Campervan used as an everyday car

[ManTheVan]

These people do a big range of Bongo-type vans:

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www.topshamcarsalesexeter.co.uk

 

[MobyDick57]

My wife and I have just put an order in for a Globecar 540 Summit Prime, having just sold our main car The new vehicle will become our main car and we have nicknamed it our “Covidcar” in these unusual times. We can now travel around the UK and be self sufficient and safe from having to use public toilets, etc Also Happy Father’s Day to those in the conversation

 

[Jimsnap]

The ubiquitous VW T5 (or T6) campervans are a good compromise between car & camper

However as you are used to a more 'home from home' motorhome, may I suggest you hire a small campervan first to check it's suitability (sorry if I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs)

As soon as I decided to upgrade from a T5 to a bigger van, the T5 suddenly became the Smallest van in the World

I agree with this, I used our T5 LWB camper as my everyday vehicle, never a problem.

 

[Spidey]

The Globecar looks great, just googled it. My only worry is we wouldn't use our bigger motorhome as this seems to have everything we need. The VWs are lovely too. Think I was going for the Alphard hybrid because of price and it looks like a car. Also we wouldn't be tempted to use it for long trips. The bongos are nice as well I am trying to persuade my daughter to look at bongos over VWs for price.

If I was rich I would have a variety of vehicles to choose from

 

[Sarahbrightvan]

Hi Spidey - good to see you posting again Do like the idea of having a car that can accommodate the odd overnight stop - these seem to be very popular plug in option https://campal.co.uk/ here & overseas from £1350 (plus £80 UK delivery) for two bed in various designs for a wide range of cars & can be made to order too :

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[MattR]

We have an every day car, a Bongo and a PVC. I intended to keep the Bongo overnight trips etc but haven't used it for that over the last 5 yrs or so; the PVC is so easy to use and it is a faff having to load up camping stuff for a night or two in the Bongo when we have everything ready in PVC. I use the load carrying capacity of the Bongo quite often, hence we have kept it. The fuel efficiency of the PVC and Bongo are similar (26mpg); half that of the car. Most Bongos would not be permitted in cities where there are emission restriction.

 

[Sarahbrightvan]

Hi Spidey - good to see you posting again Do like the idea of having a car that can accommodate the odd overnight stop - these seem to be very popular plug in option https://campal.co.uk/ here & overseas from £1350 (plus £80 UK delivery) for two bed in various designs for a wide range of cars & can be made to order too :

View attachment 399654

 

[Sarahbrightvan]

Hi Spidey - good to see you posting again Do like the idea of having a car that can accommodate the odd overnight stop - these seem to be very popular plug in option https://campal.co.uk/ here & overseas from £1350 (plus £80 UK delivery) for two bed in various designs for a wide range of cars & can be made to order too :

View attachment 399654

We have just bought a Citroën Berlingo complete with Amdro boot jump. We had a Autosleeper Symbol before but needed extra seats, an everyday vehicle and one to transport large items. We have this in this vehicle. Obviously we have to get used to there being no standing room, but for three vehicles in one, there has to be some compromise.

 

[Spidey]

Hi.
We have had both a Hymer Tramp (6.5m fixed bed ) and a pop top Toyota Granvia for a few years now. Pop top goes all around UK and shopping (2.1m tall) and once to southern Spain for the winter. Hymer goes to beer festivals and Spain a few times. Fantastic combination.
Cheers Andrew

Thanks will have a look at the Granvia, like the idea of going to places in the UK that I wouldn't take my Hymer Tramp mine is 7m. Great vans

If the height is not a problem you will find a VW T5 of ours advertised in the Classifieds on this forum. Broken Link Removed

We use our camper as everyday transport and where we live height of vehicle to access all of the town's services that we need is never a problem but I do understand that some towns are not like that.

Lovely looking van, a bit more than we wanted to spend, trying to persuade hubby that we could find a decent small camper for about £16K that looks like a car.

 

[Nasher]

I agree with this, I used our T5 LWB camper as my everyday vehicle, never a problem.

I needed more space, so I chopped mine for a Peugeot Boxer L2H2 5.5m long, had it converted by a local company and use it as my daily drive

Height can be a problem in some car parks, but length isn't

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[steve69]

The ubiquitous VW T5 (or T6) campervans are a good compromise between car & camper

However as you are used to a more 'home from home' motorhome, may I suggest you hire a small campervan first to check it's suitability (sorry if I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs)

As soon as I decided to upgrade from a T5 to a bigger van, the T5 suddenly became the Smallest van in the World

Watch out for height barriers with any pop-ups though. Something to consider if going down the "campervan-as-car " route.

 

[Jimsnap]

Watch out for height barriers with any pop-ups though. Something to consider if going down the "campervan-as-car " route.

Yes, they're appearing everywhere now, I think it's to stop 'travellers'

 

[MobyDick57]

Hi all,
We went to view our new Globecar summit prime 540 at SMC. We were very disappointed with the build, nothing like the standard of the Roadscout! Although they are both Globecars, they are made at two different factories. They were so, so different in build standard that one could be mistaken that the two factories are completely different companies.
The good news was that we could amend our agreement, so we bought the Roadscout R 540 Elegance instead. Pick it up on Friday

 

[Grianan]

Hi all,
We went to view our new Globecar summit prime 540 at SMC. We were very disappointed with the build, nothing like the standard of the Roadscout! Although they are both Globecars, they are made at two different factories. They were so, so different in build standard that one could be mistaken that the two factories are completely different companies.
The good news was that we could amend our agreement, so we bought the Roadscout R 540 Elegance instead. Pick it up on Friday

This seems to be a common theme ... @Blueknight no longer posts here but he bought a Summit and was deeply disappointed. It was a shame as the Globecars and Pössl vans that come out of the other factory are highly regarded. A 5.4m would be an excellent choice bar the fact it will have the height problem for car parks (though, in reality I use very few car parks with height barrier in my car).

 

[MobyDick57]

Hi Grianan
We now realise that one group of Globecars are under the D-Line brand and the other is H-Line. The Summit Prime is part of the H-Line. Our Roadscout is a D-Line. I guess the D may stand for Dethleff, as it is they who build them. The H stands for ?

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[Minxy]

Hi Grianan
We now realise that one group of Globecars are under the D-Line brand and the other is H-Line. The Summit Prime is part of the H-Line. Our Roadscout is a D-Line. I guess the D may stand for Dethleff, as it is they who build them. The H stands for ?

Hopeless ... or hapless!

 

[Grianan]

Hi Grianan
We now realise that one group of Globecars are under the D-Line brand and the other is H-Line. The Summit Prime is part of the H-Line. Our Roadscout is a D-Line. I guess the D may stand for Dethleff, as it is they who build them. The H stands for ?

I used to know but have forgotten! Here you are ...

Globecar launches new campervans and confirms new factory

Pössl, which makes campervans for the UK under the name Globecar, is building a production plant in Vielbrunn, Germany

www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

We looked at a summit at a show but weren’t as keen so bought our Campscout.
I think I’d look at buying a Pössl next time (from D line) as the interiors are a bit more modern ... but n plans to change at the moment ...

 

[MobyDick57]

Thanks for your replies

 

[Coolcats]

We have a lovely hymer motorhome which we want to keep and is perfect for our holidays. It is now just the two of us and we thought about exchanging our everyday car for a small camper. This we could use as a day out camper or a quick weekend away etc. Looking at the Toyota Alphard hybrid. Does anyone have a bigger motorhome and a small camper? Can't see any pitfalls as it is the size of a car and will still have 4 belted seats. I love the idea of a car not just being a car. We are both just retired early so will get to use both loads.

We have a Hymer Ayers Rock and absolutely love it, it has a metal roof not a pop top, it’s only 5.4 metres long can park it easily on our drive, and enough head room to stand. Something like a VW Transporter you need to consider just how much of a compromise they are particularly if your down sizing.

 

[Wombles]

To give a little balance of views here - we looked for a couple of years at makes & models of van conversions & chose the Globecar/Possl Summit (the only difference between the two is the decals) for layout & design, build quality & value for money & we are happy with ours as are a lot of owners that we know We also looked at converting a new van ourselves to the same spec. but it would have cost more than to buy it already done. We follow several overseas owners & motorhoming groups as well as those in the UK & compared to other brands the problems are normally minor & usually to do with the parts from other manufacturers like Dometic which are standard in many motorhomes.
For info. the D Lines have always been manufactured on one & now on several of the production lines in the Dethleffs factory whereas the H Lines were originally manufactured on a smaller scale as premium models by a smaller company who specialized in cabinetry. To meet the high demand for the H Lines & especially the award winning Summit they built their own new factory in Vielbrunn for this & our Summit was built there.
There is a wait time of over a year for factory orders for their discerning German customers & the van conversion market is very competitive on the continent so they must be doing something right!

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