Toyota Alphard Camper - BOUGHT & EXCITED -

mrgubby · 15 Jul 2022 at 15:54

My neighbour is on his 2nd camper in two years, thanks to the lack of toilet his wife has spent only one night in it.

I still can't decide if he's a genius or not

Hades · 15 Jul 2022 at 16:30

Very nice indeed.

Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur
Of what is known as
(Vanlife)

pugheaven · 15 Jul 2022 at 16:54

Cheers guys yeah... can't wait to physically get hands on it and give it my usual detail... all the outside interior and engine bay... I can't stand dirty engine bays lol

Rroff · 15 Jul 2022 at 17:06

Love it - though based on my experience, which I'm not sure if applies or not here, I'd have gone for 17 or 18 inch wheels with more rubber overs 19s. Obviously it is all somewhat relative to the vehicle. (I kind of learnt it the hard way :cry:

over a range of vehicles so wouldn't consider myself an expert on what might or might not apply for you).

Hades · 15 Jul 2022 at 17:09

That Beetle in the first pic is epic.

mid_gen · 16 Jul 2022 at 08:09

Niiice

Best colour too.... I assume its the same pearlescent white as mine?

Just go back last night from an overnight in Ogwen Valley, had people asking about the van again, which happens a fair bit. So much better looking than the VWs

Reminded me I need to get my underseal done before winter!

pugheaven · 16 Jul 2022 at 10:53

mid_gen said:
Niiice Best colour too.... I assume its the same pearlescent white as mine?

Just go back last night from an overnight in Ogwen Valley, had people asking about the van again, which happens a fair bit. So much better looking than the VWs

Reminded me I need to get my underseal done before winter!

Yep like a pearlescent white it is, beauitiful colour or it will be once I've finished with it hahaha. Yep 100% look so much more expensive from the outside than the VW's imho... just 24 hours until pickup :-)

And yeah, I'll be blasting this whole thing off this week and then Lanoguarding the whole underside of it pal... use Lanoguard it's the best trust me!

~Divine~Wind~ · 16 Jul 2022 at 14:56

Uther said:
Nice looking camper! What's the mpg like?

When I was looking at these some were claiming 11! :eek:

Must say I do like these

And that was standard setup without the additional weight of the living install.

As above I'd not go over 18"s tbh, not only for the access routes you may need to use but also because of the tyre price
Its the one thing I missed on the Kodiaq I bought, probably be cheaper to buy a set of18's with tyres than replace the 19" tyres lol

mid_gen · 16 Jul 2022 at 17:51

~Divine~Wind~ said:
When I was looking at these some were claiming 11!

I've just got 350 miles off a tank, so around 22mpg, on a motorway run. I don't use it for commuting obviously, but it's not too bad cruising at 60.

dacads · 16 Jul 2022 at 18:14

Very exciting this.. something so cool and quirky about these Japaness MPVs , I think that's what they're called?

I've been looking at the Nissan Elgrand, the 3.5 variant is the same engine as used in the 350z!

Rroff · 16 Jul 2022 at 18:24

dacads said:
I've been looking at the Nissan Elgrand, the 3.5 variant is the same engine as used in the 350z!

Shame they never did one with the V9X and 370Z transmission like my truck - I'd have been tempted to get one.

adam cool dude · 16 Jul 2022 at 18:42

We have been looking into the Vellfire ourselves. Not a full on a camper though. We just want something nice that we can tour Europe/England in.

These represent far much better VFM than transporters and have 4wd and much more powerful engines too!

pugheaven · 16 Jul 2022 at 21:50

Well, I pick up tomorrow (Sunday 17th) at 12pm... can't wait and my new wheels came today... gonna be some work done this week... detailing, changings dics and pads, new rims... engine bay detailed etc... all my usual stuff!!! Tomorrow afternoon I'll be a busy man! Then I'll be draining diff fluids and transmission fluids to make sure it's all done and dusted, probably change spark plugs will check them first!

Axeboy · 17 Jul 2022 at 10:11

Love it. Always a fan of imports and vans

Ive been eyeballing vans like these but most of them are a bit too small so think ill be going Hiace Grandcabin or similar.

These seem to be replacing the Bongo as the camper of choice since the Bongos are getting on a bit

pugheaven · 17 Jul 2022 at 10:28

Axeboy said:
Love it. Always a fan of imports and vans

Ive been eyeballing vans like these but most of them are a bit too small so think ill be going Hiace Grandcabin or similar.

These seem to be replacing the Bongo as the camper of choice since the Bongos are getting on a bit

Yeah I originally was looking for a bongo BUT just too small, plus overheating and rust problems now... just didn't click where'as this thing it bigger, more reliable, ZERO rust etc... I mean it's Toyota.. it's built properly... so went for this plus I think they actually look for an MPV very nice... really nice infact especially once I've slapped some decent wheels on this week :-)

Pick up in half an hour... I never thought I'd be exciuted over an MPV hahaha

pugheaven · 18 Jul 2022 at 01:54

Well all picked up and slapped on the drive... it was 30C today so the next 4.5 hours was a serious slog!

Realised just how much mud and crap was in the arches and underneath, obviously been in a field... took 1.5 hours to get it all out so I could see the undersealing etc... tough one that.
Washed it all down but couldn't do a tcut or a wax due to burning sun, so washed only.
The engine bay was filthy and dusty but I hate dirty engines so gave a little TLC here, not my best work but all better than what came..
Realised just how yellow all the front lights were from the plastic so, TCut those 5 minutes on each one, you can see in one of the pics below just how much cleaner/clearer it is... look at the drivers side yellow compared to the clearer passenger side...
Quickly detailed the dash and floors etc... as were covered in dust and previous owners crap...

So, Tuesday new tyres (Avon ZV7,s in 245/40/19) come for the alloys (19's) which arrived on Saturday... that'll be a godsend as these are properly tragic looking wheels. Brake discs and pads all come this week... so, should be a lot nicer. That front bumper has ot be fixed and resprayed which is a bummer but it is what it is!

Hades · 18 Jul 2022 at 09:01

The new alloys do look good. But in all hoesty I'd be keeping the originals on there. You may be driving up some rough places to get to campsites so I'd rather scrape the cheap wheels than put pretty new alloys on it. You'll also quickly get tired of cleaning spoked alloys on a vehicle that's going to get pretty dirty.

jpaul · 18 Jul 2022 at 09:10

Nice - (new/cleaned?) Battery seems close to the engine - do we get to hear it's V6 goodness.

In the current heat ... does the A/C/hvac need a recharge, or filters.

pugheaven · 18 Jul 2022 at 09:24

jpaul said:
Nice - (new/cleaned?) Battery seems close to the engine - do we get to hear it's V6 goodness.

In the current heat ... does the A/C/hvac need a recharge, or filters.

Think they'd put a new battery on, it's been cleaned but does look newish. As for AC, yeah had it on yesterday driving home in 30C and it was ice cold. Filter done and changed, the only thing I need to look at is the cambelt... there is no record of this being done so... it must've been done but not willing to take the chance so it'll be coming off!

pugheaven · 18 Jul 2022 at 09:25

Hades said:
The new alloys do look good. But in all hoesty I'd be keeping the originals on there. You may be driving up some rough places to get to campsites so I'd rather scrape the cheap wheels than put pretty new alloys on it. You'll also quickly get tired of cleaning spoked alloys on a vehicle that's going to get pretty dirty.

I can't mate they look so bad and I'm not refurbing those, they're diamond cut as well so, end up just looking gash anyway... OFF OFF OFF :-)

Toyota Alphard Camper - BOUGHT & EXCITED -

Can't type for toffee