Converting a Van to a Camper in Ireland

PLEASE NOTE: There are two significant changes to the law regarding camper vans in Ireland.

The first is straight forward: As of March 1st 2012 camper vans must have a roadworthiness certificate which they can get from their local tax office after passing a CVT (DOE) at a relevant test centre. See here for details.

The second is less so: The RSA say "Motor caravans / motor homes / camper vans are a special-purpose vehicle which include living accommodation. As of 29th April 2012 they will be required to adhere to ECWVTA approval before it can be registered for road use in Ireland." This means that if you have a new unregistered vehicle you must supply proof that your van has been coverted by a professional.

There is a lot of confusion in Ireland on how to convert your vehicle to a 'camper van' under the eyes of the law. Previously you had to have 1.8m of  height inside the converted van and it was down to your local tax office official whether or not pop tops counted. Position of the moon and planetary alignments were rumored to help.

Being a legal camper van has a lot of benefits over a commercial vehicle; cheaper road tax, rear seats, reassurance of having conversion contents fully insured and being able to carry bicycles and kayaks without worry - commercial drivers have to sign a wavier that the commercial vehicle is only for commercial use.

Fortunately the height restriction has now been waved and the system formalised. Everything now goes through Rosslare. Naturally there are a few forms to complete on the way and obstacles to be overcome. I shall try to explain them as simply as possible here. Before I start be aware that (as of Dec 2011) not every County Council knows that the system has changed.

I'll divide the process into three steps (obstacles some may say):
1. Revenue
2. Motor Tax
3. Insurance

1. Revenue:

Step One: Have a suitable van converted. The definition of a motor caravan is included here:
.

So to be a camper you need, seats, table, bed, cupboards and cooking facilities. Happily absent from this list is a sink and of course 1.8 m of interior height.

Update: the insurance company may require a sink and rear windows to be fitted. Before you hand over your van for a conversion or DIY check with the prospective brokers or insurance company. They actually require more than revenue do.

See this link for full explanation of the categories. For T4 and T5's: A VW Caravelle would be category M, a  VW Transporter panel van would be N1 "Category N1: having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes (7,700 lb)". A light commercial vehicle in other words. This appears to rule out converting a larger Crafter or Sprinter van.

Step 2: You need two pieces of paper. 

Piece of paper 1: You need to have the conversion inspected by a Suitably Qualified Individual (SQI). Note the definition of a SQI at the end of the attached paper. They have to write up a Declaration of Conversion by Suitably Qualified Individual. Here is the suggested template for such a declaration from revenue.

There are three ways to get a SQI (assessor) to check your van.

1: Ring Motor Assessors Ireland on 066 710 7200. They will supply you with contact details of an assessor 

    close to you. The assessor will come to your house and inspect your vehicle. This will cost you about 

    200 - 250 Euro.

2: Go to an Approved Test Centre. The details of these are available from your local motor tax office. In
    Co. Clare they are in Clarecastle 065 6820297, Darragh 065 6838820 and Milltown 065 7084039. This
    will cost you about 80 euro.

3: Find one yourself.

Piece of paper 2: You need to fill out a Declaration of Conversion by Vehicle Owner (VRTCONV). Follow the link, scroll down the page and there is a Word and/or PDF form 2nd and 3rd from the end. Note: this form needs a SQI stamp so have it ready when you go to the test centre or when the assessor comes to your home. It looks like this:

Step 3: Send the two declarations with the Vehicle Registration Certificate (your logbook) to 

            Central Vehicle Office, 

            Rosslare Harbour,

            Co. Wexford

Rosslare will look at the current market value of a similar vehicle and charge you 13.3% of that as VRT. They say to use Done Deal or Buy and Sell to get a ballpark figure of what this will be. They will then reclassify your vehicle by post if its pre-2005 or online if after. Here's their guide to VRT:

In addition to the forms you must submit images of the conversion to Rosslare. The exterior must be covered from all sides, so a minimum of four photos there, plus 5 or 6 shots (at least) of the interior. I sent about 20 photos and was not asked for more. You can be selective in what you show in your photos while fulfilling the requirements.

My van, a 04 2.5 TDI tailgate, rear side windows, two forward and two rear seats, basic storage, 2 ring gas stove, 19" alloy wheels (no time to change them temporarily to steels), was valued at 10,000 Euro. So I paid 13.3 % of that to revenue in Ennis. Who didn't know what to do with it so they sent it to Rosslare. I got the same logbook back from Rosslare with a handwritten note and stamp on it and a letter to bring to the motor tax office. I have to say in all my dealings with Rosslare they were very helpful at all times.


2. Motor Tax 

I rang a couple of tax offices in Clare (Ennis and Ennistymon) to see what they needed from me. They both told me I'd need to bring the van for an inspection and I needed amongst the usual stuff a sink and 1.8 m in height. I'd already fitted a sink in advance of the insurance but nearly dropped when they said 1.8 m? A heated discussion ensued and I probably owe a civil servant in Ennistymon an apology. After cooling off, a quick phone call to Rosslare gave me some ammunition with this link. Go to pages 64 and 65. I printed them off to wave at the person behind the glass.


I went to the tax office in Limerick with my logbook, revenue cover letter, insurance, DOE. I didn't need to quote the EU directive from the link above, nobody looked at the van, there was no mention of a sink or 1.8m of internal height. I walked out with a camper tax disc and a promise of a new log book in the post. Phew.

3. Insurance

I went with Dolmen Insurance. They needed an application form filled out by me, photos of the van and an Irish Brokers Association Camper Scheme Form completed by an SIMI registered garage or a main dealer.  I also gave them a list of the specification of the van, inside and out., as their form hasn't enough space. The 'Camper Scheme Form' is available from Dolmen's website, I don't quite understand why this has to be done as it's not camper specific, it checks if the vehicle is roadworthy but is not as thorough as the DOE. It can be completed in about 20 mins by a mechanic in an SIMI garage.

.........

Process complete!!! Hooray!! The hardest part I found was finding out what was needed and dealing with the motor tax office. Realising that the insurance company wanted a sink in the camper was a bit of a bump as I'd almost finished when I found out.  Additionally I don't think you have to have to have a crash tested rear seat: I think a rock and roll bed with seat belts would pass (the moral choice obviously is yours).

If I'd have known it all before the van would look a lot different.

As I've said; I had no trouble with Rosslare at all, they were very helpful. They did return my form to me once but that's because the 'Suitably Qualified Individual' filled it out wrong. If you have any problems ring them on the number above.

I hope this post will be of use to some people going through the same process.