Campervan setups please

[Cracklecrack]

So we’re thinking of buying a campervan. This would be our second vehicle. There are also 4 of us (2 adults and 2x children 9 and 11) . Ideally it’d last us for a few years of holidays, travels and vehicles. A couple of friends have them and their setups don’t seem to work for them.

We rented a pop top a couple of years back which worked at the time but not sure it’ll last another few years. Have seen these side awnings but do you need to pack them away every time you leave the campsite for the day etc? Or are there versions that can be left separate?

I guess there’s then having a separate tent but I don’t like the idea of sleeping separate to our boys.

So can I ask what campervan set ups work for you please? M

Thanks

It sounds like you need a drive away awning. This helps if you need more space. I find if we are just two people then it’s more faff than it’s worth, but it is useful for larger families and when it’s raining.

How about these, you could all or some of you potentially sleep in the tent part or just use it for living space https://dubpod.co.uk/products/dubpod-vw-camper-van-awning or https://www.glawning.com/collections/driveaway-awning-standard-height/products/classic-2-door-polycotton-glawninglite-2-sizes

We have had three Camper vans a Bedford CF, Mazda Bongo and a Fiat Ducatto, then two motor homes a Talbot express and a Hymer.
In general the vans are too small unless the weather is good enough to spend most of the time outside. We find motor homes are a better compromise as no matter what the weather is doing you can cook, eat and sleep inside and keep dry and warm, present one is fully winterised so can be used all year around with no issues.
You must hire a few first to see what lay out works best for you, we now have a fixed high bed above the garage and a dinette that converts to a single, you can fit another person on the floor if stuck, its under 6M long and under 3.5T weight so is a normal car licence. When you think of how much stuff you need deckchairs tables barbecue etc the garage swallows all this leaving the inside tidy. We like a quick set up so engine off, gas on, kettle on no need for an awning etc as mostly we do a few days at a time not usually in the same place, being self sufficient with solar and own toilet etc open up loads of cheap sites, we use several pubs that allow overnight on the car park if you have a beer or meal saves a lot of money. Llandudno for instance has a street that allows motor homes to park overnight for free. Shop around for insurance as you may need to add commuting cover if you use it for work. look at MPG too, current one does 34mpg but in the past we have had as low as 16mpg! A Talbot will struggle its way up to 50mph and only do 25MPG but newer vehicles easily cruise at 70mph and give low 30,s it all mounts up.

Just another thought many sites no longer allow sleeping in awnings. The reason being some Ovens, heaters and water boilers have a flue that would exit either in to the awning or under the vehicle and could make its way in to the awning. Personally I don't feel children should sleep in awnings just for safety

We have a VW camper which is fine for 2 as long as the weather is good. I think you would need a drive away awning. We have a canopy with add on sides but not suitable to sleep in. We have a pop top but can't imagine having anyone sleeping up there! Can you try hiring to see what suits?

What moho do you have @Funf that's under 6m?

Hymer 522 I think its the smallest they do. Talbot was also under 6m.some great designs out there but some space wasters too

We have had our VW camper for 6 years and this drive away awning we bought last year https://www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk/awnings/drive-away/outdoor-revolution-movelite-t4e-lowline-awning.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzdOlBhCNARIsAPMwjbynx2ydhj65CnDu3Pg2Taw6pAO6hPyGW1h3jBiG-cOLhq_V98OPFVMaAjhsEALw_wcB it’s massive and we just whip off the awning strips attaching it to the van and drive off. We used to have a littler vango one but we are all so tall and everyone likes to stretch out and chill in the evening and as we mainly camp in the Uk now with the dog we just want shelter from the weather. We bought the zip on front too which is fab. The downside is that the bag is huge it comes in and it takes us a couple of hours to get set up so we rarely bring it unless we are going for 3 or more days

We have a 4 berth (with pop top) VW T5 Camper. Our kids are 10 and 12 and still use the pop top. We have a Vango Air Cove II drive away awning which we have used if we are staying at a particular campsite for more than 2 days. We do not use it for sleeping, but as a dining /seating area when the weather is warmer. It also allows you to sit "out" a bit when there are midges in the evening.

We have a Wildax Solaris.
It's a 6m van based on a citroen relay.
Bunk beds for our 2 teenagers and make up double for us. It has a wet room, fridge, oven plus lots of other bits.
We love it and so do our kids - 8 years of happy holidays.

We have a vintage van that can fit 5 sleeping (it’s a tiny bit of a squeeze). We have a drive away inflatable awning which the teenagers sleep in occasionally and a sun canopy that work with them in a tent.

We’re looking at a rooftop tent if we want to wild camp together now that the kids are older.
We have a desiel heater for the van and then are good at layering up at night if not in the van (good insulation is everything). Means we can use if march to nov with all 5 kids. We camp year round without the teenagers.

Maybe consider a LWB t5 or a medium transit van? Would you be open to converting it yourself? Are you hoping to camp off grid?

Thank you so much for answers. Drive away awnings sound like a solution. Also good to hear the pop top still works for 10 and 12 year olds. Thanks again I’ll look into some of these suggestions.

abaolutely No chance of us converting our own one. I wish there was but skills, time and inclination make it a no .

For practicality, a motorhome gives a lot more usable space from a vehicle that's not that much larger than a decent sized camper. There are 6m MH layouts that would sleep 4 within the vehicle without someone having to sleep in the awning or a pup tent - better a pump tent, as a PP noted with a lot of vehicles the fridge and/or boiler vent is on the side an awning would attach to.

As Hymer have already been mentioned, a B544 would have a suitable internal layout - drop-down double over the cab, dinette converting to a double, side bench single. And you'd have a loo and internal stand-up shower.

A couple of friends have them and their setups don’t seem to work for them.
What is it about their set-ups that doesn't work?

We had a RAPIDO a class with 4 seatbelts and drop down double at the front and double at the back
We now have a HYMER campervan with 2 seatbelts and a double bed but there is just DH and me and dog

Make sure what ever you get has enough seatbelts as 4 beds doesn't always = 4 seatbelts which imho is wrong of manufacture to do this in modern MH or campervan

I would suggest you also look at MH as it would give you more choice of layouts etc

Do you have C1 driving licence?

If you don't want a campervan or think it would be too small you might be better with a caravan. I just don't think you'll get the extra value out of a motorhome as teenagers will probably not want to spend any time sleeping inside one and if you're unhappy with awnings/ pup tents you might find a caravan meets your needs? And they are a LOT cheaper

We have a VW T5.1, no pop top. There's just 2 of us now but we use a Outdoor Revolution drive away awning. We leave the bed down during the day - we tend to pick sites where we can walk or use public transport - and use the awning as our living space. Get as big a one as you can afford. Ours is only 3m x 3m and to be honest, I wish I'd got a bigger one.

We have a VW T2 with pop top. There are five of us but it is not comfortable for 5, neither for driving nor sleeping. My eldest is 18 so he doesn't come with us very much. For 4 of us, it is fine. We are fair weather, short stay campers so we rock up, stay the night, or maybe 2 and move on, assuming the forecast is good. We have stayed in it for longer stretches where we had a pup tent, just to put everything in it when we went out for the day. We pack light (ha ha ha!!) and sleep close to each other.

I've got a VW T6.
U-shape set up, pop top etc.
The bed takes some getting used to (have a superking at home) I've slept in the pop top, it's like sleeping in a coffin 😬
Mine looks quite big and roomy but any more than two people in it and it's a squash.
You might be better off with a motorhome.
Mine's for sale, dm me if you're interested 😉

We’ve got a tiny Eriba caravan. It has a 6ft x 6 ft bed and a single. As the kids have grown we have:

1. Both kids plus one adult in the huge double. Other adult in the single.
2. Both adults in the double, small kid in single, bigger kid in awning in a bedroom pod.
3. Both adults in the double, smaller kid in awning bedroom pod, bigger kid in pup tent (usually with a friend).

When the kids don’t want to come with us anymore (although that will be a few years yet as they are 11 and 14 at the moment), we probably won’t bother taking the awning at all.

The dog squishes in there somewhere as well, in whatever combination of sleeping areas we have.

We tend to cook outside and have the fridge in its own little tent outside as well. We started doing this as soon as one of the kids was sleeping in the awning because we just didn’t want to take the risk.

I don’t but husband does…

Sorry I don’t have c1 driving licence but husband does x

We also have a Wildax Solaris, but the XL version. Fits 2 adults , 2 kids (9 and 7) and 2 dogs. For longer trips we might stick up an awning to throw stuff in but rarely bother. We spent a lot of time looking at and discounting other van based models because they had 2 double beds and the kids would kill one another....