6m PVC with Lengthwise Beds

[Mark and Mindy]

Adria Compact Plus SP? However, the bed might still be a little too narrow, marked as 1.95 x 1.4m, but does lose 15cm at the foot. It is under 6m (by exactly 1mm!) Not sure if you want a garage, either.

Is that one a PVC or Motorhome?

The fixed bed gives us a garage which can be accessed either from the rear or inside the van.

I've got a complete list so far:
Adria Twin Supreme 600 SPB
Burstner City Car 600
Globecar Globescout R
Knaus Boxstar 600 Street
La Strada Avanti L
Laika Kosmo Campervans 6.0
Malibu Van 600 DB
VanTourer 600D
Weinsberg CaraTour/CaraBus 600MQ
Westfalia Columbus 600D/601D

So quite a few there, and the beds are all 140-145cm in width (4ft 7in-4ft 9in)

We wouldn't change the van for anything smaller than that because while a bigger fridge and upright cupboard/wardrobe are nice to have they come under the heading of "would like" rather than "must have".

 

[cmcardle75]

Is that one a PVC or Motorhome?

I think it is technically a motorhome, but is narrower than a conventional coachbuilt, trying not to protrude much from the standard cab width. It means more internal space than a similar length PVC, as it has slab sides.

 

[Minxy]

I think it is technically a motorhome, but is narrower than a conventional coachbuilt, trying not to protrude much from the standard cab width. It means more internal space than a similar length PVC, as it has slab sides.

Yup its a coachbuilt MH but its only 2.12m wide (same as our Carthago) so just 7cm wider than a PVC.

Highbridge Caravan Centre Ltd.

www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk

 

[denisejoe]

<Broken link removed>
looks nice and large fridge

 

[mikebeaches]

Is that one a PVC or Motorhome?

The fixed bed gives us a garage which can be accessed either from the rear or inside the van.

I've got a complete list so far:
Adria Twin Supreme 600 SPB
Burstner City Car 600
Globecar Globescout R
Knaus Boxstar 600 Street
La Strada Avanti L
Laika Kosmo Campervans 6.0
Malibu Van 600 DB
VanTourer 600D
Weinsberg CaraTour/CaraBus 600MQ
Westfalia Columbus 600D/601D

So quite a few there, and the beds are all 140-145cm in width (4ft 7in-4ft 9in)

We wouldn't change the van for anything smaller than that because while a bigger fridge and upright cupboard/wardrobe are nice to have they come under the heading of "would like" rather than "must have".

Knaus used to do a 6m van conversion with longitudinal beds: the BOXSTAR LIFETIME 600

It was around in 2018 and possibly last year, but not sure if they still do them? You can see the layout in the one in the link, which unfortunately has been sold!

2018 Knaus Boxstar Lifetime 600 ME Platinum Fiat 150 Automatic Camper Van N100979 SOLD

2 berth 5.99metre Van conversion with rear transverse double bed. 2018 model. Fiat Ducato 2.3L Euro 6, 150PS engine upgrade (£52,959). Light chassis plated at 3500kg GVW. Right hand drive. Comfortmatic 6 speed automatic gearbox (£1,867).

www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk

Dreamer (Rapido brand) used do do a 6m with longitudinal beds also: the D58, but again think it's been dropped. We ordered one from the factory in 2016, but turned up without the comfortmatic gearbox we'd specified, so sadly was rejected. We settled for a Rapido V68, but that's 14" longer ie 6.36m, which like you, we didn't originally want. But for us it's proved fortunate, because we like the extra space and can just fit it on the side of our drive, without clogging it up.

Broken Link Removed

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[Minxy]

<Broken link removed>
looks nice and large fridge

Interesting but to me very compromised due to the 'support' for the third bed in the doorway and if you want to use the sink you have to slide the 'cupboard' out which then blocks the doorway totally ... the rear 'garage' is small too with the drawers meaning you'd have to empty out stuff to access them ... not for me.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

<Broken link removed>
looks nice and large fridge

That one is the longer length, but the Avenir 60 TR would be the 6m with the transverse bed, I can't find any bed measurements, but I'll put it on the spreadsheet to check at some point.

It does, however, have the same large fridge.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Yup its a coachbuilt MH but its only 2.12m wide (same as our Carthago) so just 7cm wider than a PVC.

Highbridge Caravan Centre Ltd.

www.highbridgecaravans.co.uk

ah, well in that case, I need to look at it properly, my brain just said "coachbuilt" and I stopped!

 

[Minxy]

That one is the longer length, but the Avenir 60 TR would be the 6m with the transverse bed, I can't find any bed measurements, but I'll put it on the spreadsheet to check at some point.

It does, however, have the same large fridge.

The 60TR doesn't have the 3rd bed support in the way:
<Broken link removed>

<Broken link removed>

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Interesting but to me very compromised due to the 'support' for the third bed in the doorway and if you want to use the sink you have to slide the 'cupboard' out which then blocks the doorway totally ... the rear 'garage' is small too with the drawers meaning you'd have to empty out stuff to access them ... not for me.

I obviously don't have my "how would I use it" head on, you're right about that sliding out, it would mean never being able to get in or out of the van if there was a pan on the hob or something higher in the sink which was sticking up.

The drawers etc under the bed don't bother me so much, Mark would just "fettle" them. Drawers under the bed are totally useless when you have to unmake the bed and tip the base up in order to access.

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[Mark and Mindy]

Knaus used to do a 6m van conversion with longitudinal beds: the BOXSTAR LIFETIME 600

It was around in 2018 and possibly last year, but not sure if they still do them? You can see the layout in the one in the link, which unfortunately has been sold!

2018 Knaus Boxstar Lifetime 600 ME Platinum Fiat 150 Automatic Camper Van N100979 SOLD

2 berth 5.99metre Van conversion with rear transverse double bed. 2018 model. Fiat Ducato 2.3L Euro 6, 150PS engine upgrade (£52,959). Light chassis plated at 3500kg GVW. Right hand drive. Comfortmatic 6 speed automatic gearbox (£1,867).

www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk

Dreamer (Rapido brand) used do do a 6m with longitudinal beds also: the D58, but again think it's been dropped. We ordered one from the factory in 2016, but turned up without the comfortmatic gearbox we'd specified, so sadly was rejected. We settled for a Rapido V68, but that's 14" longer ie 6.36m, which like you, we didn't originally want. But for us it's proved fortunate, because we like the extra space and can just fit it on the side of our drive, without clogging it up.

Broken Link Removed

Not sure if I can edit the title of the thread, but I've gone off the lengthwise bed now as it would mean a small fridge similar to what we already have. We'd stick with the transverse bed but have it wider, and then we'd be able to have a bigger fridge which isn't part of the kitchen unit and that would give extra drawer/cupboard space.

This forum is great for sounding out ideas, if I hadn't been able to "talk" it out I wouldn't have got as far as I have.

 

[mikebeaches]

Not sure if I can edit the title of the thread, but I've gone off the lengthwise bed now as it would mean a small fridge similar to what we already have. We'd stick with the transverse bed but have it wider, and then we'd be able to have a bigger fridge which isn't part of the kitchen unit and that would give extra drawer/cupboard space.

This forum is great for sounding out ideas, if I hadn't been able to "talk" it out I wouldn't have got as far as I have.

I don't know about the fridge in the Knaus Boxstar Lifetime 600, but the Dreamer D58 has a 90 litre compressor fridge. Our Rapido V68 has 135 litre 3-way fridge.

Fixed longitudinal beds were non-negotiable for us. They just make the van and sleeping so much more comfortable. We had a longitudinal French double bed along one side of our previous small coachbuilt, but the twin singles work so much better - no need to scramble over each other for nocturnal visits to the bathroom. And no need for one person to be 'hemmed in' against the wall.

Each to their own of course - we all have our own preferences...

 

[cmcardle75]

I don't know about the fridge in the Knaus Boxstar Lifetime 600, but the Dreamer D58 has a 90 litre compressor fridge. Our Rapido V68 has 135 litre 3-way fridge.

Fixed longitudinal beds were non-negotiable for us. They just make the van and sleeping so much more comfortable. We had a longitudinal French double bed along one side of our previous small coachbuilt, but the twin singles work so much better - no need to scramble over each other for nocturnal visits to the bathroom. And no need for one person to be 'hemmed in' against the wall.

Each to their own of course - we all have our own preferences...

I'm doing a longitudinal fixed bed in ours. Having a comfortable sleeping platform with a standard size domestic pocket sprung mattress was a must, although it is a narrow double at 190 x 120. I just don't want the faff of putting bedding away all the time and wanted a proper comfortable mattress. By limting to 120 width, there's room for a toilet over the wheel arch, grey water tank and loads of clothes storage alongside. The bed is tall enough to get a 210 litre water tank and fridge underneath, along with the water heater over the other wheel arch and hab batteries. There's still room for loads of storage underneath, accessed from the rear doors. The shower cubicle is tiny, just about physically usable, no more. The kitchen space is great. No lounge to speak of. We'll fit swivels when we get round to it.

 

[pops]

Danbury is owned by Pilote.
Their factory is in Yate north of Bristol.
They have a showroom on site.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

I don't know about the fridge in the Knaus Boxstar Lifetime 600, but the Dreamer D58 has a 90 litre compressor fridge. Our Rapido V68 has 135 litre 3-way fridge.

Fixed longitudinal beds were non-negotiable for us. They just make the van and sleeping so much more comfortable. We had a longitudinal French double bed along one side of our previous small coachbuilt, but the twin singles work so much better - no need to scramble over each other for nocturnal visits to the bathroom. And no need for one person to be 'hemmed in' against the wall.

Each to their own of course - we all have our own preferences...

The Boxstar 600 Street has a 90L fridge and the bed is 145/140, so even where it narrows its 4ft 7in compared to our current bed which is 138/123. So the Boxstar narrowest width is still wider than our widest width, and the current width (as the widest part narrows straight after the pillow) is 4ft.

There doesn't seem to be a Dreamer D58, goes from D55 to D62, so I had a look at the D55 and remember why it wouldn't work for us. With the toilet/basin and shower being split both sides of the corridor and also accommodating the free standing fridge (which is the 135L) it means that the loss of inches has had to come from somewhere which is, of course, the bed. That becomes 1320 wide and that's smaller than our current bed.

The idea is to get more bed width, and although a lengthwise bed would be really nice I'd much rather have a wider transverse along with a bigger fridge which isn't part of the kitchen unit. Luckily only one of us has to get out of bed at night and that's me, plus Mark doesn't mind sleeping by the doors, an extra few inches would make all the difference!

I'm doing a longitudinal fixed bed in ours. Having a comfortable sleeping platform with a standard size domestic pocket sprung mattress was a must, although it is a narrow double at 190 x 120. I just don't want the faff of putting bedding away all the time and wanted a proper comfortable mattress. By limting to 120 width, there's room for a toilet over the wheel arch, grey water tank and loads of clothes storage alongside. The bed is tall enough to get a 210 litre water tank and fridge underneath, along with the water heater over the other wheel arch and hab batteries. There's still room for loads of storage underneath, accessed from the rear doors. The shower cubicle is tiny, just about physically usable, no more. The kitchen space is great. No lounge to speak of. We'll fit swivels when we get round to it.

That's the bonus of converting your own van - how long is it? You can get things exactly as you want them.

There's no way we could manage with a bed @ 120 width, that's just under 4ft and, to my mind, has become a large single rather than a very small double, but we're all different and what suits one may not suit another.

We also have masses of space under the bed, all tucked into boxes, most is accessible from the rear doors, but I can still grab the kettle and various other bits and pieces from inside.

We don't miss having a lounge, the front seats swivel round, Mark generally sits in the turned passenger seat with his feet on the dinette seat where our Schnoodle is also snoozing, I either sit in the turned driver's seat with my feet on a little folding step or on the bed round the corner with my back against the washroom wall.

Our washroom is teeny tiny as well, there's no chance of picking up the dropped soap unless opening the door to facilitate it, but its adequate and does the job - home is for decent length showers and the van is for a quick shower using very little water.

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[Mark and Mindy]

Danbury is owned by Pilote.
Their factory is in Yate north of Bristol.
They have a showroom on site.

That's interesting, could be worth a look. I also checked out the Pilote but the bed is too narrow.

Its like all things it seems, if you have more of one then you have to have less of another and it really is about the must haves.

Our must have is a better night's sleep - current van is 5.4m with a small width transverse bed and small fridge tucked into the kitchen unit. Go up to a 6m van and we can either have lengthwise beds and same size living area and continue on with small fridge, or go a wider transverse, get a bigger fridge outside the kitchen unit and more kitchen storage as a consequence.

Because we don't actually mind whether its lengthwise or a wider transverse then we can go for something on our "nice to have" list which is a bigger fridge, hence going the route we have.

 

[cmcardle75]

The Boxstar 600 Street has a 90L fridge and the bed is 145/140, so even where it narrows its 4ft 7in compared to our current bed which is 138/123. So the Boxstar narrowest width is still wider than our widest width, and the current width (as the widest part narrows straight after the pillow) is 4ft.

There doesn't seem to be a Dreamer D58, goes from D55 to D62, so I had a look at the D55 and remember why it wouldn't work for us. With the toilet/basin and shower being split both sides of the corridor and also accommodating the free standing fridge (which is the 135L) it means that the loss of inches has had to come from somewhere which is, of course, the bed. That becomes 1320 wide and that's smaller than our current bed.

The idea is to get more bed width, and although a lengthwise bed would be really nice I'd much rather have a wider transverse along with a bigger fridge which isn't part of the kitchen unit. Luckily only one of us has to get out of bed at night and that's me, plus Mark doesn't mind sleeping by the doors, an extra few inches would make all the difference!


That's the bonus of converting your own van - how long is it? You can get things exactly as you want them.

There's no way we could manage with a bed @ 120 width, that's just under 4ft and, to my mind, has become a large single rather than a very small double, but we're all different and what suits one may not suit another.

We also have masses of space under the bed, all tucked into boxes, most is accessible from the rear doors, but I can still grab the kettle and various other bits and pieces from inside.

We don't miss having a lounge, the front seats swivel round, Mark generally sits in the turned passenger seat with his feet on the dinette seat where our Schnoodle is also snoozing, I either sit in the turned driver's seat with my feet on a little folding step or on the bed round the corner with my back against the washroom wall.

Our washroom is teeny tiny as well, there's no chance of picking up the dropped soap unless opening the door to facilitate it, but its adequate and does the job - home is for decent length showers and the van is for a quick shower using very little water.

Indeed. We've managed to share a single bunk on a Brittany Ferry before. 120 is no hardship, especially as you can't fall out the side. To give a greater sense of space we've put a 150mm wide offcut of the beech worktop at the head end for about 2/3rd the length, just slightly above the sleeping surface. This gives somewhere to put down a drink or book and the cupboards will be deep enough as it is. It couldn't extend the whole length in order that we could get the toilet in.

Yes, I've need understood the obsession with lounges. I guess some people like to sit around. We're either sleeping, cooking or doing something. On the occasion we might watch TV we can do this from bed! However, I suspect the swivels will be useful.

You couldn't see our layout commercially. People would scoff at the high mounted toilet, but it made sense to squeeze everything in!

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Indeed. We've managed to share a single bunk on a Brittany Ferry before. 120 is no hardship, especially as you can't fall out the side. To give a greater sense of space we've put a 150mm wide offcut of the beech worktop at the head end for about 2/3rd the length, just slightly above the sleeping surface. This gives somewhere to put down a drink or book and the cupboards will be deep enough as it is. It couldn't extend the whole length in order that we could get the toilet in.

Yes, I've need understood the obsession with lounges. I guess some people like to sit around. We're either sleeping, cooking or doing something. On the occasion we might watch TV we can do this from bed! However, I suspect the swivels will be useful.

You couldn't see our layout commercially. People would scoff at the high mounted toilet, but it made sense to squeeze everything in!

Sounds great, looking forward to seeing photos when its done.

 

[cmcardle75]

Sounds great, looking forward to seeing photos when its done.

Done? You make it sound like I ever finish anything!

However, we have managed to finish most of the heavy lifting. We have kitchen units (no doors or drawer fronts yet), a hob and sink (actually working), a fridge, hot water, toilet, basin, shower (but no shower tray!) BBQ point, underslung LPG, grey water tank, fresh water tank, shower sump and bilge pump, reversing camera, Android Auto, bike rack etc... Still no rooflights, solar power, decorating or lighting. We're currently using the original riot van internal LEDs, which are a bit harsh, intended for violent drunks!

As you can imagine it isn't very Instagram ready yet. We didn't even manage to get the blood stain off the wall.

 

[gerry mcg]

Globecar still have them on their vehicle list, so I thought they probably did.

Globecar / Possl still have the 5.99m 600L model available and teh 6.36m Campscout / campscout Revolution, but neither have the 5.99m “600L Revolution” models on their websites as far as i can see so i presume the 600L Revolution had been discontinued

D-Line

Wer die PÖSSL D-Line wählt, hat auch die Wahl. Hier finden Sie für jeden Geschmack und Einsatz das passende Fahrzeug.

www.poessl-mobile.de

The Range |

globecar.co.uk

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[Mark and Mindy]

Globecar / Possl still have the 5.99m 600L model available and teh 6.36m Campscout / campscout Revolution, but neither have the 5.99m “600L Revolution” models on their websites as far as i can see so i presume the 600L Revolution had been discontinued

D-Line

Wer die PÖSSL D-Line wählt, hat auch die Wahl. Hier finden Sie für jeden Geschmack und Einsatz das passende Fahrzeug.

www.poessl-mobile.de

The Range |

globecar.co.uk

I'm very confused now, was originally looking at the Globestar 600L but have now changed from lengthwise back to transverse as long as its around 140-145 width which would be the Globescout R. That's also the same as the Possl 2Win R.

 

[coffeeroffey]

Unless I have missed it, no one has mentioned the Swift Select 164. I have the previous Autocruise Alto (virtually identical). It has fixed french bed, loads of storage and I absolutely love ours. Worth a look !!.

 

[gerry mcg]

I'm very confused now, was originally looking at the Globestar 600L but have now changed from lengthwise back to transverse as long as its around 140-145 width which would be the Globescout R. That's also the same as the Possl 2Win R.

Sorry, I missed your switch in search from a longitudinal bed to a transverse arrangement.

 

[bobnick]

I am new to this game so excuse if it's a stupid idea. Have you considered a self build. Design exactly what you want, get quotes to have fitted out.???????

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Unless I have missed it, no one has mentioned the Swift Select 164. I have the previous Autocruise Alto (virtually identical). It has fixed french bed, loads of storage and I absolutely love ours. Worth a look !!.

Just had a look at that one and it wouldn't work for us because with the size of the bed being 6ft 1in x 4ft 3in its too short for us, I'm 6ft and know from having slept in a 6ft bed that I need something longer - I tend to point my toes at night and naturally slip down the pillow a bit, plus the bed is only 3in wider than the transverse we currently have. The continental models we're looking at are approximately 6ft 5in x 4ft 8in so the same length but an extra 8in.

There's also the fact that I sleep on the right hand side of the bed and while it isn't a problem for me to sleep by the wall it would mean waking Mark during the night so I can use the loo, as I'm the one who gets up in the night.

I am new to this game so excuse if it's a stupid idea. Have you considered a self build. Design exactly what you want, get quotes to have fitted out.???????

I don't think any idea is a stupid idea and all are worth consideration, however by the time we're ready to get the van, Mark will have retired, we'll have sold our current house and moved somewhere different and be ready for longer journeys so adding in a van conversion (which Mark is quite capable of) would eat into our travelling time. Plus we can't fit a 6m van onto our drive where we currently live, hence having a 5.4m van at the moment.

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[Simon Select]

Sunliving V60SP?
The rear bed is a transverse however its 195 x 140 cm. Thats the full size. Let me know if you want me to do a video walk round on one.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Sunliving V60SP?
The rear bed is a transverse however its 195 x 140 cm. Thats the full size. Let me know if you want me to do a video walk round on one.

Hadn't seen that one, I'll add it to the spreadsheet.

Thanks for the offer of the walk round, but at the moment I'm still in full compilation mode.

 

[Grianan]

Just a thought ... make sure you try lying in a transverse with a pillow as you can’t use the full bed length.

For my money, I’d look at that P2 Relax above ... if they did that in a 6.36m van I’d be interested in a couple of years time.

 

[Sapper520]

Taking delivery of our Sunlight Cliff 600 next month.

Transverse bed 197 x 157.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Just a thought ... make sure you try lying in a transverse with a pillow as you can’t use the full bed length.

For my money, I’d look at that P2 Relax above ... if they did that in a 6.36m van I’d be interested in a couple of years time.

We already have a transverse bed, the transverse element is fine but we'd just rather have a wider bed.

I had a look at the P2 Relax but we like our dinette, we use the seat belt fixings for the dog harnesses and at night one sleeps on the dinette seat and the other in a bed on the floor.

Plus it has the small fridge which we'd like swap out.

Taking delivery of our Sunlight Cliff 600 next month.

Transverse bed 197 x 157.

Just had a look at that one, double checked the bed (not because I doubt you) but saw that it does have a shaped bed to be smaller at the bottom, length is great and width is coming in at 157/150 which is definitely the biggest width I've seen on a transverse! 157 = Just about 5ft 2, and 150 = 4ft 11.

Interestingly although the fridge is tucked at the end of the kitchen unit in front of the side door, its a good size, much bigger than our current fridge. I don't mind whether its separate to the kitchen unit or a decent size as either works for us.

Thank you, straight to the top of our list of contenders!

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