Mercedes-Benz 508D – Camper on the bridge

You can recognize such an OM314 industrial engine from Mercedes from afar. No diesel sounds more satisfied and unyielding at idle than that hugely thick four-cylinder. ‘Just lasts a million kilometers’ is the common opinion among enthusiasts of this type of bus and they are not often wrong. Almost as strong is the ladder chassis, which is made to handle unheard-of abuse without grumbling. No wonder there are still a ton of 508s driving around. This gray, twice as long variant of Bas is one of them. It dates from 1978 and has served as a loyal holiday mobile for the past sixteen years, first for ‘the couple’, and then for ‘the family’ of Heertum. Bas: ‘My wife and I used to love festivals, but that hassle in a tent was nothing. So we usually went out with my plasterer’s bus: put the mattress in and go. That went fine, but when we had a wish to have children, a new idea was quickly born: we are looking for a cool, old bus to have a little more space. Then we can leave whenever we want, preferably to the beach, without having to arrange everything right away. And I also knew what I wanted: an old Mercedes 508! A little later I found this via Marktplaats. It had already been transformed into a camper a bit and with not too much effort I was able to make it habitable. The biggest investment was in the roof: it really had to be raised a lot.” As is often the case: a friend of a friend in the neighborhood saw the potential for this job and went to work with the grinder. Just took out about five meters of roof and then raised things up, for that purpose a strip of thirty centimeters of metal was welded to the bus, after which the roof was attached again. Bas: “That makes a big difference, at least you can now just walk through the bus normally.” The Mercedes turned out to be ready on time, because the Van Heertum couple had now been expanded with a child, for whom there was now also excellent space. In the old bus, a comfortable place to sleep turned out to be good for many things, explains Bas: “The camper was made for the first, but the second was made in it! That way you grow up with it, hahaha.” With three children, the Van Heertum family had enough, because with even more people, even a seven-meter-long camper becomes a bit cramped. What about the sleeping area? “We can sleep well in it with five. In the back I built a bunk bed, with the width of a double bed. My youngest children sleep at the top, the eldest of 16 has the space below, and my wife and I can convert the seating area into a great bed in no time at all. For a little extra warmth we have an infrared panel, which is sufficient. It is often fine if it is just a bit warmer inside than outside and with five of you it gets quite warm in the bus. That’s all you really need, after all, we mainly camp outside. And when it rains, we still have a large awning where we can shelter. Fikkie with it and you can even sit well in the middle of autumn!”

BASIC DEVICES

Bas has kept the interior of the Mercedes mainly basic. No meticulously finished edges and concealed cables here, but rough assembly, cheerful cushions and lots of space. “I renovated the seating area, replaced a front seat for a double sofa, replaced the electricity and installed lighting. The kitchen was already there, we cook on gas and we also have an extra gas stove in the back if we want to cook outside. My wife has provided some coziness with the pillows and everything else actually met our wishes. It can all take a beating and some things are especially funny. Like the kitchen cabinet with a broken roller shutter, you can now only access it from two sides! Or the walls of the toilet that are not quite high enough: then it is nice and airy. Over the years there have really been plans to do more about it, but then something came in between, such as refurbishing our house. It took seven years to give you an impression of the amount of work.” An advantage of Bas’ house: he has built a nice roof for the Mercedes. “We go away at least ten times a year. Preferably in the weekend, just out the door, to the beach for example, or to a nice campsite. We left within ten minutes, straight from home, that’s the great thing about a camper.” When it comes to the technology of the 508, Bas is very clear: “I have the maintenance done by a specialist in the area. He keeps him driving and I hear from him if something needs to be done. There is still plenty of stuff to get; a huge number of these buses have been built and he has a huge stock of parts.”
Most of the trips that Bas has undertaken in the past sixteen years have been to destinations in his own country, or not too far beyond. But when the children were smaller, Spain was also made. Great, but he just wouldn’t feel like doing that now. “With the children that is of course wonderful. During that trip we went further and further south, because we insisted on nice weather. In the end, by chance we ended up at the Castell-montgri campsite in l’Estartit, where I also went with my parents in my youth. But to be fair, going all the way in this bus in that direction is quite an agony. You don’t actually get above 80 km / h and especially uphill it feels quite link if you have to switch back to second gear. It’s all old mechanics, isn’t it? Hardly a heater, no power steering, driving is just hard work. No, two or three hours to your destination is perfectly doable, but eating miles all day is no fun. When I was young I didn’t make such a fuss about it, but now I believe it.”

PLEASE ENGLAND

After sixteen years of making memories with the family, Bas is gradually getting ready to distance himself from his bus. “It also depends a bit on the kids; as long as they’re still going strong, we’re still having fun with them. But in the not too long time they prefer to go on holiday themselves and then this brute is really much too big for us. I sometimes secretly look at such a modern Mercedes Sprinter, with heater, power steering and air conditioning. I still see them standing in front of the door.” But before that happens, Bas would like to take another good trip, as a tribute to the 508 that has never let him down. “I think it would be cool to go to England, or Sweden and Norway, although the latter destination is better with a camper that you can just drive 130, otherwise you will never get there!” An enthusiast with an interest can therefore report to Bas, but there is no rush. “Every time we go out with it we have a lot of fun. It’s a way to make memories together. That’s why we go out so often. We are real Brabanders, but love the beach, so we prefer to be right by the sea at the Brouwersdam. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to spend the night there, so we do that nearby, at farmer Kees.” Wild camping is therefore not an option, but that is not necessary. “I do have a toilet on board, but we hardly ever use it. We are always on a campsite, also because this is just much nicer for the children. They just want to take a nice shower. I might go wild camping with my wife sometime, visit beautiful nature, but as long as the children are still coming along, that’s not really an option.’

You can skip his one

Time to hit the road yourself with the 508, of course with inspector Tim de Leeuw from Carrec Technocenter. “Ah, another car from way before my time”, sounds cheerful. “Always a challenge.” This is already apparent when we want to start the bus: just turning the key is not enough. To get the almost 3.8-liter four-cylinder moving, a button must also be pressed somewhere. Only then does the thick diesel get to work and it is time to leave for a test round. It soon turns out that you can forget the first gear of the five-speed gearbox, which is really mainly there for steep slopes and does not take you further than about 10 kilometers per hour. It takes a while to find the two of them – there is still some gain to be made here in terms of sharpness, is the presumption. Just like making the gaps between the body parts nicely closed. Both along the gearbox and at the door from the house part we can look out. Great for some cooling, which is probably a relief in the summer with steering without power steering, but in autumnal conditions you better keep your winter coat indoors. Furthermore, there is hardly any suspension, the noise is deafening and we note that the engine turns very nicely. Only the power is a point of attention. Bas had already warned us, but when merging onto the highway, it soon becomes apparent that the speed above 80 km/h is simply out. “Some truck drivers don’t like that very much,” Bas already said. The trucks immediately overtake us, after which we can merge safely. Another round, and back to the bridge at Carrec, where Tim can add to his list. It is clear that it will be a nice list; there is really something else to criticize about the old Mercedes. But one thing is indisputable: it is wonderful that this machine has been in service since 1978! Put some more love and budget in it, and you can enjoy it for years to come. After all, the engine has only just been run in with just under four tons on the clock…

The opinion of Carrec Technocenter

“Such a large, old bus comes from a completely different time, of course, you can see how far the technology has developed. Drum brakes and leaf springs all around, a lot of noise, a speed of 80 km / h on the highway: it is all outdated. I do understand the charm of it, and it is nice that such a workhorse has been driving around since 1978. But as far as I’m concerned, it is a car where only the minimum has been done to keep it on the road, and the same applies to the interior and conversion. To get this Mercedes completely up-to-date and in order again, you would really have to invest a lot. That might be a nice project for an enthusiast who can do a lot himself, otherwise you will soon run out of money financially.”