Anon
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Newish member with Motorhome S
Hello folks.
I've been looking through the messages and other info on the board for
several weeks.
My better half and I had been thinking about getting a motor caravan for a few months to try our hand at a bit of touring however not having any prior experience we thought that it would be better off starting at the more 'practical end' of the market.
I've had several vauxhall cars over the years (a Viva HB and an 1800
magnum) and have done several 'upgrades'like high compression heads and overdrive units, and I quite like the engineering design of the sloping engine.
So we were looking for a Bedford coachbuilt, post 1982 with a petrol
engine, with possibly a lpg conversion.
Anyway, found such a beast on ebay,a 1983 Motorhome S, 2.3 engine petrol with an LPG conversion 100 litre tank and bought it for £2400.
Buying something on ebay requires a bit of trust between the parties but I asked some questions of the seller and also talked to him over the 'phone, and was comfortable with the deal, paid half immediately to show good faith and the balance on collection.
Fetched the camper from Manchester last weekend and drove it 250 miles to south coast.
Had no problems during the journey ( the occasional burp from the engine ) but got around 20mpg, cruised around 50-55mph against a slightly blustery sw wind and even touched 70 at times on the last lap travelling east on the M27 with a tailwind.
Didn't lose water, get hot, burn any oil or jump any gears.
So far so good, had a look underside and the chassis looks fair and the under body ok, there is some corrosion in the cavity between front wings and the inner wings, but can be dealt with.
Generally needs tidying ( the internal trim) and replacing all trim screws with stainless they are cheap enough these days.
The motorhome is fitted with a fairly recent anti theft alarm but the wiring needs tidying, grommets fitting. Generally the wiring is not up to engineering standard to will be upgraded.
The reason for a post 1982 Bedford was the facility to remove the whole front with the vehicle on axle stands and to the drop the whole engine, gearbox and cross member then wheel the whole lot away like a wheel barrow.
At my age don't fancy lying on my back mauling gearboxes and the like.
I want to convert from a 4speed manual to a 3speed auto box so will post a wanted advert for an autobox, impeller flexiplate and all the other peripheral bits so I will need to find someone breaking a vehicle.
Converting to auto will also force a conversion to disc brakes as the
front brakes have to do much more work.
Finally quite like the idea of PAS.
This motorhome was first registered I think in Hampshire and was supplied by Dorset and Hampshire Caravans, also spent some time in Wales ( AA badge with a welsh dragon) before moving to Manchester area so if anyone knows of the vans history perhaps they could let me know (the reg no is CPR 748Y)
Bit of a long intro but cheers everyone.
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