Rojie

Hi phil, Welcome to the Forum

Hi Craig, I agree, but most of the factors you list regarding driving style also affect the long term reliability of the engine and transmission. As a rough guide, both measures are meaningful.

This is a long running debte. Teekay initiated a thread which invites owners to share their (real life) consumption data (petrol I mean). Some have recorded better mileage with E5, even when the additional cost if factored in. Perhaps you could add your findings to the tread to 'balance' the opinion.

Hi Andy, Welcome to the Forum Welcome to Alphard ownership. Happy Camparding

If you go with a rear conversion (you will lose the rearmost seats) AND if you have separate middle seats you would be able to go down the hammock route or single beds (based on flat seats). Most rear conversions have the head end at the rear with your toes being the front seats. We sleep with our heads behind the front seats In some vans the front seats will lie flat giving you another bed options. Some users use hospital type wedge shaped cushions to 'level' the seating area for sleeping. I have not seen single rock and roll beds, but they may exist. Rock and roll beds tend to be rather slim, although there are wider versions available. Hammock wise, I use an American extra wide (1.5m) heavy duty hammock for our dog while travelling. It is slung between the front and middle seats. We don't use it for sleeping, but could as my wife is a shortie. Similarly, I have seen 'adaptations' that hang from the headrests and/or ingress and egress handles. The hammock approach does not use the attachment points to carry your weight, that is caarried by the seats and mini mattresses. Your requirements are a little unusual, as were mine, so think carefully before making your choice. Good Luck

Hello Ali, Welcome to the Forum Is your van a 2010 or prior to 2002 to 2008 ?

Hello Mark, Welcome to the Forum.

Pop Tops are relatively expensive ! Campsites only, so no toilet needed, which simplifies things Probably get by with a good cooler, rather than a fridge. If you are both 'shorties' you could consider sleeping in two 'hammocks'. One across the front seats and one across the middle seats. You may not even need a conversion. Consider just stowing (safely) your camping gear in the rear with the rear seats folded upwards against the sides of the vehicle. Such a configuration yields lots of space. Good Luck

Hi Liam, I can understand that mileage indicates longevity of mechanical parts and reliability. But surely service history has a huge role to play in both too. What parts have already been replaced to achieve that recorded mileage? Most owners won't know. So I am not sure what conclusions can be drawn; other than which vehicle has the largest indicated mileage. However, I would suggest 180k km is quite low for a Toyota But then, I previously had a Jaguar that covered 250k miles before becoming uneconomical to maintain.

Hello Katt, Please tell us of your intended use(s); that info should help us help you.

Picasso, what do you think ?

Hello Both, There is a thread on this Forum about actual fuel figures.

Hello Steve, Welcome to the Forum UK

Hello Martin, Welcome to the Forum. I respectfully suggest you do some more research on conversions, and their cost. Firstly you need to decide what type of conversion best suits your needs. What equipment will it need, bed, fridge, cooker, sink, toilet, etc. etc. Pop Top alone will be £4k or more. Some convertors are better than others. Many only work on vans they source themselves. The better ones tend, unsurprisingly, to charge more, and many are registered for VAT. Don't forget to budget for the VAT ! The better convertors, that will work on your van tend to be very busy, so enquire about conversion leadtimes. Sourcing parts has become more difficult this last year or so too. There are many members who have imported their own vans. Hopefully, some will respond to your thread. Good luck with your search.

Hello Nigel and Shirley, Welcome to the Forum

Hi Mark, Not the one I have unfortunately. Only thought is, is there a disc jammed in it ? Or can't you get that far!

Hello Marty, Welcome to the Forum.

Can you help us, just a little bit ? What head unit do you have ?

To paraphrase Craig you pays your money...... I have not come across any horror stories (yet) either. There is no ethanol in most E5 in the UK. It depends which refinery produced the E5. You can check the Major supplier websites, BP, Exxon, etc;, for more info. What do I use ? E5 when available, otherwise E10! If leaving the fuel in the van unused for a long time, over winter perhaps, E5 is much better as it 'keeps' longer without any degradation. There are reports affirming that fuel economy is better with E5 It is mainly the E5 refined in the West Country that contains Ethanol.

I have a PC allocated to Alphie; just need a tiny DVB tuner, and hey presto

Me too, and our collection of CDs.

Hello Simone, Welcome to the Forum. If you just bought it, take it back to the seller. Unless it was a private sale the vendor has statutory obligations. Just a couple of opinions. I am not a mechanic. In this recent hot weather all engines will seem to be running hot as the ambient temperature is so relatively high and that requires the cooling system to work harder. The temperature gauge should be slightly less than half way. Higher than that I would not be driving it. Are the electric fans running OK ? Has the cooling system been drained recently; as it can be a pig to refill properly ? I feel sure you will receive many other helpful pointers. Let us all know what progress you make.

Thanks Barry. I think Tara has a MNH10W machine. Tara has a 3.0 litre V6, not a 3.5L. The engines and gearboxes are different. As the ANH 20 series were a newer model there will be many differences. Of course, none of that means Tara doesn't want the manual for a later model; just that, as a newbie, I thought Tara may not be aware of the differences.

Yes. I agree with this. Further, if the dealer does not have the Auction Sheet be suspicious. There are help sheets available on the internet to help you decode the auction sheet. As Larry says, it isn't difficult; and offers some piece of mind.

The forward looking camera, doesn't look forward; it looks downwards. The other two don't look forward either. They cannot be used as dash cams. You may lose the cameras with the Pioneer. Hopefully, someone else has fitted the same unit and can confirm it is possible to integrate the cameras. Proceed with care; you won't want to be changing any fuses !