A Class to 6M PVC

[WESTY66]

I know Jim has downsized to a 6m pvc, anyone else done it with success?

Anyone done it with regrets?

The Rationale in my thinking is that when I retire I’d like to go touring to the far east of Turkey and the far south of Morocco and my thinking is that ideally it should be done in something that’s fixable (manual as opposed to comfortmatic etc) something that’s easily recoverable (6M pvc van as opposed to 7.5+ A class) and should it get minor damage, worse case scenario get the hammer out and bang it out and weld if necessary to get home when the trip is up (if you bump an A Class you’re Gaffer taping up and turning round for home if you’re lucky) also there’s the benefit of under 3.5t which makes it easier to reverse europe once through Germany, does this make sense??
If that’s a yes can someone please convince Mrs Westy

 

[Coolcats]

I thought all Funsters carried them.

View attachment 820704

If we spot you out and about I’m sure you would not mind if we asked nicely to wash our smalls.

 

[Ditcha]

A friend has a top of the range Malibu and finds he runs the heating far more than he did in his A Class.

You can have the best insulation going but would imagine once that big wosh bang is opened that's all the heat gone from the van then the heating cycle begins again.

 

[Aly1]

Can't remember the sizes but smaller than yours. We fill our cassette daily. Blame the high fibre diet and good hydration.

70 litres fresh water tank in my Murvi pimento.

 

[scotjimland]

when I retire I’d like to go touring to the far east of Turkey and the far south of Morocco

One of the most travelled Funsters was Don Madge , sadly now deceased, an intrepid traveller, who has been to nearly every European country, Turkey was one of his favourite places, he also explored the Greek Islands ..was also a travel consultant for MMM .. he downsized from an A class to a 5.4mt Timberland PVC ..

One of his trips was overland to Cyprus which you can read here ..

Four years after buying the Timberland Freedom he did a review .. here

A Winter Trip To Turkey .. read here

I have also downsized from a Hymaer A class. to a Timberland Panel Van which we also use as our daily driver. Yes, we miss the large fixed bed, and garage, but for our type of holidays and daily life , the panel van is better suited.
In an ideal world I would have a stable of different sizes and types motorhomes.. but sadly, wallet dictates not.

In my opinion, for long overland trips, a panel van is better suited.. better fuel economy, can go just about anywhere, on any road, good for off site camping, attracts less attention than a large A class.

But like everything in life, everyone has an opinion.. for us the pros outweighed the cons..

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[sciac2001]

Our insulation is excellent.
Furthermore, when raining, the noise of the drops hitting our van is many decibels below what we have experienced in all our non-pvc vehicles.

 

[Mr Colpot]

We downsized from a 7.5m Bessacarr E795 to 6m Autocruise Rhythm (via a 5.4m Vantage Cub) during our twin singles phase and it didnt last very long.
We found storage and lounging when it was raining an issue. Storage for outside chairs was via a topbox accessed by a ladder on the rear doors which was tricky sometimes (climbing down the ladder with a chair in one hand should be an Olympic event) On the plus side it was good to drive to places and not have to plan where to park in advance and to open the back doors to bring the outside in was nice.
That said the previous owners of the Rhythm had toured all over with it without any issues.

 

[Guigsy]

We downsized from a 7.5m Bessacarr E795 to 6m Autocruise Rhythm (via a 5.4m Vantage Cub) during our twin singles phase and it didnt last very long.
We found storage and lounging when it was raining an issue. Storage for outside chairs was via a topbox accessed by a ladder on the rear doors which was tricky sometimes (climbing down the ladder with a chair in one hand should be an Olympic event) On the plus side it was good to drive to places and not have to plan where to park in advance and to open the back doors to bring the outside in was nice.
That said the previous owners of the Rhythm had toured all over with it without any issues.

We partake in the other sport of extreme chair folding. Due to our limited space (no garage, only lockers that are filled with Bromptons) we use backpacking chairs. They are pretty comfortable. But trying to keep the bits of elastic connected frame bundled while you shove it in the bag is like hog-tying a spider! Safety glasses are recommended.

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[eddie]

We’ve always had big RV’s and downsized to a 7m ‘tiddler’

Have a look at Winnebago View

Small enough to explore towns and villages, but comfortable enough to live in as well, slide out, big tanks, A/C, 3L Mercedes rear wheel drive chassis

15 vans in 35 years and it’s our favourite camper

 

[Lenny HB]

Can't remember the sizes but smaller than yours. We fill our cassette daily. Blame the high fibre diet and good hydration.

You need to use a spray bottle for flushing.

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[Aspenshaw]

I have a Hymer A-Class 6m long but 2.34m wide - excluding wing mirrors. Had it from new 10 years ago. Drop bed for me and a single bed at the rear for the missus (she has a bad back). Some underfloor storage. Truma 6 electric/gas heater. Two 6kg gas cylinders. Hymer's thoughtful design and build. 3m wheel base which gives a bit to much bouncing but brilliant 'turn on a sixpence. Downside is a 140l fresh water tank when I can only carry 75 litre on the road. Coach wing mirrors go over the pillars on the drive.

Going down to the NEC to look at PVCs. Need to see if a PVC will get on the drive without smashing into the pillars. Thinking about a second hand chassis and new body. We won't last long enough to run a new van! Missus is not keen on a PVC.

 

[Steve and Denise]

Cold nights unless you are going in summer.

Funny thing when I dismantled the door on our 2017 B898 Hymer there was absolutely zero insulation in the door fully winterised my eye

 

[bobandjanie]

I thought all Funsters carried them.

View attachment 820704

That's a bit old school Lenny, we had many years doing washing, we now go to the laundrette every two weeks and do everything including bedding/ towels and dry and put away.
Washing is the easy part it was trying to dry it while free parking.
Even using our spinner that we happen to have two and are selling.

6kg and 325w Bob.

 

[Ditcha]

Our insulation is excellent.
Furthermore, when raining, the noise of the drops hitting our van is many decibels below what we have experienced in all our non-pvc vehicles.

Best part rain hitting the roof so calming

 

[Lenny HB]

That's a bit old school Lenny, we had many years doing washing, we now go to the laundrette every two weeks and do everything including bedding/ towels and dry and put away.
Washing is the easy part it was trying to dry it while free parking.
Even using our spinner that we happen to have two and are selling.

View attachment 820746 6kg and 325w Bob.

In Germany at the moment didn't bring the washing machine as needed full access to gas locker, what a pain. Almost impossible to find a laundrette near.where you can park
Had to wash some undies in a bucket yesterday and finish drying a pair this morning with inverter & hair dryer.

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[jongood]

I was a little concerned about insulation, however, our PVC (Challenger Vany) was well insulated (grade 3). I think it's an area that they seem to be developing. We certainly found it no colder/hotter than the Sunlight coachbuilt low profile we had previously. I know that Adria are promoting their PVCs as being well insulated, we shall see!

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Trouble is they can't insulate the cab and the doors properly.

 

[WESTY66]

Funny thing when I dismantled the door on our 2017 B898 Hymer there was absolutely zero insulation in the door fully winterised my eye

It is a (not so) cheep ass Hymer after all Steve, nothing as luxurious as our carthagos

 

[WESTY66]

If you do it Ady make sure it has a huge solar capacity along with plenty of gas and water capacity. As you know we are in eastern Turkey at the moment and there are very few sites but plenty of opportunities to wild camp .good luck to you

I didn’t know you was out there you tart, keep me in the loop, looking forward to going out there when I can

 

[Steve and Denise]

It is a (not so) cheep ass Hymer after all Steve, nothing as luxurious as our carthagos

Although Carthago are a good van they are not without fault,
don’t ask how I know

 

[Howard H]

I didn’t know you was out there you tart, keep me in the loop, looking forward to going out there when I can

Without trying to be too disrespectful I will never be coming back to eastern turkey again it makes Afghanistan look prettier

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[WESTY66]

Without trying to be too disrespectful I will never be coming back to eastern turkey again it makes Afghanistan look prettier

Looks good on you tube!!
Which towns you visited? Van, Batman and mardin look ok

 

[WESTY66]

Although Carthago are a good van they are not without fault,
don’t ask how I know

Mines faultless, we could swap

 

[Steve and Denise]

Mines faultless, we could swap

Yes only because I have replaced all my faulty parts now mostly electrical to be fair so bought in CBE panel and Rv locking module were the two expensive parts.

 

[Howard H]

Looks good on you tube!!
Which towns you visited? Van, Batman and mardin look ok

 

[Howard H]

A lot and not many of them pretty . It has the odd nice place but to me not many . Each to their own

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[jongood]

Funny thing when I dismantled the door on our 2017 B898 Hymer there was absolutely zero insulation in the door fully winterised my eye

My n&b doors are made from alu/insulation sandwich like the rest of it, the roof and double floors also make a big difference

 

[jongood]

Yes only because I have replaced all my faulty parts now mostly electrical to be fair so bought in CBE panel and Rv locking module were the two expensive parts.

Thats the problem - the newer you get the more electronic shite is on them.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Mines faultless, we could swap

Don’t mention the rattling

 

[Steve and Denise]

Thats the problem - the newer you get the more electronic shite is on them.

Yes very true but nice to have

 

[jongood]

Yes very true but nice to have

Normal Cruise control is useful, but I can't see how the driver benefits from DPF, DMF, Stop Start, Adblue, etc - these go wrong a lot and I personally don't like robotic manuals, lane departure, ACC, or colission avoidance.

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[WESTY66]

Don’t mention the rattling

I think youre confusing mine with Brian’s Jackd
His rattles worse than a mothercare delivery truck