Some say that a Motorhome/RV is a manufactured product that comes straight from the factory while a Campervan is a renovated/converted commercial panel van or box truck.
A new or used commercial van/truck that is converted/upgraded to a campervan is described by the Irish government motor vehicle department as a motor caravan. |
Key advantages of a campervan
Advantage 1 |
Advantage 2 |
You get to design the interior to suit your purpose, whether that be for family holidays or your sporting pursuits (mountain biking, kayaking, fishing, surfing, scuba diving, equestrian, etc...) | The price you pay for the campervan you desire will be substantially lower than buying an 'off the assembly line' motorhome, unless the motorhome is very old. |
Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT)
The Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) office requires that the van being converted has certain modifications in place. The van must have:
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Insurance
Insurance companies however, have their own criteria... even though the vehicle is registered with the VRT goverment department as a motor caravan, the insurance company does not have to recognise this fact... According to some insurance companies, a campervan must:
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Also be aware that campervan insurance policy are subject to terms and conditions. Including the vehicle being your secondary mode of transport that you have a car policy with 5 years no claims.
It is possible to insure a campervan as a regular van or to transfer an existing car policy temporarily. Shopping about for insurance is required.
It is possible to insure a campervan as a regular van or to transfer an existing car policy temporarily. Shopping about for insurance is required.
Every new vehicle sold in the Republic of Ireland is subject to VRT vehicle registration tax.
For a private car this is calculated at 23% of the vehicles net value Plus 21% VAT. Quite a tidy sum for the taxman. *Note the % of the net value may change and differ for increased CO2 emissions.
On a commercial goods vehicle such as a panel van or box truck the VRT rate is 0%, there is a fee of 200 euro for registration paperwork and the VAT charged can be reclaimed if you are VAT registered.
When upgrading a commercial goods panel van or box truck to a motor-caravan the VRT rate is 13.3% of the value of the vehicle after the conversion work is complete.
If you're exporting the vehicle to the UK or anywhere else outside of Ireland, you can claim that VRT back from Irish Revenue.
For a private car this is calculated at 23% of the vehicles net value Plus 21% VAT. Quite a tidy sum for the taxman. *Note the % of the net value may change and differ for increased CO2 emissions.
On a commercial goods vehicle such as a panel van or box truck the VRT rate is 0%, there is a fee of 200 euro for registration paperwork and the VAT charged can be reclaimed if you are VAT registered.
When upgrading a commercial goods panel van or box truck to a motor-caravan the VRT rate is 13.3% of the value of the vehicle after the conversion work is complete.
If you're exporting the vehicle to the UK or anywhere else outside of Ireland, you can claim that VRT back from Irish Revenue.
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The VRT office take these figures (table above) and adds on a percentage for the upgrade value. What this percentage is is unknown. For this example the VRT office values the now campervan at 20,000 euro.
Subtract the 200 euro already paid to register the van before conversion and the total VRT due is 2,460 euro.
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It is possible to downgrade a mini bus to a motorcaravan (campervan) and therefore have no VRT billl to pay!
The only fee required is a 200 euro re-registration fee. It should be noted that there is no refund of the VRT paid for the mini bus when new unless you export the vehicle. |
A few considerations with mini buses
Be aware that you may require a 'C' license to drive a mini bus as a lot of these vehicles exceed the 3.5 ton limit for a regular car license. It can be difficult to get insurance on a converted mini bus. Mini buses cost a lot more to purchase than a panel van of the same year. There is a lot more work involved in stripping the existing interior of a mini bus and blocking out some of the windows adding to the conversion costs. Another consideration is, sometimes the electric system is 24volt not the usual 12volt. Though mini buses due tend to have good heating systems and some have air-con which is nice. |
John J. Finegan - FCW Engineering