how small is too small?

[landyrubbertramp]

hi all hope every one had a good xmas and new year or to be policaly correct a good holiday lol. My landrover 110 which i spend around 10 weekends a year in is feeling sorry for itself after failing its mot on about 12 things so while im going threw the list fixing them i purchased a toyota lucida mpv off ebay for 600.00. For those not in the know they area 8 seat car. anway, i loaded it up with sum gear and spent a great weekend in weston and cleavdon cycling and running etc. on the way back up the m way back to staffordshire, i was thinking . would a vehicle this big be big enouh for 1 person for a week or even longer. so my questions is . is this tyoe of vehicle sutable for this tyoe of thing . you cannot stand up in it or anything but its good on fuel light due to having lots of windows and a moon sun roof. its prob a little bit smaller than a mazda tin top bongo? discuss

 

[snowbirds]

Toyota Motor

Hi good morning

Sounds like a fair motor, If it runs and has mot etc it's better than laying under the 110 in this weather getting a chill leave it till the warm weather
comes. I have layed under a lot of motors over the years in all weathers and the fun wears out in the end.My last love was a 1974 bedford cf dormobile that I used to show with the Dormobile Owners Club and friends ran landrover mk2 dormobiles with the raising roof but they are getting
quite rare now but I would still like one.May you could get some rock and roll seats if yours don't go flat.There is alot of camping gear on Ebay and
you would get your money back on it.

carry on camping Snowbirds.

hi all hope every one had a good xmas and new year or to be policaly correct a good holiday lol. My landrover 110 which i spend around 10 weekends a year in is feeling sorry for itself after failing its mot on about 12 things so while im going threw the list fixing them i purchased a toyota lucida mpv off ebay for 600.00. For those not in the know they area 8 seat car. anway, i loaded it up with sum gear and spent a great weekend in weston and cleavdon cycling and running etc. on the way back up the m way back to staffordshire, i was thinking . would a vehicle this big be big enouh for 1 person for a week or even longer. so my questions is . is this tyoe of vehicle sutable for this tyoe of thing . you cannot stand up in it or anything but its good on fuel light due to having lots of windows and a moon sun roof. its prob a little bit smaller than a mazda tin top bongo? discuss

 

[n brown]

my daughter and her husband drove down to ghana in a camper i made them from a mini-moke. with a large dog. you have to be a bit flexible mentally and physically

 

[donkey too]

I spend half of every year and sometimes more in my Mazda bango which is much the same size as your Lucida. Although I have the electric roof which i rarely use due to arthritis. I have fitted it out completely with cooker sink plus units etc., and a single rock and roll bed which doubles as my rear seat. Not many complaints with this. The only one I think is that I havent got a comfortable chair type seat that swivels. (No room in a bongo as the lump is under the seats. Enjoy it and hope we meet up somewhere.:have fun:

 

[Tbear]

Hi landyrubbertramp,

All depends on how much luxury you need on a cold wet windy day when you have nothing much to do.

Of course you can always find a CS/CL and put your awning out.

Richard

 

[jamesmarshall]

I have a V reg Honda Civic Aerodeck (estate) that I used before I began my camper van conversion.
My awning was a blue tarpaulin with eyelets from B&Q, secured at the wheel arches by bungee hooks, brought over the open rear hatch door and held down by a couple of home made guy ropes. With the seats down at the back there was room for a single airbed and my basic needs kit. En-suite was an empty two litre milk bottle. Ahh! the luxury. It beat a tent hands down.

Jim

 

[DTDog]

My parents drove down to France, through Europe and in to Sweden, then back again taking about three months and all this in a Hi-Lo Romahome(at the time, dad was 82, mum was 79). Apart from two weeks in France which was with the Romahome club and two weeks in Sweden, when they stayed in the garden of some friends (still living in the Romahome, but using hook up from the house), the rest of the time was all 'wilding'.

For those who don't know, Romahome's are just about as small as you can get when it comes to motorhomes. I have a Kia Sedona and the overal dimentions are bigger than the Romahome!!

So, the answer to your question is ...... NO, as long as you are comfortable, you can never be too small (with your van, not ..........).

 

[vwalan]

hi ,as well as my mini artic i use a bongo. if four of us go we use a roof tent or tow a teardrop caravan .
so from a big one to small one ,does it matter so long as you are enjoying it.

 

[scampa]

I've had plenty of memorable multi-night (and multi-week) tours in the past in nothing bigger than a normal saloon or hatchback car, often with two of us. I carried a sleeping bag, couple of camping stoves, 12v kettle, flasks etc and always managed very well! For me, the ability to travel and explore new areas was always more important than the level of my "accommodation". If you can sleep in your vehicle and have the means to eat, wash etc., then it's big enough. (of course, not everyone would agree with me!). It's only more recently (as I've got older and softer) that I've had the luxury of a van that I can actually stand up in!

 

[landyrubbertramp]

grest posts thank you. lots of diffrent opiopns just as it should be. i think the diffrence between full timing and weekend holiday stuff is more physoclogical than pratical, the fact that you know you can compramise on comfort size of vehicle is not that inportnat if yu know its a kind of temp thing with an alternative, knowing you can just head home and have all the comforts we all get fro living fro home. On the other hand full timing with no home to go bk to if full timing isint for you is a massive step more a mind set than pratical knowing that if you dont have enought creature comforts life is going to be more diffuclut. for me thease options are blk n white. the worst thing i have experianced is spending a weekend in my little camper knowing i could just head home but thinking if i had one of those large mototrhomes would i enjoy the experiance more after all i go to see diffrent places. at present i find after about 5 days i start to struggle with the lack of comfort and home comforts. on the other hand i do like the option just to park up in a parking bay etc.

 

[vwalan]

hi. i regularly spend 6 months in the truck. have done 9months . it really is capable of fulltime living with some luxury. it is a bit big for sneaking around cornwall. i know lots of small hidden away places that anything bigger than a bongo or vw t2 cant go.even a ldv convoy is too wide . we tried it once . but for france spain portugal maroc the truck is ideal. do alot of reversing if following some of the side roads . but its part of the fun. got a mat here now witha nosed bonnet merc 710 from germany . even his is too small sometimes and could be too big . but they have lived in it for 14 yrs. you do have to find what suits you and your pocket .

 

[kangooroo]

I've wild-camped for trips of more than 2 weeks in a Renault Kangoo panel van, with few facilities, no leisure battery, no standing headroom etc and been perfectly happy and comfortable enjoying the freedom of being able to follow tracks and lanes inaccessible to larger vehicles and gaining 53mpg while doing so. The only downsides for me were that I had no cooking facility and it was very cold in freezing weather - on many occasions, the condensation from my breath froze on the inside of the windscreen when the outside temperature dropped below -10. For use in milder temperatures it was fine.

At 5'9", I'm not tiny but I'm fairly bendy. I think you tend to adapt to the vehicle you have and learn not to carry too much unnecessary clutter!

 

[landyrubbertramp]

I've wild-camped for trips of more than 2 weeks in a Renault Kangoo panel van, with few facilities, no leisure battery, no standing headroom etc and been perfectly happy and comfortable enjoying the freedom of being able to follow tracks and lanes inaccessible to larger vehicles and gaining 53mpg while doing so. The only downsides for me were that I had no cooking facility and it was very cold in freezing weather - on many occasions, the condensation from my breath froze on the inside of the windscreen when the outside temperature dropped below -10. For use in milder temperatures it was fine.

At 5'9", I'm not tiny but I'm fairly bendy. I think you tend to adapt to the vehicle you have and learn not to carry too much unnecessary clutter![/QUOTE

too right about taking clutter. its a amzing how much you take but dont need or even use. a good tip i was told from some onw was if you only have a gas stove and no washing up bowl tap alot of water etc was to use disposable cups plates and forks, spoons etc.

 

[Channa]

[/QUOTE

too right about taking clutter. its a amzing how much you take but dont need or even use. a good tip i was told from some onw was if you only have a gas stove and no washing up bowl tap alot of water etc was to use disposable cups plates and forks, spoons etc.[/QUOTE]

I have lived full time for nearly 4 years, and it is amazing how things turn out that you never think of.

As an example, I have to carry winter and summer clothes, my summer clothes now are occupying valuable space so do I waste money and sling them ? or keep for when the weather warms up ? of course the reverse becomes true in summer wardrobes full of jumpers and woolies.

The same is true of bedding blankets duvets etc...in summer I can sleep starkers...cwouldnt want to at the moment.

Electric heaters ,spare regulators,electric cables, gas bottles,tool boxes...full array of cooking equipment. disposable bbq,s personal paperwork etc etc.

There is only me and the dog, my home is (5.5 metres in length) to be honest if I had a double decker bus I would fill it.

I have no bolt hole, so all seems necessary......

There definitely needs to be a pyscchological shift in outlook compared to a two week holiday, but it is all relative.

It seems Maslows hierarchy of needs holds true

Channa

 

[kangooroo]

Maslow had the right idea.

I improvise a lot. I don't actually use even plates or cutlery - I eat using my fingers off kitchen roll (which also serves many other purposes).

Re summer clothes - you could wear the same year-round if you have a set of good thermals beneath, eg Icebreaker merino woollies.

It's surprising just how little you really do need to live comfortably: warm clothing, waterproofs and a means of drying them (out with the trusty kitchen roll again!), good 4-season sleeping bag etc. Another rule I have is that every item carried must have at least two roles.

Given a choice, I'd love to break away from my lifestyle of clutter and full-time in my van...

 

[landyrubbertramp]

Maslow had the right idea.

I improvise a lot. I don't actually use even plates or cutlery - I eat using my fingers off kitchen roll (which also serves many other purposes).

Re summer clothes - you could wear the same year-round if you have a set of good thermals beneath, eg Icebreaker merino woollies.

It's surprising just how little you really do need to live comfortably: warm clothing, waterproofs and a means of drying them (out with the trusty kitchen roll again!), good 4-season sleeping bag etc. Another rule I have is that every item carried must have at least two roles.

Given a choice, I'd love to break away from my lifestyle of clutter and full-time in my van...

great post kangaroo , not sure about the kitchen towel esp if i fancy soup lol , saying that if u get tin food it stays well its cheap and you can heat it up n cook from the tin