The right layout? (1 Viewer)

[wizzer59]

Ok leading on from another post I've just read on here, about how long it takes to get the right motorhome layout

How many of you good folk on here got it right first time?, or how many vans did it take?:thumb:

 

[Forestboy]

Third time got it right thankfully:Blush: hope to keep this one for years and years.

Kept trying with RVs but could'nt do it, internally fantastic but size and fuel cost a definate No No

 

[wivvy's dad]

On our third, and still chasing the ideal.

I think the only way is to build it myself.

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[DESCO]

Had a few different motorhomes but at the time all seemed fine, have only changed as the wife's disabilities have changed and something else normally different like rear garage for wheelchair, has come along, that fitted the bill better.

We have possibly been lucky, but never feel that at the time it was the wrong van.

 

[bobandjanie]

Hope your not thinking of changing already Tim, after all that time and effort fitting that solar panel.

Everyone has different priorities, the first one had a very large end bathroom, its a woman thing.

But once you put all the man things in it, they realise you need a garage.

Then the next thing was being cold and things freezing, so a fully winterised van.

And only look in A class motorhomes at shows, and before you know it, you have the van you wanted in the first place. Bob.

 

[hilldweller]

Ok leading on from another post I've just read on here, about how long it takes to get the right motorhome layout

I'm not sure it works like that. People change and they change their MHs so it's half the van half the people.

It is impossible to buy the perfect MH, only Tardis Inc make them and they are rare as hens' teeth.

4 years on we are still on our first. We've modified it rather than changing.

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[sedge]

The only things we were both utterly adamant about were a full cooker (it could be small if it wanted to be, as long as it had hobs, a grill and an oven) and we absolutely did NOT want either a fixed bed - as they really are a complete and utter waste of space - or an enormous fridge.

The main thing we didn't even think about was winterisation. We'd had caravans in our lives - a Hymer and an Avondale, there was nowt special about them and they were both toasty so that will never be a problem for us. We said. And believed.

Errr. Right then. That last one was a BIG mistake. The fire doesn't seem to produce anywhere near the amount of instant heat we got from caravan fires and that is probably all related to the inside dimensions of the box, especially the roof height, exacerbated by the overcab. I am not At All a happy bunny when I'm not warm enough. After the snow in Minehead and everywhere else in late 2010 - I couldn't possibly envisage my WANTING to use the van when it's cold, and it was 'silly' cold last winter, just as it is this weekend. (It's actually snowing right at this minute) I know Pete would have liked to use it late last year, but I just couldn't. I'm now very interested in winterisation and these Webasto (is that right?) diesel heaters sound the bees knees to me. Esp if you can leave em on low while you're bowling along.

I've got to almost hate that overcab bed. Esp having got to the stage/age where 2 or more loo visits happen overnight .... can't go to bed except to sleep (or other horzontal-ish pursuits) as can't sit up. I can't knock the comfort of it, for sleeping etc. Very comfortable which has been a pleasant surprise. So we'd like a fixed bed, please. But still want a lounge area we don't have to sit permanently upright in.

We were right about the cooker and the fridge though ....

 

[JeanLuc]

Right first time in our case. We spent quite a long time thinking about it (3 months or more) and visited dealers and the NEC show. It was our first van and although I might wish for other things (like a Concorde Charisma or similar) our Hymer B Starline is a good compromise for us. We prioritised garage storage and a rear fixed bed over lots of lounge space, and decided an A-class was a 'must-have' in order to get maximum use of the cab area.
5 years on we are very happy with it and have no desire to change (unless someone makes us an offer on a Concorde that we can't refuse - have to downsize the house though!)
:thumb:

 

[GJH]

I agree with Brian that it's half van, half people. We chose our Autoquest after looking round at different layouts for quite some time. As it turned out some of our reasons (what we thought were our usage intentions) proved wrong but it was, for five years, the ideal layout. We looked at a number of vans at shows and dealerships and never saw anything which suited us better.

It was only towards the end of last year that we started to fancy a fixed bed and one or two other items we didn't have and thought about maybe looking round to change sometime in summer this year. As it happens, of course, we ended up (courtesy of Asda) having no option but to change

We were pretty careful in listing our requirements and, happily, we managed to get a van that met the vast majority. Time will tell, of course, whether the requirements we specified are correct

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[Terry]

All I can say is all the vans were right for us at the time Wants and needs change with time.We went from 2 to 4 to 6 and now back to 2 which is best for our needs now :thumb:Trouble is our grandson comes away with us a lot now and although he helped me make him a bed across the front seats which is perfect for him now,I can see a time in the not too distant future that we are going to need a well thought out 3 berth version of our 2 berth van what we have now.
terry

 

[keith_c]

I think we did okay with ours - we wanted a coach built and wouldn't have wanted a A class as the 1st one. Also we wanted a proper oven. We needed space for two growing boys and some "living area" - the only bits we could've done better on were that I've never been happy with the 4 bikes on a rack on the back (but with the layout we wanted there was no way round that) and we totally got the winterisation wrong - we use it all year round and whilst it isn't a huge problem using empty 2 litre coke bottles for water when the temperature is zero or below it is a bit of a pain.

 

[acting_strange]

We really have the perfect van for us and it was an accident if anything...

End lounge with a bed on each side...perfect as we are older and need the loo more often in the night. We don't disturb each other.
The overcan bed is ideal for storage..
If Brownhills hadn't had a misleading advert we would have had a much smaller van at the same price and we now know it would have been useless to us. As it was we told them what to do and reported them and spent another 6 months looking until our Lunar came up...brilliant..

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[MikeandCarolyn]

we absolutely did NOT want either a fixed bed - as they really are a complete and utter waste of space.
I've got to almost hate that overcab bed. Esp having got to the stage/age where 2 or more loo visits happen overnight .... can't go to bed except to sleep (or other horzontal-ish pursuits) as can't sit up. I can't knock the comfort of it, for sleeping etc. Very comfortable which has been a pleasant surprise. So we'd like a fixed bed, please. But still want a lounge area we don't have to sit permanently upright in.....

We wanted a fixed bed from day one-we also wanted to be under 6mtrs.
There are times now when I wish we had more lounge area-but that would make the van longer and influence where we can go easily.So-it's all a compromise.
As Hilldweller says (I think it was him) the ideal van is a Tardis,and they are rarer than hen's teeth.I think we've got it 80% right (for us),and we'll stick with that-after all,in good weather we are outside more than we are inside.
Mike.

 

[wizzer59]

Hope your not thinking of changing already Tim, after all that time and effort fitting that solar panel. Bob.

Hi Bob
No not at all, only another 24.5 years to go before the panel pays for its self

I think our layout is one of two that we thought was good for us and so far so good, only a bit more time and traveling will tell, of course there are lots of other things besides layout that make for an ideal van and thats where our old Auto-sleeper falls down, but I have to say for a cheap first timer she's doing alright:thumb:

 

[Mr Colpot]

Well.......we have taken 4 Motorhomes to find the size/layout that suits us best. First MH we bought was a Hymer - our criteria - 1. Sub 6m long to fit on the drive and 2. A Hymer - because I always wanted one! (We didnt get on with the overcab bed and the dinette double was like something on the Krypton Factor to put together)
On a site in France (La Flesche) we met a couple who had a rear kitchen front lounge (cant remember the make) and they showed us round. We came back and bought the Swift Sundance 530.
We found the Bed fun to make up after a few wines and it was a little cold in Winter. So we decided that we wanted a fixed bed (still limited to 6m) and bought the Rapido 709. This was perfect for us.
Then we moved house and, because we had a bigger driveway, decided we would like a longer one to give us more lounging room. We decided the Swift Bolero 680FB was our ideal MH - Fixed Bed and front lounge. So we set out to get one and started looking. At a Dealer who had one we saw the Hymer ( I still couldnt resist looking at them) and we now have our perfect MHome - large rear lounge - 2 single beds or one big double (needless to say we tend to use the single beds as they take no effort to make up after a glass or two).
No overcab Bed - overhead lockers instead. Ideal for us.
For some reason I am no longer allowed to visit Motorhome Dealers................

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