rudders Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 maggyd - 2014-01-30 11:57 AM JudgeMental - 2014-01-30 7:41 AM Unbelievable thread, no wonder people hesitant to post on here........Dear old Will is a fair old age, give him a break for heavens sake! I have to agree with the judge :-D we all say things we wish we hadn't started, but at least nobody has said anything nasty !! for a change (lol) we have just given our opinion back, and healthy discussion is always good ;-) it keeps us older ones on our toes. unfortunately some people do not know what healthy opinion means and ruin decent threads time and time again with their comments, I am sure others agree.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I am new to this forum but have been reading it for some months now as we were in the process of buying our first motorhome in the UK and found it full of useful information and tips. We owned a 30ft RV in the USA for a 10 month tour in 1999 and had a caravan for 3 years more recently and tents before that. We love the whole outdoor active lifestyle that ' camping' provides, whatever form it takes. When deciding what type of motorhome to go for we looked for advice and opinions from a number of forums and found that there is a very healthy debate on this subject, although it does seem to generate a fair old depth of feeling for some reason! The reason this post caught my eye was that we have just bought a rear U-shaped lounge panel van - a Neo from Vantage on the XLWB. We are a pretty active outdoor hiking type of couple and it came as a surprise to see that a rear U-shaped lounge might be seen as for people who just want to lounge indoors all the time. I can see why someone might think that but it is not necessarily the case. Why did we go for our choice after 18 months deliberation? We'll it's all personal choice of course but there was some logic to it. We might have made the wrong choice - we shall see but we will have fun finding out I'm sure. First there was the CB or PVC choice to make. Our view on motorhoming is that is is an adventure - just get in and whenever time permits. A panel van less than 6m sounded like it would be right for us and the Autosleepers vans that were on sale nearby looked good quality to us. We did get slightly tempted by a shortish coachbuilt for a while, due to the greater feeling of space inside, but eventually discounted this as we thought they were too bulky for what we wanted - we wanted something not too wide to give us more options for travel in out of the way places - that feeling of adventure. The width is probably not so much of a problem really and I have dragged a caravan down some tight lanes, including on Jersey, but this was the thought process at the time. So we settled on a panel van, but what layout to choose? The choice came down to a continental layout with front dinette and rear fixed bed or a 'UK' layout, either front or rear lounge. I know that the continental layout is very popular but we very quickly ruled it out for us. The main reason is that it does not appear to be very comfortable or welcoming but more functional, with separate fixed dining and sleeping areas and not much in the way of kitchen area. Granted, there is much more storage area and no need to put up a table or make up a bed each night but we are not bothered about that. Motorhoming involves lots of routines, including setting up and moving out, filling tanks, emptying tanks, cleaning, cooking etc. Making up a bed is just another routine that I reckon will take less than 5 minutes so not a big problem really. The next choice was front or rear lounge? We initially liked the front lounge as it made good use of swivelled front seats and was next the big open door for views out on a nice day. We eventually discounted this layout as there is only one settee for lounging so who gets it? Also, if the weather is not so good you open the door right next the seating area. OK so now it is rear lounge but which van to go for? That choice was made at the October NEC show when we could see a wider range of vans. We eventually chose a Vantage Neo as it immediately felt right for us. The U-shaped lounge provides the flexibility to have a comfortable lounging area or two single beds or a very large double. The double bed makes up very easily - best we have seen.. Having a U-shaped end to the lounge provides a bit more storage in a boot at the back - not huge but enough for use I think. Another advantage of the Neo layout is that you still get a very good front seating area using the swivelled front seats as there is no large unit just behind the drivers seat, just a narrow storage cupboard. Put up a table here and you have a nice area for a snack, a meal or a game. The kitchen next the door has a long worktop and loads more storage. What really sold us on a Vantage was the build quality as it appears to be as good, if not better, than anything else we have seen. In the eyes of the beholder I know but I was very impressed, particularly after a factory visit. As a comparison we looked at the new Autotrail V-Line which looks great but the build quality was awful - we have seen three examples so far and in each case there were bits falling off inside and it is all a bit flimsy by comparison. We have ended up with. Van that is 6.36m instead of 6m which is longer than we wanted ideally but the layout appears to give us everything we want, including single beds - just hope the settees make a comfortable bed. We also went for a 150 comfortmatic van as I have a bit of arthritis in the hips and an auto helps. I read a very good thread on the comfortmatic on this forum where concerns were expressed about it's ability to choose the correct gear in every situation but this is not an issue as I drive an auto car and understand that it is generally best to use manual override when the road gets winding and/or hilly as you get more control. It is also good fun changing gear this way and the main advantage of an auto is not having to use the clutch. To sum up, a rear U-shaped lounge provides more flexibility as it can be a really comfortable lounge or a dining area or a bed. It seems to me that in the confines of a van it is better to make the limited space available multifunctional. The only compromise is that it will probably not make as good a bed as a proper sprung mattress bed but I don't see that being a major problem. I just hope it does not turn us into lazy sit inside vegetables! This has ended up a bit long but I wanted to give a considered response to the original question about why a U-shaped rear lounge and other 'newbies' might be interested. We each have our owns needs and likes so live and let live I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangoGypsy Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hi Globebuster, I know I'm diving in a bit off topic, but you mentioned that your van has a dinette with reclining backrest (which sounds great to me) plus a fixed French bed in a 6m van, What is it that you've got. Sounds interesting. Just joined this site by the way. Seems .... ummmmmm ... interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 It's a Chausson Flash S2 - It's about the only sub 6mt van that interested me - primarily because of the open layout big washroom and reclining dinette backrest. MMM award winner in 2010. There's a couple of test reviews on here - you'll get a more unbiased opinion if you read those ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamw Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Don636 - 2014-02-07 8:58 PM As a comparison we looked at the new Autotrail V-Line which looks great but the build quality was awful - we have seen three examples so far and in each case there were bits falling off inside and it is all a bit flimsy by comparison. Very useful post including some very interesting and constructive points. About to change our motorhome and have also considered the Autotrail V-Line 610 (when it's released). When you say the build quality of the V-Line 600 was 'awful' what particularly gave you cause for concern? I would expect the furniture not to be as robust and hence lighter than in a Vantage as this is obvious from the payload figures for comparable models. I would find a little more detail on your concerns about the V-Line very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Unsurprisingly U can make a dinette layout into a U shaped seating area ;-).............for the Ultimate in Useful Utilization of U shape seating :D....................U need lateral thinking B-).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Graham, You asked for more info re the V-Line so, for what it's worth, here it is. This was one of our biggest disappointments when looking at vans. In the brochure it looked fantastic - modern and innovative with interesting storage facilities. Inside it looked sleek and not chintzy like a lot of vans we looked at. We liked the roof treatment with the built in awning and panoramic skylight. In the flesh though it was not so good. We were starting to go off the front lounge idea by that time and the V-Line bed arrangement is a bit fiddly compared to the Vantage system with some small infill bits. The layout is interesting but I thought that the rear end changing area was a bit cramped in practice and the drawers and wardrobe not very roomy. A shelved area at the back is very narrow and has the TV aerial in the way. The wardrobe has a strut down the middle I think, which is in the way. The bathroom looked to be a good size for this type of van. The storage area at the back is really good but not sure about the under-floor drawer as it is quite shallow. The drawer next the sliding door is good for boots though. I was not keen on the drawer fridge as I don't think it is good use of space (my wife does not agree with me on this point). There is very little space up front under the settee for storing bedding - this I think might be a real issue. Although the V-Line appears to have some innovative storage ideas, in practice, I think the NEO has much more useable storage options, particularly the boot area at the back. On balance, we decided that the layout was not as good as we thought it might have been but it was the build quality issues that finally put us off. The type of construction is generally much more manufactured and flimsy than Vantage. I understand why but this does not make me want to accept this type of build. We have seen three V-Lines and in each one there were visible faults, which is not what you want to see on a new van still in the showroom. Two had the bathroom door handle missing. One had a plastic strip down the bathroom door peeling away. One had a bathroom curtain rail broken. The drawers at the back seem a bit weak and on one a drawer had stuck in the runners. The cupboard catches looked flimsy and one was broken. The black finish to the upholstery and sink top showed up marks and fingerprints easily so looked difficult to keep clean which would drive me nuts. For me the V-Line was all about style over substance, not what I want for £50k. The build quality in the Vantage by comparison was like a bank vault - hinges, catches, stays, runners and other fittings all felt solid and smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Grahamw I have tried to reply to your PM but the response just sits in the Outbox and won't move to Sent - no idea what the problem is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Don636 - 2014-02-08 4:41 PM Grahamw I have tried to reply to your PM but the response just sits in the Outbox and won't move to Sent - no idea what the problem is. No problem it only goes from the outbox to sent once the recipient has picked it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don636 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks very much for the advice re the PM process Lenny - you are a gent taking the time to help out a newbie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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