looking at a use van Help

[toymister]

I am looking at buying a used camper van.

I've never had a camper before. Can anyone give me some advise on what to look for.

Are all the VW Eurovan Campers the same in terms of equipment. (aside from the middle seat or middle bench.

I understand with the center seat in you are unable to open the fridge. Does this mean you leave it at home when you go camping?

How good are the heaters in the little campers?

How much storage is there.

Is there an option to mount a ladder on the back to allow access to the roof?

How high does the camper van stand. I Kayak quite a bit and will be looking at setting up a roof box on a set of racks as well as kayaks.

I have heard it is better to go with the V6 as oppose to the 5 cyl for various reasons in reliability, is this true.

Were all EuroVans Automatics?

Sorry lots of questions but I know very little about these vehicles. Any advise would be helpful.

Thank you very much for your help

[Dave Giggy]

I have a 2001 Eurovan camper and i will answer your questions is they relate to it:
They all have the same equipment exept the bench seat. I didn't want it and saved $200 when i purchased the van. True, you can't open fridge if it is in place.
It has a very good propane powered heater in the rear that will warm to whole interior in 5 or 10 mins. I runs off of an electric thermastate.
I always have the back bed plaform down on mine so the storage next to the firdge is hard to get to as is the storage under the rear seat. If the seat is in place the storage is fine. A lower cupboard a drawer below the sink. A medicine chest type cabinet along the driver side and a larger on below as well. There is a closet that will take a few hanging garments and some folded shirts sox etc.
No option for a ladder mount because the rear end lifts up. There is a fairly large exterior storage area above the passenger/driver area. Yakima and a others make racks that will handle your kayak if yours doesn't.
Mine came with a transverse V-6 and 200+ HP. It is a wonderful driving van. Very reponsive and comfortable. Just came w/auto trans., air conditioning (barely adequate), CD player, auto speed control, etc.
Hope this helps. You can contact me at [email protected].
Incidentally, i just found out at vw.com that they no longer make them for US or Candadian markets.