Some Things You Need to Know About Converting a Campervan

Campervan Insurance For Under 25s Can Be Expensive

Generally speaking, if you’re over 25 and have 5 years’ no claims bonus, you’ll find camper insurance quite reasonably priced, as it’s not considered to be your primary mode of transport. However, if you’re under 25 and don’t have this level of no claims, you’ll likely find it on the expensive side.

The Vehicle You Choose to Convert Matters

Unless you have unlimited cash to splash on your camper conversion (who does?), you should avoid buying an ex-commercial vehicle. Any van that’s converted needs an engineer’s report, and that can be harder with a commercial van than with, say, a minibus, as they tend to be windowless, and you need a side window and roof light to comply with Revenue rules. 

You Need a CVRT, Not an NCT

While you’re likely used to taking your regular car in for its yearly NCT test, a Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Test (CVRT) is needed for a motorhome/campervan. Any camper that has a Design Gross Vehicle Weight (DGVW) of less than 3,500kg is tested as a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV), and anything over that as a Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV).

You’ll Need to Send Photos to Revenue to Change the Logbook

Your local CVRT centre will sort out your engineer’s report for you, which you’ll then need to send off to the Revenue, along with a selection of photographs with your request to change the particulars on the logbook. You’ll also need to check what the Revenue’s rules are in terms of what classifies as a camper, as they often change, but at the point of writing, you need an area for eating, a bed and a table. 

It’s Important to Know What You’re Taking On

While some might think converting a van into a camper is as easy as making the changes and switching to camper insurance, it’s a bit more complicated than that. As such, we’ve not even covered everything here, but the point is it’s important to know what you’re getting into when you’re taking on a job like this. However, once you do get to the point where you need campervan insurance, you can obtain a quote simply by visiting www.insuranceforcampervans.ie. Just click on the ‘Get a Quote’ link on our website’s homepage or to speak with us about your camper insurance needs, call 01 5761894 today, and a friendly member of our team will be happy to help.