Whats best small compact motorhome / camper with loos and shower

[Andrewsclan]

Hello
I want to get a small compact motorhome with all facilities but want to be able to drive it down country lanes so needs to be not much wider than a car.
Whats best one to go for ?

 

[antiquesam]

It's always a difficult compromise, facilities and size. I have a coachbuilt based on a Transit chassis, it is 2.2m wide and 5.7m long and I have no problems going down the narrowest of lanes. The advantage I have, however, is that it is quite old and I'm not too bothered if I get the odd scratch from hedge trimming. I would find anything smaller would mean a loss of storage and would be a bit claustrophobic when you are sitting in the rain somewhere.

 

[Tbear]

Any van conversion would do but to get a sensible answer, you need to narrow down the criteria of what you want and what you need.

Richard

 

[Tbear]

Andrew

I just noticed that this was your first post. Normally people use this to say hello and to give us a little detail about yourself. This is not just polite but it helps people to understand where you are coming from and where you want to go. It also tells us what experience you have so we know how to pitch answers. If you become a full member and fill your profile we can normally help a great deal if you are just starting out.

Richard

 

[colinm]

The question is what you consider to be all the facilities and the ease of using them, here's an example of how small you can go.
Romahome R10

Most people probably consider a VW Transporter/Ford Custom size van as the most roomy van to be close to car size and convenience.

My own mantra is to have the smallest size van which fits in all we need, at the moment that is a Globecar Campscout, which is a Ducato XLWB panel van, and considerably larger than a car, it hardly impacts on driving down country roads, where it loses to smaller vans is height barriers and standard size parking spaces.

 

[trevskoda]

Hi welcome,well yesterday i saw a we vauxhall van with a pop top in car park it looked a good job though compact it seems it could go anywhere which includes under hight barriers.

 

[tidewatcher]

whatever suits

We have a Bessacar E370 based on a 1999 Fiat Ducato medium wheelbase, 5.25 meters long. Incredibly clever layout and we never fill the storage, bikes on the back and five weeks in France no problem. One thing helps, we came to motor-homing from sailing and believe me, if you think a motor-home is tight for space try a 27 foot yacht. We have everything needed habitation wise and rarely spend more than three nights on camp sites in a month. Books not TV, bikes on the back, a good selection of large scale maps for the area we are heading too (obtainable from all good charity shops with patience) to supplement the satnav and off we go.

She is getting a little old at 1999 and you need to keep on top of minor issues, usually old water pipes (the van not me) ancillaries and the like but she is a simple vehicle. Mechanical injection, no engine management and by now I know my way around the fridge, heating, shower etc.

This suits us perfectly and despite looking I have yet to find anything worth the extra investment.

However.....

It may not suit you, the man next door, the guy you meet on the aire.

Define your minimum needs realistically and stick to them then just give it a go. Camper-vanning is an adventure and depends on taking your own decisions, in the end it really is up to you.....

 

[Pauljenny]

Welcome to our forum.
You should put some time in, going round the dealers.
Look at everything, too big, too small, to expensive, etc.
Talk to other motorhome owners that you'll meet there,especially in the shops and service departments.
We all like talking about our vans. Don't buy until your certain.

 

[Roger Haworth]

When you say you want all facilities I assume you mean gas rings, grill, possibly oven, fridge, kitchen sink, toilet, wash basin, shower, hot water, central heating, possibly TV etc.

I think you need to be looking at a long wheel base Fiat Ducato or its Peugeot or Citroen equivalent van conversion. The LWB van is 5.99 metres long and 2.05 metres wide (excluding mirrors), just fractionally too long to fit into a standard car parking space but narrow enough to get down small lanes.

The big decision is whether to go for one with a fixed bed or one where you have to make the bed up each night from the daytime seating area. Both of these options have advantages and disadvantages.

I personally favour a fixed bed at the rear, the washroom and kitchen in the middle and a half dinette at the front consisting of a bench seat facing forward to a table and the drivers and passengers seat swiveled to face backwards while you're stopped.

 

[wildebus]

Hello
I want to get a small compact motorhome with all facilities but want to be able to drive it down country lanes so needs to be not much wider than a car.
Whats best one to go for ?

I guess the key thing is what you mean by "all facilities" and also how many people are to travel in it?
If you want shower and toilet in a compact motorhome then you would be looking at a panel van conversion most likely.
The smallest useable option and most carlike is maybe one of the specialist VW conversions which have a bathroom, but they are pretty rare (the vast majority of VW conversions have no shower) and pretty expensive as well. The Ducato/Relay/Boxer platform is most likely the preferred base for a compact yet full-featured Motorhome I would think.

But as has been said, check out the various vans at Dealerships and see if your initial checklist can be adjusted if you find something that really floats your boat but misses out on size or whatever.

 

[molly 2]

check out the nu venture rio it has every thing you asked for just over 40k new also available smaller nu venture surf

 

[Mojo77]

Similar requirements to myself, I tend to go to the Lakes more than anywhere else and there's a lot of narrow roads up that way so I decided that I'd rather be able to "go anywhere" than have a nice big van but be limited to wide roads and campsites. Still need to get a van but I'm looking at Talbot Expresses, Transits and VWs. The VW Trophy is a nice narrow van with a good layout and end bathroom, but they are expensive compared to others, I guess it depends on your budget. You need to decide where you'd be using it most, what the roads are like then make your choice.

 

[myrtleontheroad]

Hi Andrew

We went for a sprinter van as it's used for most delivery vans and reckoned it has to be able to get down most of the narrow lanes. We bought a work van and have done the conversion ourselves as we couldn't find one that exactly fitted our needs. We have a loo/shower, fixed double bed, kitchen area and sofa for two. Also have a dog bed built under our bed and storage to the back and there is a teeny wood burning stove to be fitted before the winter.

We are almost finished and have to say we are delighted with the van, it runs well and so far no issues on tricky roads! It's amazing what you can cram into a small space with lots of planning!

Hope this helps and happy searching

 

[witzend]

the other side

check out the nu venture rio it has every thing you asked for just over 40k new also available smaller nu venture surf

And at the other end of the market get one of these

 

[pughed2]

Compact Mh. with everything

Have a look at the trigano tributes, the pre 2007 models are slightly smaller, and I can get nearly 60mpg diesel out of mine, which is unheard of for most MHz..............Steve bristol

 

[Deleted member 13543]

We've just changed to a 2006 Devon Monaco conversion on a Renault Master. It makes life much easier than dragging a coach built motorhome around narrow roads, but you have to be very disciplined about what you take with you! Ours sleeps 4 people; an unfixed 4ft double at the back, and 2 singles from the four seats in the front. It is just under 20ft long, and 6ft 6ins wide. Tends to overhang normal parking places a bit, but it was the smallest we could find for our needs.

As everyone else has said, it's a case of how many you want to carry, what facilities you want, and how much money you have to spend. Ours carries 4 people in belted seats, and has loo/shower, oven, fridge, grill, 4 rings and a fridge. I love Romahomes, but unless you go for the R30, the smaller ones don't have a proper loo, usually a porta-potti in a cupboard. The advice to go and look round dealers is well worth following; I also did loads of looking on eBay and Autotrader to see what different models offered.

Good luck with your hunt!