My 250bhp V6 4x4 van will do about 600 miles between charges. It takes about 90 seconds to fully charge for the next 600 mile. Fortunately the chargers are available all over the UK and Europe. 😁
@@Simon-dm8zv You obviously don't drive an electric car in the Alps. We go mountain biking every year in the alps and one of our group had to give up taking his electric Jag as there just wasn't enough places to charge conveniently without the charging of the vehicle becoming one of the main obstacles of carefree holiday as we do alot of driving to remote locations to ride. He now takes the diesel family wagon as he was fed up with being the Primadonna of the group and always demanding we needed to go where he could charge.
It’s an interesting project and looking forward to see how it transforms - great when things aren’t so straightforward as that’s when innovation is best. All the best, David & Rachel. 👍
It’s just content for TH-cam. The van will be a tax right off for their company and they will get sponsorships and discounts for highlighting companies who work with them. It’s not about having a usable van at the end of it. I’m here for it though gives us something to watch. I like knights custom conversions as well so will be interesting to see what they can do with such a small vehicle. When fully loaded the range will be terrible, they will spend most of their time camping at electric charge points 😂 (that are out of order!)
Steve I really enjoy your videos and it’s interesting to see the challenges of going with an electric option. Reading some of the comments I thought I would include something from the London Transport Museum website about horses and electric trams. ‘In 1900, almost every vehicle on London’s streets was horse-drawn. More than 300,000 horses were needed to keep the city on the move, hauling everything from private carriages and cabs to buses, trams and delivery vans. Early mechanical vehicles were unreliable and short-lived. Electric tramways had been running in a number of American and European cities since the 1880s, but London did not have an electric tram line until 1901 when the first service opened between Shepherds Bush and Kew. By 1914, trams were running throughout London, carrying 800 million passengers annually. While horses continued to be used for most deliveries, horse buses and horse trams had disappeared in London, and motor taxis heavily outnumbered horse-drawn cabs. ‘
I read on some motoring magazine blog that even VW themselves i having problems in conversations with the buzz I think the weight is the problem so much so they delayed there own campervan .
When a small van converter says gee that’s tight on an id Buzz conversion and people are shelving conversions in the build industry think I would be worried see size does matter 😂
Whats the thoughts of VW putting a pop-top on with a double side door and how much steel do you have to add to keep the integrity of the van, one side door no problem but with two that seems in theory to weaken the structure badly .
Fantastic to catch up with you as always, what a treat coming to Thursday lunch club. Thank you for sharing our little start up business. We are really excited to see what you do with the ID Buzz. Ignore the haters, people tell us all the time we can’t possibly make such small cars into campers even though we lived in one for 9 months comfortably!
The ID Buzz is a reverse tardis; large on the outside, surprisingly small inside. Lovely to look at, but not practical. Better off with a transit custom minimum
Hmmm - for me personally, I wouldn't waste my money on an electric van or the ID Buzz. There are far better vans out there. They may be 'green' but the initial battery manufacturing has a much higher carbon footprint. Even without that, the cramped space would drive me nuts in no time at all. I don't see the point of such a small space. Forever shuffling stuff about and moving one thing to try and use something else (trust me on this - I have a tiny kitchen in my house - 7' x 6' with 3.5 usable cupboards and 2 drawers - so I know about small and I also know I would never cope in that van. It would be like being caged in especially if the weather were bad and I don't even want to think about the pull out toilet! You two are used to your massive motorhome with all it's bells and whistles. The Rolling Rucks did a gas free van and sold it as it was too small and that was a diesel vehicle so having to find charging points and waiting for it to charge when trying to enjoy a break away is crazy. Then there's the payload. After the conversion, plus the two of you and the gear you'll be taking - it's going to be very interesting to see how long it lasts but good luck!
Just a quick question if you don’t mind how are you going to keep it warm are you going to fit a diesel heater or a gas heater? We have a vw autosleeper and that has a gas heater to keep us warm in the colder months thanks
Interesting as I hadn't really thought about the weight issue. My luton van had a lot more wiggle room than my old panel van as the whole of my living area has fibreglass & plastic sandwich walls.
Just changed my main car from a Hybrid to a BEV, gone for an Audi Q4, really happy so far. Always had a bit of range anxiety before kids were at uni before and wouldn't have made the return trip without a zap and go somewhere. Analysed car usage for the last 12 months and would have only needed to charge away from home once made it a no brainer.
When you do the sums and see how often most people would need to even charge it’s an eye opener. I have a plug in hybrid with 25 mile range. 95% of the time I drive on pure electric. If I had a 200 mile range car I’d need to charge it fully once a week. So whilst at the supermarket maybe if I couldn’t do at home. For those lucky enough to charge at home then the car would probably have more range on average every day than an ice car. I don’t fill up the petrol tank everyday.
What are those existing bulky black plastic panels in the rear designed to achieve? they appear to just take up a lot of space, the shelf like mouldings seem to have no practical applications, I’d have thought for most van owners they’d prefer as much space as possible with any panelling as flush to the bulkhead as possible. Good luck with the conversion.
I found your video really interesting,i would rather wait for a longer wheel based version of the ID BUZZ,it's look's great but would prefer a seating area one side and sink,hob the other side.I don't like the beds that fold out on top of the seats,not practical for me .I plan to buy an car electric soon but i might consider an ID BUZZ in the future.Nice people in video .Will be interesting to see the conversion.Good luck and best regards!
I just question where we will be dumping all the electric batteries and why they keep bursting in to flames , weird how the fires are covered up by blaming diesel Range rovers usually which is ridiculous , ideal for 15 minute cities i guess and to keep tabs on you
I wish they'd do something clever to the interior for days out, purpose built bike rack, solar roof to power fridge etc. All designed beautifully to keep the good looks.
This is really interesting, there was a lovely black and gold one in bus fest this year, the only thing putting me off converting your van is the rear doors and twin sliders, doesn’t this add weight?
I believe that was Transporter HQ’s one. They all have twin doors, so no choice there, and the rear doors are plastic, so I guess they’re lighter than the metal alternative. They really should have plated it at a higher weight than 3000kg but we’ll get it converted within the weight limit
THQ have a lovely one it’s yellow, the black and gold was like a modern John player special… they look to be bigger than the caddy, and the battery range seems really good, you can get a canopy for the t6 rear doors to give cover for a slide pod, variation on a theme 👍
Electric vans are the future, because they’re easier to drive, more fun, don’t pump fumes into your lungs (or the kids walking to school), are a moveable battery on wheels, can be powered for free or cheap! They’re a no brainer, looking forward to the ID Buzz conversion, ignore the haters remember people who loved horses and carts complained about petrol cars!
Thanks for your comment Will. We’ve seen the haters for over 8 years now and although I had argued with them for the first 4 or 5 years, I just can’t be bothered to argue with them anymore. Instead we’ll just try to educate them in our videos.
Really interesting vid John. I've had an an ID Buzz Cargo for 7 months and love it to bits, but.... wow, that range has dropped from nearly 300 miles (I drive like my grandma) to around 220 miles in the November climate! Really disappointed. What's it going to do when the cold weather hits. Pile in a load of furniture, and camping gear, and maybe a poptop, and 2 adults.... this ain't going to work is it?
Space isn't a problem as long as it works for you, there's plenty of people out there using Caddy Maxi's as campers - it's your holiday, have it your way. Please don't take it as EV hate, just want to get people's thoughts on both sides.... We have a campsite in the family and the big concern for us is EV charging on site. Cost (we wouldn't fill up someone's diesel tank when they stay with us, should we charge someone's EV?), fire risk, whether our incoming supply is up to it, and (not meaning yourselves), questionable electrical safety in some people's conversions.
I use one as a van for work by far the best van I have ever driven and I have owned and drive a lot of vans. Wouldn’t go back now. Wouldn’t use one as a camper as to small for me but electric all the way for me.
It's not going to work when you add that extra weight, not unless you don't care about hampering the range even more than it already is. Seriously, wait until the solid state batteries become available if you have to run an EV campervan, alternatively buy diesel which makes much more sense
I don't hate electric cars. I hate the lack of infrastructure and charging points that makes them impractical for anything but short journeys from home. What about people who live in terraced houses? It's even harder for them.
The big problem for most currently is the extra cost of EVs, which from reading some fund analysts reports is expected to start falling in the next couple of years and see EVs cheaper than ICE vehicles sometime between 2025 and 2030. Until then even with an income above the average, I will wait.
when i was a converter and cut the roofs out of t5's for pop tops... if you stand up in the back of the van and rock the van side to side you can see the whole van twist. thats before the strengthening frame goes in. i think you may be poking an angry bear there. if you cut the roof out you are going to add god knows how many kilos in frame and pop top. not a problem on a diesel t5 but this one may just come back to bite you. i know you will look well into it and the pros are on the job!!!! so i will watch
What a fantastic place Knights looks,looking forward to seeing what clever ideas they come up with.We've got a Clayton to go in our sprinter build,reassuring to hear a builder uses them in all of theirs.
Its a fun electric van. Its too small for a family camper and too expensive for a single camper IMO. The LWB version might be a better option or whatever VW come out with (or even an e-transit) as a base for a conversion. I think when the Buzz came out lots of people immediately projected ‘electric california’ onto it but its a very different size more like a caddy?
Of course you can create a micro camper and a small camper out of most vehicles....But do you want to?, do you need to?, and is the Buzz the right vehicle?. If you need a small camper and think you would use it, then the Buzz is a very expensive way of doing it. To do it well, I would expect it to owe you near £80k on the road. That's a lot of money to not have much space, payload or range? If your doing it with content in mind (please don't take offence at that) then its a big investment. If you were to convert it, then having 2 single front seats on swivels would make the world of difference to the time spent camping. I haven't had any with the buzz, but have spoken to a few fellow converters who have been looking at doing something on them. Does anyone actually make a dedicated pop top for them yet, or are they making use of one from a similar sized van?
@@RoamingRadfordswe have a link to some good bags but also a way to remove smells when storing using bio degradable sous vide bags - it’s on our channel the video as not sure I can add a link here - trust me a game changer
It is not about haters, it is about having a practical vehicle that can do the job at an affordable price. At the moment in most cases EV's just do not cut it. I would love to see you take the I.D. BUZZ to Morocco on a like for like basis with your last trip. And just because some one does not agree with you we are not all haters. One could say the EV brigade are all Geeky types with their watt hours per mile etc.
Not an EV hater at all, but surely the range is so limiting for a camper van? Couple this with a tiny bed and it’d be a no from me….however I can appreciate that you are wanting to do something new that hasn’t been done yet, so good luck & I’ll be following out of interest 👍🏻
Not an EV hater, they have a place alongside ICE vehicles . The wealth, needs, infrastructure and purpose are the deciding factors to what you choose. Not sure where converting an ID Buzz with limited payload fits in but it creates content at the very least.
They're as cheaper or very close to an *equivalent* ICE car now (not "Tesla vs Vauxhall Corsa") Infrastructure is there.... And improving. Purpose? If the vehicle can Outrange you, and recharge while you refresh sufficient to do it again, it's fit for purpose. In the UK that's not a problem. Payload? I believe is 4250kg on a standard licence, no problem.
I don’t hate electric cars but I wouldn’t buy one yet. Main reason being I have no where to charge at home but I’m also not convinced they are ready yet. But I’m not an early adopter of anything. I think anyone who does go for one should be commended though. More petrol for me and it all helps. My car does 20 mpg! I’m glad people are pioneering stuff because when I am ready to switch you will have helped to fix all the bugs and niggles. Plus it’s really interesting especially as it’s not my money!
I wonder how many other people are in the same boat no where to charge and in the countryside it’s the same village houses built in 1779 you can imagine the issues my solution is a hybrid love it and don’t have to waste time charging or looking for charger’s
Think it through..... Properly. 1) Audit your mileage. . 2) Consider that for a large percentage of trips, you're simply "going somewhere" to "do something" and just as Steve did on this trip, spend several hours at that location. That's where you charge. It's going to be Ubiquitous. If you're just going local (UK average is 8k(?) per year) that's ±150 miles per week, you'd be charging this every 10 days, 10% per day, or 1 hour on a 7 kW charger IF you use it that day. In town, supermarket, anywhere else you go. . Going a distance? 240 miles in the UK is 3.5 - 4 hrs, depending on route, time, and how many rush hours you hit. Steve could drive from Milton Keynes to Sunderland, Plymouth, or Brussels(!) . The flat "Won't work" opinion is no longer valid.
@rogerstarkey5390 I could but that's a lot of hassle. You know what's not a lot of hassle, 5 minutes at a petrol station once a week. When it's that convenient, I'll change
Can I chuck in my opinion!! No criticism on what YOU choose to do it’s your dollar and family’s adventures that matters. It would be interesting to know what is the anticipated mileage when fully converted. Love the videos BTW Steve.
Looking at this small vehicle that was converted. Ok when you are young fine. But, add a few years and things don't bend so well you need more space. When I was their age I did it all in a lorry cab. Not a lot of space there. The other thing is when you are younger you don't always have the money. So enjoy these small vehicles when young but enjoy the luxury of a bigger vehicle as the years add. As for electric. My monies on hydrogen.
The EV idea was sound considering the global warming effect, but thank the almighty for the hydrogen ICE, I can't imagine driving down to Vienna which currently takes me c.17 hours, but in an EV take almost two days and reducing my stay by almost a week!! The Germans have the technology, let's follow them for once!! Nice video as always, it's always cool to see what you get up to next! 👍👍
In reality they emit no less carbon dioxide (plant food) over their lifetime. A small diesel car is amazingly efficient and can be run from biodiesel too.
I’m sorry but EV is not for me, I’ve worked in car industry for 35 years,and we are very dubious and sales are dropping off and they are not practical for long distance and towing. I will give it another 10 years minimum
Who told you sales are dropping off? Legacy manufacturer sale, maybe, but they are currently complaining they can't make a compelling vehicle at a competitive price. The Tesla Model Y is the best selling car *on the planet* That's "car" not "EV". . "Don't believe what you read in the papers"
You guys make me laugh about electric car haters. Most people who don't buy into electric cars. Like all electric cars they are not time economical and when you have to charge from stations the cost is not as cheap as you think. If you add the campervan conversion weight to the van you won't get anywhere near 200 miles per charge. Now you know why basically conversion companies are pulling out of electric vehicle conversions.
We’ve already got a lovely 9m Swift Kon-tiki motorhome. This is to be used as a 2nd car and an occasional Campervan. It’s the perfect size for what we want it for.
I don't think people hate the idea of electric cars. Just the fact that there is little quality infrastructure in place. They cost a fortune for the average person compared to a decent petrol/diesel. Also most take forever to charge compared to a petrol/diesel.
@@RoamingRadfords Yes, I did watch that one but it doesn't explain why you're converting it to a campervan. What are your plans with it, as you already own a motorhome?
It’s just as a car for Lynds and a 2nd camper van when needed for just Lynds and I. Maybe watch this video on our Steve & Lynds channel where Lynds had to borrow a campervan th-cam.com/video/0VANSyndNes/w-d-xo.htmlsi=2Fnnvo98bDJ2LN8P
And another one to watch on our Steve & Lynds channel would be this one where we explain at the beginning it’s a car for Lynds, we aren’t getting rid of our large motorhome th-cam.com/video/Q0TuKTuDZ3E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EQ0uU5yY6INEYnIw
Utter and total waste of money. 250 miles I do 500 miles to Cornwall every year and I tow a Trailer so that's down to about 150 miles before charging. 12 hours to fully charge An ID buzz so its going to take 48 hours just in charging time, thats not including driving time. Thats 3 days off your holiday and all you've seen is motorway service centres. Rich toys fir folk who have too much money and want Bragging Rights at the Golf Club. The only folk who can really afford high end Electric cars are those who don't work and get them from Motorbility on P.I.P So pack your jobs in and claim PIP then maybe you can afford a new Electric motor 🤔 but it will still take a few days to get to Cornwall if you don't break down on motorway stuck in Traffic jams in Summer, then what happens. Just imagine it on the M1, Electric cars all running out of power cos they've been stuck in traffic and now they can't move. They are fine as Town cars, Nowt Else.
Tow it with your kontiki as an extra garage. Best use of the space..otherwise sorry to say you have too much cash to burn, your even looking at a new van probably a better spend. No disrespect meant but theres no positives small and electric. Take care
Michael, as we have stated several times now, this is mainly to be used as a 2nd car. We will also enjoy using it as a small Campervan from time to time when it’s 1 of us or just Lynds and I, and when we don’t want to take a 9m motorhome with us. We also don’t have any plans to change our current motorhome as we have made that perfect for us, Lynds was simply window shopping looking at alternative layouts for the future. There are many positives with small and electric and we plan to show you this in future videos.
Amazing the number of can't do won't comments. This is a real project that is a ground breaker... Thankfully some people like to push the boundaries. Not sit in their caves.
EVs have not been around for a few years, they appeared in the mid 1800s. The primary problem I see is the modern EV is very inefficient. Fat tyres, big heavy things. Add in a fixed battery and it's not going to last as long as the 1800s ones did, they had efficiency and replaceable batteries.
I can't think of one single advantage over our custom transit..... just done a 6000 + mile trip into lapland, no way could you do that in a buzz as there would not be the needed charging point out in the wilds. We did 400 miles in a day a couple of times... and less that 5 minutes to fuel up, and a 650 mile range.
EVs are fine for city travel and planned long journeys. This is generally the complete opposite of the freedom needed in a camper. The benefit of a kitchen in an EV camper would be for having a coffee while waiting at charging stops. I suppose someone who likes service station hopping would find it fun but no good if you want to camp in the mountains or remote locations.
If I was you Steve sell it before you spend anymore money on it You don’t need it as you have a great motor home anyway 200 mile range in a camper with out the extra weight It Will go down lower with weight Don’t plan on going to Cornwall or Scotland you will be stopping more than your moving to keep the charge up 👍
I was interested in listening to what you had to say...until you prefaced my whole internal dialogue with the assertion that if I had the audacity to disagree with you I must be a "hater" I noticed this tactic with another pro EV channel.....asking for a period of quiet reflection I suppose would be a waste of time
I am one of the people out here that can't afford an electric vehicle nor do I have anywhere off road to store or charge one. The other main problem I have now with EV's is that the main vehicle manufacturers are stating that electric vehicles aren't selling in the numbers they thought they would and as such, companies like VW, GM, Ford etc are haemorraging money at a rate they never thought possible. This in turn has forced them to reduce their production and sack workers in a bid to recoup their losses. It sounds like they are going to continue with ICE/battery hybrids and only build select EV's, so I wouldn't hold your breath on the ID Buzz continuing for too much longer or it recieving updates.
You know why they're not selling? They started late. They don't have the expertise, Their vehicles aren't good enough. . Now look at the inventory for their ICE vehicles. They're not selling either.
Well I won’t be giving up my Euro 5 campervan until I can get my hands on a hydrogen fuel cell van to convert. MAN already have ones on trial with big fleet operators. Much better range, 5 minute re-fuel, much better payload, zero emissions and I won’t need to be charging it thinking was this electricity produced by a coal or gas polluting power station or by a green source? Plus the longer I keep my van I don’t need to worry about the environmental damage caused by digging up all the cobalt and other minerals to make such large batteries for battery driven EV’s. Look how many bus operators now use fleets of them running 15hrs a day. Food for thought.
As far as Evs go there are a big no for me as I’ve to travel 250 miles to visit family, w3 go on a Friday night after work range and obviously cost is prohibitive for us, not to mention lack of charging infrastructure. As far as I see if you stay in a rural area they are a total waste of time ,but if you’re running about cities they might work for some people.
0:33. No, not 77kW, 77kW-hours. Power and energy are not the same thing, in the same way that distance and speed are not the same thing.
Would love to know what range it has , when fully laden for a road trip with passengers?
You can be sure we will let you know! Make sure you’re subscribed as this is the kind of information we’ll be feeding back.
My 250bhp V6 4x4 van will do about 600 miles between charges. It takes about 90 seconds to fully charge for the next 600 mile. Fortunately the chargers are available all over the UK and Europe.
😁
Actually charging infrastructure is great in mainland Europe.
@@Simon-dm8zv You obviously don't drive an electric car in the Alps.
We go mountain biking every year in the alps and one of our group had to give up taking his electric Jag as there just wasn't enough places to charge conveniently without the charging of the vehicle becoming one of the main obstacles of carefree holiday as we do alot of driving to remote locations to ride.
He now takes the diesel family wagon as he was fed up with being the Primadonna of the group and always demanding we needed to go where he could charge.
@@IronMountainx Hard to imagine honestly. Chargers are literally everywhere. Which country?
Very interesting to see how you developed the buzz interior :)
It’s an interesting project and looking forward to see how it transforms - great when things aren’t so straightforward as that’s when innovation is best.
All the best, David & Rachel. 👍
It’s just content for TH-cam. The van will be a tax right off for their company and they will get sponsorships and discounts for highlighting companies who work with them. It’s not about having a usable van at the end of it.
I’m here for it though gives us something to watch. I like knights custom conversions as well so will be interesting to see what they can do with such a small vehicle. When fully loaded the range will be terrible, they will spend most of their time camping at electric charge points 😂 (that are out of order!)
Steve I really enjoy your videos and it’s interesting to see the challenges of going with an electric option. Reading some of the comments I thought I would include something from the London Transport Museum website about horses and electric trams.
‘In 1900, almost every vehicle on London’s streets was horse-drawn. More than 300,000 horses were needed to keep the city on the move, hauling everything from private carriages and cabs to buses, trams and delivery vans.
Early mechanical vehicles were unreliable and short-lived. Electric tramways had been running in a number of American and European cities since the 1880s, but London did not have an electric tram line until 1901 when the first service opened between Shepherds Bush and Kew.
By 1914, trams were running throughout London, carrying 800 million passengers annually. While horses continued to be used for most deliveries, horse buses and horse trams had disappeared in London, and motor taxis heavily outnumbered horse-drawn cabs. ‘
I would like to know the range of the ID Buzz when using lights , window wipers and heater?
I read on some motoring magazine blog that even VW themselves i having problems in conversations with the buzz I think the weight is the problem so much so they delayed there own campervan .
When a small van converter says gee that’s tight on an id Buzz conversion and people are shelving conversions in the build industry think I would be worried see size does matter 😂
Very interesting its amazing what you can convert can't wait for the update 🚗😀
Whats the thoughts of VW putting a pop-top on with a double side door and how much steel do you have to add to keep the integrity of the van, one side door no problem but with two that seems in theory to weaken the structure badly .
Fantastic to catch up with you as always, what a treat coming to Thursday lunch club. Thank you for sharing our little start up business. We are really excited to see what you do with the ID Buzz. Ignore the haters, people tell us all the time we can’t possibly make such small cars into campers even though we lived in one for 9 months comfortably!
You two are ace!! Thank you for being so lovely!
The ID Buzz is a reverse tardis; large on the outside, surprisingly small inside. Lovely to look at, but not practical. Better off with a transit custom minimum
Hmmm - for me personally, I wouldn't waste my money on an electric van or the ID Buzz. There are far better vans out there. They may be 'green' but the initial battery manufacturing has a much higher carbon footprint. Even without that, the cramped space would drive me nuts in no time at all. I don't see the point of such a small space. Forever shuffling stuff about and moving one thing to try and use something else (trust me on this - I have a tiny kitchen in my house - 7' x 6' with 3.5 usable cupboards and 2 drawers - so I know about small and I also know I would never cope in that van. It would be like being caged in especially if the weather were bad and I don't even want to think about the pull out toilet! You two are used to your massive motorhome with all it's bells and whistles. The Rolling Rucks did a gas free van and sold it as it was too small and that was a diesel vehicle so having to find charging points and waiting for it to charge when trying to enjoy a break away is crazy. Then there's the payload. After the conversion, plus the two of you and the gear you'll be taking - it's going to be very interesting to see how long it lasts but good luck!
Do more research
@@rogerstarkey5390 Provide more info. Alternatives ?
@@stuarthall2523wrong
Total lifecycle emissions of an EV are always lower. Therefore chosing an EV over an internal combustion engine car always makes sense.
We encourage discussion, but won’t tolerate abuse so I’m afraid we have been forced to block @stuarthall2523
Couple o imes I’ve forgotten to charge my van over night so I charge early in morning & total lost 2 hrs
Back to diesel lost 15 minutes 🎉
Just a quick question if you don’t mind how are you going to keep it warm are you going to fit a diesel heater or a gas heater? We have a vw autosleeper and that has a gas heater to keep us warm in the colder months thanks
Nice big electric battery is a clue
Interesting as I hadn't really thought about the weight issue. My luton van had a lot more wiggle room than my old panel van as the whole of my living area has fibreglass & plastic sandwich walls.
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ this is the guys I will have to do mine when we get it his work is fantastic!!!!
🤣🤦♂️ and you was so close to me again 🤣
Just changed my main car from a Hybrid to a BEV, gone for an Audi Q4, really happy so far. Always had a bit of range anxiety before kids were at uni before and wouldn't have made the return trip without a zap and go somewhere. Analysed car usage for the last 12 months and would have only needed to charge away from home once made it a no brainer.
When you do the sums and see how often most people would need to even charge it’s an eye opener. I have a plug in hybrid with 25 mile range. 95% of the time I drive on pure electric. If I had a 200 mile range car I’d need to charge it fully once a week. So whilst at the supermarket maybe if I couldn’t do at home. For those lucky enough to charge at home then the car would probably have more range on average every day than an ice car. I don’t fill up the petrol tank everyday.
What are those existing bulky black plastic panels in the rear designed to achieve? they appear to just take up a lot of space, the shelf like mouldings seem to have no practical applications, I’d have thought for most van owners they’d prefer as much space as possible with any panelling as flush to the bulkhead as possible.
Good luck with the conversion.
it's interesting that you mention Jerba, I saw their first video but then they never posted a follow up. I wondered what was going on
I found your video really interesting,i would rather wait for a longer wheel based version of the ID BUZZ,it's look's great but would prefer a seating area one side and sink,hob the other side.I don't like the beds that fold out on top of the seats,not practical for me .I plan to buy an car electric soon but i might consider an ID BUZZ in the future.Nice people in video .Will be interesting to see the conversion.Good luck and best regards!
I have a Ford Grand Tourneo , got a Redcoat microcamper setup put in , not much room but enough for me and my dog :)
I just question where we will be dumping all the electric batteries and why they keep bursting in to flames , weird how the fires are covered up by blaming diesel Range rovers usually which is ridiculous , ideal for 15 minute cities i guess and to keep tabs on you
I wish they'd do something clever to the interior for days out, purpose built bike rack, solar roof to power fridge etc. All designed beautifully to keep the good looks.
Hi steve try laser web for camper van woods lightest grade plys you can get 1 sheet = 9kg for an 8x4
Great video, very informative, thanks. 😘💚
Ah we love Doug and Alex, and of course Sheila. Definitely shows what is possible.
Look forward to seeing how it comes along 👌
My mum and dad for their honeymoon travelled Europe through Andorra in Singer Estate car in 1968/69.
Is that front a two or a three seater it looks really narrow
It’s a 3 seater
This is really interesting, there was a lovely black and gold one in bus fest this year, the only thing putting me off converting your van is the rear doors and twin sliders, doesn’t this add weight?
I believe that was Transporter HQ’s one. They all have twin doors, so no choice there, and the rear doors are plastic, so I guess they’re lighter than the metal alternative. They really should have plated it at a higher weight than 3000kg but we’ll get it converted within the weight limit
THQ have a lovely one it’s yellow, the black and gold was like a modern John player special… they look to be bigger than the caddy, and the battery range seems really good, you can get a canopy for the t6 rear doors to give cover for a slide pod, variation on a theme 👍
Electric vans are the future, because they’re easier to drive, more fun, don’t pump fumes into your lungs (or the kids walking to school), are a moveable battery on wheels, can be powered for free or cheap! They’re a no brainer, looking forward to the ID Buzz conversion, ignore the haters remember people who loved horses and carts complained about petrol cars!
Thanks for your comment Will. We’ve seen the haters for over 8 years now and although I had argued with them for the first 4 or 5 years, I just can’t be bothered to argue with them anymore. Instead we’ll just try to educate them in our videos.
Really interesting vid John. I've had an an ID Buzz Cargo for 7 months and love it to bits,
but.... wow, that range has dropped from nearly 300 miles (I drive like my grandma) to around 220 miles in the November climate! Really disappointed.
What's it going to do when the cold weather hits. Pile in a load of furniture, and camping gear, and maybe a poptop, and 2 adults....
this ain't going to work is it?
You guys should go for doppelback as it extends the rear
Space isn't a problem as long as it works for you, there's plenty of people out there using Caddy Maxi's as campers - it's your holiday, have it your way. Please don't take it as EV hate, just want to get people's thoughts on both sides.... We have a campsite in the family and the big concern for us is EV charging on site. Cost (we wouldn't fill up someone's diesel tank when they stay with us, should we charge someone's EV?), fire risk, whether our incoming supply is up to it, and (not meaning yourselves), questionable electrical safety in some people's conversions.
I use one as a van for work by far the best van I have ever driven and I have owned and drive a lot of vans.
Wouldn’t go back now. Wouldn’t use one as a camper as to small for me but electric all the way for me.
Great!
Brilliant video tonight thanks for sharing 🎉
Are the conversations with coming back over winter period please
I'm not a vanlifer... but I do travel a lot. Love the insight you guys give and your channel is just so fun to watch. Good job as always. -SoCal USA
Thank you x
It's not going to work when you add that extra weight, not unless you don't care about hampering the range even more than it already is. Seriously, wait until the solid state batteries become available if you have to run an EV campervan, alternatively buy diesel which makes much more sense
‘Geoff Buys Cars’ was talking about the buzz in todays vid
I don't hate electric cars. I hate the lack of infrastructure and charging points that makes them impractical for anything but short journeys from home. What about people who live in terraced houses? It's even harder for them.
The big problem for most currently is the extra cost of EVs, which from reading some fund analysts reports is expected to start falling in the next couple of years and see EVs cheaper than ICE vehicles sometime between 2025 and 2030.
Until then even with an income above the average, I will wait.
when i was a converter and cut the roofs out of t5's for pop tops... if you stand up in the back of the van and rock the van side to side you can see the whole van twist. thats before the strengthening frame goes in. i think you may be poking an angry bear there. if you cut the roof out you are going to add god knows how many kilos in frame and pop top. not a problem on a diesel t5 but this one may just come back to bite you. i know you will look well into it and the pros are on the job!!!! so i will watch
What a fantastic place Knights looks,looking forward to seeing what clever ideas they come up with.We've got a Clayton to go in our sprinter build,reassuring to hear a builder uses them in all of theirs.
Its a fun electric van. Its too small for a family camper and too expensive for a single camper IMO. The LWB version might be a better option or whatever VW come out with (or even an e-transit) as a base for a conversion. I think when the Buzz came out lots of people immediately projected ‘electric california’ onto it but its a very different size more like a caddy?
Payload is also what I guessed would be a sticking point.
But also, fundamentally it just seems too small ! Even a lwb Transporter is marginal.
Very interested in this build
Of course you can create a micro camper and a small camper out of most vehicles....But do you want to?, do you need to?, and is the Buzz the right vehicle?. If you need a small camper and think you would use it, then the Buzz is a very expensive way of doing it. To do it well, I would expect it to owe you near £80k on the road. That's a lot of money to not have much space, payload or range? If your doing it with content in mind (please don't take offence at that) then its a big investment. If you were to convert it, then having 2 single front seats on swivels would make the world of difference to the time spent camping. I haven't had any with the buzz, but have spoken to a few fellow converters who have been looking at doing something on them. Does anyone actually make a dedicated pop top for them yet, or are they making use of one from a similar sized van?
Bivvy loo you won’t look back and space saving is massive
Absolutely, we’ve already changed our minds since this video, and following lots of advice and comments, we now have a Bivvy Loo 👍
@@RoamingRadfordswe have a link to some good bags but also a way to remove smells when storing using bio degradable sous vide bags - it’s on our channel the video as not sure I can add a link here - trust me a game changer
I get the EV but not the Buzz. The sales vids are getting a bit boring but then I’m not into motor homes that much. You as a family great to watch….
Be careful not to drill through the battery fixing things to the floor
It is not about haters, it is about having a practical vehicle that can do the job at an affordable price. At the moment in most cases EV's just do not cut it.
I would love to see you take the I.D. BUZZ to Morocco on a like for like basis with your last trip. And just because some one does not agree with you we are not all haters. One could say the EV brigade are all Geeky types with their watt hours per mile etc.
Not an EV hater at all, but surely the range is so limiting for a camper van? Couple this with a tiny bed and it’d be a no from me….however I can appreciate that you are wanting to do something new that hasn’t been done yet, so good luck & I’ll be following out of interest 👍🏻
You drive more than 300 km without stopping?
Not an EV hater, they have a place alongside ICE vehicles . The wealth, needs, infrastructure and purpose are the deciding factors to what you choose. Not sure where converting an ID Buzz with limited payload fits in but it creates content at the very least.
They're as cheaper or very close to an *equivalent* ICE car now (not "Tesla vs Vauxhall Corsa")
Infrastructure is there.... And improving.
Purpose? If the vehicle can Outrange you, and recharge while you refresh sufficient to do it again, it's fit for purpose.
In the UK that's not a problem.
Payload? I believe is 4250kg on a standard licence, no problem.
Electric Motorhome for Europe.....good luck lol. Enjoy your videos as always. Around town EV, Roadtrip diesel for now 😳
I don’t hate electric cars but I wouldn’t buy one yet. Main reason being I have no where to charge at home but I’m also not convinced they are ready yet. But I’m not an early adopter of anything. I think anyone who does go for one should be commended though. More petrol for me and it all helps. My car does 20 mpg!
I’m glad people are pioneering stuff because when I am ready to switch you will have helped to fix all the bugs and niggles. Plus it’s really interesting especially as it’s not my money!
I wonder how many other people are in the same boat no where to charge and in the countryside it’s the same village houses built in 1779 you can imagine the issues my solution is a hybrid love it and don’t have to waste time charging or looking for charger’s
Main problem for most people is affordability.
Think it through..... Properly.
1) Audit your mileage.
.
2) Consider that for a large percentage of trips, you're simply "going somewhere" to "do something" and just as Steve did on this trip, spend several hours at that location.
That's where you charge.
It's going to be Ubiquitous.
If you're just going local (UK average is 8k(?) per year) that's ±150 miles per week, you'd be charging this every 10 days, 10% per day, or 1 hour on a 7 kW charger IF you use it that day.
In town, supermarket, anywhere else you go.
.
Going a distance?
240 miles in the UK is 3.5 - 4 hrs, depending on route, time, and how many rush hours you hit.
Steve could drive from Milton Keynes to Sunderland, Plymouth, or Brussels(!)
.
The flat "Won't work" opinion is no longer valid.
@rogerstarkey5390 I could but that's a lot of hassle. You know what's not a lot of hassle, 5 minutes at a petrol station once a week. When it's that convenient, I'll change
Can I chuck in my opinion!! No criticism on what YOU choose to do it’s your dollar and family’s adventures that matters. It would be interesting to know what is the anticipated mileage when fully converted. Love the videos BTW Steve.
200 miles, as I mentioned in the video
I didn't get why the ID campervan is failing... ?
I mentioned it at 50 seconds into the video
Looking at this small vehicle that was converted. Ok when you are young fine. But, add a few years and things don't bend so well you need more space. When I was their age I did it all in a lorry cab. Not a lot of space there. The other thing is when you are younger you don't always have the money. So enjoy these small vehicles when young but enjoy the luxury of a bigger vehicle as the years add. As for electric. My monies on hydrogen.
Spot on my thoughts exactly 😊
I just love the sound of and engine and the smell of petrol nothing like it!. But electric cars Tesla’s are very impressive
I totally agree with you on all comments!
The EV idea was sound considering the global warming effect, but thank the almighty for the hydrogen ICE, I can't imagine driving down to Vienna which currently takes me c.17 hours, but in an EV take almost two days and reducing my stay by almost a week!! The Germans have the technology, let's follow them for once!! Nice video as always, it's always cool to see what you get up to next! 👍👍
Dead end
In reality they emit no less carbon dioxide (plant food) over their lifetime.
A small diesel car is amazingly efficient and can be run from biodiesel too.
@@G-ra-ha-myou are clueless
@@Simon-dm8zv Oh Simon, you poor boy.
@@G-ra-ha-m at least I am not spreading the most idiotic misinformation comment after comment
Range anxiety Can you get tablets for this nowadays 😂
Whats Cancelled ?
I explain at the beginning of the video, I believe it’s at around 50 seconds in
I’m sorry but EV is not for me, I’ve worked in car industry for 35 years,and we are very dubious and sales are dropping off and they are not practical for long distance and towing. I will give it another 10 years minimum
Who told you sales are dropping off?
Legacy manufacturer sale, maybe, but they are currently complaining they can't make a compelling vehicle at a competitive price.
The Tesla Model Y is the best selling car *on the planet*
That's "car" not "EV".
.
"Don't believe what you read in the papers"
Lol for someone who worked in the car industry I expected something better…
Why does your thumbnail say cancelled?
I explain this in the first minute of the video, I believe at around 50 seconds in
I sponsored Sheila on the back bumper Chris me and dottie my dog
Thanks for sponsoring us! It really helped us get through our charity rally!
This is a great van. But this is not the sort of van that you buy. It is the sort of Van that you RENT to go for a trip.
wow....interesting project and looking forward to see how it transforms.
i have the place for the toliet "The Bumper Dumper" 🤣
Great videos Steve. Whats your take on synthetic fuel Motor Homes and are there any out there? Future video perhaps.
Synthetic fuels are very expensive to produce and as polluting as "normal" fuel.
@@rogerstarkey5390exactly
You guys make me laugh about electric car haters. Most people who don't buy into electric cars. Like all electric cars they are not time economical and when you have to charge from stations the cost is not as cheap as you think. If you add the campervan conversion weight to the van you won't get anywhere near 200 miles per charge. Now you know why basically conversion companies are pulling out of electric vehicle conversions.
Very sensible words...EV are just not good enough. It's ok for rich to virtual sign but not practical for the majority 😊
@@epcode5121virtual sign?
Soz I too hate E.V.,s !
John did a van for top man
I have a t6 lwb kombi , great van but buy a motorhome if thats your thing,
Vans are not big enough really , no escape from that.
We’ve already got a lovely 9m Swift Kon-tiki motorhome. This is to be used as a 2nd car and an occasional Campervan. It’s the perfect size for what we want it for.
I don't think people hate the idea of electric cars. Just the fact that there is little quality infrastructure in place. They cost a fortune for the average person compared to a decent petrol/diesel. Also most take forever to charge compared to a petrol/diesel.
I think it’s doable, just interested to see how usable it would be. Great project if it works.
I think I may have missed a video or two. Why are we watching a conversion in a small van? You're not selling the motorhome, are you?
Yes you’ve clearly missed some videos. Maybe start catching up here…
OUR NEW ID BUZZ CAMPERVAN PROJECT
th-cam.com/video/-AlTDWjpZUo/w-d-xo.html
@@RoamingRadfords Yes, I did watch that one but it doesn't explain why you're converting it to a campervan. What are your plans with it, as you already own a motorhome?
It’s just as a car for Lynds and a 2nd camper van when needed for just Lynds and I. Maybe watch this video on our Steve & Lynds channel where Lynds had to borrow a campervan th-cam.com/video/0VANSyndNes/w-d-xo.htmlsi=2Fnnvo98bDJ2LN8P
And another one to watch on our Steve & Lynds channel would be this one where we explain at the beginning it’s a car for Lynds, we aren’t getting rid of our large motorhome th-cam.com/video/Q0TuKTuDZ3E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=EQ0uU5yY6INEYnIw
Utter and total waste of money.
250 miles
I do 500 miles to Cornwall every year and I tow a Trailer so that's down to about 150 miles before charging.
12 hours to fully charge An ID buzz so its going to take 48 hours just in charging time, thats not including driving time.
Thats 3 days off your holiday and all you've seen is motorway service centres.
Rich toys fir folk who have too much money and want Bragging Rights at the Golf Club.
The only folk who can really afford high end Electric cars are those who don't work and get them from Motorbility on P.I.P
So pack your jobs in and claim PIP then maybe you can afford a new Electric motor 🤔 but it will still take a few days to get to Cornwall if you don't break down on motorway stuck in Traffic jams in Summer, then what happens.
Just imagine it on the M1, Electric cars all running out of power cos they've been stuck in traffic and now they can't move.
They are fine as Town cars, Nowt Else.
I just wanted steve too sing into that shower head. Lol
Was about it being a commercial vechical and you having to go slower om motorways and dual carriageways also its got a igher DART. charge.
Tow it with your kontiki as an extra garage. Best use of the space..otherwise sorry to say you have too much cash to burn, your even looking at a new van probably a better spend. No disrespect meant but theres no positives small and electric. Take care
Michael, as we have stated several times now, this is mainly to be used as a 2nd car. We will also enjoy using it as a small Campervan from time to time when it’s 1 of us or just Lynds and I, and when we don’t want to take a 9m motorhome with us.
We also don’t have any plans to change our current motorhome as we have made that perfect for us, Lynds was simply window shopping looking at alternative layouts for the future.
There are many positives with small and electric and we plan to show you this in future videos.
Amazing the number of can't do won't comments. This is a real project that is a ground breaker... Thankfully some people like to push the boundaries. Not sit in their caves.
Would you do it with your money? Seriously? I have a Buzz, it wont work!
or. spend 28k converting a pygmies cave so you can sit in it several hours a day huddled over looking out the windows at carparks charging it up.
EVs have not been around for a few years, they appeared in the mid 1800s.
The primary problem I see is the modern EV is very inefficient. Fat tyres, big heavy things.
Add in a fixed battery and it's not going to last as long as the 1800s ones did, they had efficiency and replaceable batteries.
In fact EVs are very efficient, far better than these from the 1800’s.
@@Simon-dm8zv LOL.
@@G-ra-ha-m Yes, reality can be funny sometimes
I can't think of one single advantage over our custom transit..... just done a 6000 + mile trip into lapland, no way could you do that in a buzz as there would not be the needed charging point out in the wilds. We did 400 miles in a day a couple of times... and less that 5 minutes to fuel up, and a 650 mile range.
So, why is it failing?
Watch the video, I explain at around 50 seconds into it
EVs are fine for city travel and planned long journeys. This is generally the complete opposite of the freedom needed in a camper.
The benefit of a kitchen in an EV camper would be for having a coffee while waiting at charging stops.
I suppose someone who likes service station hopping would find it fun but no good if you want to camp in the mountains or remote locations.
Seems a lot of money and a lot of faff for what is a small camper,
Realistically the interior is too small
If I was you Steve sell it before you spend anymore money on it
You don’t need it as you have a great motor home anyway
200 mile range in a camper with out the extra weight
It Will go down lower with weight
Don’t plan on going to Cornwall or Scotland you will be stopping more than your moving to keep the charge up
👍
lyndsey has replaced her tesla car for the buzz
Don’t think he will be able to sell it without making a huge loss the vw dealer near me has the quite e few buzz for sale all at a reduced price
I was interested in listening to what you had to say...until you prefaced my whole internal dialogue with the assertion that if I had the audacity to disagree with you I must be a "hater"
I noticed this tactic with another pro EV channel.....asking for a period of quiet reflection I suppose would be a waste of time
I am one of the people out here that can't afford an electric vehicle nor do I have anywhere off road to store or charge one. The other main problem I have now with EV's is that the main vehicle manufacturers are stating that electric vehicles aren't selling in the numbers they thought they would and as such, companies like VW, GM, Ford etc are haemorraging money at a rate they never thought possible. This in turn has forced them to reduce their production and sack workers in a bid to recoup their losses.
It sounds like they are going to continue with ICE/battery hybrids and only build select EV's, so I wouldn't hold your breath on the ID Buzz continuing for too much longer or it recieving updates.
You know why they're not selling?
They started late.
They don't have the expertise,
Their vehicles aren't good enough.
.
Now look at the inventory for their ICE vehicles.
They're not selling either.
Steves Sooty van, loving it! Lol
Well I won’t be giving up my Euro 5 campervan until I can get my hands on a hydrogen fuel cell van to convert. MAN already have ones on trial with big fleet operators. Much better range, 5 minute re-fuel, much better payload, zero emissions and I won’t need to be charging it thinking was this electricity produced by a coal or gas polluting power station or by a green source? Plus the longer I keep my van I don’t need to worry about the environmental damage caused by digging up all the cobalt and other minerals to make such large batteries for battery driven EV’s. Look how many bus operators now use fleets of them running 15hrs a day. Food for thought.
🇬🇧🦋buzz is going to be small but mighty , great ideas 🚐
That is going to look fantastic can’t wait to see the finished product can’t go wrong with electric good luck with the refurb excited
Another great video has always Steve Lindsay Eddie Harry and George 👍
As far as Evs go there are a big no for me as I’ve to travel 250 miles to visit family, w3 go on a Friday night after work range and obviously cost is prohibitive for us, not to mention lack of charging infrastructure. As far as I see if you stay in a rural area they are a total waste of time ,but if you’re running about cities they might work for some people.
It's not hate it's totally not a practical solution especially on associated cost's in comparison to other non EV campers which are available.
Have you checked the price of "other non-EV campers"?
.
smh
Have you checked the total cost of an ID Buzz and what you can get for the same price without the EV limitations
We have, and providing we stick to our planned budget our build is going to come in less than a new VW California