Panel Van Conversion with longer beds for tall person

[Dionysius]

Can anyone recommend a Panel Van Conversion that has longer needs as I'm pretty tall and everything we looked at is too short so far.

Mostly ill be travelling solo but at times will need to bring my elderly mother plus dog so it would need to make two singles, so she can get out at night.

We have so far only seen Autosleeper Symbol and Trigano Tribute 650 on the newer  Peugeot/Fiat X250 chassis as these allow the cab  seats to rotate and extend the bed length which makes things viable.

Needs to have proper flush toilet and washroom too.

We don't really want a coach built as would want to be under 6m for ease of parking and just about everything we've looked at has had water ingress (except the Autosleeper monocoques but they were all rusted out under cab at the front)

Edited July 26 by Dionysius

[Labby]

My 2015 Peugeot Boxer based Autocruise Rhythm which is 6 meters long with washroom/toilet (now sold as the Swift Select 122 ) has either two singles that are 6ft 2ins long or can be joined to form a double that is 6ft 2ins  x 6ft 1ins. and may be worth a look at if this is long enough.(there was also a Rhythm Compact model, 5.4 meters ,but this only has a double using two shorter bench seats)

Edited July 26 by Labby

[Dionysius]

We have looked at one the beds aren't long enough. I'm 6ft3in so laying out that would be about 6ft6in minimum if not more for the minimum length needed

At home I have a king-size which I think are 6ft6in and my feet  go over the end a bit.

If the cab seats in a van can be made to line up against the seat benches that would probably give enough extra length but many vans the seats are 6 inches higher or there's some kind of wooden bulkhead between the bench and cab or the seats just don't swivel is what we've found in most vans.

Edited July 26 by Dionysius

[Labby]

Have you looked at www.devonconversions.co.uk  they have vans using the front swivel seat ( 6ft 3ins ) but it could be worth asking if this is able to be extended.

[Derek Uzzell]

The Malibu Van 640 has two 'semi-single' beds, one of which is over 6m long.

https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/reviews/malibu-van-640-le-rb-gt-skyview

(No good though if your budget is around £20k.)

[Dionysius]

Our budget is around £30k maybe £35k tops but I'd rather not spend anything like that, especially as prices look to be falling

methinks there may be a crash with all the new unsold vans being discounted so heavily and the COVID panic bought vans now being dumped on the market .

I would not wish to lose a fortune if it turned out not to workout or my mother needed more care and I was unable to use it so had to sell which is always on the horizon.

That's why I quite liked the Talismans as they are much more reasonably priced. 

But full of iron oxide so far......

[Derek Uzzell]

Auto-Sleepers made "Talisman" models from as early as 1984, based initially on a Talbot Express, then (from 1994) normally on a Peugeot Boxer. In those days minimal attention was made to guard against metal corrosion and the base-vehicle was intended for daily commercial use, to be able to cover a high mileage in a relatively short time and then be replaced when it became uneconomical to maintain.

This 2020 ASOF link may be of interest

https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t33662-total-newbie-interested-in-talisman

I believe Auto-Sleepers ceased Talisman production in 2006, when the Peugeot Boxer base was heavily revised. So, if you interested in Talismans, the youngest will now be at least 18 years old and few people would expect the metal bodywork of a 18-years-old car to be in prime condition.

The UK's MOT inspection manual includes sections relating to a vehicle's structure, attachments, integrity and corrosion

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/6-body-structure-and-attachments

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/appendix-a-structural-integrity-and-corrosion

and it should be apparent that if metal corrosion is in a non-load-bearing area (and even if the extent of the corrosion might horrify a motorhome buyer) the vehicle might still pass the MOT-test.

It's perhaps worth adding that, although the GRP bodywork that Auto-Sleepers chose to use on Talisman (and some other models) is essentially immortal, it still sat on a wood floor.  If you are keen on these GRP-bodied Auto-Sleepers motorhomes, you should carefully check the condition of the wood floor as well as the metal bodywork.

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/topic/37846-rotten-wood-underneath-mh/

(Thats  equally true of any motorhome that has a wood floor, of course.)

Auto-Sleepers did produce a small number of follow-up motorhomes (named "Executive") that mirrored the Talisman GRP body concept but used the 2006-onwards Boxer underpinnings. There's an example advert here

https://www.abmotorhomes.co.uk/vehicle/auto-sleepers-executive-50th-anniversary-1-of-50-ever-made-in-nantwich-5255c034-3ca7-488e-a870-e59bcd7cb2c4

[Deneb]

Vantage Motorhomes will make bespoke alterations to their vans to accommodate customer preferences. I'm not sure that extending bed length would be practical on 6 metre models though, but for example, the EOS 6.3 metre model has an interior layout identical to the Sol rear lounge model, but with the addition of a large boot space. So the boot depth could be reduced to accommodate longer seating/bed length and can be used as two single beds or a large double bed.

[Dionysius]

But not on a £30k budget ...

[Brian Kirby]

I can't recommend anything, but I think you'll have to relax your requirements to find what you want.  Why?  Consider.

Most PVCs are on the Ducato/Boxer/Relay (Sevel) base because they have the widest bodyshell, allowing a transverse double bed to be installed across the rear of the loadspace, and so a washroom, kitchen, and dining space to be (just! 🙂)installed between the bed and the front driver's/passenger's seats all within a 6.0 metre overall length bodyshell.

However, your requirement is for two single beds, one of which needs to be at least 2.0 metres long for comfort.  As a standard double bed width is in the region of 1.35 metres, and a 2.0 metre bed can only be fitted into the Sevel (or any other) bodyshell longitudinally, the space for washroom, kitchen and dining is now reduced by 65 centimetres, or nearly two feet, so fatally compromising the layout of the already "snug" space between driver's/passenger's seats.

That, mainly, is why you are struggling to find what you want.  I'm not arguing that it is impossible, but the result would be very cramped and, were it possible to contrive such a layout, it would be likely to have only very limited market appeal, which, I assume, is why few, if any, converters have adopted it.

So, I think you need to consider at least conversions based on the L4 (6.36 metre) Ducato bodyshell, or possibly (although narrower than the Sevel products) the longer Mercedes, Iveco, or Ford bases.

The above would largely hold true also for coachbuilts in that, although they are almost all wider than the Sevel vans, the width of bodyshell necessary to accommodate a transverse 2.0 metre long bed would bring its own disadvantages, and would also appear to rule out the twin, single, beds that you seem to need - unless transverse rear bunk beds might be feasible.

In short, put bluntly, you are trying to get a quart into a pint pot.  So as you can't reduce the quart (at least not without radical surgery!!), you need to look at getting a bigger (longer! ) pot!🙂.

Edited July 28 by Brian Kirby

[onecal]

On 26/07/2024 at 10:13, Dionysius said:

Can anyone recommend a Panel Van Conversion that has longer needs as I'm pretty tall and everything we looked at is too short so far.

Mostly ill be travelling solo but at times will need to bring my elderly mother plus dog so it would need to make two singles, so she can get out at night.

We have so far only seen Autosleeper Symbol and Trigano Tribute 650 on the newer  Peugeot/Fiat X250 chassis as these allow the cab  seats to rotate and extend the bed length which makes things viable.

Needs to have proper flush toilet and washroom too.

We don't really want a coach built as would want to be under 6m for ease of parking and just about everything we've looked at has had water ingress (except the Autosleeper monocoques but they were all rusted out under cab at the front)

Hi

I think Brian has given you an excellent reply to your post . Especially on your budget of £30k  Maybe someone (a friend) may be able to build one for you, or indeed yourself? on an old panel van ? If you have the skills it saves quite a lot on labour costs and you just might be able gain all the requirements you may need

Regards

17 hours ago, Dionysius said:

But not on a £30k budget ...

[colin]

From what I can see online a Globecar Trendscout should work, according to one review the drivers side bed can be extended to 2.2m.

[Derek Uzzell]

Well spotted.

There's a 2008 review here

https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/reviews/globecar-trendscout

and, currently, four advertised on Auto Trader, all sub-£35k

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/motorhomes/used-motorhomes/globecar/trendscout

There's some earlier forum discussion about the Trendscout.

https://www.google.com/search?as_q=&as_epq=Trendscout&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.outandaboutlive.co.uk%2F&as_occt=any&as_filetype=&tbs=#ip=1

[onecal]

On 26/07/2024 at 10:13, Dionysius said:

Can anyone recommend a Panel Van Conversion that has longer needs as I'm pretty tall and everything we looked at is too short so far.

Mostly ill be travelling solo but at times will need to bring my elderly mother plus dog so it would need to make two singles, so she can get out at night.

We have so far only seen Autosleeper Symbol and Trigano Tribute 650 on the newer  Peugeot/Fiat X250 chassis as these allow the cab  seats to rotate and extend the bed length which makes things viable.

Needs to have proper flush toilet and washroom too.

We don't really want a coach built as would want to be under 6m for ease of parking and just about everything we've looked at has had water ingress (except the Autosleeper monocoques but they were all rusted out under cab at the front)

Hi 

Would the Globecar Trendscout work for you and as pointed out may be within your budget?

Regards

[Dionysius]

I'm not saying these wouldn't work but every end lounge we've looked at so far has been way too short 

Those advertised are all at complete opposite sides of the country to us unfortunately:-(

I had thought about buying a 2nd hand van and have it converted but I can only see convertors offering stock designs which have beds across the van or those VW T5s which are way too small.

Anyone know of a convertor who could make something ?

We are in Surrey/SW London borders.

[Tracker]

We had an A/S Warwick Excel which has two single beds at rear that make into a huge double.

Sleeping diagonal would give you extra length or it would not be hard to make up a folding foot extension to fit in the centre aisle if needed?

[Derek Uzzell]

The Globecar Trendscout meets the two single beds (one unusually long, one shorter) requirement and the budgetary constraint - and may well be the only panel-van model that does so.

It may be necessary to travel a couple of hundred miles to inspect one, but many people looking for a particular motorhome will travel much further. (I imported my 2nd motorhome from Germany and drove it back to the UK.)

This advert is from a St Austell dealership.

https://www.cornwallmotorhomecentre.co.uk/vehicle/globecar-trendscout-in-saint-austell-cornwall-18c22703-abe4-42e1-9226-b1a8015a3c83

There are companies that will build to order (GOOGLE-search on motorhome bespoke converters) but whether this would be a cost effective way to go is another matter. 

[Brian Kirby]

Don't know if this remains the case but, if memory serves, it used to be the case that for almost every Globecar there was an equivalent Possl.  I couldn't identify a current equivalent Possl - I assume because the Trendscout is no longer in production and so its Possl equivalent.

However, if anyone can remember what Possl called their Trendscout clone, it may be that there are a few used ones still available on the UK market.

My only reservation with the rear convertible sofa layout, is whether it would give Dionysius' mum the privacy she might value, and whether the available storage (which must inevitably accommodate bedding during the day) is adequate.  That will to some extent depend upon the anticipated duration of trips, and the time of year in which they may be undertake, but Trendscout storage was criticised in the PM review.

[colin]

25 minutes ago, Brian Kirby said:

However, if anyone can remember what Possl called their Trendscout clone, it may be that there are a few used ones still available on the UK market.

The Trendscout was 'officially' imported into UK over several years, with gaps when either the importers paused importing, or changed importers. You can see that it is a UK specific layout, so I'm not sure a Possl van was ever imported.