Looking into getting an Electric van/campervan (EV) - anyone got any tips?

Go for the highest spec you can if you need the range. I have a 2019 Nissan Leaf 40kw Tekna which is brilliant for me as I'm a volunteer driver and usually just potter around locally so 160 miles is fine and I only need to charge it (at home) once a week. I just visited my sister in the New Forest at the weekend and charged at Winchester Services through Ecoserve and it was free. 😀

Four years into motorhome ownership. After owning my 24 and 40 LEAF I said I’d never buy another ICE.  So no motorhome upgrade until there is viable EV option

Thanks, @Gingernut49. Am thinking 160 miles real world capacity may be fine for us. I suspect we may have to compromise with the extra weight of a camper. 

However due to the capital cost of an EV, particularly a camper, i would really like one that i would have at least some comfort it might last 20 years like our current van. I wonder if this is realistic with batteries and if so how high a battery capacity i should go for to allow for degradation over time realistically? Perhaps that is a how long is a piece of string question. Perhaps my thought of a 20 year old EV is not realistic? Are there any plans to swap out batteries in older EVs?

@Maverick, Yep. We would not swap our micro  camper for another ICE camper. 

We have tickets for Glastonbury next year and hope to swap to something else after that depending what is on the market. 

Well, in theory at least… Almost any van could be converted to a campervan. Hey, I’ve even heard of the odd Reliant Robin being converted into a mini-caravan once or twice!

Since I don’t think you’d need to touch the chassis or any of the important stuff under the bonnet, you (hopefully!) wouldn’t get bogged down in 50 years of red tape, an SVA Test (which makes an MOT Test look like a walk in the park in comparison!), DVLA approval or any of that other messy paperwork that’s involved with getting a totally new vehicle approved for use on the road. After all, that’s the same hack that Top Gear/Grand Tour has used for years to legally workaround this issue.

If you simply re-use the chassis from an existing vehicle that’s already been approved (such as an old Land Rover), some kind of legal magic allows your modified vehicle to “inherit” the approval of the original vehicle - but I would definitely recommend doing your research and double checking anyway, just to be safe. And to be fair, there’s no harm in going through the full paperwork and proper processes anyway I guess.

But if you’re not going anywhere near the chassis, engine, battery, electronics, any important mechanical stuff or anything safety related... Then I guess you could potentially do a conversion by just modifying the bodywork and fitting the van with what you want to put in your campervan conversion.

I’ve heard of quite a few people who’ve managed to convert regular ICE vans into campervans before. So I would guess doing the same thing for an EV van would be somewhat similar?

Oh, and if you consider the fact that the Mercedes-Benz V-Class (formerly known as the Mercedes-Benz Viano) is basically a car that’s based on the Vito and Sprinter chassis, you can probably see what I mean by this. Sure, it’s an ICE rather than an EV, but you can probably see the idea that Mercedes were going for (plus, it’s absolutely huge with tons of space!).

In some ways, if they did an EV version of the V-Class, you could potentially use that as a campervan. I can definitely say that there have been Vito Campervans in the past for example! I’m not sure if those were officially a thing that Mercedes did directly, or if they were conversions, but it was definitely possible.

Nice! I bet it’s not too hard to park that campervan either?

The snag you have to watch out for with a Viano, Vito or V-Class is that they really are absolutely massive - especially if you opt for one with the Extra-Long option rather than Compact or Long. Because yes, that really is an option they’ve been known to offer. 

Parking them is not always easy, but it works if you’re careful and you can fit them into most standard parking spaces without so much overhang that it blocks the road for everyone else. Just try to avoid parallel parking one. 

But there is one advantage to a Viano or V-Class over a Vito or Sprinter. Because it’s more of a car based on a van than it is an actual van, it’s not quite as tall and you have a slightly better chance of at least thinking about getting under at least some of the height restrictions of a multi-storey car park. Still won’t fit through all of them, but it’s better than nothing.

And one thing that will make Jess happy, is that Mercedes-Benz actually does now have an EV version of the V-Class too. It’s called the EQV and is pretty similar to a regular V-Class except that it’s an EV rather than an ICE. All you need is some ingenuity… And… Erm… Cash… A lot of cash… You’d be talking at least £70k before you even think about any conversions!

I would imagine @Jeffus that an EV used for V2G purposes won’t really have much more wear and tear on the battery pack than any other EV that has never been part of V2G. The value of the vehicle is probably more likely to be influenced by the overall health of the battery pack than how it was used by the previous owner(s).

What I would say though, is that V2G can sometimes help to maintain battery health, since it basically replicates normal charging and discharging cycles - and has definitely been helpful during all these lockdowns! If V2G was being done properly and within the terms of the V2G Scheme and the Vehicle/Battery Warranty Terms and the battery was still shredded anyway, you could probably do a warranty claim to get the battery either repaired or replaced.

I don’t think you need to worry too much. But hopefully some of the trialists can advise more than I can.

Yes, I think the only readily available option is the NV-E200., and it seems quite solid. Renault is working on a van, I think. Is the Renault Kangoo big enough? Then there is the Ford Transit electric and a Mercedes Sprinter, but they may be reserved for business customers. 

Thanks

I think we will take our current van for one last trip to Glastonbury next year which also gives us time to see what happens in the van market which is a bit limited in what you can actually buy at the moment, certainly secondhand. Also gives us time to save some more capital. Whatever the lifetime costs, the upfront costs are still a challenge for many. 

The Nissan ENV200 is probably a good bet at the moment as there is a stock of second hand ones around if we go down that route, albeit not many. It is still in production for now at least which is good, although Nissan may switch to the Kangoo chasis. The Nissan feels about the right size for us to drive. We don't want to go up to a ford transit size van. 

We will go and look at the VW when it is out but the price will be very high.... 

https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/electric-vans/id-buzz.html

Given there are examples of petrol versions of the nissan van being converted to campers is useful in terms of fit out ideas.

The internal height of the Nissan 1.22m is better than the Renault which is 1.129m. I think that is the big issue with the Renault as it would mean fitting a raising roof from the start realistically rather than seeing if we could manage to a later date. 

There are a few different examples of the electric Nissan being converted which is useful in terms of seeing what people have done with the bed which is the first thing to get right, particularly in terms of staying away from the batteries when fixing to the floor.... Also useful to see what people have done in terms of electrics, heating and cooking.

Examples of professional conversion between 50 and 60k with a new nissan if money were no object.

https://www.pioneercampervans.co.uk/car-model/nissan-e-nv200/

https://cccampers.co.uk/collections/nissan-nv200-camper-car-options/products/nissan-env200-clee-camper-car-by-cccampers-ready-for-the-uks-electric-generation?variant=32056908644446

https://www.sussexcampervans.com/our-vans/e-nv200-camper car

It is not unusual for professional conversions to be done on second hand vehicles so that could bring the price down perhaps.

Quirky conversion

https://wildvan.com/nissan-e-nv200-electric-micro-camper-conversion/

DIY conversion, with very different use of electrics making use of the batteries in the van. 

https://blog.zerocarbonadventures.co.uk/2018/10/electric-campervan-diy-conversion.html?m=1

Exciting news, @jason.lewis - Was it the VW ID Camper that you’ve registered an interest for? 

Keep us updated - we’d love to get the lowdown if you get offered a test drive! 

A hire option

https://www.weareev.co.uk/campervan

I know it’s not (yet) a campervan, but it’s easily converted. OVO Field Force’s new fleet of Vauxhall Vivaro EVs on show in the Bristol office car park today, and we had a chance to speak to the engineers driving them. 

I didn’t know about brake assistance charge!

Great range on these, @Jess_OVO do you remember the figure? Love the colour ;)