Meet my £800 microcamper
I thought you might like to hear about my camper conversion as proof that motorhoming is available to all, regardless of financial status.
Last year, we sold our Romahome thinking, at 72 years old, our camper days were over. How wrong we were.
As I still needed transport, I bought a Microcar, which has a 500cc belt-driven motorcycle engine. It’s an automatic with no gears, just a lever on the dash; forward to go forward and back to go back. It’s a little bit noisy and the occasional rattle, but great fun to drive (I wanted a Citroën 2CV, but the prices are very high).
The Microcar is 2005 with 12,500 miles on the clock and is now MoT’d for 12 months.
It does around 75mpg and cost me £500 plus £190 delivery, bought unseen. My family and friends thought I had gone mad and all the jokes came about Noddy’s car, etc.
One friend asked, sneeringly, why I didn’t turn it into a campervan, which caused much laughter all round. This sent my daft Geordie brain into overdrive… what if ?
I then used the MMM tried and tested route, which is to make a list of the must haves/ don’t need or whatever.
It always works and it’s something I learnt from MMM years ago.
I now have 230V hook-up outside and inside, and I have a 12V supply inside.
Where I was lucky was the seating. Although the front seats are bench seats, the backs fold flat separately, which gives two beds. They work, as I have just been to a Northumberland site to test everything out.
I have a single-ring electric stove and a canister gas stove, both operated outside on a table, which attaches to the side of the car along with my parasol. I made a small roof rack, which carries three flat, fold-up chairs.
I also made a tether, which is on the rear bumper to hook dog leads on to stop them wandering. I bought a toilet/ changing tent, new for £20, but everything else was in my garage from our previous campervan soirées.
The costs were as follows: car £500, delivery £190, bits for hook-up/roof rack, 12V bits, table, etc, £20, toilet tent £20, inside heater (ceiling-mounted) £20, other small bits about £50.
Total £800.
Keith Thompson