Advice on potential purchase of a Trident

Hello everyone,
After my introduction to your forum yesterday I,ll utilise the experience and knowledge on here to help me make the right choice when buying my first motorhome. Essentially I have been a "car camper" for the last 10 odd years and have now decided to opt for a few more of life's luxuries on holidays and weekends away. The initial thought was to go for a classic VW, Bay or T25 but I favour the running costs and comforts of a T4 camper conversion. Looking at the different options the Autosleeper Trident appeals and I am warming to the high roof as opposed to a pop top type roof. The extra storage whilst on the move in the roof and the permanent standing head height I feel would be beneficial but having only hired a tin top bay for a week last year my experiences of both driving and living in a van are very limited!!

Is there a massive difference to mpg on the high roof models?

When looking at vans what would be deemed as average miles, I guess a lot of vans are only used weekends and holidays so in theory should be below average miles as opposed to a car of similar age?

As further background the van would be used by my wife, our dog and myself for UK holidays, but with plans to travel far and wide across the country, hence the decision to favour a more modern style van.

Any help and advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Mike.

Hi Mike... We had a Trident and we have quite a few other Trident owners so not quite sure why you haven't already received a reply...

Anyway, as you suggest the high top Trident gives you a lot more storage than a Trooper, You get a good overcab locker and if you don't have kids you can use the high roof bed for extra storage, other storage is sparse but you do get a smallish wardrobe and some storage at the back under the seat / bed. I have no idea how couples even manage in Troopers to be honest and we are amazed we did what we did in our Trident looking back, especially with a dog on board! The good thing about the Trident is it will pretty much go anywhere, parking is not really a problem, and the drive is very comfortable although a little bouncy approaching roundabouts and sharp bends. I would try to get the 2.5TDi if you can as the others are not as smooth or powerful and if you intend hanging on to it you will always wish you had the 2.5 TDi... don't think there is a huge diff in MPG and we used to get around 32-34 on a run. If you are happy to travel reasonably light then you will be fine, the biggest problem for us was bed making at night... one of us would have to go outside with the dog while the other made the bed up for the night (OK if it's not chucking it down) and of course if you forget to get the porta-loo out its quite a bit of hassle to push the bed back to get it out as we have done many times so easier to make this mistake than you may think! Also when you get out of bed there is no where to stand (if like us you have the loo on the floor and a dog) if you are slim, fit and healthy then you will take all this in your stride, if you are of a bigger build and not so healthy then you will find it a struggle, having said this we really enjoyed the two years we had our Trident

Hopefully someone else will give you some feedback... another thing to bear in mind is to get a drive away awning or at the very least a utility tent so if you go off site you have somewhere to store stuff, essential with a van conversion IMO.

CC

Hi, we has a holdsworth villa xl and there was lots if roof space and the headroom was great, still banged my head a few times as the cab and rear were still low. You do get the extra storage up top though. The only reason we changed for a trooper was the height, we can get in modern multistories near us and slightly better fuel economy.

We pack light anyway so not any change for us.

It's personal choice really, I think you will most likely be happy with either trident or trooper, autosleeper is a great make. If you look what's for sale, tridents seem more readily available than troopers too.

Whichever you choose, make sure you see everything working.

Thank you for the replies and advice, all things considered I may now look at the Autosleeper Trooper as a more day to day usable vehicle and also having the advantage of hopefully been able to fit, just!!!, into my garage. I have also read that the bed in the roof space on the Trident would be "snug" for an adult. Whereas there is only my wife, the dog and myself, occasionally I may use the van with a couple of my mates. It is a valid point that there seem to be more Trident's available I will just have to keep a closer eye out for any Troopers coming up for sale.

Thanks again,

Mike.

Hi Mike,

Have you considered a Topaz or a Talent, we have a 1996 P reg Talent it has 2 single beds that can be made with both of us in the van, it also has a cassette toilet in the back.

It's a nice little van based on the swb T4.

Not sure how long it was in production for, all the one's i've seen have been N,P,R registrations. 95,96 97,

Regards

Chalky.

Hi Mike & welcome to the forum!

I have a Trident in my 7th year now & it is my only vehicle. Bought it M reg with 49K on the clock & now it has 87K. It has the 2.4L 78HP 5 cylinder diesel engine.

To respond to your points:

"..........but I favour the running costs and comforts of a T4 camper conversion."

Me too. I have camped out in mine for 7 nights in temperatures of -6C. All OK with an electric hook up & keep that 240v fan heater running. I always get the best nights sleep in my van

Running costs over & above the normal: I had to have the injector pump overhauled last year, it was leaking fuel & the fuel was not always getting to the engine in a consistant manner. Cost £700. The fridge on gas power gave up, cost £100 to clean / service the burners. Runs cold now & fires up right away. Timing belt changed. Body work rust spots & tidy up £750. The temp gauge & fuel gage packed up some time ago. There is a fix .[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which I carried out with the help of my brother when I was in Wales, 2 weeks ago. Cost FREE!! Currently putting 3 coats of Rustins Danish Oil on the interior wood work as advised by this forum. Looks good! Cost £10. MPG 32 to 34 no matter how I drive it.

"Looking at the different options the Autosleeper Trident appeals and I am warming to the high roof as opposed to a pop top type roof."

I looked at both, preferred the high top for a lot more storage space & a solid roof which I did not have to stoop in or put up & down on a short stop for a cupa.

"The extra storage whilst on the move in the roof and the permanent standing head height I feel would be beneficial but having only hired a tin top bay for a week last year my experiences of both driving and living in a van are very limited!!"

Yep I agree.

"Is there a massive difference to mpg on the high roof models?"

Don't think so, but others may chime in.

"When looking at vans what would be deemed as average miles, I guess a lot of vans are only used weekends and holidays so in theory should be below average miles as opposed to a car of similar age?"

They should be lower generally. Mine was when I bought it. But it is not now!

"As further background the van would be used by my wife, our dog and myself for UK holidays, but with plans to travel far and wide across the country, hence the decision to favour a more modern style van."

Here in the SW there are lots of classic VW campers in the summer, but usually broken down on the side of the road or on a recover vehicle.

Also the T4 short wheel base fits into a car space at the supermarket etc. & you can go places where a larger van would be a challenge. (ie just returned from a few days walking in the Black Mountains, loads of single track lanes to get to the right spot, but no problem)

Trust this is of some use.

Best Ian.

Thanks Chalky and Ian for the replies and advice. I have just spent a very wet week in a tent (possibly for the last time!) in the Lake District so the van is in my mind more than ever. We have a cottage holiday in July and we are hiring a classic VW in Devon in August, so hopefully we won't be one of the broken vans you spot at the side of the road! That's it for this year other than weekends so I am not in a desperate rush to buy a van straight away, hopefully this will give me a chance to have a good look around and make sure I make the right choice. The more I am looking the more confused I become, the high roof versus pop top been a big dilemma. We saw a Leisuredrive high top conversion with a rear kitchen, not sure if I am keen on that layout but if that was making better use of the space it would have to be worth considering. The garage storage, especially over winter, appeals for a van that could be anywhere between 10 and 20 years old, also not sure what the neighbours would make of a huge van on the drive, but hey that's not reason enough to not buy one. I guess I may get a better deal on a van through the winter, having said that VW's are sought after so I figure they hold their prices regardless?
Thanks again and still looking, in the meantime if a VW T4 SWB camper conversion comes up for sale I am definitely interested.