Living with a panel van. What's it really like?

[EyUp]

Hello all

Myself and the misses have had an extended vacay from motorhomes and caravans but now we find ourselves back looking ! In the past we had a 6 berth MH and later a large caravan but although both were fab in their own way, size restricted us.

We have recently been thinking of buying one of the larger panel type vans, a symbol or Warwick, that sort of size. But what are they like day to day? I know its the question that does not fit one answer ! The other option may be a much smaller trad MH

For me there are a number of factors drawing me to the panel vans such as easy of parking in town, and at home where space is tight. They can pretty much go anywhere a car can so easier for small roads and exploring.

The obvious down sides are space inside.

How comfortable are these van for 'chilling out'
Do owner take a side tent to increase space? Makes sense they would.
Is the fact a bed needs putting up nightly a nause ?

We looked at some lovely vans, and at face value they look a great compromise between sizes but day to day, how do owners get on ?

I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Carl

 

[hja]

We swapped from a 6.4 coachbuilt, normal coachbuilt width to our current 6.4m pvc. It was absolutely the right thing for us to do.
There were certain design elements of the coachbuilt we didn’t like and as our lives changed the van was more difficult to use.
Our current van has two longitudinal fixed beds, a useable washroom inc. shower, enough prep space in The kitchen. These were all essentials for us. We have loads of storage, more than the previous van and the garage under the beds allows us to store our two small foldable mobility scooters,
We thoroughly considered the change in kitchen facilities to just a two burner hob. We realised we had only used the oven a couple of times and what we used the microwave for could easily be done on the hob. We worked through what we cook, and we mainly eat in the van and cook from scratch. Three years on, I don’t miss oven or microwave. We do have a Remoska for if on ehu. We swapped to lithium to allow more off grid camping.
We find the van far more manoeuvrable, it feels more stable and we can tackle slightly narrower roads. Parking still needs research. Obviously we have to avoid the oh so many heightbarriers. At 6.4 we don’t usually fit in a standard parking place. We need overhang spaces or road side parking without fixed bays. We manage. Our van does come in a 6 m length with a transverse bed, which we didn’t want, or with two singles but a much reduced kitchen. 6 m is easier to park. It’s all a compromise.
We use the bench seat and the swivel seats and manage fine. We can’t lounge with feet up unless we use the bed, which occasionally I do. Previous van was a two bench/single bed layout so we did lounge, feet up. But also sitting “normally” wasn’t that comfortable.
Yes there is a bit of a pinch point if I’m cooking, not the room to move past. But we have developed our routines to accommodate this.
When we originally swapped from caravan to Motorhome we looked at pvc vans and thought we could never have one, but here we are and it is absolutely right for us.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Parking of PVCs still has it's challenges. Height for anywhere with barriers. The width fills the standard parking bay (can you still get a door open enough), and unless there is a good verge behind to overhang you will be too long, even with a 5.4m length van, let along the 6 and especially 6.3m lengths.

The Fiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer, Stellantis vans are all quite wide, especially with door mirrors. Ok not as bad as A class and coachbuilts, but you still won't legitimately fit a 7' width restriction. The transit and sprinters are a bit slimmer, but that affects the internal layout as you've lost a few inches.

So internally you have to accept there are some compromises with the space available, but that isn't really that much different even with larger motorhomes where there will still be compromises.

If you don't want to be making bed up every evening then look at layouts where there is a proper dinette at the front which would be your main living space. Can mean a transverse rear bed (one person has to climb over the other), or at least enough space at the front that both passenger and drivers seats can fully swivel. Too many drivers seats have a big bulkhead of fridge / wardrobe behind restricting the space.

Unless your PVC has a decent storage space at rear, usually achieved with at least a U shaped rear lounge, if not raised rear bed (so you need the front dinette as day seating), you won't have storage for larger stuff like flat folding chairs, gazeebos, windbreaks and stuff and will end up having them on the floor in the van to trip over every time you go anywhere. Personally I manage externally with the wind out awning and a windbreak to extend my space but I can see many will prefer the idea of the Quest type gazeebo to extend their area (but campsites can charge for those rather than roll out awnings).

 

[Guigsy]

Parking of PVCs still has it's challenges. Height for anywhere with barriers. The width fills the standard parking bay (can you still get a door open enough), and unless there is a good verge behind to overhang you will be too long, even with a 5.4m length van, let along the 6 and especially 6.3m lengths.

The Fiat Ducato / Peugeot Boxer, Stellantis vans are all quite wide, especially with door mirrors. Ok not as bad as A class and coachbuilts, but you still won't legitimately fit a 7' width restriction. The transit and sprinters are a bit slimmer, but that affects the internal layout as you've lost a few inches.

So internally you have to accept there are some compromises with the space available, but that isn't really that much different even with larger motorhomes where there will still be compromises.

If you don't want to be making bed up every evening then look at layouts where there is a proper dinette at the front which would be your main living space. Can mean a transverse rear bed (one person has to climb over the other), or at least enough space at the front that both passenger and drivers seats can fully swivel. Too many drivers seats have a big bulkhead of fridge / wardrobe behind restricting the space.

Unless your PVC has a decent storage space at rear, usually achieved with at least a U shaped rear lounge, if not raised rear bed (so you need the front dinette as day seating), you won't have storage for larger stuff like flat folding chairs, gazeebos, windbreaks and stuff and will end up having them on the floor in the van to trip over every time you go anywhere. Personally I manage externally with the wind out awning and a windbreak to extend my space but I can see many will prefer the idea of the Quest type gazeebo to extend their area (but campsites can charge for those rather than roll out awnings).

You can park a 5.4m in many single parking spaces. You'll hang out the ends a little and the cars you park between have to be smaller, but it is possible. A 5.4m Ducato is pretty small inside. But it's a hell of a lot more spacious than a Transporter LWB.

 

[Grianan]

We have a 6.4m Globecar Campscout with longitudinal beds.

Positives:
Parking and manoeuvrability - we spend a lot of time in the highlands and anything bigger would restrict us.
Beds are easy to flop into.
Both front seats fully swivel but driver’s one has a big drop as cab area is raised.
Shower makes use of ‘corridor space’ in front of beds - it’s ingenuous and makes for a generous shower.
Tambour door allows you to split van into two rooms - useful for changing etc.
We find the hob ok for preparing simple meals and don’t use our Remoska too often.
Storage is enormous - we also take one bed step out end use the space for tall bottles etc.

Negatives
5.99 would be easier to park
Pinch point at kitchen/dinette
Dinette seats very upright do not too comfy
Not much lounging space on rainy days
Can’t sit up in bed

For our next van we’ll look at PVCs at compact A class. I’m not sure our ideal van exists but worth looking. We’ll look at rear lounge but depends if bed comfy enough with light topper.
Bürstner Eliseo have a dinette which ‘reclines’ which could be comfier.

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[Grianan]

duplicate post

 

[Bernie P]

Our experience almost mirrors HJA's reply.

We downsized from a 7.2m A Class to a 6.4m PVC in May this year. Our first worry was that we'd not be able to get all our "stuff" into a PVC. Wrong! it all disappeared. Within 2 weeks of getting it we set out for 11 weeks touring Scandinavia and Northern Germany. We didn't have any problems with living space and it was far easier to drive and park than the A Class.

A Remoska more than relaced the missing oven (motorhome ovens are in our experience useless).

Wouldn't go back to an A Class or Coachbuilt now.

 

[999RAR]

Our 7m PVC is a lot easier to drive than our previous A class ( almost feels like a car to drive). It can still be awkward to park though. We have a big longitudinal bed which stays made up but that makes our living area smaller. We find enough relaxing space but there's only 2 of us.

 

[Dorwyn]

One thing we liked about our previous pvc was that we could use it for most shopping trips, invariably finding parking places in supermarkets, we could use it to take garden refuse to the tip, thanks to the double doors and a tarpaulin, and even offer lifts to friends. So for the whole of our ownership we found we didn't need a car. Once or twice we hired a car, and could even drive to the car hire depot in it. Parking height barriers were an issue, of course. We now have a plastic van, as I call it, and do need to run a second vehicle. TBH, I'd happily go back to a pvc.

 

[EyUp]

This is part of the plan Dorwyn To get rid of the second car. I WFH so dont need a daily, just something I could use should the need arise. And yes, dump runs would be a lot easier !

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[Pausim]

We have just downsized to a 6.4m van from a 7m A Class. Absolutely no regrets. Our Malibu Van is well made and comfortable. I sometimes have to pay for 2 parking spaces but it fits between the white lines. Got a daggers look from someone who pulled up next to me in a Tesco car park and then struggled to open her door, there were dozens of other easier places to park so she got no sympathy and a “don’t be a dozy moo” stare back from me.

 

[Mikeco]

No problem with our 6 m van and has everything that the larger vans we have owned including a rear fixed bed. Used it for the last 12 years since I converted a new Boxer van and have happily used it for 6 months in Spain with an awning attached.

 

[DandJ]

We could live with a 6m or 6.4m panel van IF someone made one with the usual table and bench seat and swivel driver/pax seat front, kitchen/shower in the middle, a rear lounge area and a pop top with a double bed. We are still agile enough to climb up a ladder and sleep above.

 

[oldiesontour]

No problem if the layout is right for your needs .We have a full height garage(2 ebikes,2 4' tables,2 recling deck chairs,2 in the bag type chairs,2 x spare 25 ltr water container,waste hog freezer, leveling ramps).double bed ,oven,hob,sink, microwave,fridge,air fryer,shower,flush toilet,diesel night heater plenty of solar (640w) and 640 ah lithium ,100 ltr underslung water tank refillable LPG so extended off grid no problem (except cassette twice a week Water once a week) So get the layout you want and you'll be fine.. maybe hire before you buy ?

 

[TheMachMan]

6m van, with rear fixed beds. Loads of storage, easy to park, stable to drive. Comfortable front living space. Been touring for past 7 weeks no problems. And get an air fryer

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[kimndon]

We are considering swapping back to a 6.35 pvc. We love our motorhome but really miss being able to fling open the rear doors and that woosh bang side door open to the elements

 

[maison]

We had three years in a 6.5m PVC and loved it.

In addition to your perceived advantages we also felt that it was less likely to suffer water ingress as the body shell is one complete unit.

The only reason we changed was that we found moving around inside was restricted, especially as we had our GSD/Border Collie X with us. If she lay in the body of the van, between the kitchen and the shower area, we had to carefully step over her.

Sadly, she passed away so we now have a 6.5m “Compact”, (see Avatar), which is still very “parkable” but feels roomier.

 

[poppycamper]

This is part of the plan Dorwyn To get rid of the second car. I WFH so dont need a daily, just something I could use should the need arise. And yes, dump runs would be a lot easier !

Exactly what we did... got rid of one car and use Mrs Popppycampers car for all the normal use.. however it is a small Fiat Panda and any large lugging about goes in back of van... Also use van for work if Mrs Poppycamper needs car for another reason.... would not dream of taking a large motorhome/A class to work..
Extra bonus is it is therefore used all year round and does not sit "Sorned" for months on end slowly deteriorating..!

 

[Achilles Heel]

We have a professionally custom converted 5.5m Peugeot Boxer. Layout is loosely based on an Autosleeper Duetto (only better!). We can park in most car parks with no problem, as long as you choose your space carefully, and there's no height barrier. OK, the bed needs to be made up every night, and unmade in the morning, but it takes me about 5 mins while Mrs 'Heel does her night time routine.
One of the best things about our van is having the sofa cum bed at the front; in the day, we have a 5' sofa opposite the sliding door, so can sit with the door open admiring the view, or watching the antics of the caravaners on the next pitch putting up their awning....
Oven, 3 burner hob, compressor fridge.
LPG gas tank, gas/240v water heater, fresh & waste water tanks are all underslung, so lots of storage space inside van, as long as you don't need bikes. No shower, but a toilet compartment with foldaway wash basin.
We had a Duetto before; one criterion was that we needed to get it down a narrow winding lane to a beach where our boat was moored.
Oh, and we can easily park in most pub car parks!

 

[Brize]

Hello Carl, ex-RAF with that roundel?

I have an Autosleepers Warwick XL, and in the 10 months since we bought it we have covered 13,000 miles and enjoyed every minute.

We have been motorhoming for a while, and been through the A Class, Coachbuilt, towing small car phases, and finally decided we wanted something smaller that was easy to take out for the day. We briefly had an AS Warwick Duo (6m), but went a bit longer on the WXL which has the same rear lounge layout. Surprising what an extra 36cm provides.

To cover some of your questions. Parking is easy; there are usually areas in a big car park where fewer people want to go, and I just take up 2 spaces lengthways. If it's busy, find a space where you can hang your backside over the grass or path.

We like the rear lounge, and it takes 5 minutes to make up a double bed, or put it away. We got fed up with small front dinettes (mostly continental style), which we found cramped, so the long lounge to put your feet up and relax/watch telly/admire the view, is wonderful.

This was us in the Lofoten Islands. We don't take a side tent, the awning is enough for us. Space inside is sufficient, but if you go for a PVC you have to accept there will be compromises and you cut down what you take. We've done that, don't have anything hanging off the back, and for us it's been a success.

Happy to answer any further questions, or pm me.

Regards,

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[carolyn]

We are great fans of the U-shaped lounge. I know that’s most likely to be found with the UK converters but it gives you somewhere very comfy to lounge in the evenings or during the day if the weather is bad. The bed takes minutes to make up into a huge Super king size. It also gives a large boot. You could leave it as 2 singles if you wanted. Riverbankannie is another fan. I think they’ve even fitted Bromptons in their boot!

We’ve just come back from a 7 plus week tour. Could easily do longer and have done. Ours is a 6.36 Fiat. We like the boxy shape, didn’t like the VW Crafter at all. That seemed very narrow and hemmed in at that crucial pinch point where the kitchen and bathrooms seem to be opposite one another. We’re not large people either.

 

[maison]

Hello Carl, ex-RAF with that roundel?

I have an Autosleepers Warwick XL, and in the 10 months since we bought it we have covered 13,000 miles and enjoyed every minute.

We have been motorhoming for a while, and been through the A Class, Coachbuilt, towing small car phases, and finally decided we wanted something smaller that was easy to take out for the day. We briefly had an AS Warwick Duo (6m), but went a bit longer on the WXL which has the same rear lounge layout. Surprising what an extra 36cm provides.

To cover some of your questions. Parking is easy; there are usually areas in a big car park where fewer people want to go, and I just take up 2 spaces lengthways. If it's busy, find a space where you can hang your backside over the grass or path.

We like the rear lounge, and it takes 5 minutes to make up a double bed, or put it away. We got fed up with small front dinettes (mostly continental style), which we found cramped, so the long lounge to put your feet up and relax/watch telly/admire the view, is wonderful.

View attachment 968528

This was us in the Lofoten Islands. We don't take a side tent, the awning is enough for us. Space inside is sufficient, but if you go for a PVC you have to accept there will be compromises and you cut down what you take. We've done that, don't have anything hanging off the back, and for us it's been a success.

Happy to answer any further questions, or pm me.

Regards,

Love the photo.

That sums up the motorhome life, perfectly.

 

[Riverbankannie]

A big ditto to the posts above, rear lounge great for comfort and views. Nothing better on a warm day but to have the back doors wide open. Plenty of storage under the beds too. An underslung gas tank makes a big difference for storage space.
Another comfy reading and watching world go by, spot, is made up by turning passenger seat halfway round and feet up on driver’s seat, tucked away from anyone who happens to have fallen asleep for a nap and might be snoring. !

 

[simsy56]

We have had, for the last 15 years, American RV's.

An Itasca sunrise A class, at 9.5m, a Dodge Ram and Holiday Rambler 5th wheel rig, at 14m, and lastly a 9.4m triple slide-out Coachmen Concord.

All the bells and whistles, king size bed in it's own room, colossal living space when parked up. Great for touring Europe for months. Loved them! But, we were wondering if we could get more use out of a PVC.

So we sold the last US RV, and bought a 6.36m Devon Aztec XL panel van conversion........

Absolutely love it!

We can park it on our driveway, as opposed to storage and fees. We can take it out anytime we fancy, and living on an island, we can just wander down to the beaches and coves for the day, or overnight. Places we could not have possibly taken an American RV.

We can park almost anywhere, and it has returned 31mpg touring Scotland and the Lakes for the last 3 weeks.
For us two it is very comfortable, two side sofas, for feet up lounging, or two single beds, which close together for a large double bed which is also comfortable. Plenty of storage space, which was quite a surprise. And a comfortable driving position. And the heating is by far the best we have had.

It's really nice when we open the side and rear doors to let the outside in. It's cheaper to tax and insure, and cheaper to run, than our previous RV's. And certainly cheaper on the ferry.

We get far more use out of the PVC than we did with the RV's, horses for courses. Nowt wrong with US RV's, love them, but we are certainly happy with our Aztec.

The downsides are a small bathroom, but useable. A cassette toilet, which is a first for us, and making the bed up nightly.

The upsides are manoeuverability, go anywhere and park, cheaper to run and service, and we can use it as a second car.

Did we do the right thing?..........................You bet!

Craig

 

[AndyPK]

Our previous ‘van was a 7.2m coach built………our current ‘van is a 4.9m Devon Firefly. Been using it as a day vehicle so far, but are going to Salisbury C&CC site for a few nights next week to see how we get on with the reduced space! Definitely easier to park though!!!

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[royandsharont]

HERE is a review I’ve done and added too when I downsized to my 6.4m Adria Twin which may contain some helpful information for you.

We struggled to come to terms with the loss of floor space to move around in, took 2 tours to feel ok. But now absolutely love it and right decision made.

 

[treblid]

The big disadvantage to us of a rear 'U' shaped lounge is the lack of storage space in the rear.
Our Burstner Eliseo 6m van has a higher bed that the 6.4m equivalent and that swinged it for us as well.
Very comfortable dinette area and enough room for us both to put legs up on adjacent seats.

 

[Guigsy]

The big disadvantage to us of a rear 'U' shaped lounge is the lack of storage space in the rear.
Our Burstner Eliseo 6m van has a higher bed that the 6.4m equivalent and that swinged it for us as well.
Very comfortable dinette area and enough room for us both to put legs up on adjacent seats.

I agree. I don't see the point in rear lounge when you've already got a a front dinette. A permanent rear bed gives loads of storage, whereas a rear lounge uses what little it has for bedding.

I've currently got a 6m a-class. Which I really like, but it's not as easy and care free as my old 5.4m PVC. I think I'd consider going back to a PVC. But probably a 6m this time.

I wouldn't go down to a Transporter/Custom/Vivaro sized van. My brother and parents have VWs. They can't really live in the van (just sleep in it). So they tend to use theirs for summer breaks. Whereas I use my van to go mountain biking and to gravel races all year round. Nothing better than coming back covered in mud and exhausted, to a warm van, a hot shower and a pizza.