Bongo buying - 3 kids

[C&DCam]

Hi - we're new to Bongos, but are seriously thinking about buying one. We have two young children (<4 yrs), with another on the way... so thought this would be a good part of the forum to post to. We've also posted to the Scotland group, as we live in east central belt.

We are looking for a vechicle both for long distance travelling and camping and also for longer day trips out. If anyone had any buying advice it would be very welcome, in particular where you'd recommend to buy from, any thoughts about what to look out for, and how much we might expect to pay.

Basic thoughts so far are:
MPV rather than conversion - to get sufficient seating capacity for 3 car seats - baby, toddler adn booster.
Diesel rather than petrol - as better fuel economy and longer lasting engine
2wd vs 4wd - no strong preference
Grade 4 or above newly imported vechicle - to reduce risk of rust and mechanical failure

Any steer as to what we might expect to pay for something along the lines of above?

All advice much appreciated.
Many thanks!

Claire & David

[dandemann8]

Hi and welcome, to be honest with the fuel cost at the moment I'd go for the V6 petrol as its a lot smoother drive and will do the same mpg as the diesel give or take a couple of mpg

[M 80NGO]

Hi a 5 x 3 trailer with lockable lid will make the camping trips easier we have one and all the camping gear stays in there then we just hook it on when we need it, defo go for an unconverted AFT as its more versitile as a day to day vehicle 4x4 might be a good option with your location its defo nice knowing that snow and ice and wet grass arn't gonna slow you down, that said its not the be all and end all, fuel consumption ain't great but i've owned thirstier vehicles so maybe a v6 petrol with lpg conversion would be a good bet or maybe get a price for an lpg conversion and enter that into your budget.

Don't buy any van with out doing a minimum 30 mile test drive, check the cooling systems it tip top shape and you don't want any noises from the gearbox ( the whining g'box that the seller says "they all do that" ) is costly to sort out no rattles from underneath either.

Pete.

[scanner]

Hi and welcome, to be honest with the fuel cost at the moment I'd go for the V6 petrol as its a lot smoother drive and will do the same mpg as the diesel give or take a couple of mpg

To be honest I'd prefer to say a hard driven diesel can do the same as a gently driven V6. It's possible (and many do) to regularly get over 30 mpg from a diesel without too much trouble - not many regularly get over 30 from a V6.

It appears to be easy to get a V6 down to under 20mpg, my worst ever is about 24mpg in a diesel - and I can tell you that was really caning it.

[PaulF]

Hi Pete, I was looking in the Forum and picked up on your comments on gear box noises. Our auto gear box has been whinning recently, mainly as it drops from 4th to 3rd gear under load going up hills. This is despite a complete re-conditioning recently (that cost £1600!!!) following a massive gear box failure a monthe ago. What is the likely cause of this irreglular droaning noise? It sounds like something is slipping in the gear box and that our re-build is not all that it should have been! When its not making these noises (which is 99% of the time) its performing fine.
Regards,
Paul.

[B*Witched Blingo]

We also have 3 childlers (Children). I have found that we take a tonne of stuff "just in case" to be honest half of it never gets used. Sods Law comes to mind.

Anyway, a bongo unconverted (as mine is) is a fantastic vehicle to transport the troops. Now the camping bit is where planning is needed. Be realistic as to what you really need. We have boxes of kit:

a/ Camp with electric
b/ Camp without electric
c/ Without a Northern Bongolow (takes loads of stuff, just incase )

We have reversed seats which are a temporary alteration (can be reversed as required) and find that with a table in the middle works well.
We also have the Catflap for easy access to the roof (see umbongocats thread)
I also have a plastic container under the rear set of seats that holds the cooking essentials and these are left in all the time (ideal for bacon butts by the river at a moments notice moments)
A folding table and folding chairs
Small sleeping bags
Tea and Coffee (brew stuff)
and Torches
Boatie Pan (absolute essential)
Gas Kettle
Really with this kit, you could decide to stop and camp at any time.

What else, oh yeh
a) 1st aid (Calpol and Infacol)
b) change of clothes
c) fresh water
d) wallet

Honestly, you will never look back. The Bongo is the best thing that has ever happened to us as a family.

[M 80NGO]

Hi Pete, I was looking in the Forum and picked up on your comments on gear box noises. Our auto gear box has been whinning recently, mainly as it drops from 4th to 3rd gear under load going up hills. This is despite a complete re-conditioning recently (that cost £1600!!!) following a massive gear box failure a monthe ago. What is the likely cause of this irreglular droaning noise? It sounds like something is slipping in the gear box and that our re-build is not all that it should have been! When its not making these noises (which is 99% of the time) its performing fine.
Regards,
Paul.

The main thing is to get the van back to who ever done the rebuild and make them aware of the potential issue asap, also give them a written copy of your query get them to sign it to say that they acknowledge your concerns then photo copy it and retain the origional copy whilst passing them the copy. It Could be summat simple like to much oil in the gear box, the level should be checked when it is up to temp an been run through the gears i.e after a drive, the engine should be running and in neutral to do the check properly, when they fitted the box back in did they check the throttle position sensor to ensure that the box is set to change at the correct rev's / load its a 5 minuite job but it can make all the differance.

Keep us posted

[steveyd]

Hi,

This is a good thread - had my Bongo for 2 years and I currently have 2 kids - 4 & 6. They sleep happily in the roof (albeit with Bongo boards- much easier for getting to them at night). However we now have a 3rd on the way and I'm wondering of the practicalities and whether there is enough space. For the youngest one when it arrives you can get cots/hammock type things that mount across the front seats- or some sort of small travel cot across the back seat, then the 2 adults could sleep further forward with the front seats down? Once the 3rd one gets older then things may be a little trickier.. and maybe then I'll have a closer look to the slightly larger VW and Transit conversions.

Saying that.. I always find the overall arguements come back to the Bongo as its the most versatile. I'll certainly second the above comments about getting an unconverted one as the seats are amazingly versatile.. We're into wild camping so I dont particularly want a lot of gear to take out every time, but you can get lots under the seats and I'm also going to get a roofbox. However, currently we put the kids seats on the front seats when we stop but we'll have to rethink this when the 3rd arrives. We do have a big tent for when we go to one place and stay at one campsite for a few days before moving on. We've just had the holiday of our lives - 3200km's from Oxfordshire, up to Mull, across to Skye and then back - excellent time and the kids love it. Bongos are brilliant for kids! Maybe a small trailer is answer?

As for buying tips - apart from being very careful when looking at the cooling system (i.e. does it have a Low Coolant Alarm - a "Haydn", a Mason alarm to warn when the gauge goes high as the standard gauge is rubbish - if its an import - new hoses?) - has it had any recent big bills for a cylinder head - this could mean its had some work but its still not right, has it been undersealed properly - rusty wheel arches?.

I've finally got my Bongo upto speed and I wish I'd been more careful when buying mine and not got too enthusiastic - make sure there's no bits of trim missing, all carpets are there. It took a me a while to realise that my Bongo had been basically plundered for good bits.. ladder, second battery, ABS light taken out masking half the system missing etc etc). If you're going to buy secondhand rather than from a dealer try and buy from a member of the club or even the forum and don't be afraid to ask questions/see if there's a local Bongonaut who can look it over.

When you have a family the last thing you want to do is spend £££s on one only to find there's some hidden problems and its going to cost more £££s to put right. Bongo's can be expensive to put right, but mostly this is because well known problems have not been spotted in time (i.e. low coolant, overheating). A looked after Bongo is very reliable and a lot of fun so be ultra-careful and very picky when buying .. be suspicious of cheap ones.. they're probably cheap to shift a problem on!

cheers,

Steve

[Alison01326]

We also have 3 childlers (Children). I have found that we take a tonne of stuff "just in case" to be honest half of it never gets used. Sods Law comes to mind.

Anyway, a bongo unconverted (as mine is) is a fantastic vehicle to transport the troops. Now the camping bit is where planning is needed. Be realistic as to what you really need. We have boxes of kit:

a/ Camp with electric
b/ Camp without electric
c/ Without a Northern Bongolow (takes loads of stuff, just incase )

We have reversed seats which are a temporary alteration (can be reversed as required) and find that with a table in the middle works well.
We also have the Catflap for easy access to the roof (see umbongocats thread)
I also have a plastic container under the rear set of seats that holds the cooking essentials and these are left in all the time (ideal for bacon butts by the river at a moments notice moments)
A folding table and folding chairs
Small sleeping bags
Tea and Coffee (brew stuff)
and Torches
Boatie Pan (absolute essential)
Gas Kettle
Really with this kit, you could decide to stop and camp at any time.

What else, oh yeh
a) 1st aid (Calpol and Infacol)
b) change of clothes
c) fresh water
d) wallet

Honestly, you will never look back. The Bongo is the best thing that has ever happened to us as a family.

Snap!! Except we take a toilet as well I'm currently reviewing the contents of the boxes though as my Bongo is getting smaller!! I even mentioned the "T" word recently in the presence of my other half, although only in the context of short term hire for long periods away.

currently we put the kids seats on the front seats when we stop but we'll have to rethink this when the 3rd arrives

Seats or boosters? My son's booster seat lives in the passenger footwell when we are using the front seats for sleeping (or on the dashboard if the passenger footwells are stuffed with stuff we probably shouldn't even have taken away with us). When he had his big seat, we put it in a small fisherman's tent from Lidl.

[steveyd]

..boosters... though both are of the type that have a detachable back and head brace but they are not as bulky as the 1-3yr old type seats. They stack one on top of the other on the drivers seat.

However with the passengers seat right back I would be able to get one of our old bulky kiddies seats - maybe 2. The pain is in the unthreading of the mountings etc etc - kids are old enough now to use the seatbelts with the boosters which makes removing them (&replacing) a LOT easier.

S

[mikeonb4c]

We also have 3 childlers (Children). I have found that we take a tonne of stuff "just in case" to be honest half of it never gets used. Sods Law comes to mind.

Anyway, a bongo unconverted (as mine is) is a fantastic vehicle to transport the troops. Now the camping bit is where planning is needed. Be realistic as to what you really need. We have boxes of kit:

a/ Camp with electric
b/ Camp without electric
c/ Without a Northern Bongolow (takes loads of stuff, just incase )

We have reversed seats which are a temporary alteration (can be reversed as required) and find that with a table in the middle works well.
We also have the Catflap for easy access to the roof (see umbongocats thread)
I also have a plastic container under the rear set of seats that holds the cooking essentials and these are left in all the time (ideal for bacon butts by the river at a moments notice moments)
A folding table and folding chairs
Small sleeping bags
Tea and Coffee (brew stuff)
and Torches
Boatie Pan (absolute essential)
Gas Kettle
Really with this kit, you could decide to stop and camp at any time.

What else, oh yeh
a) 1st aid (Calpol and Infacol)
b) change of clothes
c) fresh water
d) wallet

Honestly, you will never look back. The Bongo is the best thing that has ever happened to us as a family.

I'm not even going to pick up on this, as I don't want an angry Ady hammering on my door at 2.00am