6m or 6.36m pvc?

[maison]

Did you consider a continental PVC or were you just keen to get back to a bigger van.

For me personally I do like the look of some of the British PVCs but I would never have one because of the constant need to make up your bed at night. We had to make up the bed in our first British coachbuilt and hated it. This is all subjective and personal to us though.

In our case we went from a twin high bed Pilote coachbuilt to a twin high bed PVC but, unlike our new Globecar 6.36m PVC, the 7.5m long coachbuilt had no space for a large dog (43kg) to turn around so in theory the PVC was a much better option for us.

We “downsized “ to a PVC about 15 months age and have covered about 13000 miles since then.

We leave our bed made up and live in the dinette end. We see no need for the rear of the m/h to also be a lounge. Having the bed made up is ideal because my wife has some mobility problems.

I realise our solution isn’t suitable for everyone, but it works for us. Having the bed made up makes it easy to stretch out when required. In summer, with the rear doors open it’s great to just lie, read and watch the scenery.

Our m/h is 5.95m so the rear bench seats are not long enough to stretch out fully. Perhaps the 6.35m would allow that but we like our present m/h as it is.

 

[WESTY66]

Old thread I know, but having been watching a lot of van life vlogs im wondering if I’m missing a trick here with these pvc’s. I have just bought a new to me Carthago which I love, but when I picked it up I was really drawn to a nice red globecar which I think belonged to Blue Knight what a gorgeous looking van that is. So am I content with the Carthago? Yes. Am I thinking of all the possibilities with a pvc? Yes. Am I totally confused? You bet.
Quick question for all you with a pvc, is the insulation adequate for general winter use?

 

[Minxy]

Old thread I know, but having been watching a lot of van life vlogs im wondering if I’m missing a trick here with these pvc’s. I have just bought a new to me Carthago which I love, but when I picked it up I was really drawn to a nice red globecar which I think belonged to Blue Knight what a gorgeous looking van that is. So am I content with the Carthago? Yes. Am I thinking of all the possibilities with a pvc? Yes. Am I totally confused? You bet.
Quick question for all you with a pvc, is the insulation adequate for general winter use?

Should've got a Carthago Compactline ... best of both worlds!

 

[Minxy]

Old thread I know, but having been watching a lot of van life vlogs im wondering if I’m missing a trick here with these pvc’s. I have just bought a new to me Carthago which I love, but when I picked it up I was really drawn to a nice red globecar which I think belonged to Blue Knight what a gorgeous looking van that is. So am I content with the Carthago? Yes. Am I thinking of all the possibilities with a pvc? Yes. Am I totally confused? You bet.
Quick question for all you with a pvc, is the insulation adequate for general winter use?

Okay, being serious now ... the insulation in a PVC is never going to compete with an A-class or coachbuilt 'box' no matter how much you stuff in it however it really depends what winter use you mean, in the Alps on a skiing trip I would say possible but not as good as a 'box'. We used our PVCs in winter with minus temperatures, snow etc but I wouldn't have wanted to stay in it for a long time in those conditions. It's not just about the lower insulation level but the amount of energy you use to keep the temperature acceptable so you'll use more in a PVC than in a 'box' even if the box is bigger as it will retain the heat better.

 

[royandsharont]

Enjoyed reading this old thread. Convinced me we’d made the right decision to downsize from our 8m coach built to a 6.4m PVC with fixed longitudinal beds. The auto box will add comfort too. Just need it to come now.

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[vzac]

Thanks guys for a very good view of what to expect, my wife loves the look of the Autotrail V-Line models but given the comments by a few (not just in the forum) I might need to see them in the flesh and look at quality of build.
I really should of joined the site prior to buying our Bailey as so many say “try before you buy” it can be an expensive mistake as I’m expecting to loose a packet on my current van, but the thought of not using it as much will haunt me if I keep it.
Thanks again everybody
Darren

Ok. You should not lose much on the bailey, we changed ours after 12 months not due to size but problems with the van. I have driven vans for many many yrs, what I found surprising with the bailey was just how wide it was, at 2.46 wide, average mh sizes around 2.30, we changed to a burstner a class which is only 2.20 wide, normal van width is about 2.1 wide. We now fit in parking bays, stick out at the end somewhat ( 7 m) so still restrictive on some carparks, but find one with a good grass back to back to and can just get in. 6.3 long will be fine for carparks. Hope you get what you want.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Wow interesting thread, we have bailey 625 and they are so spacious, I want to downsize for all reasons above but OH says you can’t move in them

Wrong, the 6m vans are the ones you can’t move in are those with very narrow alleyway between kitchen unit and shower and because they are usually transverse beds they can feel slightly small at the rear when bed is folded and you are sitting on the bench seating. If you can find one with a wider alley and the kitchen area is open then you will be fine.
Have to admit I couldn’t find one, so had one built for me and it saved me £20,000 at least, think about it, buy a new van and get it designed and built the way you want it. Guess what the delivery timeframe may well be much shorter than buying a new one with the current long lead times.

 

[EuroTrotters]

6

 

[Jim]

6m is the sweet spot for doing most everything. IMO If you go over 6m you may as well have 8m

 

[Minxy]

6m is the sweet spot for doing most everything. IMO If you go over 6m you may as well have 8m

No way Jose!!! We had a 7.24m coachbuilt and despite it being one of the narrower bodied ones the rear end swing was a nightmare at times as was trying to park it with its bum over in normal car park spots due to the longer wheelbase so it still stuck out a fair bit. We're 6.41m and don't have these issues.

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[georgio]

Wrong, the 6m vans are the ones you can’t move in are those with very narrow alleyway between kitchen unit and shower and because they are usually transverse beds they can feel slightly small at the rear when bed is folded and you are sitting on the bench seating. If you can find one with a wider alley and the kitchen area is open then you will be fine.
Have to admit I couldn’t find one, so had one built for me and it saved me £20,000 at least, think about it, buy a new van and get it designed and built the way you want it. Guess what the delivery timeframe may well be much shorter than buying a new one with the current long lead times.

Good morning,

One question to ask yourself is , can I pass another person easily ? Mine is a globecar family scout L . much modified, now no longer made.

 

[SteveRallye]

Our 1st van was the Trigano Tribute in 2008 and it only had the 6m option then. What we loved about it was the 140 ltr proper fridge and the the loo with seperate walkin shower and double wardrobe at the back. Would have definitely got the 6.36 if it had been available. We had it 6years and 50k. However we would have preferred an end lounge one as we had change of circumstances and needed an easier bed make up.The downside was having to open the back doors to get to turn gas off for ferries. No swing out bike racks then. I overcame this by putting a port hole hatch in bottom of wardrobe to get at the gas taps.

 

[Sapper520]

We went for the 6m PVC with fixed bed. We wanted to be able to park it at home, so 6m was the maximum, and my wife insisted on a fixed bed (although you can remove it).

Absolutely fine for the two of us, with plenty of ‘garage’ (storage) space under the bed. Transverse bed is fine for us as we’re both 5’8”…..much over 5’10” and I think you’ll be pushing it.

The main compromises are the narrow space between the kitchen and shower room door, and no lounge area as such. Once you’ve got system in place, then the narrow space no longer becomes an issue. We try to spend most of our time outside anyway, including doing our cooking using the exterior gas supply.

A valuable bonus we found, having a 3500kgs van (up plated from 3300kgs) is we are not restricted (usually) when wanting to enter town or village centres on the continent.

Works for us.

 

[WESTY66]

No way Jose!!! We had a 7.24m coachbuilt and despite it being one of the narrower bodied ones the rear end swing was a nightmare at times as was trying to park it with its bum over in normal car park spots due to the longer wheelbase so it still stuck out a fair bit. We're 6.41m and don't have these issues.

Mel, I’ve never had a ferry quote for under 6m as I’ve always had 7.4m but if there’s a noticeable difference in the price you can miss out for .36 also in car parks.
That said .36 is probably neither here or there and if it was me I’d prob go for a 6.36m over a 6m but I can see why people have the 6m.
Having watched too many vanlife blogs and see how easy it is just to blag somewhere to park with a van, and can see all the positives of a smaller van (Mrs Westy can see nothing but negatives) I’ve concluded I My carthago too much at mo to swap out for a pvc…. But when I retire, who knows

 

[Garfields]

We currently have a 6.4 previous van was shorter
Internal layouts are totally different
Both vans have met our needs at the time
Layout is the thing that maters more so than length

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[Minxy]

The main compromises are the narrow space between the kitchen and shower room door, and no lounge area as such. Once you’ve got system in place, then the narrow space no longer becomes an issue. We try to spend most of our time outside anyway, including doing our cooking using the exterior gas supply.

Same here, you soon get in to the habit of stepping into the doorway to let the other to pass, it becomes second nature ... never quite managed to teach the dogs though so they just stood in the middle and expected us to hurdle over them!

Even though we have an A-class now we still do this out of habit.

 

[Minxy]

Mel, I’ve never had a ferry quote for under 6m as I’ve always had 7.4m but if there’s a noticeable difference in the price you can miss out for .36 also in car parks.

True but I wouldn't compromise on getting the PVC I wanted on the off chance it may cost me a bit more occasionally. If we hadn't wanted single beds we'd have been quite happy with a 6m.

 

[WESTY66]

True but I wouldn't compromise on getting the PVC I wanted on the off chance it may cost me a bit more occasionally. If we hadn't wanted single beds we'd have been quite happy with a 6m.

Spot on

 

[WESTY66]

Incidentally does anyone know the rough pricing extra for >6m on a ferry? Just read the cal Mac thread, £212 >6m v £76 <6m I’d say that’s a pretty big difference on one crossing

 

[Sapper520]

It‘s the lay out that suits the individuals needs that counts, so you can get it wrong for your needs, but there is no wrong lay out really.

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[Otter Spotter]

Good morning,

One question to ask yourself is , can I pass another person easily ? Mine is a globecar family scout L . much modified, now no longer made.

Nether of us are portly but we found we couldn’t get past each other if, say Dee was at the sink, so we saved space in the shower/toilet and gave a ourselves 23in in isle width which is ample and give an open airy feel to the van.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Incidentally does anyone know the rough pricing extra for >6m on a ferry? Just read the cal Mac thread, £212 >6m v £76 <6m I’d say that’s a pretty big difference on one crossing

It’s much dearer for a 6.36m van than 6m, same fir the Orkney and Shetland Ferries.

 

[Northernraider]

Okay, being serious now ... the insulation in a PVC is never going to compete with an A-class or coachbuilt 'box' no matter how much you stuff in it however it really depends what winter use you mean, in the Alps on a skiing trip I would say possible but not as good as a 'box'. We used our PVCs in winter with minus temperatures, snow etc but I wouldn't have wanted to stay in it for a long time in those conditions. It's not just about the lower insulation level but the amount of energy you use to keep the temperature acceptable so you'll use more in a PVC than in a 'box' even if the box is bigger as it will retain the heat better.

Depends if you buy a factory one or build it yourself. Im confident my vario will be better insulated than any of the factory motorhomes ive owned.

That said whoever insulated this iveco did a very poor job

 

[Tonks68]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

 

[Sapper520]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

Our Cliff 600 6m van came with the transverse bed, but the 640 Cliff at 6.36m, comes with longitudinal beds.

Ideally we’d have gone for the 640, but the extra .36 made it just that bit too long for our parking place.

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[Northernraider]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

Im 6ft 3 ...the transverse bed in my iveco is 6ft ...im hoping to acheive more than that in my vario

 

[Treeeev]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

Hi neighbour

We have a 6m Malibu with a transverse bed. I’m just over 5’ 10” and I just about fit across the van, so unless you sleep either diagonally or in the foetal position I don’t think you would have a very comfortable sleep. I think you would be much better off with a longitudinal bed ( it also avoids the need for one person to climb over the other)

Cheers

Trevor

 

[Driventemple]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

I'm 6'2" and I fit onto/into the transverse bed on our 6m PVC

 

[Minxy]

Depends if you buy a factory one or build it yourself. Im confident my vario will be better insulated than any of the factory motorhomes ive owned.

That said whoever insulated this iveco did a very poor job

Yes I'm talking about those made by the usual suspects, however even if you manage to stuff yours massively I suspect it still wouldn't match a good quality coachbuilt however I'm sure yours would be better than a lot of the ones that the small build PVCs producers do, even the expensive ones.

 

[Minxy]

At a lanky 6,1”, I wouldn’t expect to comfortably fit in a pvc transverse bed. An Adria Compact transverse possibly. Or should I be looking at longitudinal beds only for pvc’s and compact width vans? I expect the answer to this will help me decide on the 6m v 6.36m dilemma due to available layouts

Even some of the longitudinal ones are limited length wise but if you get one with opening rear windows you could always stick your feet out!

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