Here’s a quick guide with sixteen things you should know before you buy a second-hand camper.
Owning a campervan is a dream for a lot of us, and most people will be looking to get a second-hand vehicle rather than a brand new van which they’ll convert themselves.
We’ve used our own decades of experience with buying, owning, and enjoying all sorts of campervans to help you buy the right camper for you and avoid some common mistakes.
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Things to Know Before You Go to See a Camper
Things to Check When You Go to See a Camper In Person
How to Find the Perfect Camper for You
The following steps will help you narrow down the list of potential campervans from several thousand to just several, which will make your search much easier and ensure you buy the right camper for you.
Understand How You’ll Use Your Camper
It’s really important to take a step back and think about how you want to use your campervan before you start looking, so you only check out vehicles which will actually work for you and your plans.
Here’s a few things to consider when thinking about your dream camper.
How often will you use it?
The amount that you’ll be using your campervan will have a massive impact on what to look for while you’re browsing for a second-hand camper.
You’ll probably find that owning a particularly old camper like a VW T2 Splitscreen is a lot more viable if you’re just going to be tootling around your local area and going to a few shows in the summer, but you’re more likely to want a much newer camper with all of the comfort and convenience that goes with it if you’ll be away in it for weeks at a time, all year round.
If you’re just planning to take it to a few local events each summer, you’ll have a very different set of criteria than you would if you’re planning to be away on epic road trips in your camper every weekend, or travel from the UK to Timbuktu.
Where will you be taking it?
Speaking of Timbuktu, working out exactly where you’re going to be driving and camping will also totally change the type of campervan that you need.
When thinking about where you’ll be camping, consider things like temperature, climate, road conditions, light levels, and proximity to conveniences like supermarkets, mains electricity, and fuel stations.
If you’re planning to drive to the top of Scandinavia to see the northern lights, you’ll probably want a more modern camper which can handle rough roads and cold temperatures, with strong modern headlights and a solid heating system.
On the other hand, if you just want to drive around Devon for a couple of weekends in the middle of summer, then you’ll be a lot less concerned about things like heating and headlights, and more worried about how easy your camper is to park on a high street, for example.
How far will you be driving it?
Similar to where you’re going in your camper, you’ll need to think about how far away that place actually is.
Iconic classic cars like the VW T2 Splitscreen are famously uncomfortable to drive, with a strange driving position which takes some real getting used to. On the other hand, driving a modern camper can be incredibly comfortable and help you eat up the miles with no hassle.
Other factors like fuel efficiency, road noise, reliability, suspension, cruising speed, and visibility through the windows and mirrors will also factor into your decision.
What time of year will you use it? And what weather conditions will you be using it in?
This is another factor which is easy to overlook, but if you plan on doing some off-season camping during the autumn and winter to take advantage of the lower prices and quieter campsites, then you’ll want to make sure that any campervans you look at can handle the cold, dark, and occasionally treacherous drive to and from your campsite.
Things like heating and insulation will be much more important if you plan on driving and camping in the winter, while air-conditioning and blackout curtains can be invaluable if you’ll mostly be using your campervan in the height of summer.
How many people will be camping in it?
Will it just be you sleeping in your camper? Or will it be your whole family and the dogs?
Making sure that you’ve got enough beds for the number of people you’ll be camping with is essential, especially if you all want to stay on good terms throughout your camping adventure – no one wakes up in a great mood after sleeping upright in the passenger seat!
If you’ve got your heart set on a smaller campervan, you can look at adding a drive-away awning for extra sleeping space, but you’ll need to factor in the amount of space that the awning will take up inside your vehicle while you’re packing for your trip.
Similarly, having enough seats and seat belts for the number of people who will be driving around with you is really important, too. The rules on having seatbelts in the back of vehicles which didn’t leave the factory with seatbelts may be fairly permissive, but it’s still better to have them in all seats.
Understanding Your Budget
Probably one of the biggest factors and most important things to know before buying a campervan is understanding your budget, and what you can get with it.
By taking the time to work out what you can afford to spend on your second-hand campervan, and then looking around to see what you can get for that amount of money, you’ll avoid falling in love with a fully kitted out, ultra-modern camper which you can’t afford.
You’ll also be in a better position to spot a vehicle which is unusually cheap, or surprisingly expensive, which can then help you ask questions to find out why the camper is priced that way.
Maybe the vehicle needs a lot of work doing, or perhaps its got a lot of features you hadn’t initially noticed. Understanding your budget, and what’s around in that price range is absolutely vital and can really help take the stress out of the whole process.
Assess Your Mechanical Skills
Older VW Campervans like the VW T2 Bay are incredibly reliable, but they do need work doing to them periodically to keep them that way. On the other hand, getting a new VW T6.1 means that you’re unlikely to need to do more than top up some oil or maybe replace a bulb for a long time.
Think about how much mechanical work you can realistically handle yourself. How much spare time do you have to spend tinkering with and maintaining your camper? Do you have the space to fix things if they go wrong? Have you got a full suite of all the tools you might need?
There’s no shame in saying that you don’t have the time, skills, or interest in working on a classic campervan. It’s incredibly rewarding when you’re able to fix things up and get them running right, but it’s not for everyone.
If you’re not that keen to roll up your sleeves and follow along with one of our how-to videos, then consider getting a more modern campervan, or factoring in the cost of getting any service, repair, and maintenance work done by a specialist garage. There are plenty of them around the country with decades of experience working on older campers (in fact, that’s how Just Kampers got started back in 1989!) but it’s still a cost to factor in before you start shopping.
Classic Camper or Modern Camper?
There are pros and cons to both, and it’s really down to you to decide which is right for you. Once you’ve made that decision, though, you’ll find that it cuts down a lot of potential options, and will help make your journey to buying a second-hand campervan a lot easier!
Classic campers: The good points
• They look great – you’ll turn heads, people will wave, and you’ll have a smile on your face while you’re driving
• They hold their value – you may even find that the value goes up, depending on the make, model, and year of your camper
• They’re easy to work on – because they’re simpler vehicles, you’ll generally find that you can do a lot of the work yourself
• Parts are generally really widely available – for example we’ve got tens of thousands of different parts on the shelves here at Just Kampers!
Classic campers: The not-so-good points
• They benefit from regular maintenance – if you don’t have the time, skills, or inclination to keep them on the road, a classic campervan might not be for you
• They tend to be slower – if you’re planning on travelling huge distances, you may be frustrated by the slower pace of a classic
• They’re generally smaller – this may be a problem if you plan on going away in large groups or with your whole family
Modern campers: The good points
• They’re comfortable to drive – you’ll eat up the miles in a modern camper without noticing, as they’re comfy and fast
• You won’t need to maintain them – because they’re newer vehicles, you’re unlikely to need to work on them yourself
• They’ve got modern safety features – this is especially important if you’re driving long distances and/or with your family
• They tend to be larger – you’ll have more space on the inside, so more room for sleeping/cooking/relaxing
Modern campers: The not-so-good points
• Can be more expensive to repair – if something does go wrong, you may find that the parts and labour are more expensive compared to a classic
• They’re harder to work on – you’ll likely find that doing work on a modern camper yourself requires specialist tools and equipment
• They’re not as ‘fun’ – you might disagree, or might not think it’s important, but you don’t get the same sense of fun from a modern camper that you might from a classic
Calculating the Annual Costs
You’ve probably got a pretty decent idea of what sort of camper you’re looking for now, but there’s another really important thing to factor in: the different annual costs you’ll need to pay for running your second-hand campervan.
Servicing and maintenance: This will vary depending on how old your vehicle is, how often you drive it, and other factors, but it’s well worth calculating a rough figure so it doesn’t catch you buy surprise after you buy a second-hand camper.
MOT: While a lot of classic campervans will be MOT exempt, we still recommend that you get your camper checked by an MOT centre every year, to ensure that it’s still going strong and hasn’t developed any issues that you may have missed.
Insurance: Vehicle insurance costs can vary a lot between different vehicles, so take a look at some indicative quotes for the type of camper that you’re thinking of getting and see how it compares to other types.
Unsurprisingly, we’d recommend speaking to our colleagues at Just Kampers Insurance to get an indicative quote for any camper you’re thinking of buying. If you do get your campervan cover from Just Kampers Insurance, you’ll get a 10% discount on orders from Just Kampers for the duration of your policy, which can help save you money on maintaining and customising your new camper!
Road tax: Use the GOV.UK website to check the road tax rate of the camper that you’re thinking of buying, and factor this into your decision. There’s nothing worse than getting caught out by a surprisingly expensive road tax bill!
Fuel: Look around or ask people about the fuel efficiency of the type of camper you’re looking at, or speak to the owner about it if you’re going to look at a specific campervan.
Obviously paying for fuel is just part of owning any vehicle, but the rate at which they get through fuel can vary a lot between different vehicles!
Left-hand Drive or Right-hand Drive?
This might not be an issue for you, either because you’re used to driving both or because you’re only looking at more modern vehicles which (in the UK at least) are generally all right-hand drive.
Still, a lot of people can be put off buying what would otherwise be a dream camper because it’s left-hand drive.
We’d recommend taking it for a test-drive to get used to it, but it’s really not that different at all. Some of the JK Team actually prefer driving left-hand drive vehicles in the UK, which they find easier to park and get out of.
Our advice is to at least try a left-hand drive camper before you dismiss it entirely, if that’s the only thing holding you back.
The Different Types of Camper Conversion
This is particularly relevant if you’re looking at buying a classic Volkswagen camper, but spending some time learning the differences between the different types of camper conversion can be really helpful.
Some companies, like Westfalia and Danbury, bought vans directly from Volkswagen and then converted them into campers. They did this by using a set standard interior layout, with a few different options, which means that once you understand the difference between them you’ll be able to identify which kind you like and narrow down your search.
Do You Want a Pop-Up Roof?
Some campers will have a roof which pops up to provide you with extra space while you’re parked up at your campsite.
Some will have a bed in them all the time, others can have a bed put into them, and others simply allow you to do luxurious things like stand up inside your camper!
Depending on who fitted the pop-top roof, when, and how, you might find that the roof is a massive bonus or an absolute liability.
If it was installed by a company like Westfalia, who we mentioned in the previous point about campervan conversions, then you’re unlikely to have any problems with it.
If the pop-up roof was done by a previous owner, you may want to spend more time checking that it’s been installed and sealed correctly, so that you don’t find it letting water in and ruining your interior.
A pop-up roof can be massively helpful if you’re planning on doing a lot of cooking (or standing) inside your camper, or if you need the extra space for kids to sleep, so knowing whether you want one or not can really help you narrow down your search while hunting for a second-hand campervan.
What to Check When Buying a Second-Hand Camper
The tips and advice we’ve offered so far have been geared towards helping you identify the type of campervan that you want to buy, and weigh up the pros and cons of the different options available out there.
Now we’re moving on to things you’ll want to check for while you’re looking at a second-hand camper that you’re thinking of buying. We haven’t included the more obvious things like looking for dents, etc., but have put together a few key points which are only relevant to campervans.
How To Check if the Price is Right
Now that you’ve got a solid understanding of what type of camper you’re looking for, it’s always a good idea to do a bit of homework and see what’s available on the market, what sort of price the vehicles are listed for, and what sort of price they actually sell for.
Looking through the Just Kampers Marketplace can be a great place to start, as it has a huge range of different campervans listed for sale.
Once you’ve looked at a dozen or so different adverts, you’ll have a good idea of what sort of price to expect different types of campervans to be listed for, and what sort of price they actually sell for.
You can learn the prices that different vehicles sold for by using tools like searching by ‘recently sold’ on websites like eBay – you might find that the listing price is a bit higher or lower than the price that it actually sold for, which can help you later on while you’re thinking of actually taking the plunge and buying a camper.
How to Check Gas Safety
Gas safety is a pretty important factor if the campervan that you’re looking at has a gas system which feeds a cooker, auxiliary heater, etc.
Ask who fitted the gas system, and whether it’s been checked by a registered gas engineer. You might also want to ask when it was last checked, too. It may feel embarrassing to interrogate the seller, but gas safety isn’t something to be taken lightly.
Take a look at how and where the gas is stored. Is there a gas locker? Is there a drainage hole for gas to escape from in the event of a leak? Are there straps in place to secure a gas bottle? Does the camper have a carbon monoxide alarm?
Check the gas hoses. Are they damaged at all? Are the ends properly secured to the appliances and regulator? This may be less of a concern, as gas hose and clips are easy enough to replace, but it’s still really important that you identify a problem if there is one.
If the gas system looks like it’s been bodged together, or uses the incorrect parts, or doesn’t have safety elements like a gas storage locker or a drainage hole, then you might want to avoid the vehicle entirely. None of these things are impossible to replace or install, but it will take time and money to do so.
How to Check Water Safety
Less immediately dangerous to you, but still a potential hazard to the overall condition of your vehicle, is the way that water has been plumbed in to the camper (if it has at all).
Be aware of any signs of leaks or drips, like water stains, damp patches, or swollen wood on cupboards/kitchen units where water has leaked.
You should also ask who installed the water system, when it was done, and when it was last checked. If water has been leaking inside the camper then you may find that metalwork has become corroded, or that kitchen units will need to be replaced because they’ve been damaged by the water.
It's also important to check that the different components of the water system are in good condition, so that your water tank isn't leaking water from underneath your vehicle.
How to Check Electrical Safety
Another area to check over is the electrical system which is much more commonly found in modern campers than classics.
Many campervans will have a secondary electrical system, which is powered by a leisure battery, to feed things like fridges and lighting.
As with the gas system and plumbing, you’ll want to check when and how the electrical system was installed in the camper, and test that it’s all working as it should be.
Depending on the scope of the electrical system and the accessories wired into it, you’ll want to check things like the battery size, what battery protection features are in place, and how the leisure battery is charged – does it draw power from 240 volt mains sockets, or is there a solar panel on the roof?
Faulty wiring, broken plugs/switches, or exposed wires are all cause for concern. While they’re not necessarily impossible to replace, you’ll often find that the wiring is located behind the cupboard units or even behind the ply lining which lines your vehicles walls, which can be a pain to replace.
How to Check for Rust and Corrosion
A problem which affects classic campervans much more than modern campers is rust and corrosion to the bodywork.
Since some of these campers are over 70 years old, they’ve potentially had a long time for rust to set in and eat away at them. We’ve all heard the horror stories about people who’ve bought an old camper only to find that a little patch of surface rust was just the tip of the iceberg and they needed to hack away huge amounts of the body to get rid of all of the corrosion.
We’ve got a series of helpful vehicle buyers guides which list out the different problem areas on a range of VW campervans, which we’d recommend arming yourself with before you head off to see a camper in person.
Click here to view our full range of vehicle buyers’ guides.
It’s also a good idea to take a torch with you, and possibly something to lay on if you’re concerned about getting dirty, as you’ll likely end up on the floor to check the condition of the underside of the vehicle.
Don’t go poking holes through the metalwork or anything, but definitely do check the condition of key areas like the jacking points, around the windows, and around the wheel arches.
How to Check for Leaky Seals
In some cases, you might find that the window seals on the camper you’re looking at purchasing are leaking, and allowing water into the vehicle.
This is an issue which is more likely to occur with older campers than newer ones, but is always worth checking.
The windscreen seals tend to be particularly susceptible to leaking on some older models of VW Camper, in part because the metalwork around the windscreen can become corroded over time, meaning that the seal no longer fits snugly between the glass and the metal.
Check the condition of the seals, paying particular attention for any signs of cracks, breaks, or tears which may let water in – or may become more cracked, broken, or torn in the future and start to let water in!
Look for patches of damp on the inside of the vehicle, or even small pools of water if it’s raining while you’re looking at the camper. Stains for water on the inside of the vehicle beneath the windows can be a tell-tale sign, too.
Again, seals aren’t impossible to replace, but it can be an awkward job which requires some experience to do both quickly and correctly, and so a lot of people will take their camper to a specialist garage to get things like window seals replaced.
The seals themselves aren’t hard to find, and we’ve got a full range of different seals for different windows in different campervans on the shelves here at JK HQ. It might be worth taking a look at what seals are available and how much they’ll cost, if you’re concerned about any of the window seals on a camper you’re looking at buying – it might turn out that replacements are pretty cheap, or that they’re more than you’d want to spend on top of purchasing a new camper, but either way it can help inform your decision.
How to Check Vehicle History
There’s some important homework you can do when looking at a second-hand camper that you might want to buy, without having to leave the sofa!
Using the GOV.uk website, you can check the camper’s number plate online and pull up its MOT history, which will show any past failures or advisories, and when the next MOT is due.
If the campervan got advisories on its last MOT, and the next MOT is due soon, then you’ll want to ask the seller whether those issues have been fixed.
Similarly, you can request the vehicle’s VIN and use one of the available websites to confirm whether the vehicle has the correct VIN. If it doesn’t, you should proceed with extreme caution as this may point to a potentially stolen vehicle, or some other dodgy element from the vehicle’s past.
If you can’t get the VIN from the seller, you can check it yourself when you go to see the camper, and then check that it’s correct later on.
How to Spot a Potential Scam
Unfortunately, given how popular campervans are, and how much they can change hands for, it’s not uncommon to spot an advert for a campervan which turns out to be a scam.
While we do our very best to check each and every advert before it’s approved to go onto our Just Kampers Marketplace to try to ensure it’s a legitimate advert, not every website or magazine will be able to do the same.
As with so many things, the old adage that ‘if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ very much holds up when you’re looking at buying a camper.
Spotting a scam: Don’t buy anything you haven’t seen
The first piece of advice we’d offer is to never buy a vehicle which you haven’t seen in person yourself. It’s always best to have a proper look around a camper before you buy it, checking the exterior, interior, and underside of the vehicle and taking it for a test drive, before you part with any money.
Insisting on viewing the vehicle in person is a great way to weed out potential scams, as scammers won’t want you to find out that they either don’t really have a camper to sell, or that there’s something seriously wrong with it.
If the camper you’re interested in looks like your dream vehicle, but it’s a really long way away, it might be worth asking someone you know and trust in the area whether they’d view it on your behalf.
Spotting a scam: Pricing
One of the first things that most of us will check while we’re browsing around for a camper is the price it’s listed at. If it’s lower than you’d expect, this may be a cause for concern for one of two reasons.
Firstly, it might be a scam advert. Someone may have listed a campervan at a price which is too good to pass up, with no intention of actually handing over a camper once the payment has been made – possibly because the camper doesn’t exist!
Luckily this sort of scam is pretty uncommon these days, as people have become savvier and more cautious while making such a big purchase, but that doesn’t stop some people from trying!
Secondly, the camper you’re looking at may be unusually cheap because it needs a lot of work doing to it. You’ll often find this stated pretty openly in the written description of the campervan’s advert. It seems fairly common that people plan to undertake a restoration on a campervan, especially a classic camper, only for life to get in the way and the project to grind to a halt. Life does tend to get in the way of things like this!
In some cases, this can be a great way for you to pick up a relatively cheap campervan, if you’ve got the time, tools, skills, and desire to finish off the work yourself. Often in these cases the seller will include a load of parts which they were planning to use, but never got around to fitting for one reason or another.
You’ll likely find that the owner is more than happy to explain what they intended to do with the camper, what work it needs, and what parts (if any) they already have for it. Ask them about it while you’re speaking to them before going to view the vehicle (if you think it’s worth viewing) and have a chat about it while you’re there.
Spotting a scam: Photos
A picture if worth a thousand words, and sometimes the pictures supplied with an ad for a campervan just say ‘warning’ a thousand times!
In most cases, someone listing a camper for sale who intends to scam the buyer won’t actually have access to a campervan in the first place, so they’ll probably end up taking photos they find on the internet to use in their advert listing.
Do the pictures look like they’ve been cropped strangely? They might have cut a watermark or other information off someone else’s photo.
What comes up if you search the images on a search engine? Google and other websites will let you search for the source of a photo, which can be a great help in finding out if the advert for the camper you’re looking at is using photos taken from the internet.
Spotting a scam: Asking for personal details
There’s no real reason that someone looking to sell their campervan would need to know or ask about your personal data, passwords, PIN, or banking details.
If they do start asking for this information, don’t give the information over, stop communicating with them, and consider reporting them to the organisation which is hosting their advert (whether that be eBay, Facebook, or us here at Just Kampers if you saw the ad on our Just Kampers Marketplace) to have it taken down if you feel that it’s a scam.
Spotting a scam: Deposits
Another tactic used by people looking to scam potential campervan buyers is called advanced-free fraud, where they’ll try to get you to make a large payment upfront, and then never actually deliver anything.
They may want you to put down a deposit before they’ll arrange a viewing of the vehicle, or ask you to pay for half of the total price because they’ve got so many people looking at the camper (or so they claim, at least!), or some other tactic.
There’s really no need for you to pay someone for the privilege of coming to look at a vehicle they’re intending to sell, and no reason for you to pay a large deposit before you’ve seen the vehicle at all.
If a seller is pushing you to part with money for a camper you haven’t seen in-person yet, then it’s likely to be a scam, and you could stop communicating with the seller.
Spotting a scam: Middle-men
You may encounter a seller who’s listing a campervan to sell on someone else’s behalf, or at least claims to be. Maybe it’s an elderly relative, or someone who’s had to go overseas, or a similar set-up, but you’ll sometimes find that this is a setup used as an excuse as to why the seller doesn’t seem to be able to answer any questions about the campervan.
Sure, there might genuinely be some people who are trying to sell their nan’s beloved camper and don’t know the difference between an ‘early’ or ‘late’ VW T2 Bay, but there are also people who are trying to scam you and can’t answer questions about the vehicle because it doesn’t exist, or they don’t really own it because it’s stolen.
If someone can’t answer your questions but is actively trying to help, by sending what information they have or taking extra photos, that’s usually a good sign, but if they brush off your questions and try to push you to do something like pay a deposit so you can come and view the vehicle yourself, that should set alarm bells ringing.
Spotting a scam: Independent inspections
There’s no shame in admitting that you don’t know everything there is to know about campervans – especially if you haven’t owned one before! Luckily, groups like the AA or RAC offer independent vehicle inspections, which you can arrange with them and the seller before buying the camper, so that you can be advised of any potential issues before you purchase the campervan.
It's possible that some sellers might think this is rude, as if you’re questioning whether their beloved campervan is about to fall apart, but they’ll probably be fine with it if you explain that you don’t know much about campers and want an expert eye cast over it.
On the other hand, a scammer is likely to either stop replying to your messages, or make excuses about why they can’t arrange a time for the independent inspection, because it would reveal that they don’t own a camper in the first place, that the camper they have has been stolen, or that it requires a lot more work doing than they’d said.
These independent inspections do cost money, but they can also save you a massive amount of money by spotting potential issues or scams.
Campervan Buyers’ Guides from Just Kampers
We understand that buying a campervan can be hugely exciting, while also being a bit confusing and scary! That’s why we’ve put together a series of comprehensive campervan buyers’ guides, which will help you to understand the potential issues you might encounter with different types of camper, how to check for them, and how serious of an issue they are.
Each one has a little checklist which you can print out and take with you, so you can focus on inspecting the vehicle rather than trying to remember exactly what you need to check and where it is.
Watch JK's Video Buyers Guides
We've put together a few helpful video guides to walk you through some of the things to consider while you're thinking of buying a second-hand campervan. There are new videos being added to our YouTube channel all the time, so we'll keep updating this page with the latest relevant videos as we create them!
In Summary
Hopefully you’ve found this list of 16 things to know before buying a second-hand campervan to be useful, rather than intimidating, and you feel ready to get out there, scroll through some listings and check out some campers in person.
The Just Kampers Marketplace is a good place to start your hunt for a second-hand campervan, especially once you've got a good idea of what sort of camper you're after.
You’ll find loads more helpful guides here at Just Kampers, as well as how-to videos on YouTube, which will help you through every stage of buying, working on, and enjoying a campervan.
