Downsizing - Who's done it? (1 Viewer)

[GeriatricWanderer]

It's just horses for courses.
We all have different needs and likes.
How boring it would be if we all liked and chose to buy the same vehicle - can you imagine what a CC Club site or an aire would look like?
"Excuse me but I think you're having your supper in our motorhome - have you used the toilet?"
And how boring this forum would be, no ignored members, all the same number of likes .... yawn yawn.

 

[jezport]

Ive just bought one of these to make it so we can grill/cook inside the van http://www.shoptv.ph/product/grillex
It fits on my single burner outside and on my hob in the van and its great at home. Its easy to store and is lightweight.https://vimeo.com/14644879

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

Grillex, very nice too but would take up a lot of space in the average PVC

I have a DIY version that I've used for years. A Quality Street tin with a cake cooling stand inside and a few holes punched in the lid. With a little practice it works a treat - and when not in use it.s a handy storage container.
Cost: £0
Multi function items and PVC go together.

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[RowleyBirkinQC]

I was touring the Outer Hebrides on a motorbike...

Out of curiosity, should I recognise your avatar from related forums, perhaps UKGSer or KTM forums? I'm thinking you may have had a KTM Enduro, but that's really reaching...

 

[jezport]

Grillex, very nice too but would take up a lot of space in the average PVC

Multi function items and PVC go together.

The top goes inside the bottom so it doesnt take much space, thats one of the reasons I bought it

 

[Langtoftlad]

I have a DIY version that I've used for years. A Quality Street tin with a cake cooling stand inside

Wouldn't work now - Quality Street "tins" are plastic .

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[PhilG]

No! No! No! Phil.

In an earlier post you referred to dead space. Frankly, if you are unable to swivel the cab seats the cab becomes a big dead space. Moreover, when the seats are turned you can move them front/back and, more importantly, recline them for very comfortable lounging and making full use of the entire van. I might admit that it it is a massive, tiring, hard, heavy, lengthy job to swivel the seat if you need to get in the cab. I will time it next time but I would guess that it might take 4 seconds. Where is the hardship in that?

The sliding door is as wide as you would like it. You don't have to have it fully open or closed. The large door opening is, to some extent, fouled by the kitchen but the opening remaining for entry/exit is equally as wide as coachbuilts or A classes. So where is the real problem there?

A further benefit we have in our van is that we can dismantle the bed and stack the parts on the nearside rear of the van where there are straps provided to secure them. I would guess that it takes about 15.7256 seconds to do this. This means that you can carry very long goods/ladders/tandem or whatever if ever you need to. If we need to carry a large item, chair/washing machine/60" TV/etc., having the two rear doors, with very large opening, at the back we can carry them on the bed!

Your 4 berth caravan seems to be as badly designed as your PVC, with nowhere to sit other than the diner. With regard to accumulated cr@p on the fixed bed, we don't have any because there is more than adequate storage in the van in which to place goods/items! Everything is put away properly and neatly.

No! Phil. We would never swap our Globecar for any coachbuilt or A class: never!

You are telling me this like I don't know how a swivel seat works... and I don't have them myself, which I do.

The OP asked for opinions, I gave mine , just because they aren't valid to your particular circumstance , makes them no less valid.

In all of these 'what to buy' or 'I bought the wrong one' threads, you have to be honest with wants versus needs, and what you must have , and what you can live without. A sole traveler has one person to satisfy, after that its a minefield , where one persons desire to carry a bike is outweighed by the other's assertion that they aren't spending £45 grand to only get a 2 burner hob and no oven. My Mrs was ready to torch our A class because the drawer locks were crap, something as petty as that can make as much difference as something major.

 

[ludo]

You are telling me this like I don't know how a swivel seat works... and I don't have them myself, which I do.

The OP asked for opinions, I gave mine , just because they aren't valid to your particular circumstance , makes them no less valid.

In all of these 'what to buy' or 'I bought the wrong one' threads, you have to be honest with wants versus needs, and what you must have , and what you can live without. A sole traveler has one person to satisfy, after that its a minefield , where one persons desire to carry a bike is outweighed by the other's assertion that they aren't spending £45 grand to only get a 2 burner hob and no oven. My Mrs was ready to torch our A class because the drawer locks were crap, something as petty as that can make as much difference as something major.

No Phil, I as not telling you how a swivel seat works at all. It was you that gave the clear impression that they were a problem when you said "not being able to get in either of the front doors because the seats are swiveled because if they aren't you have only half of the half of the van that isn't bed or bog ." I was merely trying to explain that this was really not a problem.

The OP asked for advice and I didn't think that some of the comments you made were helpful but quite erroneous and put my slant on it. My comments have been made from experience and fact and not from any biased personal opinion. I hope that I have been helpful to the OP and others reading this thread.

Of course you have the right to your opinion but comments like lack of storage, poor payload, little space to sit and relax, fixed bed taking unnecessary room and "having a fixed bed in a PVC is almost as daft as having a front bulkhead and a 3 seat cab." I didn't think helpful to the OP and so I challenged them

You seem upset! It was never my intention to upset you and if I have done so then I am sincerely very sorry.

I hope that we can still be friends. Have this one on me mate.

 

[PhilG]

No Phil, I as not telling you how a swivel seat works at all. It was you that gave the clear impression that they were a problem when you said "not being able to get in either of the front doors because the seats are swiveled because if they aren't you have only half of the half of the van that isn't bed or bog ." I was merely trying to explain that this was really not a problem.

The OP asked for advice and I didn't think that some of the comments you made were helpful but quite erroneous and put my slant on it. My comments have been made from experience and fact and not from any biased personal opinion. I hope that I have been helpful to the OP and others reading this thread.

Of course you have the right to your opinion but comments like lack of storage, poor payload, little space to sit and relax, fixed bed taking unnecessary room and "having a fixed bed in a PVC is almost as daft as having a front bulkhead and a 3 seat cab." I didn't think helpful to the OP and so I challenged them

You seem upset! It was never my intention to upset you and if I have done so then I am sincerely very sorry.

I hope that we can still be friends. Have this one on me mate.

So your comments are based on experience and fact , but mine are biased personal opinion... i see.

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[ludo]

So your comments are based on experience and fact , but mine are biased personal opinion... i see.

Yes, I am pleased that you can see that!

Your opinion examples:

lack of storage
poor payload
little space to sit and relax
fixed bed taking unnecessary room
"having a fixed bed in a PVC is almost as daft as having a front bulkhead and a 3 seat cab."

Fact:

plenty of storage
good payload
plenty of space to sit and relax
good fixed bed with huge storage under and no bed to make up at night


I don't see any point in continuing this since I feel it to be of little use to the OP or other readers, so, now that we are clear about the posts I will leave it at that.

 

[Minxy]

I have CCTV also

... and I have ...

 

[Kingham]

....and having a fixed bed in a PVC is almost as daft as having a front bulkhead and a 3 seat cab.

Well I never, there's me in the 'daft club' for choosing a fixed bed layout that I love

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[PhilG]

Well I never, there's me in the 'daft club' for choosing a fixed bed layout that I love

'Almost Daft'... got to leave some room to improve.

 

[iLondoner]

Out of curiosity, should I recognise your avatar from related forums, perhaps UKGSer or KTM forums? I'm thinking you may have had a KTM Enduro, but that's really reaching...

Yes, UKGSer and KTM forums...

And yes to the 690s, one in Spain and one in London.

Tim

 

[Rapido924f]

We had an Elddis Autoquest 180 6 berth for 4 years with numerous problems the major being damp from day one! We did over 40,000 mls however and had decided to keep it when we saw this A class Rapido at 5.99m. The 6 berth was to have space for grandchildren but in reality was only a few days a year. The 3 berth suits us perfectly and with drop down bed plenty of space. We have had it for 4 years and cannot see anything better to replace it. We travel abroad for three separate months in the year and hit about 10,000+ MLS a year. When you look to downsize you will find that a lot of "stuff" you carry around ( and not use) can be left at home. I've got a shed full of gadgets, widebreaks, containers etc that I don't need- but kept just in case ....

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[Nigel L]

Well, the deed has been done!
Done a deal at the NEC this afternoon, and have brought an Auto-Trail V- Line 635 SE, July delivery.
After all the deliberation and concerns, am now absolutely delighted.
Loved the Burstner and have been thrilled with it, but think the V-Line will suit our needs better in the long run

 

[Kingham]

Well, the deed has been done!
Done a deal at the NEC this afternoon, and have brought an Auto-Trail V- Line 635 SE, July delivery.
After all the deliberation and concerns, am now absolutely delighted.
Loved the Burstner and have been thrilled with it, but think the V-Line will suit our needs better in the long run

Nice one and thanks for the update. The long wait begins, which is where I started at October's show, but with one massive difference, you can still use your current van, while you wait.

 

[Kingham]

'Almost Daft'... got to leave some room to improve.

Oh trust me, I've always got plenty of room for improvement

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[ludo]

Well, the deed has been done!
Done a deal at the NEC this afternoon, and have brought an Auto-Trail V- Line 635 SE, July delivery.
After all the deliberation and concerns, am now absolutely delighted.
Loved the Burstner and have been thrilled with it, but think the V-Line will suit our needs better in the long run

Really pleased that you have done the deed and sincerely trust that you will thoroughly enjoy your purchase, which I am sure that you will. Thank you for letting us know.

I also hope that the advice you sought from Funsters, in your opening thread, was instrumental in helping you make your decision. Motorhome Fun is a great place to get help and advice when you need it most.

Please let us know how you get on when you get the van.

 

[FM02MZO]

Ok, we are off to the NEC tomorrow to look at a V- Line 635.
We currently have a Burstner T740 sovereign which we had from new last year, and we have been thrilled with it.
However, we have found over the year that the size, 7-49m long and the width, does sometimes cause issues when going along narrow roads etc.
We don't really like sites, only small 5 van sites etc, and tend to do Brit Stops, pub stops and like to wild camp in rural areas etc.
So, we are thinking about downsizing to a PVC, as it seems more user friendly for touring etc, and very much like the V-Line's.
This is causing us lots of headaches as we love our Burstner, and just wonder if people have downsized and regretted it.
Thinks like storage, do you still find enough space in a PVC to say tour Scotland, which is on our to do list.
Your thoughts and experiences would be much appreciated.

Hi Nigel,
We also have a 2016 Nexxo Sovereign t740.
The only problem we have found is that if you turn the drivers seat round you cannot see the tv, plus the size of the table.
So we have to end up with one sitting in the passenger seat and the other sitting with their back to the window on the dinette seat. We have tried to get a different bracket for the tv, but no such look, have you managed to do anything?

 

[Nigel L]

Hi Nigel,
We also have a 2016 Nexxo Sovereign t740.
The only problem we have found is that if you turn the drivers seat round you cannot see the tv, plus the size of the table.
So we have to end up with one sitting in the passenger seat and the other sitting with their back to the window on the dinette seat. We have tried to get a different bracket for the tv, but no such look, have you managed to do anything?

Yes Terry, exactly the same problem, and even if you have the TV fitted in the bedroom, you don't always want to sit on the bed to watch TV.
If we had kept the van, we were also going to see if we could get a smaller table, as it is a squeeze to get to the front seats when entering by the hab door. Still, problem solved now

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[Gaston aires]

We downsized from a N & B Flair 9 mtrs and 6 tons, to a PVC and never missed the space.
The Flair was great to stay for long periods, Spain over winter etc, but as touring is our thing, a PVC fits the bill and we love it.
Phil

 

[Sue]

We are very new to motorhoming , just 2 years now. Our first motorhome was an autotrail 6.3. It was unbelievably stressful to drive....not so much the length, but the width, with the mirrors sticking out so far. Our first journey saw one smashed...which never helped with the stress! We now have a 5.9 Ih van, which we absolutely love. We never thought we could mange without a fixed bed, or what we imagined would be so much less room...(it's not) .but it's so much better for us, as nervous drivers. Now we can go to places we would have avoided before...and its a pleasure to drive. So for us, downsizing was the best thing to do.

 

[lorger]

Congratulations, hope you have many happy times in your new van. You will now arrive at your destination less stressed and after a couple of trips to sort things out the smaller size won't matter.

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[Neckender]

@gillnphil which pvc did you go for Phil?

John.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Congratulations...
We await the "Upsizing - who's done it? " thread with baited breath .
Only kidding .
The space inside will always be a compromise in any MH, but the journey is so much of motorhoming experience, you've got to enjoy the travelling which obviously you weren't in your larger van.

 

[sylvester1954]

If you're at the NEC go and look at the Auto Sleeper Kingham. We looked around the show for something 'better' than our Kingham and in our opinion that it still our favourite nothing else could better it.

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[mikebeaches]

Well, the deed has been done!
Done a deal at the NEC this afternoon, and have brought an Auto-Trail V- Line 635 SE, July delivery.
After all the deliberation and concerns, am now absolutely delighted.
Loved the Burstner and have been thrilled with it, but think the V-Line will suit our needs better in the long run

Well done - hope you'll have many happy adventures in your new van!

 

[Gaston aires]

@gillnphil which pvc did you go for Phil?

John.

Adria twin slx 640. A model with fixed beds, suits us. Lots of storage space, and after 3 vans with wood finish a change to "titanium" was a change for us.
Phil

@gillnphil which pvc did you go for Phil?

John.

 

[DBK]

We love our 6.0m Murvi PVC. We chose it over other makes because of two main factors: the side door is not obstructed by a bit of kitchen and there isn't a shiny bit of brown wood to be seen anywhere.
But if we ever replace it we would get the 6.3m long version, which wasn't available at the time.
For those in the north, have a look at East Nieuk Campervans. Very different layout but like Murvi you deal directly with the manufacturer not a dealer. This makes a difference as they care about their reputation.

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