Hi all,
My wife and I considering getting a campervan for travelling and camping around the country (UK) on the weekends and later on do a trip around Europ.
I'd say that our #1 priority is the ease of driving and parking. meaning being able to get into small towns with narrow roads and easily navigate our way around the countryside.
Our dilemma atm is between the vw california ocean / transpoter conversion to the Mercedes sprinter.
We love the sprinter because of the extra storage space and the fact you can fit a big enough bed for 2 and therefore use the roof for even more space and solar panels but we worry it would be a pain to drive around with it.
Greetings and Welcome!
I'm in the USA, so the vans there are different, but you have a lot more choices than you mentioned, and more than we have here. I know you have the Ford Transit, and it has a better reputation than either the Sprinters or the VW's. I'd do some serious research on both reliability and rust issues for vans in your area, and use that to help guide you.
Cheers!
Quote from: Camper_Dan on April 28, 2019, 10:08:54 PM
Greetings and Welcome!
I'm in the USA, so the vans there are different, but you have a lot more choices than you mentioned, and more than we have here. I know you have the Ford Transit, and it has a better reputation than either the Sprinters or the VW's. I'd do some serious research on both reliability and rust issues for vans in your area, and use that to help guide you.
Cheers!
It's not answering my question but still thanks for the advice!
Try van hire to the feel of a Sprinter.
Also the SMMCC in UK, a VERY good site.
https://sbmcc.co.uk
https://sbmcc.co.uk/build-info/find-your-van/
Regards
Theres always the Fiat Ducato which is slightly wider than the Sprinter allowing you to sleep from side to side, and its not quite as long in length.
Hi,
I'm new to the site so have just come across this.
I've been living in my Sprinter for 18 months now and I love it. It's big enough to stand up in and big enough to store everything I need (Although I do plan a redevelopment in the spring to make it more efficient)
Being 2.9m tall, inc. the roof rack, I am limited to some car parks, and finding parking at aldi on a Saturday afternoon is a nightmare. this has never been a major issue though as with a little bit of patience you will find a park up within a mile or 2.
Driving the roads in Cornwall can be a pain, but that would be true in any van or large car. Whenever I turned off the A30 my girlfriend knew it was pointless talking to me because I was so fixated on the road haha. But I have never scraped the sides on a wall and with the reversing sensors I've never bumped the back. Trying to avoid rush hours on these roads will save a lot of stress.
I would highly recommend the sprinter. The drive can be stressful, but it's usually on for half hour or so. Then you've got the full weekend in a beautiful location with plenty of space. IMO this outways the 30 mins of driving on winding, narrow roads with having to reverse 50 yards to allow a car to pass.
I would much rather have enough space that you're not tripping up over each other while trying to cook or get dressed all weekend long.
And when I drive to a town centre I will park on the outskirts and cycle in. Whenever I see I'm 2 miles from the town centre, I'm looking for a parking space. And if I make it to town I think "s**t, I hope there's a space on the other side of town"
Hope this helps
Quote from: Mooli Morano on April 28, 2019, 03:42:31 PMHi all,
My wife and I considering getting a campervan for travelling and camping around the country (UK) on the weekends and later on do a trip around Europ.
I'd say that our #1 priority is the ease of driving and parking. meaning being able to get into small towns with narrow roads and easily navigate our way around the countryside.
Our dilemma atm is between the vw california ocean / transpoter conversion to the Mercedes sprinter.
We love the sprinter because of the extra storage space and the fact you can fit a big enough bed for 2 and therefore use the roof for even more space and solar panels but we worry it would be a pain to drive around with it.
If you do go for a sprinter/crafter model a MWB (Medium Wheel Base) is vastly easier to drive than a LWB (Long) or even XLWB...oof
Although I will say once you get the hang of it a wing mirror becomes a wing mirror, you judge what you're looking at, whether that be the back wheels of a fiat 500 or a 26tonner.
I can get around a supermarket car park quite nicely in a MWB but anything longer than 6 meters gets awkward