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[SherlockHolmes]

Just thought it might be nice to share tips etc. We only bought ours in August last year so haven't had much chance to use it yet. It's a high-top with no conversion, so I'm still trying to work out the best way of sleeping/packing/cooking etc! We don't have an awning but have a 2-man pop-up for short trips or a 4 man pop-up for longer stays.

Looking forward to getting out there soon ....

Here! High top non converted too!

Hi seeker! What colour is yours? [shallow emoticon] Ours is white, but we've spent a fair bit of time painting over the rust pimping it; lots of hibiscus flowers and lizards and things. And Bongo written in Japanese . Am planning to make some funky new curtains for this year.

Not an owner yet but can I lurk/ pick your brains in anticipation of bongo-owning in the very near future?

Anytime - although I may not be much help with the mechanical bits

Ours is dark blue- we've just reminded ourselves by washing it! We've planned paint jobs, but never got round to it.

Magnolia- they are brilliant. But, and it's a bit but, you need a garage that understands them. They have bizarrely bongo specific problems with their cooling systems that need specialist attention on occasion. Apart from tht they are fantastic- we love ours.

We've had ours for almost eight years now and it's one of the family! :) We bought self-inflating mattresses to put over the backseats and in the 'roof'...makes it much comfier. We also have a four man pop up tent for when more bed space is needed. I'd highly recommend that you join www.bongofury.co.uk, it only costs about £11 a year for membership and there are local groups to join and a fantastic forum and a discount on parts etc. Just shout if I can help with anything :)

I have been lurking on bongo fury for the past week or so :)

We are toying with the idea of buying a cheap/old one and seeing how we go, then 'upgrading' if we like it. Starting with nothing kit wise and only buy as we need. We aren't campers really but would love to e if it wasn't for the cold and wet, so thought a camper was the compromise. I have wildly romantic ideas of having the van packed ready to jump into on a Fri eve after work and heading off to explore the campsites of the UK.

We have flat plastic boxes with basic camping stuff that just live under the back seat all the time. We don't use the roof for sleeping any more now the children are older - we just have two pop up tents for them, and we sleep on the seats. We put the roof up, chuck the bags up there, and that's it.

I've been thinking about using the roof as storage, how much room do you have for bags etc in the van with the seats in bed formation? Also thinking of getting a bed that goes across the cab seats for ds - anyone got one? He's 16mo.

When ds was tiny we just chucked dd ( she was 4/5) up into the roof and ds slept in with us. Much easier than fqffing around with beds inn the cab ( we thought about that too) Then when he was a bit bigger they both went into the roof. Then she moved out into her own tent. Then he followed her and they shared a tent. Now they have a tent each. Natural progression!

We thought about putting DS across the back seats on a short self-inflating mat, while we slept on the front/middle seats folded down. But he's a bit too tall unfortunately (he's 9!) This was just in case we needed to put adult-size DD in the roof, rather than in her own tent for any reason..

I would think that a 16 mo would be fine like that - he can't roll off because your heads will be one side and the back door the other.

There's a bed you can buy that goes across the drivers/ passenger seats that's the one I mean. Do you sleep with head by the front or back of the van? I thought heads were near the boot when using seats as a bed?

like this

oh, maybe it's only some bongos that have the reclining rear seats? ours fold up to the sides which means we can use it as a van as well. (its the 4wd version)