Advice on Size please

[1ten]

We think we have narrowed our choice down to two vans, it would seem to me that the larger van with a better payload, especially as we want a four bike rack on the back, would make more sense but I wanted some advice on the drawbacks.

 

This may be a silly question but is there any great advantage of having a van under 6m to one that is 6.3m long and with the same thoughts in mind is there any great advantage of having GVW weight of 3500kg rather than 4250kg. we can both drive the upper weight so we don't have any licence problems.

 

 

[PJay]

If you can drive the larger van, then that IMO would make more sense, with 4 persons on board,as long as the layout suits you. Payload should be less of a problem with the 4250.

You don't say what vans you are looking at. Maybe if you say, then others who may have experience of them, could advise, as too any problems

PJay

[1ten]

Thanks PJay. The vans are both Globecars and both layouts are similar.

 

I was more concerned about general issues rather than specifically with the vans themselves. Given the concerns with payload I think it will be a no brainer to go for the bigger van.

 

I was more concerned about tolls, do campsites charge more, is insurance an issue, things like that.

[PJay]

Can't say about insurance, as that depends on your age/where you keep van/your driving record, etc

Ferry prices go on length/height. Tolls i am not sure, don't think it will make a difference .

Sites usually just charge for pitch and number of people, dogs.Some give discount for longer stays

You get many vans now 8 mtr + , so you would not be considered "large"

 

Wish you luck in your choice, and just enjoy your holidays in van of your choice.

PJay

 

[snowie]

Hi 1ten; just under 6m, I.e. 5.99m is pretty good if you plan to do Scandinavia, as bridges and maybe ferries are economical at that length and pretty pricey even a few centimetres over.

This may apply elsewhere also,

Regards

Alan b

[colin]

Quite a few ferry's are priced up to 6m then over 6m to 7m(or there abouts), but once you have added a 4 bike rack to a 6m you will come into the same braket as 6.36m with 4 bike rack.

Which globecars are you looking at?

[Tracker]

If the extra cost of ferries and tolls bothers you then go for the smaller van, but if the larger van with better payload suits you better to heck with the cost of using it as comfort and convenience count for a lot in any van so it comes down to layout, whichever suits your style of use best.

[snowie]

Tracker is absolutely right, layout every time, I'm certain that we couldn't have devised a layout that worked for us in a 5.3m van, but it might have been easier to park in cities and been more manoeuvrable on some of our trips. Similarly, if we were over 1.8M tall a 5.99M van would probably be a struggle.

Also, if there are regularly four of you then useable floor area will be important.

Good luck

Alan b

[1ten]

Thanks everyone for the quick answers. They are pretty much what I thought and a very good point that with a bike rack we will be over the magical 6m length so I may as well go for the longer can, Fortunately this will still fit on our drive and we really aren't worried about driving with the extra length. We normally use the tunnel to get to Europe and I think they charge the same whatever the length.

 

We are looking at the Globecar Campscout Revolution, not the most attractive van with the high roof but would seem to work the best for us.

[PJay]

1ten - 2017-08-24 4:14 PM

 

Thanks everyone for the quick answers. They are pretty much what I thought and a very good point that with a bike rack we will be over the magical 6m length so I may as well go for the longer can, Fortunately this will still fit on our drive and we really aren't worried about driving with the extra length. We normally use the tunnel to get to Europe and I think they charge the same whatever the length.

 

We are looking at the Globecar Campscout Revolution, not the most attractive van with the high roof but would seem to work the best for us.

 

I agree layout is important.

One thing that comes to mind. How tall are the the people who will travel? Look at length of beds. Not a problem for us, but We do have rather tall sons and the grandchildren, are getting even taller (even the girls) Several over 6ft!

The beds can sometimes be a bit on the short side, even though they can stand up in van!

PJay

[1ten]

Our height should cause much of an issue, our daughters are 9 & 11. I am the tallest and never made it to 6ft.

[Wortho]

We opted for a 5.99 meter van as we plan to spend a fair amount of time in Scandinavia and as others have pointed out the bridge tolls and ferries more than double in cost when you go above 6m. One example is a ferry we took from Molde where we paid 146NOK but if we had been over 6m it would have cost 353NOK which is quite a jump. Under 6m you just pay the same price as a regular car.

http://www.fjord1.no/ferje/ruteoversikt-for-ferje/more-og-romsdal/molde-sekken

 

Edit: Just noticed you planning to travel with bikes so staying under 6m is not really an issue as the bikes will put you over anyways so may as well get the longer van.

[mikebeaches]

We've got a 6.36m Ducato-based panel van conversion (Rapido), same length as the larger one you are considering. Previously we had a 5.99m coachbuilt. The extra length of the pvc is no hardship; but driving the narrower van is a much better experience than the wider coachbuilt.

 

And you are right about the tunnel - which we use a lot - it makes no difference. On Brittany Ferries, they have a sub-6.5m category, as well as sub-6m and sub-7m ones, but you'd possibly exceed that with 4 bikes on the back.

 

With 2 adults and 2 children on board, I'd have thought life would be significantly more comfortable with the longer van.

 

Good luck whatever you decide. B-)

[Tracker]

Some years ago when we were in Norway on the way to the Nordkapp we did see some motorhomers take bikes and racks off the back of the van and place them inside to save on the ferries. A lot of faffing about but the savings were considerable.

[Brian Kirby]

1ten - 2017-08-24 2:36 PM

 

We think we have narrowed our choice down to two vans, it would seem to me that the larger van with a better payload, especially as we want a four bike rack on the back, would make more sense but I wanted some advice on the drawbacks.

 

This may be a silly question but is there any great advantage of having a van under 6m to one that is 6.3m long and with the same thoughts in mind is there any great advantage of having GVW weight of 3500kg rather than 4250kg. we can both drive the upper weight so we don't have any licence problems.

 

As others have said, greater length will probably incur penalties on ferries etc. but with the bike rack either van will put you over 6.0M, so no advantage to either.

 

Parking will be a bit trick with both, as either will be liable to exceed parking bay length.

 

Insofar as the van is in standard form, insurance rates should not be affected.

 

Regarding MAM, the longer van will be on the "heavy" chassis as standard, which I am informed gives a superior ride and better braking than the "light" chassis. As you'll be on that chassis, the extra cost for going to 4,250kg is negligible.

 

Oddly, at 4,250kg you will pay lower VED than you would at 3,500kg.

 

In view of your "crewing" requirement I'd go for the heavier van. Those kids will get bigger as time passes. They'll be adult sized in a few years, and 4 x adult sized people alone will consume somewhere in the region of 300kg of your actual payload.

[Don636]

We originally wanted to go for a 6m van but eventually chose a 6.36m van purely because we decided that the additional space and storage inside would make a difference to our enjoyment of the van and it has definitely turned out to be a good decision. I believe that getting the layout right for you with the least amount of compromise of use of the van is paramount if at all possible.

 

I don't think that the extra length makes any difference to how the van drives and parking is never a real problem either. The advantage over a coach built is width and this definitely makes a difference to ease of driving on challenging roads.

 

I don't think it makes much difference to running costs including insurance. I don't know if it makes much diffance to Channel ferry costs as I have never checked and am not really interested anyway. I have the van I want and if it costs a bit more to use so be it. We would like to go to Scandinavia at some point and was not aware that ferry costs would be more for a van over 6 m but this would not affect our choice of van either, it is what it is.

 

Overall I can't see any drawbacks unless any effect on cost of ferries etc is considered to be prohibitive.

 

[Don636]

Just noticed an earlier post about Norwegian ferry costs. The jump illustrated from below 6 m to over 6m is £15 to £35. I have no idea how long this crossing is or how representative it is of likely ferry costs when visiting Norway but it hardly seems worth bothering about as far as choosing what van to go for.

[Don636]

Just gone onto Direct Ferries to check prices and for a return trip between Bergen and Stavanger and the quoted price was £241 for either a 6m van or a 7m van so why do people think the costs are double or am I missing something?

[malc d]

Don636 - 2017-08-24 7:05 PM

 

Just gone onto Direct Ferries to check prices and for a return trip between Bergen and Stavanger and the quoted price was £241 for either a 6m van or a 7m van so why do people think the costs are double or am I missing something?

 

 

In our experience it is the fares on the internal ferries, ( i.e. across fjords ) of which there are many in Norway, that almost doubled when the vans length was over 6 metres - not the ferries that took us there.

 

;-)

 

p.s. But it's some years since we went so things may have changed ?

[Wortho]

malc d - 2017-08-25 7:07 AM

 

p.s. But it's some years since we went so things may have changed ?

 

We caught 8 ferries across the fjords on the recent trip to Norway and on all of them the price was more than double once you exceed 6 meters. So nothing has changed it appears.

[colin]

Brian Kirby - 2017-08-24 6:33 PM

 

Regarding MAM, the longer van will be on the "heavy" chassis as standard, which I am informed gives a superior ride and better braking than the "light" chassis. As you'll be on that chassis, the extra cost for going to 4,250kg is negligible.

 

I can think of several descriptions of the ride for a Maxi(heavy) van, superior is not one of them.

Firm, stable, planted on the road, or as Eddie used to say, rattles your fillings. :D

Anyway back to OP, how are you intending using it re sleeping arrangements? Raising the rear bed to make 4 berth at back, or getting the bed extension to make double at front for kids?

[1ten]

Anyway back to OP, how are you intending using it re sleeping arrangements? Raising the rear bed to make 4 berth at back, or getting the bed extension to make double at front for kids?

 

We are looking at raising the rear bed and getting the extra bed underneath.

[colin]

1ten - 2017-08-24 9:53 PM

 

We are looking at raising the rear bed and getting the extra bed underneath.

 

As long as you are happy with the headroom in beds (or lack of it) and getting in and out of bed, then I would say it's a good option.

[1ten]

colin - 2017-08-24 10:10 PM

 

1ten - 2017-08-24 9:53 PM

 

We are looking at raising the rear bed and getting the extra bed underneath.

 

As long as you are happy with the headroom in beds (or lack of it) and getting in and out of bed, then I would say it's a good option.

 

As usual it is a compromise, we suffer the lack of headroom in the beds or we have a bed that means we can't use the front of the van until everyone is out of bed. I tend to get up early as does one of my daughters, the idea is my wife and other daughter can stay in bed but we still have the front seats we can use. Maybe we will need hard hats in bed!

[Derek Uzzell]

Regarding tolls, vehicle classification for French autoroutes includes a Gross Vehicle Weight GVW) factor, as will be apparent from this link

 

http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/vehicle-classification.htm

 

so a Globecar motorhome with a GVW over 3500kg falls into Category 3.

 

In practice, as (to the best of my knowledge) French autoroute toll-booths (manual or automated) have no equipment capable of establishing a vehicle’s GVW and the GVW of the vast majority of French-registered motorhomes does not exceed 3500kg, a 4250kg GVW Globecar will always be charged the Category 2 toll-fee.