So Many Choices!!

[Mrs Broholmer]

Hi all

Im new to this site and motorhoming but have spent many years camping, by car and on motorbikes.

In our old age, now plus large dog, we are on a new adventure and need some ideas and help.

We want to purchase a smallish motorhome OR have a conversion done on a large van that we can travel round Europe, Scandic and Baltic countries, doing as much wild camping as possible.

Do we go for the all singing, all dancing or try to stay to the basics, what are the must haves and nots, if its too big then we are worried about getting the van down some off beat roads

Any help will be gratefully received.

Thanks

Mrs Broholmer

 

[Hobbsy]

Hello Mrs Broholmer,

I would recomend the smallest you can manage with, i have a little vw T4 that i converted myself and did 2 weeks in france wilding last year. there was me, the wife and two kids in that, okay it was hard work but then again we took everything and the kitchen sink! the best part about it being this size was obviuosly the economy it offers, the speed and stability, easy to park and drive, it also gets on the ferry priced as a car and also when you have to pay to park at certain aires, they only charge you as a car (at some places i saved 12 Euro a night)!
there are the draw backs... we dont have a shower in the van and we only have a portapoti so when you have to go, you iether have to vacate the van or ask everyone to turn arround!!!! ha ha, its all part of the fun eh!

 

[Mrs Broholmer]

Hi Hobbsy

We had the same problem with the tent and portapoti, didnt make for healthy veiwing!

I had look at the VW T4/5s as you say cheap ferries/parking/etc but do they drive well, whats is their MPG in real life and not in the brochures?

I did think that we could get a large box to put on the back and use a tow bar to help carry the weight so we could throw our tent/chairs and stuff in then if go onto campsites and use as a base use the 'van to get around sight seeing.

 

[Hobbsy]

yes thats the way... you also get a lot of attention in the vw, i mean that as in, everywhere you go people like them and stop to talk to you... makes you feel a little better about parking up!

as for my t4. it has cruise control and is lwb and auto with pas so its a dream to drive, people bang on about doing 50mpg but i dont, i get 35 pretty much all the time and that is i would say 80% motorway at 70mph and 20% town usually with van full of camping stuf and 4 of us in toll! I have a drive away awning for mine, that awsome and makes life easier, I have a pop top roof so cn sleep 4 and you can also put a roof rack, roof box on them too but then you wont be able to et into the 1.9, car park barriers! ooops thats another advantage i missed off the last post!
you will be suprised how much you can actually fit in them, admittably you have to move alot of stuff to get to any of it but its all art of the holiday!

 

[Mrs Broholmer]

Petrol wise, think thats bout the same as our car and your drive away awning is bigger then our 4 man tent! We ruled out the roof box cos of getting to it but glad you mentioned the car park barriers thats one thing never thought of, we do have a very narrow low arched bridge here, 3.3mtrs in the middle so know there is no way you are going to get down there with a big van and thats what started me looking at the smaller vans.

Pics are brill, your kids look really happy, our Grandson loves camping, we've put the tent up in the garden so we can camp out!

Thanks for your help Hobbsy, I will be back with more questions for you that are already swirling around my head!

 

[Deleted member 207]

There has been quite a few threads about what makes the ideal wild camper - I think the general consensus has always been that there is no consensus on what's the best. There are so many options available in vehicles, fitouts, engines, fuel, etc.

My personal preference is a Westfalia fitout built on a Mercedes T1 chassis van, simple non electronic 3 litre diesel engine, has a high roof at 3.1m - I'm tall and like the spacious feel, can seat six with belts, beds for 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids, shower, toilet, hot water, diesel powered hot air central heating, insulated, double glazed, 3 way fridge, 2 burner stove - would like a grill but I can live without it, air conditioning, central gas tank using autogas to run fridge, stove and hot water. 240V hookup, leisure battery charger on hookup (plus alternator recharge), water tank 100 litres, waste tank 80 litres.

You can get all that into a vehicle which is the same length as a Ford/Vauxhal station wagon at 5 metres long.

 

[suej]

Hi Mrs Broholmer... if you're going to be mostly wilding in your van relying on tents and awning for extra space isn't really practical i wouldn't think.. having to put them up and down every couple of days when you move on. if you are going to be out in the van for long stretches you need to consider if you want to be making beds up and putting them away everyday... can become very tedious. Then you have to find space to put bedding when it's not in use..
Is a toilet and shower important to you?
Some things to consider when you invest in your home from home on wheels.
Sue

 

[Bigpeetee]

As age increases, so does the need for creature comforts.

For us a fixed bed is a must as is a shower & toilet.

Somewhere to put muddy shoes.

I agree that awnings are a bind to use and if you're wilding, a definite no-no, if you need to move off in a hurry........ not that we've ever needed to, but you never know.

If you're away for more than a few days there's no end of "Stuff" you need to make your life comfortable, but essentials are a well insulated home so that you're not just stuck with the summer months.

There are lower homes than 3m high, just needs investigating.

We bought a smallish yacht that we thought would be plenty big enough, and in no time needed the space. When we invested in a MHome, we thought long and hard about what our lifestyle was and how we could tick as many boxes on our wish list with what was available to is, physicaly and price

Bigger MH have some issues with parking, but a couple of bikes soon resolves that, good for keeping fit and also many towns and cities are now traffic free, so bikes are a great way to explore.

 

[barryd]

Whilst I think the VW campers are superb (read my blog, Hank the Tank Motorhome website early days and you will see I spent a lot of time in Commers and VW's) and are the coolest of cool, if your going on a long trip you need a big van. There are only two of us and we spend perhaps 40-50% of our lives in the van, often on trips up to 3 months. We have a 7.5 metre 6 birth coach built with a motorbike on the back and I wouldnt have anything smaller. In fact Im thinking of getting one actually a bit bigger for the next van.

We never have a problem parking in Europe but having the bike helps. I think its all down to compromises and how you intend to use it. If you go on long trips and want to use free Aires or wild camp then get a big van. For the odd week away or short trips and if you want to use campsites to put out awnings, pup tents etc a small van like a VW may be ok.

 

[vwalan]

hi.i agree with barry. i also spend 6 or so months in the camper.mine is less than 3mtrs high,7ft 6ins wide. can go most places . get a good measure of the bridge. mine looks bigger in the pics but believe me we go all over in it .yes sometimes we get a reverse job but thats part of the fun. i used vw,s for years it was a vw garage i ran. but long term in a small space gets uncomfortable. i also have a mazda bongo for weekend trips at home but a few nights out is all i want to do in it. some friends have been wintering away in an ldv van but only last night i had a tx saying they are going to get an iveco 6ton van as space was too tight in the ldv. think hard ,get it wrong and it can put you off m,homing for good.warm winters in spain and maroc also a definate ,no where else is warm enough.

 

[vwalan]

hi. sorry dont have any pics on this laptop. the mitsubishi canter is about the width of a vw t25.altogether its 32ft6ins .7ft 6ins wide.just under 3mtr high.you drive it on a pre 97 car licence. the box is 20ft long .because it piggy backs the truck it takes up less length than a 12 ft caracan behind a small car. my mazda bongo pulling a 10ft caravan is only 9in shorter.gets away with car n caravan on ferries . is mot excempt .i,m sure many on this site have seen it and it gets alot of inspections.

 

[Mrs Broholmer]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for all the advice, has given me even more food for thought as we will be long terming it and don’t want to always stick to main roads and motorways so was thinking trying to pass on narrow lanes etc!

We don’t need to go under the bridge I mentioned, it was just a thought about getting a 'van under any small bridge and also if we decided to use a camp site as a base we may use a tent or drive away awning if we had a small camper van, certainly not to use while wild camping. We now have a dog so unable to take our motorbikes as extra transport, also they are too heavy so would need changing to put on the back of a van unless we towed them, the puppy is being trained to use public transport, so we have that as an option.

I have started a list of things that are a deff necessity so this may influence what we get, also my medical condition means some things cannot be compromised!

Any further ideas peeps will be gratefully received, like what you couldnt do without?

Mange Tak

Mrs Broholmer

 

[Deleted member 9215]

yes thats the way... you also get a lot of attention in the vw, i mean that as in, everywhere you go people like them and stop to talk to you... makes you feel a little better about parking up!

as for my t4. it has cruise control and is lwb and auto with pas so its a dream to drive, people bang on about doing 50mpg but i dont, i get 35 pretty much all the time and that is i would say 80% motorway at 70mph and 20% town usually with van full of camping stuf and 4 of us in toll! I have a drive away awning for mine, that awsome and makes life easier, I have a pop top roof so cn sleep 4 and you can also put a roof rack, roof box on them too but then you wont be able to et into the 1.9, car park barriers! ooops thats another advantage i missed off the last post!
you will be suprised how much you can actually fit in them, admittably you have to move alot of stuff to get to any of it but its all art of the holiday!

love the van & the wheels

dunk