Camper vans

[manwithvan]

I use a 6m PVC.

 

A recent colleague of mine has asked me what I know of the small campers/MPVs and I can't say as I have no experience. I have put him onto MMM but can anyone comment on the likes of Bongos, Romahome, Danbury, Bilbo etc both as RR & HT.

 

He has little experience of camping and would travel alone at the moment.

 

Thanks

[mel wood]

We had a 2002 Auto-Sleepers Trident on a VW T4 which we had for six and a half years, did 76000 miles and stayed in for 500 nights over that period. We thought it was great!

[terryW]

We found the Ford Transit a bit narrow in the cab, had to part swivel the passenger seat to get my "girth" through. Often overheated the clutch reversing into small pitches. Fantastic drive, better drive than our Toyota Saloon!

 

[crinklystarfish]

If he's thinking small campers / mpvs then the Jap imports take some beating. Anything on a European base vehicle tends to be heftily priced in comparison, especially VWs.

He needs to be careful though, some of the jap imports have never been rustproofed and look very sad indeed after a couple of British winters.

Parts and knowledge support is now very good, especially for Bongos, there's nothing that can't be obtained. They are generally very good vehicles.

This might help if he's thinking small http://www.bongofury.co.uk/

I've fitted one out as a day van / weekender so if he needs to ask anything you can PM me.

[pepe63xnotuse]

This site may be of interest:

 

http://smallmotorhome.co.uk/index.html

 

Our first van was an '03 Duetto(rwd transit)and it was a great bit of kit..but we(..okay,the OH *-) )eventually wanted more space...

 

(..I quite like the look of some of the Toyota HiAce imports..)

[manwithvan]

Many thanks.

 

I will pass this on.

 

I know what you mean about size. My OH likes a bit of comfort too.

 

 

 

[PCC]

I’ve got a Bilbos Weekender, which is about as basic as it can get. It’s based on the VW T4 window van and has a full width seat at the back which converts into a large bed, and a kitchen unit (with sink and 2 burner hob) behind the driver’s seat. The passenger seat swivels, and it’s also got a small pop-up roof (not a full length one).

 

In size, it’s less than 2m high and smaller than the current Ford Mondeo, so it slips under height restrictions and fits easily into a standard parking space. It seats 5, drives much like an MPV (although somewhat more basic in specification) and could realistically be used as a sole vehicle.

 

In terms of habitation, it’s surprising how spacious it feels. Generally one of us sits in the swivelled passenger seat and the other on the rear seat. With windows all the way round there are panoramic views and there is plenty of light. We don’t have the roof up all that much – mainly when we cook (which isn’t all that often) and when it’s hot when the extra ventilation is very handy. Otherwise, it’s quieter and, in my view, more secure with the roof down. We don’t really notice the lack of headroom with the roof down. In terms of packing all the gear in, there is a shelf behind the rear seat which takes all the bedding and various clothes that get thrown on top; there’s a ‘boot’ under the shelf that takes folding chairs, levelling wedges, food that isn’t immediately required, and other bits and pieces; there is a lot of storage under the seat takes the loo and most of our clothes; there’s a surprising amount of storage in the kitchen unit including 3 good sized drawers; and finally there’s a slim cupboard over the bed. Obviously, with a small camper you need to think carefully about what you take and how you pack it (we make good use of ‘pack-it cubes’ for clothes), but we managed to pack everything for a 2 week holiday in Italy for the 2 of us including an inflatable boat; outboard motor; life jackets etc. It was quite full but with a bit of care it’s surprising what you can get in.

 

As far as facilities are concerned, in addition to the kitchen we have a Propex gas heater (but seldom use it preferring to plug in a fan heater); the Portaloo comes out at night and is very welcome (especially when it’s raining); we don’t have a built-in fridge but use a Waeco compressor fridge which is an excellent bit of kit - doesn’t take up much space, but has room for food and drinks.

 

It’s surprising how practical the camper is. In terms of lounging and sleeping space it’s outshines many a coachbuilt although the bed needs to be made up each evening (it’s not a massive chore – the backrest simply pivots forward). Storage isn’t bad. The big compromise is with facilities – limited kitchen and no washroom. In addition, although we use it all year round we do have some pretty heavy duty sleeping bags and make good use of the fan heater.

 

It’s all about compromise. I love looking at the larger motorhomes at the shows (particularly larger van conversions), but for the type of holiday that we take we like what we’ve got. For the 2 of us, it’s actually an incredibly comfortable and practical package.

 

 

[colin]

As above a T4 sized vehicle is very good for sole use, for 10+ years our T25 was vehicle of choise for me when driving anywhere. The only reason we have gone to the bigger x250 was to get on board facilities.