Sacrifices needed to full time in a 6 metre van?

[TonyC123]

Hi everyone, I want to firstly say apologies if this has come up recently, but I couldn't find it so I hope you won't mind giving me the benefit of your full-timing perspective and your knowledge and experience on this big question.
My question is, how long does a van need to be, to full time in reasonable comfort? But there is more to it that.
I know there are couples that full time happily in 6 metre PVCs, and probably some solo travellers who feel constricted in 8 metre A class vans- so I understand there is a lot of individual variation and preference involved in this question.
So it might help you to give more informed answers if I explain a bit more about my own circumstances.
I am going to retire in 7 weeks, buy a van when my funds are fully in place around the end of August, and move in immediately to start a bit of UK travelling. Next year I'll do a couple of 3 month European trips, and when I'm in the Uk I'll do a week or two at a time in quieter/cheaper CLs, and hopefully a fair bit of wild camping (although I gather that's gotten quite tricky since the lockdown).
I'll be travelling solo, and want have decent off grid capability.
Driving big vehicles stresses me out, so I'm happy to sacrifice a fair bit of comfort and convenience to live in a smaller van.
My other big thing is I love maximum interior daytime/lounge space, so I'm happy to give up on having a fixed bed and use a drop-down or a 'make up' bed instead (or even an overcab bed)- yes it will be a pain making up a bed (although a drop down is easy), but I'd rather have more lounge space, and I definitely don't want the stress of a driving a larger van.
I've got a provisional shortlist, including the Bailey Alliance 66-2, Autotrail T620 (and similar models), and if I go crazy and really splash out my retirement fund, I could go up to around 60k, which might get a Pegaso 590 or Itineo FC650.
I figure its a once-in-a-lifetime purchase that I'll use for 20 years, so maybe its worth going mad on an A class.

What I'd love to know at this point is what kind of things you have to give up to live in that kid of van? I don't have loads of personal possessions anyway, but as an example I do want to take a (heavy) guitar and speaker, and a few gadgets, and either a ebike or a little 50cc moped to get into town centres when I'm on a CL. I might need to get the vehicle payload uprated to do that, but my bigger worry is space for general stuff.
Its one thing to strip down possessions to live in a MH, but I imagine there comes a point where you've stripped out so much that it just becomes a daily nuisance coping without the things, and I wouldn't want to do that.
So as full timers, what were the things that you would prefer to carry but just didnt have the space, and how much of a nuisance was it?
I'm thinking of things like tiny portable washing machines that some swear by, generators perhaps, a set of tools maybe, or bulky items- anything really that you might struggle to fit in a sub-7metre van.
I'd love to get some idea of how much nuisance factor is involved in living in a van between 6 and 7 metres?
And why you made the vehicle length choices that you did?

 

[AndyPK]

Welcome........more to come!

 

[bigtwin]

Ian

 

[TonyC123]

Thanks for the kind welcome guys, I have to say this looks like a really helpful and decent forum, absolutely invaluable to a newbie.

 

[Kirsten]

hiya . Never full timed but we are on our second van - first one was Hymer just under 6m- drop down bed bike rack 2 of us 3 grandkids and all their stuff managed fine wild camping and at various festivals/cls for five years. Only issue was there was not a huge garage so we would not have been able to fit in a big generator in it unless we compromised with the large awning/kids tents /outside tables etc. A drop down bed gives loads of space in the lounge area , and you could store clothes etc in the nose of it when you were travelling. Cheaper on the ferry with a small van- washing machines not needed in France as big supermarkets have them: guitar could go in the passenger seat etc... small can be beautiful- good luck and enjoy xxx

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[AndyPK]

Once again, the advice is to ‘try before you buy’........

See as many ‘vans as you can, and rent if possible........

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

 

[movan]

Welcome. I may have to full time for a while soon so watching your thread with interest. Don't need to tell you that you will probably need twice as much storage than you think.

 

[TonyC123]

hiya . Never full timed but we are on our second van - first one was Hymer just under 6m- drop down bed bike rack 2 of us 3 grandkids and all their stuff managed fine wild camping and at various festivals/cls for five years. Only issue was there was not a huge garage so we would not have been able to fit in a big generator in it unless we compromised with the large awning/kids tents /outside tables etc. A drop down bed gives loads of space in the lounge area , and you could store clothes etc in the nose of it when you were travelling. Cheaper on the ferry with a small van- washing machines not needed in France as big supermarkets have them: guitar could go in the passenger seat etc... small can be beautiful- good luck and enjoy xxx

That's great news, thanks very much Kirsten.
If I do get a genny it will be a small lightweight one of about 10kg, more for recharging batteries.
I'm thinking it would save having to run the engine to recharge on winter days or when wildcamping and I don't move the van for say 2 days.
I'm not getting a washing machine as such, but maybe this kind of thing, to freshen up a few clothes if I there isnt a launderette handy

Amazon product ASIN B013C98X72

 

[TonyC123]

Welcome. I may have to full time for a while soon so watching your thread with interest. Don't need to tell you that you will probably need twice as much storage than you think.

On the contrary movan, I will need to be told that every ten seconds for the next two months

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[TonyC123]

Once again, the advice is to ‘try before you buy’........

See as many ‘vans as you can, and rent if possible........

Thanks Andy, I did see a good few vans last year, and now I'm a bit stuck trying to get work squared off in time for my departure at the end of July, but I'll be doing plenty of visits over the next two months.
I'll look at lots of them just in case, but at the moment my thinking is that I need and end kitchen/washroom layout with front lounge and drop down or overcab bed.
The Itineo FC650 is the only one with a decent sized garage, but I dont even know if I'll really need it to be honest, And if I do, whether I could safely get all my stuff in the garage and over the rear axle

 

[Nasher]

Welcome

As posted above, definitely worth hiring/borrowing a van for a weekend & see how you get on

 

[Wissel]

Welcome

As others have said - well worth renting one or a few to see what suits you.

We are fulltime (me, Missus and dog) in a 6m PVC and that suits us perfectly, but isn't for all.

 

[TonyC123]

Welcome

As posted above, definitely worth hiring/borrowing a van for a weekend & see how you get on

That is great advice Nasher, and I was hoping to hire a small MH in May but the plans fell through. I've got no more time off until I leave, and once that happens I'm going MH shopping!

 

[TonyC123]

Welcome

As others have said - well worth renting one or a few to see what suits you.

We are fulltime (me, Missus and dog) in a 6m PVC and that suits us perfectly, but isn't for all.

I might have missed my chance to rent Wissel, depending on how things go in August when I'm free to shop nationally, instead of just local dealers.
In August I'll be visiting/revisiting one example of each of the vans on my shortlist (plus a load of random vans for the hell of it), which will involve travelling a few hundred miles, and some time after 20th Aug I'll be buying one.
I can only hope that my lack of hands on experience doesnt come back to bite me, in the form of major regrets about my van choice...

Its very encouraging to know that you can live happily in a 6m PVC, and that you aren't feeling any major inconvenience or hassle from a lack of important bits of stuff.
This is going to sound proper wimpy, but I dont really want to rough it too much, so I want a (navy) shower at least once a day, fridge on 24/7, and an uncluttered living space if humanly possible.
What with travelling alone, I want to keep my morale up, and having a clean, neat living space will really help with not feeling like I've turned into an antisocial troglodyte (which some people think happened to me years ago to be fair)

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[TonyC123]

Welcome aboard

Thanks F6c, thats very kind of you

 

[bobandjanie]

We did two years full time, but half in a caravan on a campsite in Spain in winter, and the other half touring in a 6m panel van in summer months, so we didn't have to carry everything with us, we do similar now but living in an apartment in winter, still in a 6m van.
Just smiffy Garry has a really nice hymer for sale on here, it's got everything on it so great for being self sufficient. Bob.

Hymer B544 2012 Comfortmatic

An excellent opportunity to acquire a well sought after motorhome with the layout and accessories for full time living or long periods away with all the facilities onboard for self sufficiency. Hymer B544 Left hand drive 3 berth 2012 6.5m long 2.35m wide 2.9m high. Fiat Ducato Maxi Al-ko...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[Spriddler]

On the contrary movan, I will need to be told that every ten seconds for the next two months

Welcome!

My motto...........

 

[wigster]

Get a van that is winterised is my advice and

 

[two]

Welcome, Tony.
You have much to learn, so try to take it slowly. I can understand your excitement and eagerness to jump straight in but there are loads of mistakes to make and you don't really want to live with them for the rest of your retirement.
You will need to think minimalist if you want to have a small van. Essentials only. Small vans will take you almost anywhere but will limit what you can take with you. As a full-timer, you'll need as much space as possible and a tidy discipline to go with it. At least you'll have more to play with, space and weight-wise, as a solo traveller. I have always found 3.5t rather restrictive, weight-wise, but that's a personal thing.

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[wolfie2]

If you are full timing I guess you are likely to want to carry more "stuff" than the average holiday maker. I would therefore suggest whatever you decide to buy you "ask" the dealer to get the empty van weighed ( with certificate) so you know acccurately what payload you have available. Have fun whatever you decide to get

 

[scotzsue]

I would be getting one with a garage, desn't need to be huge, but wouldn't go back to a van without one now. Another believer in hire before you buy what you think you want may turn out to be not to your taste. Drop down bed or overcab is a good idea, you can get fed up making up a bed every night, ok if you are a short a*se like me and can manage with a bench seat. do you envisage cooking inside a lot? a cooker is very handy in the cooler months or when it is raining, we don't have one in the present van, it had evrything else we needed sot that was the compromise, there are work rounds.
not enough room in the garage for anything other than 1 pushbike, so have had a tow bar fitted to our 6M coachbuilt and will take a motorbike on an easylifter. we are amazed at the locker space we have and would easily do me for a year on my own. Enjoy your search it is a lot of the fun. regarding weight we have a winterised van it is a 3.5T have been over the weighbridge post fitting of tow bar, not quite fully loades but tables and chairs, water in tank, cadac food pots pans and utensils a bit of food and drink and clothes most of the electronics we take and still have about 350kg payload left.

 

[TonyC123]

We did two years full time, but half in a caravan on a campsite in Spain in winter, and the other half touring in a 6m panel van in summer months, so we didn't have to carry everything with us, we do similar now but living in an apartment in winter, still in a 6m van.
Just smiffy Garry has a really nice hymer for sale on here, it's got everything on it so great for being self sufficient. Bob.

Hymer B544 2012 Comfortmatic

An excellent opportunity to acquire a well sought after motorhome with the layout and accessories for full time living or long periods away with all the facilities onboard for self sufficiency. Hymer B544 Left hand drive 3 berth 2012 6.5m long 2.35m wide 2.9m high. Fiat Ducato Maxi Al-ko...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Cheers Bob, I just had a look at an example of a B544 on youtube, and to be fair it looks great, but I'm looking for something 3 years old or less at the moment

 

[TonyC123]

Welcome!

My motto...........


View attachment 393815

Cheers Spriddler, that's rare advice but but in my case very applicable!

 

[TonyC123]

Get a van that is winterised is my advice and

Thanks Wigster- yes I thought about this, and a lot of vans seem to have vulnerable features in really cold weather- e.g. underslung waste water tanks that look very freezable if we ever get one of those old-skool winters again, which we will.
If its not winterised when I see it, it will be by the time I pick it up

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[TonyC123]

Welcome, Tony.
You have much to learn, so try to take it slowly. I can understand your excitement and eagerness to jump straight in but there are loads of mistakes to make and you don't really want to live with them for the rest of your retirement.
You will need to think minimalist if you want to have a small van. Essentials only. Small vans will take you almost anywhere but will limit what you can take with you. As a full-timer, you'll need as much space as possible and a tidy discipline to go with it. At least you'll have more to play with, space and weight-wise, as a solo traveller. I have always found 3.5t rather restrictive, weight-wise, but that's a personal thing.

Thanks very much for that advice, and I will try to get a grip of my raging Motorhome fever!
Re the weight thing, I noticed that my favourite choice, the Itineo FC650, only has a 410kg payload. The dealer said it should be possible to uprate the van by at least 200kg just as a paperwork change, so the next question is (and probably should have been to start with)- is 600kg enough payload to live full time?

 

[maz]

Hi and welcome to the Fun.



I have fulltimed for over 9 years now, first van 8.3m, second van 8m, current van 7m. Next to no difference in driving any of them. They’re all much the same width which is what you notice rather than the length.
I’ve never had a PVC but they are noticeably narrower.

Layout is the most important thing. You can have very long vans that still have a crappy layout and poor storage. Or you can find ingeniously designed small vans that make the most of their more limited space.

After layout comes payload. No good having lots of lovely storage space if you can’t load much into it.

And after that comes winterisation. You don’t mention whether you intend buying new or used. I’d go for used every time, and German. German vans are properly winterised.

As to sacrifices, none as far as I’m concerned. I like my comfort too!

 

[bobandjanie]

Cheers Bob, I just had a look at an example of a B544 on youtube, and to be fair it looks great, but I'm looking for something 3 years old or less at the moment

Although we love panel van conversions, this being our second one, before these we had a German a class they are built for winter use, we experienced minus 20°, the way things are going with only 90 day trips you could possibly be spending time in cooler conditions, so ideally having motorhome built for it, ours was a Eura Mobil with all the tanks inside, and nothing to freeze we wouldn't want use our van in winter by choice, you get by but our first motorhome froze and it's a pain best avoided. Bob .

 

[TonyC123]

If you are full timing I guess you are likely to want to carry more "stuff" than the average holiday maker. I would therefore suggest whatever you decide to buy you "ask" the dealer to get the empty van weighed ( with certificate) so you know acccurately what payload you have available. Have fun whatever you decide to get

Thanks Wolfie, I've only just begun to realise how critical payload is to the whole thing.
To tell you the truth, I've been trying to decide between moving aboard a narrowboat or a MH, and only recently finally come down in favour of a MH. So although I've been window shopping for boats and vans, I never went into the gritty details.
I just assumed the manufacturers would give you a van with a usable payload, but I've seen some with as little as 300kg, so yes, this is a big concern.
The Bailey 66-2 has 800kg, and the Pegaso 590 has 600kg, but the question that I need answering now is- how much payload does a full timer need, if they want a few tools, a bike, a genny, plus the usual chair+table and general living gear?

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

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