2006 55 ford transit 2.4 tdci motorhome

[Gollom]

Just a very tentative question before I maybe see this tomorrow in Preston

It has done 172K - how bulletproof are these engines? The place gives 3 month warranty and is not a back street operation.

Normal questions - what should I look for?

Cheers!

 

[johnkyte]

That mileage is much higher than the average for camper. Also ,I think a camper van engine works much harder than in an ordinary van You are right to be wary

Some with more knowledge will offer their opinion soon

 

[Charles Morgan]

By coincidence I drove a hire Transit 2.4 on Monday. It had done c140k miles, everything felt great until I lost power and ground to a halt, fortunately only 2 miles from home, and re-starting got me home stuttering all the way.

An entirely unscientific and anecdotal response!

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

With that mileage i would look for signs of moondust ! Engine is perhaps near the end of expected life . Would also be cautious of general wear and tear with a motorhome that has travelled so far. Unless the price is very favorable you may be better off looking at alternatives. Lots on ebay , many of which have been relisted .

 

[johnkyte]

My 24 yr old transit motorhome has done all of 58.000 miles
Not much to worry about with that

 

[Gollom]

Just a very tentative question before I maybe see this tomorrow in Preston

It has done 172K - how bulletproof are these engines? The place gives 3 month warranty and is not a back street operation.

Normal questions - what should I look for?

Cheers!

This is it: 2006 55 FORD TRANSIT 2.4 TDCI MOTORHOME caravan camper | eBay at £3995

We are just playing with the idea of a motorhome for the 2 of us to just swan off in on the spur of the moment. Budget around £4.5K so probably limited. As I say, just playing with ideas

 

[trapperjohn]

Hmmm. As others have said its had a hard life with that many miles (Ex Holiday Rental maybe?)

Find a bloody big hill to test it on and give it some wellie. Must have been all round Wales and Scotland a time or three.

Worst option -

FORD TRANSIT 2.4 TDCI 115 JXFA 2010 ENGINE 44 k MILES 2006-2012 BREAKING | eBay

Plus fitting.

 

[Harrythedog]

I've got a Transit as a work van and it's a piece of sh1te. Have had loads of trouble with it since new, mostly electrical engine faults then a major one when 3 injectors went. I was warned prior to purchase in 2007 that they were trouble due to the wiring looms coming from Turkey but I foolishly ignored the advice. In comparison we've also had a Renault Master and its been brilliant for nearly 10 years. Renault or Nissan for us in future, no way another Transit

 

[V12]

That mileage screams courier van converted to camper more recently.

Beware.

 

[Vilus]

Looks to me like a conversion done from a regular Transit. Maybe a high mileage ex-utility crewcab someone has made into a project. This will be obvious when you view it, with the interior screwed together from plywood! Check the paperwork etc.

I ran two of these on a 54 plate for three years, and aside from a failed instrument cluster, replaced at a cost of £600 under warranty, they proved reliable. However parts are pretty pricey as they are a bit more complex than the old Transits, eg. new aux drive belt £68 + Vat. Both mine suffered from drive belt squeal. This is a known issue due to tensioner alignment. Rather than pay the replacement cost I invested in several cans of Holts Belt Slip to save embarrassment when rocking up at a customers home for a delivery. Turbo's can be an issue, about £700 recon or £1200 new. Make sure it pulls strongly in the green band on the rev counter.

Check for rust on the panel above the windscreen. Both mine started to rust quite badly on the edge above the windscreen.

 

[Danny DeVito]

Look else where, in my job we had 2 transits 2006 115 T 350 from new. Both driven hard, serviced every 5000 miles. At about 170 my engine popped, the clutch got damaged and the rad started leaking. A piece of the cylinder head fell off and destroyed the inside of the engine. At 250k the other one blew. Up to that almost nothing failed. 90 hp model wouldn't pull your socks up. the 115 was pretty good. After all that the mileage i have seen on campers is rarely high. I'd still buy another transit because compared to the 04 boxer it was a rolls

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

that mileage screams courier van converted to camper more recently.

Beware.

+1

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

You'd have a big choice of caravans with £4.5k and change left over for a tow bar. Your E-Class would be ideal to tow it.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

That engine is chain driven so at least that's one worry taken care of...

Other than that, and at that mileage, I'd be very wary of throwing that kind of money at one.

I'd recomended what Bobby has and clog up the roads with a caravan!

 

[Gollom]

You'd have a big choice of caravans with £4.5k and change left over for a tow bar. Your E-Class would be ideal to tow it.

I hate towing with a passion! Had a burger van for a while and one of the reasons for giving it up was that I just did not take to towing, especially the manoeuvring etc. Really odd as my spatial awareness is pretty good normally.

Great idea though

The big attraction of a motorhome for us is having it outside the door, thinking "bugger it", jumping in with no prep or hooking up etc. and off we go (we are right off the M6 on the edge of the Lake District) with a stop at Asda for vittles! Sadly budget limited - if anybody knows of something suitable just shout! Can probably get budget up a little but not very much

 

[Deleted member 37751]

What about buying a clean, lower mileage van and converting it to a camper yourself?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Sounds like the caravan is a non-starter but low speed manouvering at either end of the journey is made easy with a "motor mover" - simply un-hitch and move the caravan by remote control

 

[haggis2768]

If you want a home conversion,do it yourself.
For your first motorhome you really should buy a factory conversion ( much easier to sell on or trade up if you don't like it)
Good luck in your search!

 

[Dieselman]

I wouldn't go for a transit with that mileage on, definitely better with a Renault Master.

 

[jamesfuller]

My 24 yr old transit motorhome has done all of 58.000 miles
Not much to worry about with that

A 24 year old transit will be a Di, now that is a 4-500k miles engine.

These duratorq engines have there fair share of problems, if that is the original engine I would be surprised.
The Cam shaft rocker set up can wear badly and break up, along with cracking cylinder heads.
Vacuum pumps often let go covering the engine in oil.
Dual mass flywheel and clutch problems (also takes out the starter motor)
Even on rear wheel drive Transits, to change the clutch you have to remove the subframe, and usually captive nuts turn in the chassis and make it a problem job!
After that, just the normal expense of common rail injector/pump related issues.

That is very high miles for a camper! Yoy want to be looking at lots of repair history to make sure everything has been done properly.
If it has had a new starter, it will not have warranty unless the dual mass/clutch was replaced at the same time and you can prove it!