rupert123 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 12:59 PM Don't really see how H can say width makes little difference. Our CB was 2300 wide, Adria 2025 Now that is 270 mm difference.. Or 11 inches in old money Our differance between our last CB, a Swift Sundance, and our PVC, an Autosleeper Stratford, is 6 inches, mirrors folded. On rare occasions this would make a differance but mostly not, all I am saying not, for me, a reason in itself to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 maggyd - 2012-09-21 3:43 PM Whether you like it or not , the time will come when you need to make things easier to carry on living the kind of life you enjoy :-D and if it means downsizing and making a few compromises you will do it. We dont need now to be taking all the paraphernalia ! in my case dresses and shoes ;-) I have noticed the last couple of years I bring more and more things back unused and unworn and the have been carted around for a couple of thousand miles! I need to be able to help my O.H with all this driving and he doesnt need the hassle of making up and taking down the bed each day. All we need is a comfortable area to be able to relax and eat in, a bed that is fixed and doesnt need to be collapsed on as soon as its made up (lol) a reasonable kitchen that I can prepare a meal and wash up in, a decent size fridge doesnt need a huge freezer comp; and a place where we can wash and have like Mel an occasional shower if we arent on a site with facilities. The whole point in camping (yes it still is camping) is to enjoy sitting outside in the fresh air when the weather is favourable :-D and lets face it who sits inside when its red hot outside? all you need is a awning ( which we will have) . And the ease of being able to park up if you want to as J.M has said near to or in towns and not take up two parking bays because of your overhang. If it means we can carry on for as long as we can drive a car then I'm all for it. I just wish the bl++dy thing would hurry up while we still have a few daylight hours to enjoy. :-D and the latest is first week in Oct!! If CATERPILLAR can make 20 trucks in a day how long does it take to make a PVC ?? Good post Margaret. I am not trying to knock PVC's, indeed having bought one hope it works for us, if not it is going to cost me. However I thought a more balanced view was needed to give others some idea before they 'take the plunge'. Some of the points you make have never bothered me but we are all differant so guess people will make up their own minds on priorities. It is nice to sit outside in the sun but alas even in the south of France in summer not always the case. What about early and late in the year when night is starting to close in early, you do need, at least we do, some comfort if you are sitting inside with it all closed up. The storage bit for us is no problem, even our few short trips have clarified this. The parking thing has never bothered us, it depends again how you use your van. We rarely try to park in towns, if we want to visit a town we camp nearby and ride our scooter in, much easier. So far our PVC has been fine but we still have doubts about it, will these doubts go away, only time will tell. Have had doubts about vans before but they have always resolved themselves in the end by us adapting to the van. The reason I started this post in the first place was to point out some of the negatives because you would think from comments by recent converts they are the answer to all things camper car which they certainly are not. If you can cope with the lack of space and that awful sliding side door then a PVC will be a good bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 When choosing our PVC, there were a couple of things we particularly liked over the very similar PVC competition. Firstly, the Autocruise Accent has a rear lounge as well as a front lounge, whilst we will keep it made up as a bed most of the time it gives us the option of another lounge when we want it and still has plenty of storage space due to it having a raised floor section. The second thing I also preferred over the competition was the fact that in addition to the windows in the rear doors, it also has an offside window, so when using the rear, whether in settee form or bed form, it doesn't feel closed in as the ones without a window tend to. We very much enjoyed the benefit of having the rear lounge on Sunday when we had a trip out with my Mum - we had a very nice lunch sitting there eating bacon butties with the rear doors wide open, chatting to my sister and her partner and looking at the lovely scenery. It also meant that hubby, who was cooking wasn't impeded by us lot having to cram into the front lounge area - now if we had had a fixed rear bed it wouldn't have been possible to do this. The sliding door takes a bit of getting used to I admit and there is a definite knack to opening it without struggling (once you've learnt the way to do it it's very easy), but being able to have it fully open and look out at the scenery unimpeded whilst cooking or washing up is brilliant. Rupert - What is the issue you have with the sliding door? Is it because it opens too far, is difficult ... ? I'm just wondering that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I know when we switched from our first van(Duetto),we missed having the sliding door.... ..even though we'd switched to a CB with a rear lounge,with plenty of windows/light,it still felt "closed in" in comparison... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 now that is a pretty small van you have there...Did not realise it was only 5.4m. really cant see a van that size working... Sorry certainly not for us. Agree Pepe sliding door and open aspect one of the many things we like about a panel van, we are at heart like Margaret, campers, not homers requiring everything with us..it is supposed to be a holiday after all!lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Now thats lovely :-D what more could you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 Mel, my wife, who is not very big, really struggles with it especially trying to open from the inside. It also compromises the build of the habitation side. I knew this before going for a panel van and accept this but does not alter how I feel about it. The door is meant for builders filling a van with stuff like plaster board not for entry to a M/H and is an ungainly part of the system that the converter has to bodge their way around as best they can. It wastes space and when their are flying bugs about, which is most of the time all over europe almost impossible to keep them out unless you keep it closed, never seen a fly screen that really fits well. Every time you enter or exit van is a door slamming operation, far better a normal C/B door but having said all that it is one of the things we are prepared to live with but still a negative point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 maggyd - 2012-09-21 6:31 PM Now thats lovely :-D what more could you want? Bless you my darling.......My problem is which wife to bring! now that we have downsized......Mother of my heirs (pictured) or the younger ones. Decisions.... decisions.... *-) H our fly screen works well enough, and even better ones available now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 6:52 PM maggyd - 2012-09-21 6:31 PM Now thats lovely :-D what more could you want? H our fly screen works well enough, and even better ones available now I intend to have another look Eddie as those I have seen so far have not been very good, as midge season now pretty much over no rush. Am away now on our longer first trip but will not get into europe again until January 2013. Circumstances this year have prevented the number of prolonged trips we took, usually for the past five years we have spent about six months a year away, this year less than half that, roll on 2013 and back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Mel B - 2012-09-21 5:35 PM The sliding door takes a bit of getting used to I admit and there is a definite knack to opening it without struggling (once you've learnt the way to do it it's very easy), but being able to have it fully open and look out at the scenery unimpeded whilst cooking or washing up is brilliant. Rupert - What is the issue you have with the sliding door? Is it because it opens too far, is difficult ... ? I'm just wondering that's all. Like this Mel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 rupert123 - 2012-09-21 6:50 PM Mel, my wife, who is not very big, really struggles with it especially trying to open from the inside. It also compromises the build of the habitation side. I knew this before going for a panel van and accept this but does not alter how I feel about it. The door is meant for builders filling a van with stuff like plaster board not for entry to a M/H and is an ungainly part of the system that the converter has to bodge their way around as best they can. It wastes space and when their are flying bugs about, which is most of the time all over europe almost impossible to keep them out unless you keep it closed, never seen a fly screen that really fits well. Every time you enter or exit van is a door slamming operation, far better a normal C/B door but having said all that it is one of the things we are prepared to live with but still a negative point. Gf struggles with door, she's no weakling, but she does try to pull door back before fully pulling on handle, this seems to make door more difficult to open. If you decide to keep van maybe you could get one of these, but I don't know if it's vailible for UK SLD. http://wohnmobile-mk.de/Reisemobilbau/index.php/wohnmobil-tur-system/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 OK lesson 3 of the day :-D Our door has a stop half way, does yours? this allows fully open or slightly less then half. When closing: right hand on handle and left flat on panel further a long. Pull with right and press with left, gently no need to go mad (like Mrs M:-S) Well jell H (cockney for envious) All we can have is 3 trips max 6 weeks (health insurance) then the odd week/weekend and trip abroad at Christmas.Taking family to India this year for my 60th :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 The sliding door was one of the main reasons for buying my first panel van 11 years ago. With the door open you feel part of the outside. I'm currently in Benidorm with the sliding door wide open enjoying the night air in 28 degrees of glorious temperature. I can't see much though as it's pitch black but I can feel the outside even if I can't see it. Rupert has a new van and I can assure him that operating it will become easier with use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Ooow! ...Do you reckon there's a call for aftermarket leccy motors for sliding doors on PVCs....? ..don't laugh!..they'd be no worse than some of the other rarely used, "must have" tack,that gets bought for MHs! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 The way we 'handle' our UK nearside sliding door. To open from the inside: put right hand on the handle/lever, and left hand on the centre of the door panel above the window or in my case, I put it on the 'window sill', then whilst the handle is pushed into the open position at the same time apply a little pressure with the left hand and the door will easily open. To close from the inside: pull the door along about half way then put left hand on handle and right on panel next to passenger seat (same as Eddie) then gently push on the panel whilst pulling on the handle and it should shut - if it doesn't do it easily it may need some lubrication or adjustment. If you don't want it to open fully there is something called 'a stoppie' which you can get apparently, I can't find it on the web but someone made a similar thing for their van: http://members.iinet.net.au/~manins/motorhome/sidedoor.html As for flyscreens, would something like these do the trick? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330521717789?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190728542595 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Its really interesting to read everyone's views on PVC or CB. You either love PVC's or you don't. When we decided to get a van we spent nearly 18 months looking around to find a van that we liked. We ended up with a wish list............................a long list! Because it was mainly going to be used for going to and from Canoe Slalom events, it had to be long enough to fit a C2 (about 4.2meters) inside and not too wide as most of the camp sites have small entrances (usually farmers fields). Decided right from the begining we didn't want to put a roof rack on top unless we had too. I wanted a small van, my husband wanted a LARGE bed but not a fixed bed (waste of time in our opinion). And so it went on. Off to the Birmingham show we went armed with our list and cheque book. The only van which seemed to fit our needs was a PVC and that's what we bought. We have not regretted it. We bought a Mondial and absolutely love it. The longest time we have spent away has been about 10 days and it fulfilled our every need. Most of the time its weekends around the country at Canoeing events and I have been known to pack the entire Timing kit into the van and cart that around from event to event. We did toss up about buying a small CB which was the same length as the Mondial but we couldn't work out how to get a C2 inside :-D The dog, by the way, loves the van too. Can't keep him out of it (lol) And....more importantly....I am more than happy ( and confident) to drive it and park it!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 snowie - 2012-09-21 8:35 AM Colin Leake - 2012-09-20 10:32 PM We were thinking that when we get to old to walk far a panel van conversion may be the way to go. . Hi Colin; not sure I understand how the walking comment works?? If it's a smaller van you want so you don't have so far to walk around inside, then you must be used to whoppers!! If mobility really is an issue, then I'd have thought a caravan would be the solution. that way you have transport to take you places that you won't be able to walk to. that would be my solution. It would then be important to find a caravan with a size and layout that suited. I couldn't find a PVC with a layout that worked for us so I designed one. Layout is all important; and size really does matter, whether you want a VW classic size or a big one with slideouts,. Whichever way you do it it's a lot of money if you get it wrong, cheers alan b Because at the moment although we are both over 70 we presently usually go,out walking all day with the dog leaving the motorhome on site. Sometimes we also use busses to cover longer distances. When we get so old as to be less mobile we will want, as many old couples do, to take the motorhome out for days out. Better than a car because you have all the facilities to cook, pee and rest with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Amanda - 2012-09-21 10:13 PM Its really interesting to read everyone's views on PVC or CB. You either love PVC's or you don't. The thing is everyone uses their vans in different ways, theres no 'one size fits all', we had a VW T25 for many years and would go to events with all my windsurf racing gear stored inside, suited us just fine at the time. It's strange that people talk of a LWB Ducato being too small to be used as a MH when theres thousands of VW's being used as such, or some one saying you need a 7m van when a RV'er might say "I couldn't have a van that small". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 colin - 2012-09-21 7:17 PM rupert123 - 2012-09-21 6:50 PM Mel, my wife, who is not very big, really struggles with it especially trying to open from the inside. It also compromises the build of the habitation side. I knew this before going for a panel van and accept this but does not alter how I feel about it. The door is meant for builders filling a van with stuff like plaster board not for entry to a M/H and is an ungainly part of the system that the converter has to bodge their way around as best they can. It wastes space and when their are flying bugs about, which is most of the time all over europe almost impossible to keep them out unless you keep it closed, never seen a fly screen that really fits well. Every time you enter or exit van is a door slamming operation, far better a normal C/B door but having said all that it is one of the things we are prepared to live with but still a negative point. Gf struggles with door, she's no weakling, but she does try to pull door back before fully pulling on handle, this seems to make door more difficult to open. If you decide to keep van maybe you could get one of these, but I don't know if it's vailible for UK SLD. http://wohnmobile-mk.de/Reisemobilbau/index.php/wohnmobil-tur-system/ That is exactly the type of thing PVC's should be fitted with, however I would not retro fit one. I was fully aware of the sliding door and its associated problems before buying the van and was prepared to live with it. It simply amuses me seeing people trying to defend it on a M/H when quite clearly it is not great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 7:35 PM OK lesson 3 of the day :-D Our door has a stop half way, does yours? this allows fully open or slightly less then half. When closing: right hand on handle and left flat on panel further a long. Pull with right and press with left, gently no need to go mad (like Mrs M:-S) Well jell H (cockney for envious) All we can have is 3 trips max 6 weeks (health insurance) then the odd week/weekend and trip abroad at Christmas.Taking family to India this year for my 60th :-D I to will now be restricted to the amount of time on one trip. It is going to be a little tedious driving from North Wales to Dover several times a year but has to be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 There really is no absolute best, just what best meets your individual needs for your desired style of travel at any given time. A pre-purchase brutally honest appraisal of actual needs is a good companion. Fair to say though that when it comes to actually living with something, the complexion often changes, and what you imagined would be an acceptable compromise ends up dominating your enjoyment. Probably best to remember that every size and style of motorhome is simultaneously both superior and inferior to every other size and style. They are all comparatively rubbish at some things, chasing perfection can be an expensive and futile quest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 Mel thanks for links but they, sort of, prove my point about the bodge ups that are needed. As I have said was aware of the problems with door so can live with it but see no need to pretend it is a good thing. The van has been fine so far, all works well and have not made a single alteration to it, we did look at our requirements carefully before change. Only change we will make is the stupid table which is located in space over the front driving seat and a real pain to us. The van has two so can use the smaller one at the front which locates in a bracket between front seats but even this not ideal. For all those who sit with the door wide open in the evening, especially early in the year, good luck, hope you remember to rub the midge cream in well. Anyway wife is ready to go out so must stop wasting my time on here. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 rupert123 - 2012-09-22 9:38 AM For all those who sit with the door wide open in the evening, especially early in the year, good luck, hope you remember to rub the midge cream in well. That comment about sitting with the door wide open is condescending and uncalled for. That might be your view but it is not mine. I like the door and that is from someone who has owned panel vans for over 11 years. Just accept that some like sliding doors and you don't. Neither of us are right as we each have our preferences. By the way there no midges in Benidorm last night. You can buy purpose built door screens for Fiat Panel vans. I think the Judge may have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Mike88 - 2012-09-22 11:14 AM ... That comment about sitting with the door wide open is condescending and uncalled for. If by condescending you mean illuminating, and by uncalled for you mean reasonable, then I agree 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 6:52 PM maggyd - 2012-09-21 6:31 PM Now thats lovely :-D what more could you want? Bless you my darling.......My problem is which wife to bring! now that we have downsized......Mother of my heirs (pictured) or the younger ones. Decisions.... decisions.... *-) H our fly screen works well enough, and even better ones available now You might just get a slap for that >:-) your wife is beautiful you should be counting your blessings. Now about the fly screen that is something I had been worriting about :-D who stocks these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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