The Rise of the Panel Van

Jim

Jim

Ringleader
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
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Location
Sutton on Sea, UK
Funster No
1
MH
Adria Panel Van.
Exp
Since 1988
I'm writing a magazine article about the current popularity of the PVC, Just a few years ago the object of most motorhome enthusiasts desires were Hymer A-class shaped, but now so many are opting for the Panel Van. If you have downsized to a PVC, let me know why. How did you find the transition, do you plan to stay small? You can post here or drop me a conversation. Thanks in anticipation. (y)
 
We changed to a PVC, Adria twin, after owning an N B Flair 8000il
It had obvious advantages like easy to drive and manoeuvre when touring, but not so plush when you arrive. We really liked the PVC but in the end we missed the lounge area too much. We sold it through the MHF classified section to a Funster and eventually bought a Burstner through the MHF classified section. It meets all our needs but if touring is your main thing a PVC would be eminently suitable.
Phil
 
I’ve had 2 Hymers, an Autotrail Cheyenne, and I’m on my 3rd PVC. I have no intention of ‘upsizing’ in the future. However there is only myself and dog so no problem with space and storage. I initially downsized with the intention of having just one vehicle and although I’ve not got rid of the car yet it is still a consideration. The PVC appeals to me as I just think I can go anywhere that white van man can! No excessive planning of route etc AND no worries about damp issues.!
 
We owned a Benimar 282 from new for 2 years before selling it and buying an Adria Twin Supreme SLB at the start on 2021.

The reason for trading in the Benimar were
  • It would not fit into my driveway so had to be kept at a storage site.
  • Being 7.4m and coach built it could be difficult to find parking in towns and cities.
  • While it didn’t stop us travelling along single track roads and narrow B class roads there were a few times I had less room to manoeuvre than ideal
  • Although the Benimar had two lounges neither we’re particularly comfortable.
  • The main drop down bed was a bit of a compromise.

Yes, the PVC has a smaller lounge area and we have to coordinate how we move about but we have ended up with
  • A much more pleasant vehicle to drive on all roads which suits our touring style
  • The side door is marvellous to have open on a nice sunny day
  • Fuel economy better
  • I can get into a normal parking space width wise and only overhang a little
  • It’s parked on my driveway
  • Full size beds are very comfortable
  • Larger garage area so much more space than the Benimar
  • Adria’s swing wall shower means no typical PVC shower curtain
  • Much to my wife’s horror I can easily lift the beds and carry large sheets of plywood 😱

Overall we are very pleased, absolutely no regrets and when sitting in my brothers 7.5m Burstner I sit and wonder at all the wasted space they drive around the country in their big white removal van.

It won’t suit everyone but I like it and that is all that matters.
 
We want a Panel van.

But finding the one we want is like a needle in a haystack.

Unless you go to Germany.

That is a RWD, True Auto Sprinter on a SWB.


Otherwise for four berths, 4 seatbelts. With a shower/WC. You have to go to MWB (like the La Strada Regent(s)

Some of these are 4 seat belts. But rare as rocking horse muck.

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Perhaps it is because the panel vans are getting bigger making then now more suitable. Looking through old posts on the site it becomes clear how many coach built and A class vans suffer from damp, including the no wood designs. Following an accident panel van repairs may be cheaper.
 
We started with an Autosleeper Topaz (VW) and loved the freedom it gave us to drive anywhere.
Sadly we decided that making the bed up every night was getting too much for us as one of us had to go outside with the dog while the other scrawped about with the numerous cushions.

We moved up to a small coachbuilt, just under 6metres and it’s much roomier with great storage but it feels very wide and awkward driving it down country lanes.

Next step will be a return to a panel van but a 6 metre one with a rear lounge as we think this will give us the best of both worlds - and it will allow us to annoy others on site when we whoosh/bang the door every 15 minutes 😉😂. Just have to find the money, and the van.
 
Andy MacD said:
  • Much to my wife’s horror I can easily lift the beds and carry large sheets of plywood 😱
Click to expand...

My wife was happy that we could get a full size fence panel in ours after high winds took one down. And I can get my big ladders inside, without having to mess with roof racks. It's a very useful vehicle !
 
I moved to a panel van for a self build, after 2 coachbuilts and a Bus. I never looked back.

You give up some space but can go pretty much anywhere without planning. Security feels better. Parking is much easier (width more than length). I will probably never go back to a coachbuilt. Just looking forward to being able to convert a battery electric van in the near (ish) future.

Just been looking through all my old hard disks and found this picture of my last coachbuilt next to my bus being prepared for conversion.

1642534667920.png
 
We started with a 7.5M Elddis, loads of room and grandkids, changed to a A/T Imala, 3rd year damp check, catastrophic damp issues and a dealer who did not or could not fix, so peed off, sold it to another dealer and bought a 6M PVC. from them.
Wife loves it as easy to drive and park., I like it but find it slightly cramped and you have to be organised and put things away properly, not my forte!!
We love our whoosh bang!!!

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In the last few days I have sold my 7m Hymer Exsis A class and purchased a 6m PVC, - a Hymer Grand Canyon S … more details to follow when it arrives at the end of the week!
 
Are panel vans easier/faster to convert? If so it might explain some of the popularity as the waiting lists for new ones might be shorter.
 
We downsized from a 7.3m coachbuilt to a 5.99m PVC.

We did so as we wanted to be able to travel freely, turning off main roads to visit hill villages that we could see in the distance. No need to worry about parking or negotiating narrow streets. A secondary consideration was the relatively better water tightness of a PVC versus coachbuilt.

We really liked the PVC and the freedom it gave us, but moved up to a bigger motorhome again simply because with the two of us and our GSD/Border Collie Cross it was sometimes awkward. Moving down the length of the PVC meant stepping over her or getting her to move.

Unfortunately, five months after changing motorhomes our faithful companion died.

Other than that we would still have had the PVC,
 
Conal said:
Are panel vans easier/faster to convert? If so it might explain some of the popularity as the waiting lists for new ones might be shorter.
Click to expand...
When we did the factory tour they said it was more labour intensive and not so easy to do. Coach built does inside stuff before the walls are up
 
We changed from the RV to the Globecar because:
- Spontaneous Touring / limited planning
- Ease of access
- Parking
- Tanya can drive
- Tanya said so
- Tanya stopped screaming with no longer being in the suicide seat
- Dogs could get in and out easier
- and its fun.......
- 10 mpg / access to LPG

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Sorry this is a long post.
We decided to change our van from an Autosleeper Broadway to a Globecar Sumit Prime 640.

Although we knew before changing from caravan to van that there would be constraints on parking, which roads to take etc, the amount of planning needed has been more than we anticipated. The Broadway is 6.3 m long. We both drive the van, but these constraints were “getting” to Ian. He also was not comfortable driving the van. He has driven large vehicles in the past, and obviously towed the caravan, but he couldn’t relax when driving the Broadway.

Since we bought the Broadway my mobility has declined, and I now sometimes use a small mobility scooter. It is an E-foldi, designed for those who need a little more help with their mobility but don’t need a fully blown scooter all the time. It is supposed to be the lightest on the market, but at 17kg (including the battery) it is still quite heavy. It folds up into suitcase size, but did get in the way in the van. When travelling it had to be lugged up the step into the van and lie on the floor, and had to be stepped over if we were using the inside of the van. On site, as it won’t fit between the front seats, it had to be lugged out of the van, and into the cab to sit in the passenger well. This had all become somewhat inconvenient.

Then there are just a few minor irritations: the storage under the near side settee/bed was really difficult to get into because the fold down shelf stops the cushions lifting, but both duvalays and pillows won’t fit under the off side seat! The cutlery draw can’t be opened without opening the habitation door, and the bottom cupboard door doesn’t open fully because of the door/flyscreen cassette is in the way.

We had a really in-depth conversation about what we wanted from our van and how we wanted to holiday. We had three options, get rid of the van and not have all our various holidays - probably just one a year of some sort; keep the van and cope; change the van. Having decided to look seriously at the last option we did lots of research and decided that a panel van with “garage” was our best bet. My E foldi could go in the garage; it would be narrower than our existing van, and lower, hopefully giving us more flexibility.

We had a number of other requirements: two single beds (need to use the loo during the night), a useable shower as we virtually never use site facilities, and a decent kitchen. We rarely eat out, and when we do it is more likely to be lunch than an evening meal, and the nearest we get to convenience food are jars of tomato sauce and ready grated cheese - things we would never use at home.

The kitchen gave us serious thought. The Broadway provides us with an oven, separate grill, microwave, one electric and three gas burners. I’ve never used the oven, and have a Remoska that does all the oven stuff if necessary, including making soda bread. I did use the electric plate occasionally and it was useful on the occasion we had run out of gas, but didn’t realise until we got to the site. We never use more than two burners at any one time. Although I use the microwave at home, I only use it for two things in the van, making cocoa, and white sauce for macaroni cheese, both easily done on the hob. This left the grill, which we did use daily, for toast. So we experimented with cooking it in a dry frying pan, and it worked, problem solved. We needed to ensure sufficient work surface.

Putting all this together gave us about four options, but the Globecar Sumit or Sumit Prime looked good options from all we could find on the internet (this being COVID lockdown). We needed to see one for real.

Our Autosleeper was booked in for a habitation service at SMC in May. We took the opportunity to ask for a valuation and we had a good look at a Globecar - fortunately they had a Sumit Prime 640 in stock. We also looked at the AS Warwick XL and confirmed that it didn’t resolve all our issues and so ruled it out. We were able to see other Globecars which allowed us to decide that we wanted the Prime.

The valuation together with what we would want added came to a reasonable deal. They only had the one in stock and did not know when they would have any more. The one in stock was an automatic (essential for us) and had a wind out canopy which was not so essential, but came with other gadgets.
So we agreed the van, grey in colour, to have a radio CD player added, an extra power socket in the rear garage for charging the battery on my mobility scooter, built in wi-if, reversing camera, tracker, Diamond treatment to outside and upholstery and gasflow refillable tanks. It already came with a 120 W solar panel, motorised door closer, fly screen on side door, and the canopy and automatic gear box.

We took possession in June 2021.

This van is much better. It is easier to drive – Ian finds it more stable – I suppose it is closer to the ground, and of course not as tall. It has the “new” automatic gearbox, so after the Comformatic of the Broadway, it drives more like a proper automatic!
Being narrower, (although the same length) it is easier to get onto the drive, but in particular it is easier to park out & about. We can even park on street side parking bays!
There is plenty of storage.
We love having fixed beds. The dinette bench and swivel seats are fine, and if we want to “lounge” we can always use the beds.
Of course there are niggles – the worst being the distance the waste water outlet is from the edge of the van.
We have had no issues with only having a two burner hob.
We are really pleased we have changed to a PVC, and really like the Summit Prime. We have no plans to change it.
 
Will all those downsizing from an 'A' Class to PVC please post on the Forum.

Preferences aluminium sandwich, LHD, 7-8m, island bed, garage with 2 doors.

A few more picky bits but maybe they can be retrofitted.

Geoff
 
Conal said:
Are panel vans easier/faster to convert? If so it might explain some of the popularity as the waiting lists for new ones might be shorter.
Click to expand...
Waiting lists for professionally converted VWs are in many cases over a year at present.
 
Tonks said:
Waiting lists for professionally converted VWs are in many cases over a year at present.
Click to expand...
Saw some tasty ones just to the west of Barnstaple on the road to braunton....

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we did the worst thing we have ever done m/homing back in 2007 downsized our 3rd m/h to a PVC when we did the change over at the dealers from our Dakota half the stuff wouldn't go in :unsure:& it stayed at the back of the garage for the 10 months we had it :mad:. we paid 31,000 & got 21,000 pounds trade in 😭 it was worth loosing 10,000 just to get rid ☺️ . as we only tour in Europe normally 3 months (y) at a time so a PVC hasn't got the room sorry PVC owners i don't mean to offend you just our experience 🤝
 
We're currently on our 5th van in 9 years. We've had a C class Autocruise, C class Autotrail, A class Pilote, A class Frankia and now a Auto-sleeper Warwick XL PVC. We downsized last year because, due to a change in our circumstances (husband's health), we decided we would not be doing the 3 month European tours again and to buy a little apartment in Greece but we still wanted to be able to go touring, albeit for shorter periods. We have 2 dogs so I do find the PVC quite a challenge particularly with floor space (lots of stepping over sleeping dogs) but as far as ease of touring is concerned it's fantastic. When we had the big vans the journey to where-ever was not particularly relaxing due to the size of the vans but now it's a dream. Husband says it's the best motorhome we've ever owned and he absolutely loves it and I've managed to come up with a few ways to maximise the available space and I can drive this one whereas I wouldn't drive the others. Surprisingly I find the kitchen in our PVC is much better than the one in the Frankia and the Pilote. The van my husband hated the most was the Autotrail ("drives like a brick") however the van that for me was the best internal layout was the Autotrail Savannah - so swings and roundabouts really, however I'm very happy with the decision we made.
 
When slideouts in PCV's start to become the norm, then I think a lot more people will consider downsizing.
I really am surprised that the 'home converters' who cut holes out for windows quite happily, don't take the next step and cut out larger areas and fit their own slideouts.
I think the most famous VW Van with a slideout was the blue one where the whole back slid out to the rear.

 
599 said:
we did the worst thing we have ever done m/homing back in 2007 downsized our 3rd m/h to a PVC when we did the change over at the dealers from our Dakota half the stuff wouldn't go in :unsure:& it stayed at the back of the garage for the 10 months we had it :mad:. we paid 31,000 & got 21,000 pounds trade in 😭 it was worth loosing 10,000 just to get rid ☺️ . as we only tour in Europe normally 3 months (y) at a time so a PVC hasn't got the room sorry PVC owners i don't mean to offend you just our experience 🤝
Click to expand...
The same for us . Had a pvc for 2 years ,thinking it was a good move, tried to like it but its just not worked out, more evident on an 8 week trip to spain , hated every thing about it apart from the driving, we to are losing loads to change back to a bigger van. Never been so uncomfortable in a bed even with duvalays on.
 

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