Centre lounge...rear....Front....U-shaped? Single beds or bunks? HELP!!

RubyOptics

RubyOptics

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Again help!!

Thanks again to all of you, and to all who may contribute to this thread.

I don't know what i want, I would like your advice to help me make a decision.

1 - I would like to be able to travel, if not right into the centre, then at least as close as I can to historically interesting sites.
2 - I want as small a van as is possible. I want to be able to park this van in a normal car parking space.
3 - Must have 4 x beds.
4 - Would prefer 2x rear bunk beds and overcab bed.
5 - Please don't suggest the auto-sleeper Ducatto etc etc.
I need something in LHD, cheap but that i can trust to keep my kids warm an dry should things go south...any suggestions?
 
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RubyOptics said:
2 - I want as small a van as is possible. I want to be able to park this van in a normal car parking space.
3 - Must have 4 x beds.
4 - Would prefer 2x rear bunk beds and overcab bed.
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Sounds impossible to me.

We had a Burstner 530. It's small with over cab ( or often called "Luton" because of the Bedford Luton van ) but no bunks, the lounge turned into a small double bed. It did not quite fit in a normal parking space lengthwise. Cheap now.

A good DIY person could turn the back bathroom into a bunk area, I think.
 
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PCV type vehicle is your starting point. You don't mention budget so I'm not sure anyone can really answer your questions. What's wrong with a Ducato based vehicle?
 
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My advice would be to go to a motorhome show. You’ll get a really good idea of what is achievable and what isn’t.
 
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Southdowners said:
My advice would be to go to a motorhome show. You’ll get a really good idea of what is achievable and what isn’t.
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As above. You need to explore what Layouts are available.

However, those available at a UK Motorhome show may not necessarily be available in LHD.

Is LHD a must and, if so, why?

hilldweller said:
Sounds impossible to me.
Click to expand...

It does seem like a tall order.

Ian

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I saw a really cool sprinter conversions for a family with two young kids...... I'll try find it.
 
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He said cheap so what is on display now at Shows may not be same layout as those on secondhand market - fashions change.

He did not say no Ducato; he said no to 'Autosleeper Ducato'

I also doubt you can get his spec in a normal car bay sized van, and it might prove too small for you and kids , and a partner(not mentioned)?

As for going into the centre of towns, small for parking is good, but more towns and cities are introducing Emissions Zones restrictions so the age of the engine and its Euro rating come into play. Going petrol rather than diesel solves some of those problems but not all and finding petrol models would complicate the search.

Sorry to 'thicken the plot' but these are some of the realities of trying to meet your spec.

Geoff
 
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Sounds like you've got alot of requirements. Enough to justify building your own ?

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If you don’t mind a double bed in a lift up roof, you could look at something like a VW camper.
I doubt there will be many, if any LHD vans about though
Of course, it also depends what you mean by cheap. Cheap, generally means old and old normally means you need to be mechanically minded to keep it roadworthy.
 
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We have a 5.4m van which while it does fit into a parking space, its tight widthways but we can always get in and out via the sliding door if we can't open the cab doors far enough and we need to be able to overhang at the back to be able to tuck in at the front. However some car parks are too small to give us room to be able to swing into a parking space even if it does meet our requirements.

We have a fixed transverse bed at the back and I've seen some conversions with 2 transverse beds in bunk bed style, one above the other. Not sure which makes/models they were though. The downsides to having a fixed bed at the back is no oven, we have a small portable one for when on hook-up - cooked our Christmas dinner this year no problem! We have a 4 seater dinette with the additional 2 seat belts but its essentially a small bench seat with a padded back and headrests and a 90 deg angle on it, no reclining, so 2 people can sit comfortably in the captains seats but another 2 can't lounge unless they sit/lie on the bed. Our dinette seat is used by one dog when we aren't travelling and both when we are.

You may end up going the conversion route to get everything you want, as others have said, but remember that payload could be your enemy especially if you're travelling with the extra things that children may need, such as bikes.

There are of course, pop top options, as Allanm says, but a smaller van means smaller living space and you may find its too small for 4 people on a day when the weather isn't very good and you stay inside.
 
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I think the LHD requirement is because the op is not UK based?

If so then layouts, models etc may be slightly different in mainland Europe.

Suggest getting to shows to view as many as possible to see what you like, 4 berths in. Pvc will be tight, but there are many 6.5m coachbuilts which may suit.

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The adria twin (or it might have been a Possl) pvc used to do one with room for 4 to sleep , I think it had a rear fixed bed with bunks that dropped down above it. Sorry I can’t remember the model number,

I would try to get to the Düsseldorf show later in the year if you really want to see the variety of vans that are available.
 
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Something like this?

www.becksmotorhomes.com

Becks Motorhomes

Norfolks finest selection of Motorhomes for sale situated in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, East Anglia. Specializing in Bessacarr, Burstner and Autocruise
www.becksmotorhomes.com www.becksmotorhomes.com
 
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You seem to get more european Van's with bunk beds for kids.
 
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MisterB said:
PCV type vehicle is your starting point. You don't mention budget so I'm not sure anyone can really answer your questions. What's wrong with a Ducato based vehicle?
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Whats PCV please?
 
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A PCV is a passenger carying vehicle. DVLA website covers it.

I suspect it was meant to be PVC or Panel Van Conversion. It is 'white van man' vehicle modified to be a motorhome. Look on the DVLA website to see what you need fitted to be allowed to re register a commercial type van as a motorhome. It covers things like must have a bed etc. Important to get it re registered as the insurance will be cheaper.

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Thank you so for your kind replies! I do realise that my wish list is really just that, a wish list! The LHD is indeed because I don't live in the UK, so buying RHD doesn't really make sense. The reason I said about the duetto is that I really do like it but can't get it in LHD!!!
I guess I want as shorter can as possible in order to not feel constrained as to where I can go. Do any of you feel this is reasonable? Or do you feel just as comfortable in a 6.5m can as a 5m in terms of smaller winding roads?
I recently attended the Warsaw motor home expo which was a great experience and indeed we both felt we learnt s lot and saw some interesting layouts.
Thank you again for taking the time to try and help! ❤️❤️❤️
 
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Hi Ruby,
Love your avatar ....
Where is it you live ? Poland ?
 
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Hehe thanks! I live just outside of Warsaw.
 
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RubyOptics said:
Thank you so for your kind replies! I do realise that my wish list is really just that, a wish list! The LHD is indeed because I don't live in the UK, so buying RHD doesn't really make sense. The reason I said about the duetto is that I really do like it but can't get it in LHD!!!
I guess I want as shorter can as possible in order to not feel constrained as to where I can go. Do any of you feel this is reasonable? Or do you feel just as comfortable in a 6.5m can as a 5m in terms of smaller winding roads?
I recently attended the Warsaw motor home expo which was a great experience and indeed we both felt we learnt s lot and saw some interesting layouts.
Thank you again for taking the time to try and help! ❤❤❤
Click to expand...

Hello again. We are the ones living in Katowice.

We have been touring Europe in a 7m MH for 10 years. You mention length maybe being a restraint on small winding roads. We have not found that a constraint - we are not driving an artic with a drag-in on a tight bend., My view is that width might be, but the difference in width between PVC and coachbuilt/ 'A' Class, (which are basically same behind the cab) is very small. We have found very few places in Europe where length was a problem and those would be in the Alps on a very tight hairpin bend which also has a steep gradient, where the rear overhang might scrape but that is because we have a towbar hanging down - forms good warning, but same happens on a ferry ramp. Anyway I do not want to burn out a clutch in that situation, so length is irrelevant.

That answers your question about length in relation to small roads - forget it, up to at least 8m.

In your original post you said you wanted short for parking in cities etc. Well in a lot of the countries we have visited in most car parks they do not care if you are 'over the line' as long as you do not obstruct the roadway of the CP. UK is the exception where the 'Parking police' are a PITA, but there a lot of town centre CPs there have height barriers which deny access to any MH, other than a standard VW T6 body or a lifting roof, but you are not looking at anything like that for your other requirements. Also remember unless you have a Euro 5 or6 engine you will be banned from many cities.

Parking elsewhere is usually not dependent on length e.g. Aires, Stellplatz, Supermarkets etc. and even campsites. at least not up to 7-8m.

As others have said it would be very difficult to fit your specification into 5m or even 6m, without a huge compromise on living for 4 with enough water, bikes etc. and sitting space on a wet day.

The upshot about what I have said about length above is that I think it should not restrict you and that you will have a lot better experience living with more space and payload, even if for some tourists sites you have to walk a bit further or take public transport - although a lot have theiir own parking. If you work out the number of days you want to go into centres as a % of overall touring it may put in context your small MH requirement versus a bigger one for day-to-day living.

Of course you may be constrained by budget - you did not say what that is. Are you thinking of buying new, if so I could try to persuade you not to, if you want.

You also have not said what type of camping you want to do, whether always on campsites, or Aires/Stellplatz, Wildcamping or a mixture of some of those. Wildcamping in Poland is easy. I think there is still a law banning it but probably made in Communist times to stop people spying on military installations and not repealed, but it seems to be totally ignored, and there are lots of lakes, forests etc. to do it and few MHs. Same in Slowakia which is also very nice - we are only 100km from border so can do a trip for 3-4 nights.

If I can help any more please ask.

I will be sending you a Personal message(Called a Conversation on this forum) on a non-MH subject. To find it got to the Blue Bannner at the top of page. At RH end is an envelope symbol. When a message is waiting a read square will appear in the top LH corner of the envelope, click to open.

Good luck with MH search.

Geoff
 
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nicholsong wow thanks, that's some great information right there.

I'll try and provide a bit more information to either clarify my thinking. In Poland there is myself, my partner and our ten year old boy. My 13 year old daughter lives in the UK with my ex-wife, but is over here every summer holiday and some other holidays when her school breaks line up etc.

So, for each summer there would be 4 of us travelling...maybe touring but right now our thinking is a more traditional campsite type holiday somewhere warm. Whilst there, we would probably take one of the throw up tents for the kids, to give both them and us a bit more privacy / space etc. We keep to-and-fro'ing on the whole bunk-bed thing. On one hand we are aware that they do take up a lot of space where there could have been a smaller, additional table or something similar. On the other hand, we are both avid readers and having a smaller, more easily accessible bunk to lie down and have a read sounds pretty ok to both of us. Also, due to the child situation above, we may well find ourselves on shorter trips with just one kid and could flip up the lower bunk to increase garage / storage space?

With the length, the above was really helpful. For rainy days (which we've had a few of whilst camping!!) we always prefer to try and do an 'inside' activity, a museum or gallery or something similar. Part of the desire for a smaller van stems from being able to easily go to and park at these type of places.

I'm very aware (from reading here as much as I can) about the payload issues. Most of the vans I've seen, especially on the German sites, seem to have (i know i would need to weigh to be 100% sure) a payload of around 500-700kg which seems more than manageable.

Budget isn't huge to be honest with you all. I'm looking at around 15k max. I know it isn't a lot but i think as long as I'm careful on getting everything checked both mechanically and the habitation area, I may be able to find something!!

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Before you ask any forums you need to visit some Motorhome dealers, Motorhome Shows/Events (as already suggested).The NEC Motorhome Show is a great place to discover what’s on the market. Only then and after visiting some dealerships can you start (and you will very quickly) to get a handle on what you can buy within your budget. I’d personally avoid any suggestions re ‘conversions’ as I’ve read too many horror stories about the best intentions and gullible people wasting their money on an outfit that no future buyer would touch with a barge pole. There, that’s the very best and well intentioned advice I can offer you. Good luck.
 
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Your kids are old enough not to need car seats, which makes it doable (car seats in a MH are a world class pain). I would suggest bunk beds, because the kids will value having their own private space and a couple of comfy folding chairs for you in the day. I would also suggest not worrying so much about parking spaces. its not fitting in them, but manoeuvring round the car park that’s stressful. It’s fairly easy to find places to camp with a bus into town for the day and your kids are old enough to carry their own stuff and ride a bike a few miles, and bike racks are easy to come by. In the uk, this is less practical because you can only really camp on sites. I’ve no idea about Poland, but it does seem the continent in general is much easier to manage, and a lot cheaper. I’m sure I’ve seen some really awesome pop tops lately, but I can’t for the life of me remember what they were. They were serious £££ though.

Buy something, and see how it goes. In my experience, the problems you think you will have are not a problem, but you will find new ones you didn’t see coming. There’s no solving them until you know what they are and as everyone is different, theres no knowing what they are until you’ve had a go. Good luck!
 
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Rob Hammond said:
You could get a pvc van made to spec but it wouldn’t be cheap .
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i had my PVC built to my spec on a new Citroen Relay and it cost me £30,000 total including the van, saving £20,000 on a new one out of a showroom. Most of which are very poorly made.
 
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Mike Rivers said:
Before you ask any forums you need to visit some Motorhome dealers, Motorhome Shows/Events (as already suggested).The NEC Motorhome Show is a great place to discover what’s on the market. Only then and after visiting some dealerships can you start (and you will very quickly) to get a handle on what you can buy within your budget. I’d personally avoid any suggestions re ‘conversions’ as I’ve read too many horror stories about the best intentions and gullible people wasting their money on an outfit that no future buyer would touch with a barge pole. There, that’s the very best and well intentioned advice I can offer you. Good luck.
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What's on the market now is irrelevant to a buyer with a budget more akin to 20 years old.

NEC is a long way from Poland.

He'd be better of going on a trip to Germany to visit dealers with older MHs

They are all 'conversions' - none come out of FIAT with beds and kitchens, it just depends on who does the conversion and how.
 
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I'm planning on attending the Dusseldorf show in Spetember, again just to look at whats around etc. Even watching some videos on YouTube helps a bit, as even if they are new vans I sometimes see something like the nice LED undercounter lights and think "Oh, I could add that fairly easily and that would look nice".
 
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