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Ford's old soldier of the road, the Transit has long been a favourite with camper convertors, we road test a 1987 Autohomes conversion to see what you get for your money.
Offical Campervan review 2007 - www.camperfan.co.uk
Ford Transit Autohomes conversion 1987 - £3650.00 spotted in our classifieds | 
| Ford Transit Hitop - can a 20 year old campervan still cut the mustard? We tested a nice example of Autohomes professional conversions on Britain's favourite van - the Transit, and got a pleasant surprise... | | | First Impression |  | | Walking round the camper we were pleasantly surprised with how it had weathered the years. The van looked quite funky despite it's older age, and the previous owners had looked after it well with it recently having been given a fresh 12 months MOT. Although up on miles at 92,000 on the clock, the van had obviously been well looked after, the interior fitments were all there, curtains, cushion covers and flooring all in good condition having had a recent refurb and the kitchen area in particular was immaculate for its age. | | | Layout, design and features | | | The layout of the Autohomes conversion has always been something we at camperfan have admired, and a lot of thought has gone into planning the kitchen and sleeping arrangements. Features of this model included a shower, large wardrobe, twin sinks (1 folding for rear door access), 2 swivel captain seats up front which fold flat to make 2 single or one large double bed downstairs, and a super extending tap for the sink which reached outside for washing off those sandy childrens feet! | | | On the road |  | The Ford Pinto 2.0 litre petrol started readily, and sounded remarkably sweet. In it's van guise, the well trusted 2.0 litre petrol Pinto engine is mildly tuned for torque compared to the engine fitted in Ford's cars such as the Sierra and Cortina. The carb on this model was the superior automatic twin choke version, and although not ever likely to impress in terms of outright power, it had the ability to cruise on the flat at a comfortable 60mph with a wee bit more in hand. Hills were a bit of a struggle though, and required some deft working of the gearbox. We think all campervans have a comfortable natural gate, and for most hitops of this era we'd expect the same sort of performance. Fuel consumption on campervans of this age is a touchy subject, we returned 25-29mpg over 50 miles at around 60mph, which compared to an older VW bus variant is pretty good - we've had those dip down to 18mpg under hard use. Handling the Transit at speed was a bit of a wobbly affair, we found it best to keep her rolling along at 50mph; much more and we'd be a little concerned about stopping distances. This is where a modern Transit shows the huge improvement over the years in van performance and handling. The Transit sports a 5 speed manual gearbox, and even without PAS it was easy to manvouvere. A benefit of the Transit's design is it's wonderfully tight steering lock - great for getting into tiny spaces. If space and physical size of a campervan is important to you, this short wheel base version was compact enough to fit on a standard car space in a any car park or house drive. | | | | Camping | | | With a large double bed area made up from folding down the 2 rear and 2 front seats (which handily swivel) and a sleeping area above for 2/3 children, this Autohomes conversion would be ideal for a young family. It's able to seat 4 on the move, and has 3 proper 3 point seatbelts meaning that parents with children can fit modern child seats without worry. Once at your chosen destination, the Transit was quickly in use as a day van, switching fairly easily into it's night time mode with the aid of those trusty silver bacl out screens which in this instance were tailor made for the Transit, meaning you can have complete privacy which was welcome with 2 small children aboard. | | | | Long term | | | Owning a van of this age brings with its own little joys - you need to bear in mind its age, and treat the old girl as a bit of classic now. No, we don't mean like a Bugatti, more that she'll need a fair amount of TLC over the years, but the good news is that any back street garage (here or abroad) will be able to work on Ford; parts are cheap and plentiful still. We would recommend regular use to keep her at her best - no older vehicles like being left to languish, this is an eternal problem for older campervans with batteries in particular not liking to be left unused. | | | | Value for money | | | Looking around at the papers and Ebay at present, we think the old Transit is worth a look at this price, and should be worth the same in a year if you decide you want to upgrade to a newer van. The average price for Transits in 2007 seems to be around the £2500 - £5500 mark depending on spec, mileage and condition, although do bear in mind that condition is more important at this age than mileage. If you find a higher mileage but immaculately kept Transit that's got proof of regular servicing and some history with it, snap it up. Don't always trust an older speedo with an incredibly low mileage but no old MOTs to back it up -older mileometers are notoriously easy to wind back. Just keep an eye for the dreaded red rot - get it inspected by the RAC or AA, and get it waxoyled! | | | | Camperfacts | PRICE
ON SALE IN UK
POWER
EMISSIONS (C02)
ECONOMY
LENGTH
WIDTH
HEIGHT
WHEELBASE
WEIGHT
FUEL TANK
ENGINE
GEARBOX
STEERING
BRAKES
| £3650.00
Sold on camperfan.co.uk
68bhp estimated
N/A
25-29mpg over test duration
4520mm
1817mm
1413mm
2760mm
1980kg
75 litres
2000cc 4 cylinder petrol
5 speed
Rack and pinion, no PAS
Discs all round | | Camperfeatures | BERTH
SEATBELTS
ELECTRIC
GAS
WATER | 2 + 2
2 in cabin, 2 rear
UK and continental hook up, built in plugs, master 240v trip switch
2 Calor units, 1 for hob, 1 for heater
45 litre capacity fresh water | | Official Camperfan.co.uk review - reproduction is only permitted with written consent | |
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