Thanks Adrian and that review was a totally unplanned and unexpected one as we was vacating the dealership it just caught our eye and it was a bit rushed really but thank you ever so much for watching and commenting , we liked the van for it’s kitchen size and open front lounge area
Thanks guys, that was brilliant- a really good look at all the features it has, and ideas about how you could live in it, storage etc. I'm retiring next month and I want want to full time in a van or a MH, mostly on cheaper CLs and a bit of wildcamping, and I'm currently trying to choose a van- and this van is so appealing its ridiculous. I love the coachbuilts, but in this you could park up in a town if you had to without drawing too much attention. Its ok for narrow lanes, smaller villages and car parks that a big MH would be a tight fit for. I love the idea that you get down some narrow back lanes without worrying too much, because this will go anywhere a car will go really. And it has even got a lounge that's as big as some coachbuilts have. Having that side door open on summer nights seems like a lovely idea too. There is a question mark about storage of bulky items though, and I'm still pondering over a coachbuilt as an option for more comfortable full time living. Also that payload is not brilliant is it? I think it was 400kg or so. Hopefully you could uprate that a bit, if you have a C license. I honestly cant make my mind up!
I totally understand what you mean , coachbuilts have the space but , depending on their length , awkward to park and manoeuvre , however , van conversions have limited space & storage but can go anywhere a car can , what about a smaller coachbuilt ? Here’s some ideas .... burstner travel van , pilote 650 GJ , hymer exis t 414 , Elddis accordo 120 /135 , all those mentioned are thinner than the normal 2.35m standard width apart from the pilote , and all are less than 7m long with superb payloads , worth a look , feel free to ask any Questions I’m always happy to help , thanks for watching the video
@@TheFrenchiesMotorhomechannel , just another thought on this van. I love the design and quality, but the payload is 440kg, which is not great. There are no interior spaces big enough to keep a folding bike, and if you stuck a rack on the back and a bike or two, that would be 50kg gone from your payload. Even worse, I think they reason they say travel with an empty water tank is because that payload figure is calculated when carrying no water. That's no problem if you're always on sites- just fill up when you arrive. But if you want to do a few nights wild camping in Scotland say, you're going to use 100kg of that 440kg payload just for filling up on water. So with bikes, a full water tank, and one passenger of 70kg, you're down to a payload of maybe 130kg, to cover all the gear and food you want to take. Its a real shame, but I'm taking the wildax version off my shortlist. I just don't think that payload is enough for me personally doing long trips. Its supposed to be designed with wildcamping in mind, but you can't travel with a tank of water? Something not right there, guys.
The Frenchies Motorhome channel The issue here in the UK Mike, is that these vehicles cost considerably more than in Europe, with high finance costs compared to Europe, which makes the opportunity to get into the Motorhome lifestyle an expensive exercise.
Oh definitely, after watching TH-cam videos of Motorhome shows in Germany , there’s a huge difference in price and they cater much better for the lifestyle in Europe aswell , definitely not Motorhome friendly here
Exactly Simon , the benefits of a van conversion , but once pitched up , you can’t beat a coachbuilt ! Oh the dilemma 😂 thanks for watching and commenting Mike
I’d never be forgiven if I forgot the bike rack Eric 😆 , just need a lottery win to afford that van then perhaps a new bike to go with it 😂🤣 , thanks for watching 👍
Looking for a replacement for our Autotrail V line 600 which has a similar layout, but is getting old 2014, perfect, the one for us, thanks for showing us around.
Most welcome ray , I remember the kitchen surface top on that particular van was huge and the amount of storage was unbelievable! Thanks for watching the video 👍 Mike
That was such a fun journey.. the enthusiasm for the van was cool. Would the sign about tank must be empty when travelling make nights away from camper hookups a problem?
Yes we did think that as well , but you could always carry a seperate water container and perhaps store it In the bathroom area or somewhere , thanks for watching the video and commenting 👍 Mike
Hi Jim yes we was saying about the dogs after , it would definitely be pretty cramped but that seat was quite long and it was a long van but not as wide as the coachbuilts, thanks for watching
I know mike I realised that in edit ( to the point of not wanting to release the video ) , it’s all over the place. kirsty was calling me here there and everywhere , look at this look at that , and was difficult to stay in sync with the camera movement , and her ladyship agreed to be in it , no bribery required haha 😆, hopefully she will start appearing more often , thanks for watching
Why can’t you drive with a full fresh water tank? I’ve always kept my motorhome tank full so I can stop and use it whenever I need to....drinks, shower after the beach, wild camping?
To be honest I always travel with some on onboard too , the only thing I can think of is maybe the payload on that van wasn’t great , 50L of water is 50KG in weight so possibly that’s why or the tank is held in by straps rather than a metal frame and sloshing about going over pot holes etc won’t do it any good , not sure of their legitimate reason but it’s a bit of a deal breaker I’d imagine , thanks for watching the video and commenting 👍
Yes I totally agree with you there , the new fiat automatic gearbox in the van shown was the only reason it was pricey , what impressed me most was the heated 100L fresh & Waste tanks , I think we’ll see a lot more wildcax on the roads , thanks for watching 👍
Hi Guys. I do like that Van. Thanks for showing us around.
Our Days Out hi & thanks for watching & need to catch up with your last vid
Great video, nice to see the cupboards etc pulled about with an honest thought to how you could actually use a van, you two make some good videos.
Thanks Adrian and that review was a totally unplanned and unexpected one as we was vacating the dealership it just caught our eye and it was a bit rushed really but thank you ever so much for watching and commenting , we liked the van for it’s kitchen size and open front lounge area
Thanks guys, that was brilliant- a really good look at all the features it has, and ideas about how you could live in it, storage etc.
I'm retiring next month and I want want to full time in a van or a MH, mostly on cheaper CLs and a bit of wildcamping, and I'm currently trying to choose a van- and this van is so appealing its ridiculous.
I love the coachbuilts, but in this you could park up in a town if you had to without drawing too much attention. Its ok for narrow lanes, smaller villages and car parks that a big MH would be a tight fit for. I love the idea that you get down some narrow back lanes without worrying too much, because this will go anywhere a car will go really. And it has even got a lounge that's as big as some coachbuilts have. Having that side door open on summer nights seems like a lovely idea too.
There is a question mark about storage of bulky items though, and I'm still pondering over a coachbuilt as an option for more comfortable full time living.
Also that payload is not brilliant is it? I think it was 400kg or so. Hopefully you could uprate that a bit, if you have a C license.
I honestly cant make my mind up!
I totally understand what you mean , coachbuilts have the space but , depending on their length , awkward to park and manoeuvre , however , van conversions have limited space & storage but can go anywhere a car can , what about a smaller coachbuilt ? Here’s some ideas .... burstner travel van , pilote 650 GJ , hymer exis t 414 , Elddis accordo 120 /135 , all those mentioned are thinner than the normal 2.35m standard width apart from the pilote , and all are less than 7m long with superb payloads , worth a look , feel free to ask any Questions I’m always happy to help , thanks for watching the video
@@TheFrenchiesMotorhomechannel , just another thought on this van. I love the design and quality, but the payload is 440kg, which is not great.
There are no interior spaces big enough to keep a folding bike, and if you stuck a rack on the back and a bike or two, that would be 50kg gone from your payload.
Even worse, I think they reason they say travel with an empty water tank is because that payload figure is calculated when carrying no water.
That's no problem if you're always on sites- just fill up when you arrive.
But if you want to do a few nights wild camping in Scotland say, you're going to use 100kg of that 440kg payload just for filling up on water.
So with bikes, a full water tank, and one passenger of 70kg, you're down to a payload of maybe 130kg, to cover all the gear and food you want to take.
Its a real shame, but I'm taking the wildax version off my shortlist.
I just don't think that payload is enough for me personally doing long trips.
Its supposed to be designed with wildcamping in mind, but you can't travel with a tank of water? Something not right there, guys.
I’ve looked inside this model, it’s a well presented and well made vehicle for 2 ppl.
Yes totally agree , loads of kitchen top workspace and a very well made van , thanks for watching and commenting
Mike
The Frenchies Motorhome channel The issue here in the UK Mike, is that these vehicles cost considerably more than in Europe, with high finance costs compared to Europe, which makes the opportunity to get into the Motorhome lifestyle an expensive exercise.
Oh definitely, after watching TH-cam videos of Motorhome shows in Germany , there’s a huge difference in price and they cater much better for the lifestyle in Europe aswell , definitely not Motorhome friendly here
Nice review, l liked the large settee area, as not so keen on the bolt upright chairs and table behind the driver type of vans, thanks for sharing.
We was very impressed with the kitchen worktop space and also the big settee as you mentioned , thanks for watching and commenting graeme 👍
Mike
Very nice van. Could easily use it as your main vehicle too.
Exactly Simon , the benefits of a van conversion , but once pitched up , you can’t beat a coachbuilt ! Oh the dilemma 😂 thanks for watching and commenting
Mike
Nice review of a pretty smart van, thanks, By the way , you'll need a bike rack for your e t chippy run bike . 🚐👍
I’d never be forgiven if I forgot the bike rack Eric 😆 , just need a lottery win to afford that van then perhaps a new bike to go with it 😂🤣 , thanks for watching 👍
👍
Looking for a replacement for our Autotrail V line 600 which has a similar layout, but is getting old 2014, perfect, the one for us, thanks for showing us around.
Most welcome ray , I remember the kitchen surface top on that particular van was huge and the amount of storage was unbelievable! Thanks for watching the video 👍
Mike
That was such a fun journey.. the enthusiasm for the van was cool.
Would the sign about tank must be empty when travelling make nights away from camper hookups a problem?
Yes we did think that as well , but you could always carry a seperate water container and perhaps store it In the bathroom area or somewhere , thanks for watching the video and commenting 👍
Mike
We looked at a van conversion before finally choosing the Chausson 530 motorhome instead. Found the van to be too small for us and two dogs.
Hi Jim yes we was saying about the dogs after , it would definitely be pretty cramped but that seat was quite long and it was a long van but not as wide as the coachbuilts, thanks for watching
Mike, nice finish but you have to be well synchronised to move around(ps; what did you bribe her ladyship with to appear?)
I know mike I realised that in edit ( to the point of not wanting to release the video ) , it’s all over the place. kirsty was calling me here there and everywhere , look at this look at that , and was difficult to stay in sync with the camera movement , and her ladyship agreed to be in it , no bribery required haha 😆, hopefully she will start appearing more often , thanks for watching
I detect someone was very interested ;-)
Oh yeah kirsty definitely loved the van could you tell ? 😂😂 thanks for watching Stephen
Why can’t you drive with a full fresh water tank? I’ve always kept my motorhome tank full so I can stop and use it whenever I need to....drinks, shower after the beach, wild camping?
To be honest I always travel with some on onboard too , the only thing I can think of is maybe the payload on that van wasn’t great , 50L of water is 50KG in weight so possibly that’s why or the tank is held in by straps rather than a metal frame and sloshing about going over pot holes etc won’t do it any good , not sure of their legitimate reason but it’s a bit of a deal breaker I’d imagine , thanks for watching the video and commenting 👍
Wildax are bargains compared to IH. The quality off Wildax looks to me to be just as good and more interesting in concept.
Yes I totally agree with you there , the new fiat automatic gearbox in the van shown was the only reason it was pricey , what impressed me most was the heated 100L fresh & Waste tanks , I think we’ll see a lot more wildcax on the roads , thanks for watching 👍
If you ever get a chance checkout Cathago Malibu's pretty good and excellent build quality.
Great for two people nowhere to put my dogs or I could get rid of the wife 😂
That made me chuckle I just admit 👍😄