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Vapour 101 camper


miketomcat

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I'd suggest yopu go out and actually drive some of the base vehicles you are thinking about. 

I had wanted a 101 since they were still being built. Got to drive one a few years ago, whislt I was helping to renovate it. What a truly awful vehicle. Two useable gears - 3rd and 4th. Hot as hell in the cab. Noisy. Appalling handling - even with 3/4 of a tonne in the back. Awful brakes, even re-built....and so uncomfortable. Useless off road as well - utterly useless. It's all stuff that can be sorted out. But why bother? You can't polish a turd - just cover it in glitter.

The Volvo is similar - more comfortable. Lovely engine. But anything more than a 20mile drive and your sanity will slip..

The Iveco Daily 4x4 is brilliant - designed for long journeys etc, good engine, good 4x4 system, easy to find spares across the known world. Avoid the 2.3 16 valve diesel.

Fitting a cummins 6bt in a 101 would make it drive like banana on ice. The engine is soooooo heavy.

The OM606, with an SD350 Pump is super frugal with more than adequate power - brilliant conversion...but expensive

Be simpler to buy a 130 and mode that up to be comfortable, realtive high cruising speed and relatively frugal. You can sleep 4 in the quadtech - even the lower hardbody. I had a client the other week, who was sleeping in the hardbody on a 60 plate Invincible - he had fitted electrically powered screw thread jacks in the the corners to lift the hard body 18" - using neoprene to fill the gap.

Long distance is about comfort for ALL the passengers and driver. It's about quite, sensible temp levels, easy and safe load storage, reliablity with simple fixing, frugality...  Just by a VW T5

 

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On 7/30/2021 at 12:54 PM, Ed Poore said:

Whilst I agree with you @Nonimouse none of this factors in the Mike factor... :hysterical:

I don't know what you mean. I had a sensible car........once, and absolutely hated it for all the reasons it was sensible and good.

But I do like the iveco apart from the most recent jelly mould version.

Mike

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On 7/30/2021 at 9:20 PM, Nonimouse said:

I had wanted a 101 since they were still being built. Got to drive one a few years ago, whislt I was helping to renovate it. What a truly awful vehicle. Two useable gears - 3rd and 4th. Hot as hell in the cab. Noisy. Appalling handling - even with 3/4 of a tonne in the back. Awful brakes, even re-built....and so uncomfortable. Useless off road as well - utterly useless. It's all stuff that can be sorted out. But why bother? You can't polish a turd - just cover it in glitter.

The Iveco Daily 4x4 is brilliant - designed for long journeys etc, good engine, good 4x4 system, easy to find spares across the known world.

Fitting a cummins 6bt in a 101 would make it drive like banana on ice. The engine is soooooo heavy.

 

 

You really have no idea what you are talking about - such opinions when you only got to drive one once a few years ago doesn't really count.  Well there are 4 gears or six with overdrive.  It is not hot as hell in the cab and I live in Aust with 40 degree summers - as l;ong as the correct insulation is in place the cab is not hot from the engine but heat can come in from the canvas - cooler than a series 3.  Not as noisy as a series 3.  Maybe the vehicle you drive did not have good shocks and the handling is quite good - certainly as good as a Series 3 - brakes are the same as a Series 3 and work fine if adjusted correctly.

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Maybe you should get one for a long term view - mine for 13 years and my other drive is a RRS and I love every minute in my 101 on or off road.

What you call exped driving we call everyday driving and the Iveco Daily has one of the worst reputations for reliability and ability in my country - they are not a good vehicle.

The Cummins in a 101 goes fine with an Allison box behind it - has been done here and is a great vehicle.

 

 

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What @garrycol said makes a fair amount of sense. I recently picked up a 4.4TDV8 L322 a few hours from home, I'd done the same drive in the 110 a few days before. Of the two I got out fresher from the 110, I was quite stiff in the Range Rover because I just sat still without moving. At least in the 110 I had to drive it as well as being bounced around a bit more.

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On 8/2/2021 at 7:55 AM, Ed Poore said:

What @garrycol said makes a fair amount of sense. I recently picked up a 4.4TDV8 L322 a few hours from home, I'd done the same drive in the 110 a few days before. Of the two I got out fresher from the 110, I was quite stiff in the Range Rover because I just sat still without moving. At least in the 110 I had to drive it as well as being bounced around a bit more.

I sat in an L322 all the way to Portugal and back, and frankly I dread to think how I'd of felt sat in my 110 doing the same mileage!

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1 minute ago, rusty_wingnut said:

I sat in an L322 all the way to Portugal and back, and frankly I dread to think how I'd of felt sat in my 110 doing the same mileage!

To be fair my 110 isn't that standard anymore. A fair chunk of sound proofing and seats from a 2004 L322 so they are more comfortable than my 2011 L322 seats. Once the V8 goes in it'll be more comparable.

Longest journey I've done is Marseilles to Pembrokeshire in one hit stopping only for fuel and ferry.

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Probably best to point out I've done Southampton to Narvik (Norway) and Southampton to sliven (Bulgaria) and back both in sub zero temperature in my tomcat (no sound deadening or insulation). I've also done Southampton to st Petersburg and back in a 90. I daily the ibex and regularly go to the Hebrides in it. So comfortable quiet vehicles aren't really my thing. :hysterical:

Mike

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1 hour ago, miketomcat said:

Probably best to point out I've done Southampton to Narvik (Norway) and Southampton to sliven (Bulgaria) and back both in sub zero temperature in my tomcat (no sound deadening or insulation). I've also done Southampton to st Petersburg and back in a 90. I daily the ibex and regularly go to the Hebrides in it. So comfortable quiet vehicles aren't really my thing. :hysterical:

Mike

Plus you like minis, fibreglass ones at that !

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2 hours ago, Anderzander said:

@miketomcatNext time you are on your way to the Hebrides, call in 😊

Definitely where are you, we normally drive through the night to loch Lomond ish, grab a couple of hours kip then on up to uig and the ferry. Back down is normally an early ferry the drive till home. I doubt we'll make it up there this year though.

1 hour ago, Bowie69 said:

Plus you like minis, fibreglass ones at that !

I may have had one or two and driven all over Europe in them. :im-ok-smiley-emoticon:

I think my sickness is incurable. :stretcher-smiley-emoticon:

Mike

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On 8/4/2021 at 1:48 PM, rusty_wingnut said:

I sat in an L322 all the way to Portugal and back, and frankly I dread to think how I'd of felt sat in my 110 doing the same mileage!

Honestly I've found Defenders/Series with halfway decent seats (as in, not basic vinyl and not knackered) are absolutely fine on long journeys, I guess the seating position helps.

The 109 has refurbed Defender seats in it and I drove that to Russia and back, and the 127 has stock Puma seats and we drive that up Norway to the Arctic circle and back with no complaints.

Biggest issues with Defenders/Series for me tends to be the noise level and the heavy clutch when you get caught in a long traffic jam.

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On 8/4/2021 at 6:11 PM, miketomcat said:

Definitely where are you, we normally drive through the night to loch Lomond ish, grab a couple of hours kip then on up to uig and the ferry. Back down is normally an early ferry the drive till home. I doubt we'll make it up there this year though.

I’m near Preston - so perhaps a brew stop for you.

Where do you kip at Loch Lomond ? I’m looking for a camp spot near there myself ..

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23 minutes ago, Anderzander said:

I’m near Preston - so perhaps a brew stop for you.

Where do you kip at Loch Lomond ? I’m looking for a camp spot near there myself ..

We normally pass your around 11ish on the way up, so probably best on the return.

To be honest loch Lomond is a pain now camping is either permit or campsite only from memory. We normally only crash in the car for a couple of hours in a lay-by. Our stop is purely driven by time so we've stopped anywhere from gretna to fort William depending on how much traffic we've hit.

Mike

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On the road between Calender and Aberfoyle there is a place to pitch up, just drive until your climbing the hill and out of the camping permit zone, on the right hand side from Calender there is a car park we have used many times. Also the camping zone is not expensive for the Motorhome it was only £3 per night but you will probably need to be quick for spaces regards Stephen

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2 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said:

Honestly I've found Defenders/Series with halfway decent seats (as in, not basic vinyl and not knackered) are absolutely fine on long journeys, I guess the seating position helps.

The 109 has refurbed Defender seats in it and I drove that to Russia and back, and the 127 has stock Puma seats and we drive that up Norway to the Arctic circle and back with no complaints.

Biggest issues with Defenders/Series for me tends to be the noise level and the heavy clutch when you get caught in a long traffic jam.

It's different for different people too. I've alwasy found defender seats and the seating position fine for my slightly porky 6'3" temple of a body. 

On the other hand a good friend chaged to a Merc (can't remember the model).... and was forever having a painful back after even only a 15-20min drive no matter how the seat was adjusted. Can't remember what he switched to now, but it never hurt again after that.  

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8 hours ago, landroversforever said:

It's different for different people too. I've alwasy found defender seats and the seating position fine for my slightly porky 6'3" temple of a body. 

On the other hand a good friend chaged to a Merc (can't remember the model).... and was forever having a painful back after even only a 15-20min drive no matter how the seat was adjusted. Can't remember what he switched to now, but it never hurt again after that.  

I don't find the Defender seating uncomfortable as such, it's obviously not on L322 levels though. Trouble is with the Defender, its the combo of noise, slow speed and lack of creature comforts that make it less than ideal for long distance hauling in my opinion.

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