Roger Wilkinson
Free Member
We are on our second campervan at the moment, and are thinking of a major upgrade. This will involve us buying a new van and having it converted to our own spec. We think we know what we want now!
First up, we don’t want a coach-built vehicle but a white van conversion. Our present van is a LWB Ducato, which is just shy of 7m long. We don’t want anything longer.
However, we do want to fit everything in, and fully expect some compromise may be necessary.
Our current van is a 6 speed diesel which we would want again. However, there would need to be a few changes. We don’t at present have air-con, or cruise control both of which we do want now. Also, we are wondering about an automatic, as we are getting on a bit and we have recently enjoyed driving some hire cars with auto gears. Our present van is a lot quieter than our previous Ducato, and we appreciate this. We manage 30 mpg on our present van, and are not keen to worsen this figure.
In terms of space, these are our priorities, which are largely dictated by our preference for wild camping rather than using sites (which we consider a failure on our part!):
1. Present van has what amounts to a wetroom and gives a nice spacious shower
2. We want a permanent double bed or at least one which is easier to erect than our present van where the bed is transverse just behind the driving seats and which we find increasingly irksome to dismantle and mantle.
3. A decent kitchen with oven and at least three rings as we rarely overnight close to a pub or restaurant and do all our own cooking.
4. Space for a Gaslow system
I know, we want the impossible!
So, what sort of van should we go for? Some friends have recommended a Ford Transit, but I’m open to suggestions. This decision will be important as this van will have to see us into the care-home.
First up, we don’t want a coach-built vehicle but a white van conversion. Our present van is a LWB Ducato, which is just shy of 7m long. We don’t want anything longer.
However, we do want to fit everything in, and fully expect some compromise may be necessary.
Our current van is a 6 speed diesel which we would want again. However, there would need to be a few changes. We don’t at present have air-con, or cruise control both of which we do want now. Also, we are wondering about an automatic, as we are getting on a bit and we have recently enjoyed driving some hire cars with auto gears. Our present van is a lot quieter than our previous Ducato, and we appreciate this. We manage 30 mpg on our present van, and are not keen to worsen this figure.
In terms of space, these are our priorities, which are largely dictated by our preference for wild camping rather than using sites (which we consider a failure on our part!):
1. Present van has what amounts to a wetroom and gives a nice spacious shower
2. We want a permanent double bed or at least one which is easier to erect than our present van where the bed is transverse just behind the driving seats and which we find increasingly irksome to dismantle and mantle.
3. A decent kitchen with oven and at least three rings as we rarely overnight close to a pub or restaurant and do all our own cooking.
4. Space for a Gaslow system
I know, we want the impossible!
So, what sort of van should we go for? Some friends have recommended a Ford Transit, but I’m open to suggestions. This decision will be important as this van will have to see us into the care-home.