Do we go bigger ?

I’m on my umpteenth van, having had two T6’s - a Westfalia KeplerOne and California Ocean on the small end, a Knaus BoxDrive600XL on the medium and a variety of coachbuilt and A class motorhomes too.

Of all of them, my favourite for the most useable and enjoyable day to day was the Knaus (much like the GC600). Its combination of space inside for fixed bed, toilet/washroom etc and standing height versus small on the road footprint was perfect as second vehicle (I did shops, school run, station run etc) but a more comfortable van to get away in.

Yes, no multi story entry capabilities and a few (but not many) park ups were off limits with the height but overall it was a much less compromised for me than the T6s. Albeit we lived in Frankfurt City centre with the Kepler and was the ideal vehicle then.

Now we have 3kids, space is the luxury we have as number one priority. As and when the kids move out then we’ll look back at smaller campers but would probably look around the 6-6.7m length rather than fully compact as I appreciate having circulation space.

As above, larger vans really aren’t that difficult to drive or manoeuvre once you’ve got your eye in. Particularly these days when they’re designed to drive much like cars, unlike 20yrs ago when they were much more agricultural.

Glynn said:

Agree with @soulstyledevon Go for a Sprinter Hymer S Free 600. We have a GC680 and after one or 2 upgrades are very happy with the van. However, if we were to buy again it would be the Sprinter Hymer S Free 600.

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That Hymer looks great!
We went from Cali Ocean to GC600 - some learning -
The finish and interior is terrific.
6m isn't too big. It is a compromise vs 5m but worth it. But not if you want daily use.
Overall upsizing has been super for us.
Driving the GC600 is pretty good, not in same league as Cali obviously.

The storage is rubbish tbh. I preferred the shelf and stack boot of Cali. GC600 is more like stacking a hallway under a bed.
Cabinets above bed are awful. The extra height is totally wasted, looks great, roomy but a total waste of space. Drinks holders are a nightmare, fit coke cans and that's about it.
Rear doors need factory fit gas struts, they are a menace. The bed is high, at 6'2 I still struggle, needs a step.
It's not great for winter use. Okay, but not great.
The leisure battery is pathetic. Spent a fortune getting Lithium filling a cabinet with more bits. Problem solved but having the problem with a £90k van really parked.
Fridge could be better. Kitchen drawer hinges are suspect, fly open when you are 'sure' you closed them. Gives you a shock!

So here's the interesting thing, after 14 months I have used the shower once.
The bathroom is used extensively. So it seems a private toilet is the main benefit for us.
Not changing, but definitely worth doing your homework. I'm not in love with VW anymore tbh

Went from 6.1 Ocean to 6m Ducato Weinsberg Carabus in 2021. It felt like game changer re fixed bed, stand up, toilet, bikes secure inside below the bed. An unexpected bonus was that it was easy to adapt re extra batteries, refillable gas. No inverter but we use Jackery portable for off grid occasional use. In Winter you can fill the water system and keep gas heating on lowest (circa 6 degrees) setting to stop the frost protection sensor dumping the water. The toilet also acts as a superb drying room. We live in Highlands and no issues on the roads, but a bit more thought re parking of course. The 6.1 was a no brainer as daily and work vehicle and being more stealth and I am still on this forum with a Cali icon so it must be Freudian that I'll maybe downsize one day back to a Cali, 6.1 or 7. As others have said maybe hire bigger for a week before deciding... 'it's no easy'.

We bought a Weinsberg 600. Fixed rear bed and a toilet/shower/washroom. It has a dinette at the front formed by the double seat and swivel front seats, like the Cali. We changed after 11 years in a Cali SE. The attraction was a toilet and a bit more space also the dog can’t get onto the fixed bed as it’s a bit too high for him. The Weinsberg is on a Fiat Ducato chassis and I regret not buying an Eriba car 600 VW Crafter or a Dethleff Globetrail VW Crafter

BeeBee said:

We’ve read most of the previous threads and we are still in a quandary! Should we go bigger from our so well loved , nearly 7 year old California Ocean ?
Just about to get a couple of tickets for the Scottish Caravan and Motorhome show and hoping it gives us a better insight into the pro’s & con’s, not entirely sure it will !
There are two of us , plus dog ( Labrador, so not small ). In our early 70’s so a toilet on board and a fixed bed seem attractive. We are both fit and agile so at the moment me accessing the pop top is still pretty easy and hubby downstairs with the dog.
The thought of not having to make up a bed is appealing and just arriving and being ‘set up’. Currently we have a drive away awning, not difficult but a faff.
On line research has led us to looking more closely at the Westfalia Columbus 5.40 and the Ayers Rock 5.40 … phoned Wandahome and they’re not exhibiting the Columbus at either of the shows in February.
All thoughts welcome.

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We're new to camper vans but are planning on buying one this year when I retire. We're debating a California or T7 or maybe a Grand California or Sven Hedin type vehicle. One I've noticed that seems to bridge the gap is a Westfalia Kipling, it's 5.4M but has a fixed bed at the rear.

I’d recommend that you hire one for a few days to a week, to see how you get on with campervanning. Maybe start small (Cali Ocean say), and if you find it too small then look at a larger van?

Milsey said:

We're new to camper vans but are planning on buying one this year when I retire. We're debating a California or T7 or maybe a Grand California or Sven Hedin type vehicle. One I've noticed that seems to bridge the gap is a Westfalia Kipling, it's 5.4M but has a fixed bed at the rear.

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I think more important than the size of vehicle is how you intend to use it.
If you want to go where cars go cities, towns the beach etc then smaller is better. If you just intend on driving to a campsite for a week and using public transport then bigger as camping is easier.

LRGS253 said:

I am about to move to an Adria Twin Sport 600SPB. Main reason is that I sleep upstairs and Wife sleeps downstairs and always find it a lot of work to reconfigure. I still like the tented experience having grown up camping in tents, hence the sport pop-top version! I can see the pros and cons, but don't intend to use it daily like my Cali. The toilet and shower will be beneficial, but the extra space will be amazing. I looked at 5.4m campervans, but these are limited to numbers and you seem to get a lot more room in a 6m campervan. In my eyes the Adria Twin was far superior in build quality to anything else I looked at.

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I’m wondering if I subconsciously read this post as it describes my situation exactly! Looked at KNAUS 540 poptop, but once I saw the Twin Sport 600 SPB I was sold. Hoping to seal the deal tomorrow.

Hawthorn37 said:

We’d like to camp in a larger vehicle with a fixed bed and larger living area and kitchen, oh and a loo would be good. But we like driving in a car sized vehicle so we’re not excluded from visit towns and can navigate lanes with confidence.

Is what we need a CARAVAN

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Yes…but absolutely not a big white box. Go for an Eriba. They’re as cute as a classic VW. We have a Triton 430 it’s three birth with a kitchen and bathroom. If it’s just the two of you, you can leave the bed set up one end and there’s a two person dinette at the other. It was the smallest 3 birth we could find with those facilities. We have just bought a California (18 years since our last one had to be sold as we needed ). In that time we have discussed the pros and cons of Caravan vs campervan vs motorhome, endlessly and we concluded we keep the Eriba (we love it so much )and we have a California to pull the Eriba. The California punches a perfect hole in the air. You don’t even feel it. Some trips will just be the California and some trips will be both. I shall update here how that works over time but this is a conversation thats taken almost 20 years
I’m certain it’s a perfect solution. Take a look at the Eriba’s they are European so the door opens the same side as a California too.
Please don’t kick me off for promoting caravans

An Eriba makes perfect sense. However, I cannot even contemplate a caravan and I don’t know where the mental block is, but it’s there!

Foggy51 said:

Yes…but absolutely not a big white box. Go for an Eriba. They’re as cute as a classic VW. We have a Triton 430 it’s three birth with a kitchen and bathroom. If it’s just the two of you, you can leave the bed set up one end and there’s a two person dinette at the other. It was the smallest 3 birth we could find with those facilities. We have just bought a California (18 years since our last one had to be sold as we needed ). In that time we have discussed the pros and cons of Caravan vs campervan vs motorhome, endlessly and we concluded we keep the Eriba (we love it so much )and we have a California to pull the Eriba. The California punches a perfect hole in the air. You don’t even feel it. Some trips will just be the California and some trips will be both. I shall update here how that works over time but this is a conversation thats taken almost 20 years
I’m certain it’s a perfect solution. Take a look at the Eriba’s they are European so the door opens the same side as a California too.
Please don’t kick me off for promoting caravans

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Much more sensible than a large motorhome towing a run around car.

pchmlk said:

An Eriba makes perfect sense. However, I cannot even contemplate a caravan and I don’t know where the mental block is, but it’s there!

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Haha, I kinda find myself agreeing with this too!

Bigger == Better imho.... but only if that is what you need. We felt we needed more space.

We've gone bigger and are currently mulling do we keep Dizzy as an every day as well as the new van... (MLT-580 Crosstrail - fully loaded).

We ummered and arhhed about a hymer grand canyon S700 but in the end when the MLT as it was simply bigger inside. and the garage was huge unlike the panel van based vans...

D

How pretty is that!

I tried the caravan thing, unmitigated disaster.

Blinkin' thing leaked, even tho it was new and Bailey were awful at sorting it. Plus t'internet started showing me all the overturned caravans on our local motorway, which did not help.

I'm thinking LWB conversion next but that's also not exactly straightforward now...