With the Holidays nearly here, many of us are either visiting family or have family coming to visit. Either way, housing yourself or the in-laws can be a bit of an issue. Rather than spending the Holidays pulling your hair out and avoiding those dreaded relatives, you could just buy this Hanomag F-25. It could be the perfect place to sleep or hide away in for the duration of the Holiday season. You could even stick those relatives you’d rather not have sleeping in your house in it. Of course it’s going to need some restoration work before it will be ready to accept any guests, but having it to work on would give you an excuse to spend the next couple of weeks out in the garage! Whether you’ve been looking for a camper or just love Hanomags, be sure to check this one out here on eBay.
The VW Bus might be the most iconic camper bus, but the Hanomag F-25 camper conversion resolves one of the major issues I’ve always had with the VW – size. Compared to the Westfalia, this F-25 is massive and has plenty of room to stand up and stretch. As you can see though, this one is going to need some work before it will be a comfortable place to sleep. It appears most of the major components are still here, including the sink, cook top, water storage system, and seats that convert into a bed. Most of the work will involve crafting new wood panels for the walls and building new cabinets for the sink and range. Since this was a conversion, I’m not sure if you’ll be able to find interior parts, so having all the pieces here is important. If you’re handy with a saw, you might be able to do most of the woodwork yourself though. Given how rare these are, I’d be sure to have it inspected to make sure everything is still there. Thankfully it is located just south of Eugene, Oregon in the small town of Cottage Grove, so it shouldn’t be too hard to have someone check it out for you.
Hanomag was one of Germany’s major heavy machinery manufactures and they built everything from locomotives to farm equipment to tanks. When this truck was produced, the brand was in the hands of Daimler Benz, so it is powered by a 4 cylinder Mercedes diesel. Looking at it you would assume it was a similar design to the VW Bus, with the motor mounted in the rear, but instead the motor was placed up front with power going right to the front wheels. This allowed for a flat rear floor, plenty of ground clearance, and reduced manufacturing and maintenance costs. The seller states that the engine turns over, but that years of sitting have left it in none operable condition.
While this camper certainly wouldn’t be ready for any Christmas visitors, or even New Years for that matter, it would still make a great winter project. I could see it easily being ready for some great adventures in the spring, whether they are road trips or camping expeditions up into the mountains. If it were me, I would focus on getting it running, driving, and comfortable to stay in. The seller claims the exterior is going to need work, but that would be the last thing on my list of things to worry about. I can already imagine how great it could look after a good cleaning, some new wood work, and some carpet on the floors. So, would you put the in-laws in this bus or would you make it your own personal retreat for the Holidays?
I’d park it in the driveway, hook it up and use it as a sanctuary when the in-laws come over for the holidays… -_-;
Shades of Chevvy Chase and National Lampoon Christmas!!
since it is a tube frame which could rust from the inside out it would need a very good PI by someone who knows these. might be fun but slow daily driver. great find
The tube frame is really the last thing you would ever need to worry about on this bus. The frame will outlast the van.
http://barnfinds.com/robert-js-mercedes-van-project/
Hanomags are more closely related to Borgward than Mercedes,although Mercedes did eventualy own Hanomag,if you compare a Borgward truck to a Hanomag truck you will see. Right now I have a B-2000 a/o
I live in Eugene and would do a PPI for a buyer if I had transportation and gas money to get me to Cottage Grove, and have some marginal knowledge of these, they were also related to the final generations of Tempo Matador, more so than to Borgward, I looked at a dilapidated orange, Mercedes diesel powered Hanomag F25 camper, also imported grey-market as a recreational vehicle in the late 60s/early 70s, a few years ago for someone who was briefly tossing about the idea of making an Oregon Country Fair and music festival camper, no idea what happened to that one, but for fans of the odd in automobiles, Hanomag vans never failed to satisfy.
Really cool that stuff local to me has been showing up…
And parts are not all that hard to find if you can read, write & speak German, can afford shipping everything in from Deutschland and can afford orphan marque prices on some things and Mercedes truck (pricy as Adenauer or Grosser bits if not more so) prices on most, these were made after Daimler-Benz bought out Hanomag to give Mercedes a lighter-duty, entry-level van that slotted in just above its domestic, UK, French and Italian rivals pricewise. The toughest part of restoring will not be finding parts for it. Rather, it would be recreating the interiors that the importer commissioned for camper Hanomags if you are a purist, and in any state of the union or Canadian province, getting through the bureaucratic red tape to have such an obscure marque as Hanomag entered into the DMV’s database of recognized marques.
Sorry for long comment but had to share info on these and my experience
Anyone looking for parts for this Hanomag, call Tracy Kroon @ Crown restoration in Wilsall MN, he has a Daimler which is much like the Hanomag Tell him Jerry sent u
I want one of these my father had one that looked just like this one in the mid 70’s
Hi I am in Rochester n.y. and i have a 1969 Hanomag Mercedes f 25 van camper that I need a wind shield for it , any information is a big help thank you
Joe Freitas
3 -19 – 2017
Hi there – I also own one of these F25 trucks, and there is a company online that appears to have glass available, though for a hefty price and a bit of a wait.
See here : http://www.classic-autoglas.com/hanomag-henschel-f20-f35-67-75-frontscheibe/5378
Can’t vouch for them as have never used them, but thought I would share
Can anyone help me find a Hanomag or VW bus to drive me to my wedding in Ithaca NY? About a 20 minute drive. Will pay.