LDV Vans Experiences and Caravan/camper van advice sought.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › LDV Vans Experiences and Caravan/camper van advice sought.

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MikeB4

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#2474905 1-May-2020 16:51

After some comments about my disability and handling a caravan we have thought more about this and decided a caravan would not be the best idea as it would leave the heavy lifting and moving (water tanks etc) and manually manoeuvring

of the caravan on the pitch to my wife which is not good. She can certainly tow one as she will tow anything or drive anything.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Scott3

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#2475040 2-May-2020 00:45

MartinGZ:

@Scott3

I knew of the Fortuner, but had totally missed the fact that it is diesel. Ideal for lighter caravans.The RAv4 does have a reputation for being a bit thirsty.

However it is too light for most of the heavy NZ and Oz caravans. My 19' has an ATM of 2755 kg, so in theory the Fortuner could run it. Personally I'd advise against running near the towing capacity of a vehicle, it's much better to allow for a performance and longevity margin (I use a Ranger). Other caravans in the Jayco range will hit the ATM 3475 kg range, hence my general comment about it's viability for these types of caravans. You will often see these large caravans being towed by Prados - illegally.

I knew that the Aussie caravans were heavy, but hadn't grasped how heavy. I thought the likes of 19 Footers (probiably consider medium caravans) would comfortably come in under the 2500kg loaded. (Under that weight override brakes are fine).

While best to stick within manufacturer limits, For light vehicles it is generally accepted that it is not illegal to exceed them in NZ (other requirements like minimum stopping distances need to be met still). This is how the likes of the Nissan Leaf (with towing not recommended by Nissan) are able to be used for (very light) towing, and differs from many other countries.

MikeB4:

After some comments about my disability and handling a caravan we have thought more about this and decided a caravan would not be the best idea as it would leave the heavy lifting and moving (water tanks etc) and manually manoeuvring

of the caravan on the pitch to my wife which is not good. She can certainly tow one as she will tow anything or drive anything.

Caravan's are popular with older people, so I wouldn't expect it to be too physically onerous.

Moving them by hand is pretty much off the cards for a single person on anything but a very hard, flat surface. Motorized jockey wheels are available if you need to move it into a spot where you you can't put it with the tow vehicle at home.

Tanks generally seem to have wheels, with the idea that you only lift them empty. (i.e. wheel the grey water to the dump site at the campground, and empty it before lifting it.). 45L seems common, not a weight that many people would be happy lifting full. That said, it seems like a caravan with fixed water & grey tanks would suit your need better.

It seems cassette toilets are now pretty much standard on both caravan's and camper-vans (for all but the biggest Camper van's). These hold about 20L, and have wheels, but need to be lifted to load / unload and to empty / rinse. They fill up pretty quick if you use it all the time too.

Regarding the images of the van's the rental van I had last was very similar to the bottom image you posted (it was this 7.0m one https://www.wilderness.co.nz/motorhomes/cruise-4). Certainly a big step up from the one I rented for trips years ago. Different brand, but basically identical to this: https://www.happycampers.co.nz/campervans/happy-2-st/

The LDV one in the image is built in NZ, where the Fiat one is built in Germany. Note the door on the wrong side of the fiat. (Not such a big deal, as you can exit via the left door in the cab if traffic is unsafe)

My grandparents are on their second Euro built Fiat based camper, very similar in appearance to what you posted (and before they had a transit like the happy 2 ST above) - They love it a lot. This size of camper-van just squeezes in under 3500kg fully loaded, which means you only need a WOF (not harder COF), and your get a 110km max speed limit.

MikeB4

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#2475146 2-May-2020 10:44

Roll on Alert level 2 so we can get out and look at and get the feel of some vans.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

dman

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#2499877 6-Jun-2020 21:38

MikeB4:

Yikes, not flash at all. It would seem that LDV are keeping inline with British cars of 70's where rust was always and extra and as the ads use to the "rust never sleeps". Strike LDV off the list.

Remember there are two kinds of LDV vans:

1) the British LDV vans before the company went bust

2) the newer vans made by the Chinese company which owns the brand name now

Almost all the LDV vans on the road in NZ would be in the 2nd Category I assume. (including 100% of those LDV campervans in NZ)

So when hitting up google to research the history of LDV vans, be careful to know which one the user reviews you're reading about are referring to.

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

dman

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#2499922 6-Jun-2020 21:53

Scott3:

MartinGZ:

Yes, but the mainstream rental companies are not looking at longevity. They want the most return on their investment and although I don't know, I'd suggest that by 5 years the van would be flicked on. Generally you are not going to see big issues especially rust problems in 5 years. Private buyers have very different criteria.

True, but they do still care about resale.

A camper of the type about would run around $120k-$130k+ new. That's a $40k vehicle to base it on, and $80k of "house" and camper-van stuff on the back. Base vehicle is the cheaper bit of the build... If the base vehicle hits end of life too soon, the investment in the shell is wasted. No rental company wants to dispose of camper vans super-cheap because they vehicle they are based on has a short life expectancy.

Good point, and I agree, the fact that dozens and dozens of camper vans (I think just THL alone did over a hundred?) have been based upon the LDV V80 is a big vote in favor of its reliability / long term value.

You don't spend all that money on building it out if the bones are not solid!

However, I did just want to also mention that LDV themselves do now (only just now! Brand new offering, with the 2020 model being their first) offer their own campervan (no need to buy a V80 then custom built it out), for much less than $120K. The LDV RV80:
https://ldvmaxus.co.nz/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Brhcs_eevY

https://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/editorial/details/chinese-ldv-motorhome-by-2020-113458/

Three versions, factory built by LDV, starting from $62,990

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding

Scott3

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#2499952 7-Jun-2020 01:21

Thanks for posting the link to the RV80. I had no idea LDV were doing factor built campervan's.

OP was looking at coachbuilt (box on the back) campervan's, so that was what my $120k estimate was for. Will be intersting to see the pricebuilt of the coachbuilt factor LDV in the aussie link.

Note that NZ has a 10% tariff (I think) on imported caravans, this is how NZ built campervans have been able to compete against the big name stuff from overseas.

Regarding the two van style campervan's, the price point is sharp, and I find the van's themselves quite interesting. The vary a lot for NZ from NZ designs.

Of particular interest:

Generally high level of factory fit-out, TV, 230v aircon, awning etc...
Large 1200W inverter
No gas. - single cooker is electric induction. - will be interesting to see if this is sized small enough so the inverter can run it or if it runs direct from DC (my induction cooker at home does 2.1kw per element with a time limited boost to 3.7kW) - If so probiably would want to run the engine when cooking, even 1200W is 100A @12v which is would be quite taxing on the house battery. Would suck if it needed to be plugged into power
Small grey water capacity, but good clean water capacity on LWB model
It is not mentioned if the webasto water heater sytem (diesel I assume) also does space heating
Looks like it has Heating and & conditioning (dependent on running engine) in the back of the van as well as the cab. Factory passenger vans typically have this, but converted campervan's typically do not.
Longitudinal beds. - could be a big issue in NZ. Interior width of the cargo van is listed at 1.8M, generally the insulation / interior cladding in camper-vans cuts further into this width. Could be a major issue for somebody my hight.

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lxsw20

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#2499956 7-Jun-2020 05:05

dman:

MikeB4:

Yikes, not flash at all. It would seem that LDV are keeping inline with British cars of 70's where rust was always and extra and as the ads use to the "rust never sleeps". Strike LDV off the list.

Remember there are two kinds of LDV vans:

1) the British LDV vans before the company went bust

2) the newer vans made by the Chinese company which owns the brand name now

Almost all the LDV vans on the road in NZ would be in the 2nd Category I assume. (including 100% of those LDV campervans in NZ)

So when hitting up google to research the history of LDV vans, be careful to know which one the user reviews you're reading about are referring to.

St John had LDV/DAF up until the early 2000's in the southern region, maybe other places too, so they are out there, probably mostly private campers now.

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