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

[EyUp]

Brize Yes, I'm ex RAF 86-2010 as a Squipper. With a name like Brize, I'm guessing you are too

Cheers guys, some really great info here. Very helpful

 

[Otter Spotter]

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

Take a look at Ken and Carols videos

They have purchased a PVC and travel everywhere in it. They actually moved up from a little NV200 you will see their learning curve and observations.
We have a professionally built 6m PVC with rear lounge which make up into double bed, it’s our daily drive as my wife doesn’t drive and I have no problems finding parking spaces. I love the fact that we can go almost anywhere and have full facilities to feed & toilet (you get to a certain age and it’s great having your own toilet !)

 

[TrudeandDall]

Having carried out the "transporter tango" twice a day in our VW converting the living area into a sleeping area and the vice versa - our upgrade was to a 6.4m Ducato with continental layout with a fixed rear longitudinal bed.
We are currently in the last week of a 2 month tour and living with our PVC every day is a delight..
The fixed bed is very spacious and being a proper bed, not a compromise of seat backs and cushions from a lounge seating - its really comfortable.... There is masses of storage space under the bed with easy open access via the back doors, which just like a rear lounge the doors can be opened when relaxing with a book or headphones on the bed.
The front dinning seating area gives us great dining and relaxing/social area and is very open and airy when the side door is open. It has two belted travel seats, meaning we can and do carry 4 people in the van.
I do get that a lot of British converted vans are the "U" shaped lounge format and the reasons why they are still quite popular with Brits. But travel outside of the UK and you will see predominantly rear fixed bed conversions...
Its a PVC for us, no doubts about that - choosing the right layout for you may be the difficult bit!

 

[Jane And Rog]

If you want garage space then our van, the Adria Twin SGX is worth a look. It has a super king size rear longitudinal double, of which the centre, double-sized part raises to access your cargo. You can even sleep with it in the higher position if you make do with the double. We sleep with it in the lower position, and we carry a 12-drawer unit for extra storage, tables, chairs, bbq, dog bed (large). You could easily get bikes in there - we don’t because we can’t really cycle much if it means leaving said dog.

We have a clever shower / loo arrangement where the wall between the two swings over, so you get all the space to shower and the rest of your bathroom doesn’t get wet.

We can and do drive anywhere, and we spent a couple of months in the van. It isn’t great in poor weather as with the three of us we do find the front dinette a little small. The narrowness of the van bugs us a little too - we’re not massive people but we still have to ask permission to squeeze past each other.

That said, we’ve looked at up-sizing, and we’re not convinced that paying an extra £100k just to be able to get past each other is worth it. We certainly don’t see benefits in storage capacity (often less), bed size, and park-up-ability. The flexibility of being able to stay on any site, not plan your journey in advance is worth the compromise, so far.

 

[Brize]

Brize Yes, I'm ex RAF 86-2010 as a Squipper. With a name like Brize, I'm guessing you are too

35 years a Rock.

Numberplate BZN - it was a no-brainer!

Good to (cyber) meet you.

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[EuroTrotters]

We downsized to a kind of hybrid. Not a Camper, PVC or motorhome really.

La Strada Nova M

Disliked the lack of interior space. Even with a large garage, we had to get a bespoke tow bar fitted to take bikes.

But the thing is for us, we like to take a lot of gear. Bikes, kayak, BBQ, awnings, relaxer chairs, grandchildren.

We went back to a 7m A class.

I do keep looking at PVC’s. Last August at Düsseldorf, we looked at 50 plus models. Every one we looked at was too small for us. Exception being a €400,000 XLWB V6 3 litre Sprinter (show model as the engine is no longer available in Europe)

But we keep looking and when we drop a few activities, might find something.

I suppose one big benefit is better MPG !

 

[Coolcats]

We love our 5.4 mtr van, it’s absolute brilliant packed full of everything you would find on a large Motorhome. I was counting the number of power outlets on a N&B smove it does not have more and they are not as conveniently placed and the smove actually had less options than our van.

With the sliding door open and warmish days sitting in or out it’s probably better with its big opening then many large motorhomes with a single side door.

As others have said the narrow galley you and your partner just get used to moving out of each others way which is no big deal.

The downside is the colder darker months, no one really enjoys spending cold dark evenings confined in a small area. We rather prefer renting a cottage or cabin from November to February. The van is fine for day trips and the odd over night but for a relaxing break you need to find something else. Maybe this is where a large moho comes in to its own but for the rest of the year it wouldn’t be needed.

 

[VXman]

Could you share with us the make and model of Tardis you have please?

Ours does all that but it's a 7.5x2.3x2.95 coach built not a panel van. - Burstner Lyseo 727G

 

[Badknee]

We love our 6.35 Vantage Neo. We came down from a 7.5 Hobby tag axle so yes we miss the fixed twins and end bathroom but we get along fine and have spent 350 nights in it in the last 12 months and we’re setting off on a five month winter trip to Spain next week. Big isn’t always better

 

[Brize]

As others have said the narrow galley you and your partner just get used to moving out of each others way which is no big deal.

Spoilsport! I specialise in the very slow squeeze past with wandering hands and usually get a slap or a push.

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[Dorwyn]

One thing to be said about the twin lounge arrangement, I'd sit at the front with laptop or kindle, OH in the rear lounge. On rainy days it gives you a little separation, you're not in each other's space all day. And the middle "squeeze" point I always enjoyed!

 

[Coolcats]

Spoilsport! I specialise in the very slow squeeze past with wandering hands and usually get a slap or a push.

what happens in the van stays in the van and yes close contact is part of the fun.

 

[Badknee]

Spoilsport! I specialise in the very slow squeeze past with wandering hands and usually get a slap or a push.

Yes, you wouldn’t believe the bruises I’ve got

 

[poppycamper]

Could you share with us the make and model of Tardis you have please?

Very similar to our self planned but professionally built Movano...
Searched all makes and could not find what we wanted... so went down the customised build route....
Added bonus it turned out quite a lot cheaper than a mass produced van.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Having carried out the "transporter tango" twice a day in our VW converting the living area into a sleeping area and the vice versa - our upgrade was to a 6.4m Ducato with continental layout with a fixed rear longitudinal bed.
We are currently in the last week of a 2 month tour and living with our PVC every day is a delight..
The fixed bed is very spacious and being a proper bed, not a compromise of seat backs and cushions from a lounge seating - its really comfortable.... There is masses of storage space under the bed with easy open access via the back doors, which just like a rear lounge the doors can be opened when relaxing with a book or headphones on the bed.
The front dinning seating area gives us great dining and relaxing/social area and is very open and airy when the side door is open. It has two belted travel seats, meaning we can and do carry 4 people in the van.
I do get that a lot of British converted vans are the "U" shaped lounge format and the reasons why they are still quite popular with Brits. But travel outside of the UK and you will see predominantly rear fixed bed conversions...
Its a PVC for us, no doubts about that - choosing the right layout for you may be the difficult bit!

I just had to look up your layout to see how it was possible go have 2 longitudinal beds and a front dinette. I see that one bed cut short to 1.8m so that wouldn’t work for us. Ok for a short person.
As you say horses for courses. We had to have 2 x 2 m beds. A comfy bed first requirement and we do not sleep on a bed made up from back cushions.

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[busby]

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!

Sounds very much like our Symbol..had it 9 years next march..28000 miles when we bought it..81000 trouble free miles now so we must like it..Europe twice a year for 10 weeks at a time and never feel its too small.As for making the beds you have to make the bed at home and the actual bed bases just slide into position..anyway what else would we be doing.BUSBY.

 

[busby]

I just had to look up your layout to see how it was possible go have 2 longitudinal beds and a front dinette. I see that one bed cut short to 1.8m so that wouldn’t work for us. Ok for a short person.
As you say horses for courses. We had to have 2 x 2 m beds. A comfy bed first requirement and we do not sleep on a bed made up from back cushions.

We don't sleep on beds made up of back cushions in our little 5 mtr van either..Sleep like a log..BUSBY

 

[Minxy]

Have a look at a Carthago Compactline 138 A-class, nearly the same size as a xlwb PVC at 6.41 x 2.12 but masses more space inside and storage galore.

We've had coachbuilts of various types, a 6m PVC and 2 6.36m PVCs and the Carthago wins hands down.

We take it everywhere we did the PVCs, and some places even they didn't go! Parking is easier than the PVCs because it's on a shorter wheelbase so we can hang the bum over more thus fit in a shorter spot and the turning circle is much smaller too so manoeuvring is better too.

We do miss the large opening doors of a PVC in nice weather but not in cold weather as letting the dogs out also let a lot of cold in. To compensate we have our lovely 'conservatory' at the front.