what is your ideal van

[messerschmitt owner]

strikes me that this forum is full of people who are interested in motorhomes. What is your ideal van? Mine needs to have a decent payload (currently over one tonne) a decent fixed bed with decent mattress six berth, six seatbelts fridge freezer a large garage rear wheel drive, ideally twin axle easy to service locally which is why I have a Rimor 747TC on a Mercedes 416cdi chassis

[Guest peter]

Yours! going by the spec'. :D

[MandyAndy]

Heyyyy , we got all that too, with electric windows, central locking and a 4.5 metre Fiamma awning to boot, ohhh and not forgetting the SOG unit, and all for £30,000 new, from Roller Team. When we get it in March will know more about it then too.

[w1ntersun]

My Ideal van would have to have all the virtues of my car ( toyota yaris ) with all the virtues of a 40' American Rv. Unfortunatley we all have to compromise. As long as I am warm and dry and have something to eat and watch I could,t give a damn. Life is about living not wan'ting.

[Dave Newell]

The one problem with my ideal van is its a moveable feast. What I mean is that our desires and needs are constantly changing so therefore my ideal van will have to constantly change to meet the current needs/desires. D.

[chas]

They have not made my ideal van yet! I am still waiting, but probable when they do, I wont be able to afford it or park it. Chas

[Guest Frank Wilkinson]

For me the ultimate van is the type that, after much deliberation I've just chosen. It had to be under twenty feet long but have two good single beds with a double option and must have all the usual goodies: shower, microwave, full oven, fridge and blown-air heating etc.

The choice of motorhome (M/H) will surely be decided on how much one enjoys exploring. Last year for instance we were on a superb site just north of the Spanish border on the Atlantic coast. We had a touring caravan then and, as we always do, spent ages exploring the beautiful Basque country and the Pyrenees. On the same site was a couple in an enormous motorhome. They never left the site and just spent all day on the beach or sitting around. During a discussion it emerged that they didn't feel comfortable driving their M/H around the mountain roads and narrow lanes.

I simply can't understand the mentality of people who do this. What's the point of visiting a foreign country and not seeing it properly?

Even more puzzling to me is the huge M/H towing a small car. You get the worst of both worlds, which is a silly little car with virtually no crash protection (essential when driving in a foreign country and on the wrong side of the road) and a M/H that costs three times the price of the equivalent touring 'van.

If you are happy towing, why not, for less money, have a super towcar and a luxury caravan? You can then use the towcar for exploring and back home you've got a decent car rather than a motorised roller skate.

Although we really enjoyed our car/caravan combination I must admit to getting fed up with the towing aspect so we decided to go for a M/H. Even with a low-profile just under 20 feet though, I'm still a little bit saddened that a few narrow mountain roads may be out of bounds and that we won't be able to park as easily in cities, but that's a price that I've decided is worth paying for the convenience of one unit.

[Brian Kirby]

[QUOTE]Frank Wilkinson - 2006-11-11 10:29 AM

For me the ultimate van is the type that, after much deliberation I've just chosen. It had to be under twenty feet long but have two good single beds with a double option and must have all the usual goodies: shower, microwave, full oven, fridge and blown-air heating etc.

The choice of motorhome (M/H) will surely be decided on how much one enjoys exploring. Last year for instance we were on a superb site just north of the Spanish border on the Atlantic coast. We had a touring caravan then and, as we always do, spent ages exploring the beautiful Basque country and the Pyrenees. On the same site was a couple in an enormous motorhome. They never left the site and just spent all day on the beach or sitting around. During a discussion it emerged that they didn't feel comfortable driving their M/H around the mountain roads and narrow lanes.

I simply can't understand the mentality of people who do this. What's the point of visiting a foreign country and not seeing it properly?

Even more puzzling to me is the huge M/H towing a small car. You get the worst of both worlds, which is a silly little car with virtually no crash protection (essential when driving in a foreign country and on the wrong side of the road) and a M/H that costs three times the price of the equivalent touring 'van.

If you are happy towing, why not, for less money, have a super towcar and a luxury caravan? You can then use the towcar for exploring and back home you've got a decent car rather than a motorised roller skate.

Although we really enjoyed our car/caravan combination I must admit to getting fed up with the towing aspect so we decided to go for a M/H. Even with a low-profile just under 20 feet though, I'm still a little bit saddened that a few narrow mountain roads may be out of bounds and that we won't be able to park as easily in cities, but that's a price that I've decided is worth paying for the convenience of one unit.

[/QUOTE]

From my experience, I think you'll find the "standard", 2.3M, width of most motorhomes more restrictive than you may think.  It is this, rather than length or height (within reason), that makes the van large in relationship to many roads and towns.

I believe this is the factor that will have influenced your camping neighbours, and persuades so many motorhomers to use motorways and main roads when travelling.

From what you say about your travelling and exploring preferences, I'd say look for a van conversion, or a coachbuilt that is little wider than the base vehicle.

Hope this helps

[colin]

My ideal vehicle would be the Tardis, failing that the Adria twin is the production van closest to my ideal, 4' 8" wide bed which lifts aside for large loads, small toilet/shower for occasional use, small table up front, about as large as can get to my favorite site.

[Mel B]

Brian Not totally in agreement about the width and the restrictions it causes, there are quite a few that are under 2.3m but I agree that some of the newer ones are getting too 'obese'. I think one of the biggest restrictions is the way that some owners drive the vans. Relating this to cars, how many people have you noticed who drive small cars swerve 3 ft out when overtaking a parked car, whereas people with larger cars know what their width is and overtake much more safely as a consequence as they don't pull out so far into the oncoming traffic? I've seen the same with motorhomes and camper vans, it's all about knowing the size of your van and learning to drive accordingly, yes there are some times when the width really does matter but as most roads will allow an ambulance, dustcart etc to go down them, unless you've got one of the larger motorhomes, you should also be able to get down it as well. Occasionally you may have a scratch on the window but unless you are really pushing your luck this should be minimal, at the end of the day, the van it there to be used and within reason to take you where you want to be, not where it wants to stay. If you are 'wary' of taking your van out and about on the roads, then get someone who knows how to handle larger vehicles to take you out and pass on their experience and tips, it'll make you much more confident and take away some of the worry. Some people naturally are able to just get in and drive them as they should be, others aren't - my husband can park the camper in between 2 parked cars on the side of the road on his own without a problem, but when he has to park our modest car it takes him ages!!! ;-)

[Dave Newell]

Hi Mel, I've driven everything from a moped to a 7.5 Tonne truck with a trailer and I've always managed to get where I needed to but In our campervans I've twice experienced exceptionally narrow roads. This year in Devon we drove for ten miles down a lane where the hedges were brushing both sides of our 'van (Autohomes Highwayman). In '96 we towed a small 10 foot caravan behind a Bedford CF panel van (home conversion) down a little lane in North wales and the hedges were drogging both sides of the Bedford! Thankfully on neither occasion did we meet anything coming the other way. D.

[colin]

As some one who occasionaly drives Jones Onynix and JIF 12 cranes motorhomes are a doddle, but anything more than a panel van would not suit the road I live in or the journy to work or getting to my favorite site so they may be more restrictive than you think for some of us

[Don Madge]

IH want £60,000 for one of these

[Guest bill h]

I've got the ideal van Rapido 987M. Never want another. Its for living in. Done all that narrow lane thing years ago and never quite liked it. All I need now is are sites that have space and a bus stop nearby then you can see over the hedges without having to negotiate them. But mostly I go to vehicle rallies and farm friends. No problems there. bill h

[Guest peter]

I already have my ideal van at the moment. A Rapido 710F not too long and wide. Four berths, rear lounge, swivel front seats, a table at each end so you don't have to dismantle the bed to have a cup of tea in the morning and breakfast, you can then go back to bed again if you wish. :-> But my taste may change in a few years and I might want something with more space.

[Brian Kirby]

Mel

I wasn't really commenting on other's driving abilities, just on convenience.  Neither am I advocating everyone should rush out and buy narrow vans.  As I said, it does depend on how you choose to travel. 

What I thought I detected, however, was a desire for access to "off the beaten" track places.  As we also prefer those places, and have found our present 2.3 M wide van tedious to conduct down some of the roads we have met, I councelled a narrower van.  After all, that merely makes life easier than it would be with a wider van, when the going gets narrow.

Yes, you can lean on the landscape, and we have the sap stains to prove it, but you'll have to lean less, and so lessen the risks, if your van is 200mm narrower.

Somewhere down one of our narrow stretches, we managed to collect a bash from something lying concealed in the long grass of a verge.  It only hit the dropped entrance step casing, but it has chewed a bit off the ABS moulding that I'll have to polish out.  Another 25mm over and it would have smacked the bodywork.  And why was I so close to the verge?  Passing your favourite dustcart coming the other way, that's why!  It's just that kind of thing that persuades me narrower is better.  Of course you can still hit the unseen with any width of van, but is is less likely if you don't need so much clearance.

Anyway, unlike dustcarts, motorhomes have soft, thin, easily damaged sheet aluminium sides with plastic windows in them and are driven by their owners, who have to pay for any repairs.  Might try fitting a siren and a couple of flashing blue lights to the 'van, though - good idea! :-)

[Mel B]

Our first motorhome was an ambulance which we converted ourselves ... some people say we've just gone full circle and ended up with another very expensive ambulance (Rapido 709F)!!! *-)

[twooks]

a tardis!!! we've gone from an A class to a T4 LWB Bilbo hitop, narrow not too high [8']nice to drive, will probably end up with a people carrier and bucket with a lid (lol) B-)