The new Wildax Voltpac the van with no gas.

[colinm]

interesting.
Out of curiosity, was it anything to do with windows (or lack of rather)? I've noticed a lot of van conversions can be pretty dark inside, and also the centre showers fitted on many seem to encroach massively into the van and with a galley kitchen opposite can turn a van into a bit of a corridor with two little boxes at either end if care is not taken.

I think it was several problems coming together, as you say the the washroom and cupboard opposite sort of close off rear of van, although on our Campscout she's quite happy to have one of the sliding doors pulled almost fully across. The Campscout has a 6ft 3in X 6ft 'bedroom', the Arora is 6ft x 4ft 6in, which feels substantially smaller, but the main problem seemed to be her going to bed first and then me 'blocking' her in, with our Campscout(and previous VW) she knows that to get out of bed there is nothing in her way.

 

[Fisherman]

Our old VW died in middle of house build we where doing, not having time to sort out the next van we hired a WildAx Aurora which has transverse bed as it's what we thought we would be buying. We had what I always call the worse weeks campervan holiday we've ever had! Bear in mind our previous van was a T25 PVC, gf's claustrophobia kicked in big time with the transverse bed, and even when she did manage to get to sleep in bed it triggered night terrors

I don’t fancy sleeping on a vans cushions, or having to make up a bed every night either. Hence why the Elara with its island or twin bed set up and a proper mattress ticks some boxes. Van conversions are 13 inches narrower than the standard 2.35m Motorhome, which is great for driving, but you have to compromise on the space side.

 

[Deleted member 86180]

I guess it’s horses for courses. For me the price doesn’t add up for the size. 4 berth? - maybe a couple of small grandchildren. I get it if you’re forced to downsize, but a long trip or living in one? Not for me anyway.

 

[mark61]

I guess it’s horses for courses. For me the price doesn’t add up for the size. 4 berth? - maybe a couple of small grandchildren. I get it if you’re forced to downsize, but a long trip or living in one? Not for me anyway.

Seems reasonable price for panel van conversion, 50+ ish for van, 25ish for conversion.

 

[Fisherman]

I guess it’s horses for courses. For me the price doesn’t add up for the size. 4 berth? - maybe a couple of small grandchildren. I get it if you’re forced to downsize, but a long trip or living in one? Not for me anyway.

I agree about the payload, tight for 4, even impossible.
But Thats the case for any van conversion.
But if you compare what you get from wildax to others I reckon they are value for money, and they come very highly specified. There are a few options and they are priced keenly as well. Ie additional 100a battery £200, Autosleeper £350, Malibu £399. If I buy the model I fancy my only hab upgrade will be leather. Everything I would want comes as standard.

 

[Deleted member 86180]

Like I said, horses for courses. No criticism intended.

 

[mark61]

Never looked into payloads for panel vans v coach builts. Wonder where the difference comes from, are coach built bodies really that much lighter?

 

[Fisherman]

Like I said, horses for courses. No criticism intended.

I welcome criticism ****, thanks for your comments.

 

[Fisherman]

Never looked into payloads for panel vans v coach builts. Wonder where the difference comes from, are coach built bodies really that much lighter?

Yes Mark, I watched a video on YouTube where a 7.5m carthago was being built at the factory. Two men could carry one side with doors and window into place with ease. GRP is much lighter than metal hence the larger payloads. My current van although wider, and taller than van conversions, with all types of add ons as standard has twice the payload of a smaller van conversion. I agree with **** trying to produce a 4 berth van conversion with a 350-400kg payload is pushing it.

 

[Fisherman]

Talking about upgrades the worse I ever saw were carthago.
Fancy a leather steering wheel £235
How about an additional 85ah battery £399 (fitted side by side)
Wiring for a second tv inc socket £245
Most charge £2600 for the new fiat auto box, they charge £3200.
Wildax charge £2600 but for the 7speed Mercedes auto it’s only £1900, weird.
one Carthago van started at £72,000 by the time I added on what I regarded as reasonable additions it rose to £87,000, if you took everything it was £97,000.

 

[mark61]

Yes, GRP is lighter, and a fair bit of weight on a panel van will be in the structures for rear doors etc, I'm just surprised at how much difference there is.

There are plenty of coach builts that have had GVW uprated afterwards because of low payload capacity.

 

[Fisherman]

Yes, GRP is lighter, and a fair bit of weight on a panel van will be in the structures for rear doors etc, I'm just surprised at how much difference there is.

There are plenty of coach builts that have had GVW uprated afterwards because of low payload capacity.

What about the sliding doors Mark, they look heavy to.

 

[mark61]

What about the sliding doors Mark, they look heavy to.

Not as heavy as they used to be, the old T1's the doors were really heavy.
But sure, everything is a few more KG added.
I did have the weight of a sliding door, I ordered mine with sliding on both side, almost every option you tick shows up with increased kerb weight, even the suspension seat and its only a few KG more than standard.

 

[mark61]

Talking of sliding doors, the electric door is well worth considering. You can open door as little or as much as you want.
I didn't order it, and if I want door open only a few inches I have to wedge it. I like sleeping with door slightly open too, so on aires etc I have to chain it.

 

[Fisherman]

An Electric/Diesel Motorhome as opposed to an Gas/Electric motorhome is certainly doable, and there have been a couple of US RVs released like that.

Personally speaking, I think they have skimped on the battery installation. A pair of 100Ah Lithiums will not be enough for off-grid camping except in summertime unless you are moving every day.
The 50A B2B is not bad but hardly massive. If the idea is to push an electric based Motorhome I kinda would have expected a 2nd Alternator to charge the batteries.
I don't know if the 3kW Inverter they fit is a straight Inverter or a Charger/Inverter, but I would have gone with a Victron Multiplus which has a built in Transfer Switch and power assist feature which makes the electric side very flexible compared to a straight Inverter.
I bet there is a fair old price premium over the LPG version but in truth there should not be much difference in price

Just seen on this months mmm they are charging £4995 extra seems steep David. Although the Truma 6kw diesel/ electric is about £2500 more expensive than the 4kw gas/ electric normally supplied.