Anyone Own a Mazda Bongo Camper Conversion?

Are all the top powered or is that more unusual?

The example photos you see they appear more like just simple struts as opposed to a motorised scissor

They also dont look that sturdy, I mean do they actually stand up to a decent wind, the sorts that cause people in tents issues

My other half has been on about getting a camper and ive resisted as frankly i dont think we would use it as we have a cat so would need to keep putting her in a cattery for overnights, but these actually look appealing for even just a long day out.
 
All the pop tops i've seen are manual and have gas struts to assist like the boot of your car, they have latches usually. They're fairly easy to put up and down, and again they seem ok in the weather you just need to be careful to not put it down wet or it'll go manky quite quickly and you need to keep on top of it so it folds properly so it doesn't rip or snag as it is just essentially tent fabric.
 
pugheaven said:
Anymore piccies fella? So, why did you go for one?
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I'm afraid that other pics have got family in, so I won't share those, but ours is a complete side conversion similar to some of your earlier interior pics with fridge, 2 gas hobs, sink, plugs etc.

We had been looking at all sorts of campers for ages - it is very much a 3rd vehicle for us, to be used for days out, short camping trips etc. Ours came with the connected drive away awning, which adds loads of space if you are camping. I looked at all the usual VWs etc, but the cost was crazy, and we quite liked the idea of the Bongo size as it's as easy to drive and park as a car and it fits on the drive!

The main thing to look out for on these is rust and cooling issues. They all come over from Japan without underseal, and if not done quickly and correctly, they will rot on UK roads. I wanted the latest we could find (they stopped making them at the end of 2004 when the paint factory burned down in Japan) and without crazy mileage (ours is on 60K) and with the 2L Petrol engine as this seems to be the most robust option when it comes to cooling and head gasket issues found in some of the other engines. Manuals are very rare also, so most will be automatics.

At the end of the day, they are all old vans - ours is one of the 'newest' but is still 17 years old, so you need to be realistic! There is a very active 'Bongo' community, so plenty of help and advice is available when needed.

We've been out every weekend so far in ours since getting it and took it on a weeks holiday, and it has not missed a beat - it's just ace fun, and every trip feels a bit of an adventure!
 
djjuk said:
I'm afraid that other pics have got family in, so I won't share those, but ours is a complete side conversion similar to some of your earlier interior pics with fridge, 2 gas hobs, sink, plugs etc.

We had been looking at all sorts of campers for ages - it is very much a 3rd vehicle for us, to be used for days out, short camping trips etc. Ours came with the connected drive away awning, which adds loads of space if you are camping. I looked at all the usual VWs etc, but the cost was crazy, and we quite liked the idea of the Bongo size as it's as easy to drive and park as a car and it fits on the drive!

The main thing to look out for on these is rust and cooling issues. They all come over from Japan without underseal, and if not done quickly and correctly, they will rot on UK roads. I wanted the latest we could find (they stopped making them at the end of 2004 when the paint factory burned down in Japan) and without crazy mileage (ours is on 60K) and with the 2L Petrol engine as this seems to be the most robust option when it comes to cooling and head gasket issues found in some of the other engines. Manuals are very rare also, so most will be automatics.

At the end of the day, they are all old vans - ours is one of the 'newest' but is still 17 years old, so you need to be realistic! There is a very active 'Bongo' community, so plenty of help and advice is available when needed.

We've been out every weekend so far in ours since getting it and took it on a weeks holiday, and it has not missed a beat - it's just ace fun, and every trip feels a bit of an adventure!
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Nahh thats cool. Yep ALL your reasons are EXACTLY the same as us... neat small easily drivable and storable on our drive... something you can jump in... relatively cheap comepared to VW etc, simple mechanicals which i can do... yep reading your wants are same as me and the missus. Cheers for the info and yea heard about the engine things but that's no problem can do that stuff myself and I'll be undersealing etc with Langoguard whatever happens as I do now with my own cars.

Great to hear you're using it though... just so easy... decide friday afternoon pop away for a coupel of days... boom gone. Thats' what i want!
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
My other half has been on about getting a camper and ive resisted as frankly i dont think we would use it as we have a cat so would need to keep putting her in a cattery for overnights, but these actually look appealing for even just a long day out.
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It's a cat, she'll be fine with a big bowl of food and water down, they're not like dogs that need constant attention :p

Have been looking at these along with other similar options, but with 2 kids, sadly I think we'd need something bigger :(
 
sovietspybob said:
All the pop tops i've seen are manual and have gas struts to assist like the boot of your car, they have latches usually. They're fairly easy to put up and down, and again they seem ok in the weather you just need to be careful to not put it down wet or it'll go manky quite quickly and you need to keep on top of it so it folds properly so it doesn't rip or snag as it is just essentially tent fabric.
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Are you referring to these in particular or pop up roofs in general?

I just wondered as its seems a lot of agro and something that could be a nightmare if it went wrong if its electric.
I mean the car is jap so thats good, but if the popup is british car engineered it will probably fail repeatedly ;)

I know what you mean about manky, thats the same issue with tents, you need to air them out and make sure they are dried before being packed. Was far more of an issue when they were canvas but even modern tents will go nicely mouldy if packed away wet
 
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