5-berth motorhome/campervan options
Discussion
Collective wisdom of PH - please help me!
Just coming up on a year ago, I bought a brand new Knaus BoxDrive 600XL which is a fabulous 5-berth, 4-belt PVC at 6m long. We absolutely love it - 7k miles later and lord knows how many overnights already, it's a firm favourite with Wife & kids. It's compact for sure and certainly takes some getting used to after the 9m Concorde, but I love the fact it can sit on the drive, be deployed as a daily driver when needed (school runs make for Daddy cool!) and I can use it at the drop of a hat.
BUT......
Within 3m of buying it, we found out the Missus was expecting and we're now 3wks away from the impending arrival of the 3rd little Spuffington!
So I'm in a bit of a pickle. Part of me wants to keep it, potentially use it as a posh caravan and drive both van & Disco to sites within 1.5hrs of the house so that we can belt up 3 kids in the car and use the van to overnight/live in. But at £100k it's an expensive caravan. I could and probably will use it for mini-escapes either solo or with the older two kids on my own once the newborn is less newborn and wife is ok on her own for a night or two. Or, I could acknowledge it's imperfect for what it is and sell it.
- I don't want a caravan. Campsites don't do it for me at all and although I mentioned the above, it's really only the odd overnight or two I'd do each year for the kids benefit. I prefer offgrid and European Stellplaetze and Aires;
- I like the campervan but can't find anything in the PVC which seats 5 and sleeps 5 without going pop-top (I hated the pop-top in the California T6 I had);
- Where are all the premium vans with 5-berth? I can't stand Fiat chassis (sorry owners), I want another TGE/Crafter or Sprinter base. Any of the Dealers able to point me in the direction of something I've missed?;
- Anyone got the dual cab/passenger seat on a swivel plate in the Crafter/TGE? That's the only real option for keeping the van; getting that installed aftermarket and retrimming all the seats to match. Only problem is the 11yr old is unwilling to share a double with the 3yr old and she's too long for the small single the 3yr old currently sleeps on. That said, I'm wondering how long she'll want to come away with us for - perhaps only 4yrs. Maybe I should suck it up for 4yrs then it'll be perfect for the two younger boys and myself & Mrs Spuff?
Otherwise, the only option I keep coming back to is a Hymer Masterclass I B880 (single rear beds, factory fitted 5th seat, bed over the lounge table & drop-down) or Dethleff's Globetrotter XXXL (6-berth on an Iveco, coachbuilt/luton which I don't really like). Both of them are mega-bucks (£150-170k lightly used), not exactly stealthy off gridding and I'd need storage and a second car, so look even more expensive.
I thought I'd dropped on the Adria Matrix 670SL (Mercedes Benz) but from what I can see, that's only 4-berth, 4-belts too.
Is there anything I could retrofit one of those collapsing seatbelted seats to? When I was looking at the Concorde, there were a few seats which had nothing below them that I thought I could retrofit into. Dealers, anything you're aware of?
Let's say theoretical budget up to £150k.
Just coming up on a year ago, I bought a brand new Knaus BoxDrive 600XL which is a fabulous 5-berth, 4-belt PVC at 6m long. We absolutely love it - 7k miles later and lord knows how many overnights already, it's a firm favourite with Wife & kids. It's compact for sure and certainly takes some getting used to after the 9m Concorde, but I love the fact it can sit on the drive, be deployed as a daily driver when needed (school runs make for Daddy cool!) and I can use it at the drop of a hat.
BUT......
Within 3m of buying it, we found out the Missus was expecting and we're now 3wks away from the impending arrival of the 3rd little Spuffington!
So I'm in a bit of a pickle. Part of me wants to keep it, potentially use it as a posh caravan and drive both van & Disco to sites within 1.5hrs of the house so that we can belt up 3 kids in the car and use the van to overnight/live in. But at £100k it's an expensive caravan. I could and probably will use it for mini-escapes either solo or with the older two kids on my own once the newborn is less newborn and wife is ok on her own for a night or two. Or, I could acknowledge it's imperfect for what it is and sell it.
- I don't want a caravan. Campsites don't do it for me at all and although I mentioned the above, it's really only the odd overnight or two I'd do each year for the kids benefit. I prefer offgrid and European Stellplaetze and Aires;
- I like the campervan but can't find anything in the PVC which seats 5 and sleeps 5 without going pop-top (I hated the pop-top in the California T6 I had);
- Where are all the premium vans with 5-berth? I can't stand Fiat chassis (sorry owners), I want another TGE/Crafter or Sprinter base. Any of the Dealers able to point me in the direction of something I've missed?;
- Anyone got the dual cab/passenger seat on a swivel plate in the Crafter/TGE? That's the only real option for keeping the van; getting that installed aftermarket and retrimming all the seats to match. Only problem is the 11yr old is unwilling to share a double with the 3yr old and she's too long for the small single the 3yr old currently sleeps on. That said, I'm wondering how long she'll want to come away with us for - perhaps only 4yrs. Maybe I should suck it up for 4yrs then it'll be perfect for the two younger boys and myself & Mrs Spuff?
Otherwise, the only option I keep coming back to is a Hymer Masterclass I B880 (single rear beds, factory fitted 5th seat, bed over the lounge table & drop-down) or Dethleff's Globetrotter XXXL (6-berth on an Iveco, coachbuilt/luton which I don't really like). Both of them are mega-bucks (£150-170k lightly used), not exactly stealthy off gridding and I'd need storage and a second car, so look even more expensive.
I thought I'd dropped on the Adria Matrix 670SL (Mercedes Benz) but from what I can see, that's only 4-berth, 4-belts too.
Is there anything I could retrofit one of those collapsing seatbelted seats to? When I was looking at the Concorde, there were a few seats which had nothing below them that I thought I could retrofit into. Dealers, anything you're aware of?
Let's say theoretical budget up to £150k.
Thanks for the input, chaps.
On the Swift - I'm not sure what it is, but they leave me a bit cold. That said, I did have a good nosey through the brochure and some vids and I'm impressed at the appearance of quality from the interior. Wasn't expecting that. I used to be a bit of Transit fan, but have heard a lot recently about them lunching injectors on a regular basis. Still a thing?
In terms of the double-seat - I think I'm coming down on the side of this. In the absence of any other options which excite me, this might be the one to go for. Accelerate the repayment of the finance on it and then see about getting the double cab seat fitted. I know there are firms which do it and also some reputable ones who make a swivel system for it. I think the awning is a good idea - either us in there or the young lady.
The fact that I've owned the van from new (which I've loved as an experience & achievement) and the fact I wouldn't be able to afford a more expensive one new does focus the mind on making the best out of it.
I have thought about resale value, but then I flip it around the other way and reckon there must also be people such as myself who have 3 kids who want a compact motorhome and there's a current gap in the market. So if the conversion is done well and reupholstered for all the seats to match, then it surely would appeal to someone in a similar situation down the line.
Let's see.
Unless anyone can come up with any other suggestions, I'll use that as my base case and maybe if we have second thoughts in a year or two, head to the NEC and see if there's anything out there which suits us better. Thanks chaps.
On the Swift - I'm not sure what it is, but they leave me a bit cold. That said, I did have a good nosey through the brochure and some vids and I'm impressed at the appearance of quality from the interior. Wasn't expecting that. I used to be a bit of Transit fan, but have heard a lot recently about them lunching injectors on a regular basis. Still a thing?
In terms of the double-seat - I think I'm coming down on the side of this. In the absence of any other options which excite me, this might be the one to go for. Accelerate the repayment of the finance on it and then see about getting the double cab seat fitted. I know there are firms which do it and also some reputable ones who make a swivel system for it. I think the awning is a good idea - either us in there or the young lady.
The fact that I've owned the van from new (which I've loved as an experience & achievement) and the fact I wouldn't be able to afford a more expensive one new does focus the mind on making the best out of it.
I have thought about resale value, but then I flip it around the other way and reckon there must also be people such as myself who have 3 kids who want a compact motorhome and there's a current gap in the market. So if the conversion is done well and reupholstered for all the seats to match, then it surely would appeal to someone in a similar situation down the line.
Let's see.
Unless anyone can come up with any other suggestions, I'll use that as my base case and maybe if we have second thoughts in a year or two, head to the NEC and see if there's anything out there which suits us better. Thanks chaps.
Thanks for all your feedback, chaps.
We’ve finally hit on a decision……its been a lengthy discussion at home of late over late night feeds with the newborn Son. We’ve mulled over all kinds of different solutions and vans but for the moment decided to stick. I spent the weekend detailing the van to celebrate its upcoming 1st Birthday and 1st service (sitting in MAN Service Centre in Newmarket this morning!) and again fell in love with the van. There’s just so little else out there which floats my boat (chassis is particularly important and enjoyable to drive) and offers the same great mixture of day-to-day useability (our second car), ease of parking on the drive and spontaneous/easy get-aways (although the latter is tempered with having a 2wk old Son - leaving the house at all spontaneously is a little challenging at the moment!).
That said, my Wife is very concerned about the lack of space in the current van and our ability to properly enjoy getting away like we did on previous holidays, taking the stuff with us we need and not getting under each others toes. I think we were very spoilt with the 9m Concorde early on in our relationship! Downsizing has been a struggle ever since!
So the decision process is as follows:
Next 6months:
- try out the van in a number of scenarios as a kind of caravan; a couple of day van outings alongside the family Disco. Try eating out in it (with baby) and then try an overnight at a site we know well locally with all 5 of us on board and see how we get on with that.
Winter 2024:
- if we can see ourselves using it as a 5, then I’ll invest c. £5-6k in getting a double-swivel cab seat in place of the passenger captains chair and get all the seats retrimmed to match.
- then use the vehicle for 2-3 overnights max on each trip for five of us and continue using as my solo (or me plus older kids) adventure wagon for a few years until the youngest is 3-4yrs old.
If it DOESN’T work with 5 of us, then I’ll probably still keep it for another couple of years but just keep it for solo & old kids weekends away and not bother spending the money on the seats & retrim because we’ll still be able to do local trips with both van & Discovery if we want to have a base for the day. Wasteful in terms of fuel/hassle but we’re not going to spend £5k on doing that, so money saved.
2027 or 2028:
My daughter will be knocking on 14/15 by this stage so less likely to want to join us and the boys minimum 3 & 6 so optimum age for wanting to do bigger holidays and us wanting to do it with them. Mortgage will be almost paid off at this stage, so potentially go for a large A-Class then.
Looking at a factory build Cathargo 5 seat/5 belt on a Mercedes. We’ll see.
At the very least, we’ll take in a good couple of Motorhome shows/exhibitions to see what’s out there and make a decision.
I’m happy with where we’ve landed. I love the van - it holds a lot of significance for me in terms of what I have achieved in buying a new one, what was going on at the point in my live when I bought it and just how well it works for a multiple of uses. Buying a bigger van now would just result in more outgoings both in terms of storage costs (6.5m is probably the limit for my driveway), bigger monthlies, potential warranty costs and needing a second car and everything which goes with running that. I did consider selling up and indulging in a 992 CarreraS for a year or two, but my Wife reminded me that camping/outdoors has become more important to me recently than petrolhedonism. Sadly, I think she might be right!
Thanks for all your thoughts and assistance (plus reading my verbal diarrhoea!)
Here’s a gratuitous pic or two from the most recent detailing session:
We’ve finally hit on a decision……its been a lengthy discussion at home of late over late night feeds with the newborn Son. We’ve mulled over all kinds of different solutions and vans but for the moment decided to stick. I spent the weekend detailing the van to celebrate its upcoming 1st Birthday and 1st service (sitting in MAN Service Centre in Newmarket this morning!) and again fell in love with the van. There’s just so little else out there which floats my boat (chassis is particularly important and enjoyable to drive) and offers the same great mixture of day-to-day useability (our second car), ease of parking on the drive and spontaneous/easy get-aways (although the latter is tempered with having a 2wk old Son - leaving the house at all spontaneously is a little challenging at the moment!).
That said, my Wife is very concerned about the lack of space in the current van and our ability to properly enjoy getting away like we did on previous holidays, taking the stuff with us we need and not getting under each others toes. I think we were very spoilt with the 9m Concorde early on in our relationship! Downsizing has been a struggle ever since!
So the decision process is as follows:
Next 6months:
- try out the van in a number of scenarios as a kind of caravan; a couple of day van outings alongside the family Disco. Try eating out in it (with baby) and then try an overnight at a site we know well locally with all 5 of us on board and see how we get on with that.
Winter 2024:
- if we can see ourselves using it as a 5, then I’ll invest c. £5-6k in getting a double-swivel cab seat in place of the passenger captains chair and get all the seats retrimmed to match.
- then use the vehicle for 2-3 overnights max on each trip for five of us and continue using as my solo (or me plus older kids) adventure wagon for a few years until the youngest is 3-4yrs old.
If it DOESN’T work with 5 of us, then I’ll probably still keep it for another couple of years but just keep it for solo & old kids weekends away and not bother spending the money on the seats & retrim because we’ll still be able to do local trips with both van & Discovery if we want to have a base for the day. Wasteful in terms of fuel/hassle but we’re not going to spend £5k on doing that, so money saved.
2027 or 2028:
My daughter will be knocking on 14/15 by this stage so less likely to want to join us and the boys minimum 3 & 6 so optimum age for wanting to do bigger holidays and us wanting to do it with them. Mortgage will be almost paid off at this stage, so potentially go for a large A-Class then.
Looking at a factory build Cathargo 5 seat/5 belt on a Mercedes. We’ll see.
At the very least, we’ll take in a good couple of Motorhome shows/exhibitions to see what’s out there and make a decision.
I’m happy with where we’ve landed. I love the van - it holds a lot of significance for me in terms of what I have achieved in buying a new one, what was going on at the point in my live when I bought it and just how well it works for a multiple of uses. Buying a bigger van now would just result in more outgoings both in terms of storage costs (6.5m is probably the limit for my driveway), bigger monthlies, potential warranty costs and needing a second car and everything which goes with running that. I did consider selling up and indulging in a 992 CarreraS for a year or two, but my Wife reminded me that camping/outdoors has become more important to me recently than petrolhedonism. Sadly, I think she might be right!
Thanks for all your thoughts and assistance (plus reading my verbal diarrhoea!)
Here’s a gratuitous pic or two from the most recent detailing session:
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