicles on the road.

Excessive corrosion of an engine mount - if it really is excessive - sounds serious enough that it should probably be attended to. I'd get an second opinion on all of these issues, though.

As rustynutz says, the rotting floor may be diy-able, if you're at all handy. I have a 28-year-old van and had no experience at all of working on any sort of vehicle before buying it, but I've really enjoyed doing various jobs on it. Nothing major, just small jobs but it's surprising what you can do if you spend some time finding out how. Youtube is a great place for "how-to" videos, and there are many facebook groups that you can join to ask questions about camper vans.

Good luck with the van, I hope it works out well.

Still stihl waters 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058240622/gutted-about-camper

There's a guy in tulla, another in dolla near the silver mines and another in lisdoonvarna might be worth a chat with, anyone with experience in that sort of thing are well used to it unless it's fcuked entirely, all 3 have done work for me in the past and I'd highly recommend them, just be prepared to wait because they would all be very busy

irishguy19772

Thanks. Would you have any details of the guy in tulla?

irishguy19772

Still stihl waters 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118953493#Comment_118953493

Damien gibbons, Google him, he sells cars as well, been a while since I dealt with him but worth a phone call, if he can't help you he might know someone who can