Agent Fruit Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Evenin' all Having tramped around the NEC yesterday trying to find that elusive "perfect" PVC, I came home with a couple of possibilities, one of which I hadn't heard of before. It was the Rapido V56 (or V53. Anyone know of these? I haven't seen any posts about it, and am tempted by its fixed bed.....seemed like a bit of a tardis to me. Any info? I was browsing other posts in my search for a PVC with a fixed bed, or even better two singles in a rear lounge that could be left made up as beds and lounged on. I didn't find what I was looking for yesterday, but I did run out of time. Anyone see what I might have been looking for? I did spend some time at the Murvi stand, and the Morocco is the other van on my list (despite its lack of fixed bed), but the thing that worries me about this is the total lack of accessible space from the outside for things like chairs and sandy surfboards. Shame, as they seem to have thought of everything else. Any ideas on fixed beds or rear lounges with good sized seats that could be singles? Agent Fruit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirage Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Depends on how much you want to pay, the Autosleeper Warwick has two rear seats which can be used separately as single beds or converted into a double. Very few PVC have a locker which can be accessed from the outside IH Motorhomes fit this bill. The Rapido is fairly new but I was not impressed by the quality of the furniture. Autocruise/Mondial (Swift) make a variety of models. A lot of people like fixed beds but a PVC is generally 6m in length a bed takes up a lot of space. We carry our folding bikes and chairs in between the rear lounge seats once on a pitch bikes go in front of the passenger/driver seat, chairs underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 If you check back 2 or 3 issues of MMM, they reviewed the new Rapido models & the PVC were listed as new this year, but only minimal details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Yes the rapido V56 is a new design and a departure from the usual panel van layout. I have discounted it because although it seems attractive and offers two double beds, they are very narrow? the rear French bed only 1200mm wide.... The other factor is storage? You can't tip up rear beds to take bikes, large loads or what have you, so less practical IMO. maybe the slightly longer single bed layout vans from Adria/globecar/possl may be of interest to you, have a look at some of the other panel van threads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 With the Murvi Morocco you could always open the back door and wash your " sandy surfboards " down with the shower, and then stow them inside, together with the chairs. I don't think many PVC models have outside lockers ( if any ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Agent Fruit - 2010-10-17 8:20 PM Any ideas on fixed beds or rear lounges with good sized seats that could be singles? Agent Fruit This is what we have on order, based on L4 so 14" longer than usual LWB Supprized if there was not one at NEC as dealer (who is member on here, and I hope will be phoning me tomorrow ;-) ) was there. http://www.globecar.de/en/models/d-line/campscout.html http://www.globecarmotorhomes.co.uk/range_636sb.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magbrin Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Not sure where you are, but if you know what you want - try Mill Garage Duns (Scottish Borders) http://www.millgaragecoachworks.co.uk/ who will source a van and convert to your specification :-D Good value and great people to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Fruit Posted October 17, 2010 Author Share Posted October 17, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-10-17 9:36 PM Yes the rapido V56 is a new design and a departure from the usual panel van layout. I have discounted it because although it seems attractive and offers two double beds, they are very narrow? the rear French bed only 1200mm wide.... The other factor is storage? You can't tip up rear beds to take bikes, large loads or what have you, so less practical IMO. .. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I agree with you. Nice idea, but the living area would end up feeling cramped on a 6 month trip. Annoyingly, I did find a van with a rear lounge whose seats were wide enough to be single beds if you removed the backrests.....but I've forgotten which manufacturer it was. I think it was early on and I discounted it as it looked too much like Granny's decor. Little did I know..... AF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Hmmm....Not sure that I would fancy six months in a panel van! Have a look at these slightly longer panel vans with twin beds: http://www.adria-mobil.com/default.cfm?j=En&t=Gb&d=Gb&kat=070401&model=720&skupina=Twin#anchor http://www.globecar.de/de/modelle/d-line/campscout.html Or my fully winterised Euramobil with twin A/C for sale on classsified here, ideal for long term summer/winter touring :D Details on "best way to sell a motorhome" thread a bit further down ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemoss Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 One thing to double check with the Murvi Morrocco is the actual available payload - when the CC mag tested it they found this was very much lower than the manufacturer's figure. However, their particular version was fitted with the 3litre auto which must have made some difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 I have posted on other threads info re german loading tests on panel vans, and that to have a practical vehicle best to get one on a 3500kg chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCC Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Rapido own Campereve, a French PVC specialist. More info at www.campereve.fr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Hi Agent Fruit In the IH range the Tio RL (Fiat based) and Tio M (Mercedes based) both have a large rear lounge that can be used (and left made up) as twin singles or one huge double. Both vans are built with an exclusive to IH rear panel that includes an access door to a rather large boot area. MMM Editors, Mike and Jane Jago, have just replaced their IH Oregon RE (front lounge version) with the Tio M - bit in the latest magazine. We are just awaiting delivery of our Tio RL - not the cheapest vans on the market but - having had three IH vans I can vouch for their build quality, aftersales service and even their willingness/ability to make customer changes to their range. Good hunting, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamw Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 david lloyd - 2010-10-20 1:04 PM Hi Agent Fruit In the IH range the Tio RL (Fiat based) and Tio M (Mercedes based) both have a large rear lounge that can be used (and left made up) as twin singles or one huge double. Both vans are built with an exclusive to IH rear panel that includes an access door to a rather large boot area. David Hi David Whilst I don't have an IH motorhome I've always held them in very high esteem and like your experience have heard only praise about their aftersales service. I agree wholeheartedly with you about the layout. We've found the rear lounge layout to be amongst one of the most comfortable for all year round motorhoming. I think the rear panel certainly pushes the price of the motorhome up as you're discarding two steel rear doors and replacing them with a GRP panel. But I have to say what a significant difference it does make to storage and ease of access. A lovely idea that I'm surprised has not been imitated. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Fruit Posted October 20, 2010 Author Share Posted October 20, 2010 Yes I have to admit that I had a quick look around the IH stand but then walked on by when I saw that someone's small child had clearly been playing around with the price plates. Maybe it's going to be a case of looking hard for a used one (anyone??) AF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 Agent Fruit - 2010-10-20 8:56 PM Yes I have to admit that I had a quick look around the IH stand but then walked on by when I saw that someone's small child had clearly been playing around with the price plates. Maybe it's going to be a case of looking hard for a used one (anyone??) AF Excellent! :D You should go to a German show and be pleasantly surprised with the prices,the range and quality :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Fruit Posted October 22, 2010 Author Share Posted October 22, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-10-20 9:01 PM Excellent! :D You should go to a German show and be pleasantly surprised with the prices,the range and quality :-D That was my next question...... Which is the best European show to go to, and where is a list of the biggest and best shows to go to? AF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Düsseldorf is great, you need a couple of days as it is very big.......There are others in Germany and France but we have not been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.