sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 I have previously posted on here about looking for a motorhome We were originally thinking along the lines of a 6 berth with a u-shaped rear lounge. Upon further research we found these to be massive so have adjusted our search We have recently been looking at van conversions and in particular VW T5s and similar with a pop up roof. While searching for these we came across some short 5m to 5.5m 5 berth motorhomes which seem to be lower in price with less miles and offer more facilities than a T5 or similar. So far the only ones I have found are the Elddis Autoquest 100 and the Compass Avantgarde 100. If anyone has any other models to look into please let me know From what I have read you have to be careful not to overload the rear axle on the shorter vans. There will be 2 adults and 3 children aged 7, 5 and 5 We are looking at the shorter vans as we think we will get more use out of it while away down the lanes of Cornwall as trying to get about for days out in a 6.5m plus 6 berth would be a nightmare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 I'm not sure about the Compass but I thought the Autoquest-100 spec was 4 birth and 4 belted seats. You need 5 in both cases and not to mention that some of the forward facing motorhome seats are not that compatible with child boosters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Bop - 2017-05-13 2:01 PM I'm not sure about the Compass but I thought the Autoquest-100 spec was 4 birth and 4 belted seats. You need 5 in both cases and not to mention that some of the forward facing motorhome seats are not that compatible with child boosters. Thank you for the reply. We will have two children at the dinette using 3 point belts with a high back booster and one in the front passenger 3 point belted seat with a high back booster. My wife will use the lap belt the other side of the dinette. Obviously if we purchase a motorhome with front passenger airbag we will have to deactivate it as required. Autoquest may come in 4 berth with 4 belts but also comes in 5 berth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 You might find a panel van conversion more suitable for going down narrow lanes in Cornwall, or anywhere else for that matter. We had a standard 6m long coachbuilt 230cm wide+long arm extended wing mirrors. A bit of a pain in villages and small country lanes. We now have a 6.4m long pvc, just 205cm wide ie a whole foot narrower than the coachbuilt. Even though it is a tad longer than our old van, it is so much better for getting to interesting places! :-D It is reduced width, rather than length that generally counts, for less stress when out and about (provided you are not going VERY long). The challenge will be to find a five berth pvc with 5 seat belts - I believe there might be one or two, but probably not easy to find. And not cheap either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 The other challenges for a family of five will be that of living space, storage space and payload - I suspect. Do you intend to keep the van for only a year or two and then swap it for something bigger when the children start growing. Can the grandparents not do long term baby sitting :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Here you go - check out the Dreamer Family Select, for bigger families - "5 seats on log book and up to 6 berths (cylinder-assisted roof bed, rear bunk beds and convertible bench seat)". Only 5.99m long (& 205m wide)! http://www.dreamer-van.co.uk/fourgon-family-select.php Dreamer vans are made by the renowned French converter - Rapido. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 mikebeaches - 2017-05-13 3:57 PM You might find a panel van conversion more suitable for going down narrow lanes in Cornwall, or anywhere else for that matter. We had a standard 6m long coachbuilt 230cm wide+long arm extended wing mirrors. A bit of a pain in villages and small country lanes. We now have a 6.4m long pvc, just 205cm wide ie a whole foot narrower than the coachbuilt. Even though it is a tad longer than our old van, it is so much better for getting to interesting places! :-D It is reduced width, rather than length that generally counts, for less stress when out and about (provided you are not going VERY long). The challenge will be to find a five berth pvc with 5 seat belts - I believe there might be one or two, but probably not easy to find. And not cheap either. We looked into vans when looking at T5s but they dont seem to give as much space as a motorhome. Hadnt thought about the extra width so will take that into consideration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Bop - 2017-05-13 4:19 PM The other challenges for a family of five will be that of living space, storage space and payload - I suspect. Do you intend to keep the van for only a year or two and then swap it for something bigger when the children start growing. Can the grandparents not do long term baby sitting :D Living space is an issue which is why we looked at 6 berth u-shaped originally but theyre just too big for what we want to use one for. We will get an awning for additional space. Storage space we will have to make do with what we can to keep inside the payload Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 mikebeaches - 2017-05-13 4:39 PM Here you go - check out the Dreamer Family Select, for bigger families - "5 seats on log book and up to 6 berths (cylinder-assisted roof bed, rear bunk beds and convertible bench seat)". Only 5.99m long (& 205m wide)! http://www.dreamer-van.co.uk/fourgon-family-select.php Dreamer vans are made by the renowned French converter - Rapido. That looks lovely but unfortunately we cant afford new so will have to find something on the used market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 sjoyce666 - 2017-05-13 4:49 PM Bop - 2017-05-13 4:19 PM The other challenges for a family of five will be that of living space, storage space and payload - I suspect. Do you intend to keep the van for only a year or two and then swap it for something bigger when the children start growing. Can the grandparents not do long term baby sitting :D Living space is an issue which is why we looked at 6 berth u-shaped originally but theyre just too big for what we want to use one for. We will get an awning for additional space. Storage space we will have to make do with what we can to keep inside the payload Would it be practical for you to pull a small trailer and utilise some of the available train weight. It's just a thought but it would potentially alleviate the problem of you having too much weight on the axles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Bop - 2017-05-13 5:03 PM sjoyce666 - 2017-05-13 4:49 PM Bop - 2017-05-13 4:19 PM The other challenges for a family of five will be that of living space, storage space and payload - I suspect. Do you intend to keep the van for only a year or two and then swap it for something bigger when the children start growing. Can the grandparents not do long term baby sitting :D Living space is an issue which is why we looked at 6 berth u-shaped originally but theyre just too big for what we want to use one for. We will get an awning for additional space. Storage space we will have to make do with what we can to keep inside the payload Would it be practical for you to pull a small trailer and utilise some of the available train weight. It's just a thought but it would potentially alleviate the problem of you having too much weight on the axles. I really dont want to be towing anything. If i had to tow i'd be looking at trailer tents and caravans which are last resorts at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 sjoyce666 - 2017-05-13 2:13 PM Bop - 2017-05-13 2:01 PM I'm not sure about the Compass but I thought the Autoquest-100 spec was 4 birth and 4 belted seats. You need 5 in both cases and not to mention that some of the forward facing motorhome seats are not that compatible with child boosters. Thank you for the reply. We will have two children at the dinette using 3 point belts with a high back booster and one in the front passenger 3 point belted seat with a high back booster. My wife will use the lap belt the other side of the dinette. Obviously if we purchase a motorhome with front passenger airbag we will have to deactivate it as required. Autoquest may come in 4 berth with 4 belts but also comes in 5 berth[/QUOTA Be aware of the "5 berth" . Ours is a 5 berth, but we only have 4 belts.! Also 2 child seats will not go next to each other. in the dinette .Remember that you have an "open" side, not like in a car back seat. You probably will need a six berth and matching seat belts, which will not come small.Payload will be another issue (maybe) i believe you posted before, and the suggestion of a caravan , was not acceptable to you. Seat belts are not retro fixable. Most of us on here , are in medium/large ish vans, but usually with only 2 people on board. In other words, the majority are retired and OLD PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 PJay - 2017-05-13 5:15 PM sjoyce666 - 2017-05-13 2:13 PM Bop - 2017-05-13 2:01 PM I'm not sure about the Compass but I thought the Autoquest-100 spec was 4 birth and 4 belted seats. You need 5 in both cases and not to mention that some of the forward facing motorhome seats are not that compatible with child boosters. Thank you for the reply. We will have two children at the dinette using 3 point belts with a high back booster and one in the front passenger 3 point belted seat with a high back booster. My wife will use the lap belt the other side of the dinette. Obviously if we purchase a motorhome with front passenger airbag we will have to deactivate it as required. Autoquest may come in 4 berth with 4 belts but also comes in 5 berth Be aware of the "5 berth" . Ours is a 5 berth, but we only have 4 belts.! Also 2 child seats will not go next to each other. in the dinette .Remember that you have an "open" side, not like in a car back seat. You probably will need a six berth and matching seat belts, which will not come small.Payload will be another issue (maybe) i believe you posted before, and the suggestion of a caravan , was not acceptable to you. Seat belts are not retro fixable. Most of us on here , are in medium/large ish vans, but usually with only 2 people on board. In other words, the majority are retired and OLD PJay The belts have always been an issue especially when looking at 6 berths with only 4 seatbelts. I understand we are not necessarily the target audience for mororhoming but the other options like caravanning do not appeal to us. As above I have found some 5 berths with 5 seatbelts but the majority only have 4. Hopefully we can pick up some slim high back boosters to go next to each other if the belts allow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 The for-sale section of the forum has lots of 5-berth vans advertised so it may give you a few more ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Have you weighed your family? If not, I suggest you do and, allowing for growth of at least the children, try deducting your combined weights from the published payloads of the vans you like. Nothing is impossible (or so they say! :-)), but you are going to struggle to get a family of five, plus usable day to day payload, into what I assume needs to be a 3,500kg MAM motorhome - unless you are only really wanting to have it for a very few years. It will depend on budget, but at some time you are going to have to change van, because you find you can't run legally due to weight restrictions. If you are able to drive vans over 3,500kg MAM you should have no problems in that respect, and there is a larger range of vehicles that would suffice but, as others have said, they will not be small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandy Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 As you have found, a number of otherwise suitable vans have only four belted seats. Since the base vehicle will originally have been offered with the option of a double passenger seat in the cab, it should be possible to retrofit one, giving you five three-point belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjoyce666 Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 Thank you for all the replies. We had a look at a couple of motorhomes Sunday and are probably going to go back to looking at a T5/T6/Transit type van with a pop up roof. This enables us to have 5 proper belted seats. Obviously space is going to be an issue so we will get an awning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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