Mrs P & I bought a VW bus (1970) to tour round Europe. It was great. It’s a size that’s only any good for two people who are intimate however.
However, if you are bothered by engines blowing up then a VW bus ain’t for you. Engine rebuilds are just a part of VW life. I have a cousin who can swap an engine in a VW bus in some insanely short period of time, I can’t remember how long exactly but maybe an hour or something. Mind you, he is a VW bus professional (literally).
A restored VW minibus and camper brings a good price too.
One of my friends has a facebook page for his anthropomorphized '78 Westphalia camper. He (the van) has been a full restoration from the bare metal up by my friend (the person, not the van). The facebook page is fun, for it gives the van a personality.
Whether by design or just due to rampant simplicity, traditional VW bugs & busses’ engines are stupid easy to change. Remove about 4 wires, three hose clamps and you’re ready. Put a floor jack under the engine+transaxle, remove ~14 bolts and the engine and transaxle slide out as a unit. Or remove just ~6 bolts and pull just the engine leaving the transaxle.
And each and every wire, clamp and bolt is easy to reach & easy to get tools on.
What a difference versus modern practice.
Well you are simplifying a bit. You’ve got to remove a fair bit of tin but yes very easy.