Choosing a van for vanlife (saving you time, money and stress)

Living in a van for?Hopefully this video will help you to choose the right van, the vans I talk about in this video are; the Mercedes Sprinter, the Ford Transit MK8 and the Fiat Ducato which is also known as the Citroen Relay, Peugeot boxer and Vauxhall Movano.
Unfortunately the video has been cut short when uploading however, not so much that it takes away from any of the tips! All details you need are listed below, hope the info helps! See you next time.
Internal load dimensions for the high roof models
Sprinter width: 1780mm
Sprinter height: 1940mm
Transit width: 1784mm
Transit Height: 2025mm
This one's MASSIVE
Ducato Width: 2172mm
Ducato height: 1870mm
We all know Sprinter vans are a popular choice for van life in North america but does that mean they're the best choice for vanlife in europe?
When deciding on which van you want to use for your van conversion it can be tough trying to decide which one you want to go with, van’s aren’t made in the same way as cars, most light commercial vehicles are of a similar standard, throughout the years Mercedes has released some amazing engines which have given them such a good reputation in the space however not all engines are equal.
In this video I wanted to help give you an insight as a mechanic into which ones are the best vehicles, in my opinion the Fiat Ducato body wins every time for it’s under floor storage and load bay dimensions, the walls in the Ducato models are also straighter than the other models making van building in them a lot easier.
You can check MOT history on any UK vehicle here for FREE: www.gov.uk/check-mot-history do not go paying third party sites to carry out MOT history checks!!
I am not affiliated with any of these companies, they’re sites I’ve found on google to share with you!
If you’re looking to carry out HPI checks on vehicles you’re going to see then you can find services such as:
www.mycarcheck.com/
www.hpi.co.uk/
totalcarcheck.co.uk/
If you’re buying your first van to covert into a camper and you’re worried about buying something that may have been in an accident then I can highly recommend using companies such as the RAC for their Gold Standard vehicle check, they will give the vehicle a complete inspection, test drive and can check the vehicle to see how much body filler exists in the panels. The checks are not cheap however I have seen camper vans with major structural damage, the owners did not care and tried to sell the vehicle, had it not been for the RAC the new owner would have parted with more than £45,000!
If you’re unsure on a vehicle and would like a second opinion you can contact me via my blog:
aboutavan.wordpress.com/contact/
Good luck finding your dream van for your van build, Adam.

[@LiamTheTerrible]

My hero ❤

[@pleasedonttellbuddha6432]

precious infos !!! thank you my dear !

[@Aboutavan]

🙏 thank you for the comment, I’m pleased it helps!

[@LuxFlyer]

Outstanding video - you've given me a definitive steer away from the Sprinter. Thanks!

[@Aboutavan]

You’re very welcome, I can’t comment on the newer sprinter from 2018 onwards as I’ve not worked on those! Glad the video helped in some way :-)

[@RustyRoseAdventures]

Great video Adam! Citroens etc are great but yes the engine is the weak point I’d say. Also you forgot iveco daily! Pretty popular especially the new one! Very informative though

[@Aboutavan]

Thanks Max, yes I agree - I wanted to keep it to 3 ;-) the Iveco is a good choice and it is getting more popular however I felt transits are still a larger choice for most! I do like the new Iveco, depending on the next layout I go with it could be my choice however I’d probably go for a 5.5T as they’re not the lightest vans as a XLWB.

[@tenners3258]

There's a reason Hiace vans are popular all over Aus,Africa,the Far East,etc. They're massively over engineered. If you're a single person , they're more than big enough. I've owned and driven vans(for work)for over 30 years ,I think your advice on checking a second hand purchase is excellent,but (happily for those who know them)you've missed out one of (if not THE )best.I
It sounds crazy but unless you're buying something under 5years old,your much,much better off with a good 20 year old than a not so good 10 yr old,as they are far more simple to fix.Always buy privately,and look for service history.If you can find a self employed sole trader, who's not a builder,(a florist would be brilliant!) then that's what you're looking for.
[ Yes,I run a 20 yr old Hiace,150,000miles,and I expect it to last at least another 10 years.]

[@JonnoDoesStuff]

Thanks! This is such a great video, I've learned an absolute ton. The vans you've listed are a little too big for what I'm after. Do you have any recommendations for anything smaller. Is the Vauxhall Vivaro a smaller Movano?

[@Aboutavan]

Hey Jonno, sorry I’ve only just seen this comment. The vivaros are nice vans, my brother has 3 of them and I find them nice to drive, economical and with they’re pretty reliable, the bodies are galvanised so don’t seem to suffer with too many rust issues, depends on the year you’re looking at, I’d avoid the 1.6d model and look for a 1.9/2.0.l variant.

[@carlsadventures2361]

I'm possibly looking at the Peugeot boxer at the end of this year I'm just wondering which is the best engine to go for out of the 2.2 or the 2.0 Hdi which one is the most reliable. ?

[@Aboutavan]

The 2.2 engine is a good engine, it has a timing chain not a belt like the newer one. Your main consideration will probably be buying a euro 6 or 7 vehicle depending on where you live and where you’re planning to go, with all of the new low emissions zones popping up a 2.0 ad blue would be the easiest. When looking I tend to see more of the 2.0 ad blue engines that have had new engines so they may be more susceptible to engine rebuilds.

[@maxinethomas9355]

Can you give me your thoughts on the Vauxhall Vivaro high top please

[@Aboutavan]

Hey maxine, what year were you looking at?

[@maxinethomas9355]

Thank you for your reply.
To be honest my budget is tight so the older the better

[@Aboutavan]

The vivaro is a niced size van, the older ones have some issues with the fuel pumps/filters, my brothers use vivaros for years and has found them to be good vehicles, I really enjoy driving them, they’re front wheel drive so have a little bit of room under the load space. Really good on fuel and very easy to park. Easy to get parts for as like the Ducato this body shape was used as the Renault traffic, Vauxhall vivaro and the Nissan Primstar.

[@Maceromi]

Which do you think is the best engine for the Citroen / Ducato/ Peugeot Boxer etc?

[@Aboutavan]

I’d avoid the more modern AdBlue 2.0 engine in those, if you look around on eBay there are so many vans at less than 100,000 either needing engine replacements or have had engine replacements. Personally I’d prefer the 2.3 fiat engine as it’s been well used by the Fiat group and is the same engine used for Ivecos which seems to have proven itself as a strong unit.

[@aaronjames0587]

can you answer my question from the last video please buddy!
👍🙏

[@Aboutavan]

Sure! Sorry I’ve been busy all day with this video 😅

[@aaronjames0587]

thanks man
another video full of great info!

[@Aboutavan]

@@aaronjames0587 thank you! Pleased to know you're enjoying the videos!

[@aaronjames0587]

@@Aboutavan I am!
this video cuts out half way through you explaining something. is there a part 2 coming or has something gone wrong lol

[@Aboutavan]

I’ve just realised it’s cut about 45 seconds off!! I’ll see if I can stitch it on, I was just saying make sure you check everything before buying it, its easier to solve faults before you’ve handed money over than trying to get dealers to try and fix stuff a few days or weeks later! You didn’t miss much 😉🙏