Any advice please!

[John_5110340]

My wife and I are looking to buy our first van. Got really exci ted the first time we went to a dealership and my 2 kids (4 and 2) (soon to be 3 kids!) were even more ecstatic at the prospect. I'd intended to buy 2nd hand but for long term so I want it fairly new. What I really want to know is what formation people find best for 3 children. We quite like the TD layout with double and 1 bunk at the rear, which in turn means during the evening we can pull the door or shutter across and have our own space late evening.we looked at the Bailey 6 berth but thought the 2 who sleep on the middle bunks would be right next to the cooker and only seperated by a curtain. Does this work or do you interupt their sleep? I know you can hear everything in a caravan that's not the issue it's whether the middle bunks are too close to the cooker/ sink. My Subaru Forester's X reg Kerb weight is 1365Kg. What van would you advise and why? (quite liked the Sprite 5 berth? any good?)

many thanks

 

[Guest]

The general advice for newcomers is to stick to a van with a total weight of 85% of the towing vehicle kerbweight. With your Subaru that would put you in the 1160 kg total weight bracket. I am not aware of too many 6 berth vans that are going to fit those criteria. You could go up to 1300kg with care, but much more is not to be recommended. In addition, if you do find a van that does, there is more than likely a penalty to be paid in reduced payload. 3 children need clothes and paraphernalia etc. One van that does offer 6 berths is the Cristall Sprint 470TKM and has a max weight of 1300 kg giving a payload figure of 210kg. The other option is to get a smaller van and put the kids in the awning.

Start trawling the internet looking at all the manufactuers brochures and get some ideas, then go look at them all before making a choice.

 

[Denise4]

Hi, We have 3 children, age 4 and 20 month old twins and we bought our first van last Nov. We have got a Lunar Quasar 615 and really like the layout. At the back there is fixed bunks and a side dinette which converts to a single bed. The 4 yr old is in the top bunk which seems safe as the is a high side to it apart from a small gap to climb in. Then one twin is in the bottom bunk and one on the single bed. Then there is a sliding door which shuts them all off and you haven't got to walk past any of them to go to loo or go out of the van. In the day the side dinette is good if they want to play its like their own space. Anyhow it doesn't seem cramped, one must is a full awning. We put all their toys out there and also highchairs so they don't mess up the van. Good Luck with your search. Denise

 

[Guest]

Hi, We have 3 children, age 4 and 20 month old twins and we bought our first van last Nov. We have got a Lunar Quasar 615 and really like the layout. At the back there is fixed bunks and a side dinette which converts to a single bed. The 4 yr old is in the top bunk which seems safe as the is a high side to it apart from a small gap to climb in. Then one twin is in the bottom bunk and one on the single bed. Then there is a sliding door which shuts them all off and you haven't got to walk past any of them to go to loo or go out of the van. In the day the side dinette is good if they want to play its like their own space. Anyhow it doesn't seem cramped, one must is a full awning. We put all their toys out there and also highchairs so they don't mess up the van. Good Luck with your search. Denise

Great van Denise, but the Lunar 615 comes is at a MTLM of 1500kg. There is no way John can look at towing that with his Subaru. He either needs a lighter van, or a heavier tow vehicle.

 

[Rich]

Great van Denise, but the Lunar 615 comes is at a MTLM of 1500kg. There is no way John can look at towing that with his Subaru. He either needs a lighter van, or a heavier tow vehicle.

The Forester can tow 1500KG as reccomended by Subaru as the limit. 85% is a reccomended guide for comfortable towing but the Scuby has a limit which is different to that. So if they want to tow 1500kg that is up to them.....

 

[Lol1]

Look at the Bailey and Lunar vans John, they seem to be the lightest around. I would recommend the Bailey's but that's just me and everyone else that has one.....

 

[Mike_5100596]

Hi John,

We also have 3 kids and used to own an Adria Adora 532ld - this is a twin diner caravan. We soon discovered that the hassle of creating the beds every night (all seat cushions off, make up the bunk, get all the bedding out, replace all seat cushions all the time with everyone else cramped up the other end of the caravan) was very wearing. We have recently traded in for the Bailey Pageant Bretagne 6 birth with the side diner and fixed rear bunks. Couldn't be happier - only one bed to make up at night on the side diner and that is a doddle. As far as the noise issue is concerned you hear everything in the van in any case and once they are asleep little short of an explosion would wake them. With the curtain closed on the side denner/bed they have their own area and don't know what you mean by being close to the cooker/sink - if you mean wanderering small hands you could always turn off your gas in the cupboard and switch off your water pump. To be honest we switch off the water pump at night and turn the water heater off to avoid us overheating at night, as it is below the front seats.

Our children are 5, 11 and 15 so we also have the large awning with attached bedroom annexe for the eldest when we go away for longer than a weekend. So for the main holidays we have only our own bed to make each night.

The only drawback we have is that because you don't have that closed off area at the rear of the van you are reduced to clothes changing in the toilet area - or closing all the blinds.

Hope this helps with your decision but I can only say we made an expensive mistake in buying the Adria and then changing it withing two years. If you are still unsure I would advise hiring one for a week to see if it suits you.

Mike

 

[Rich]

The Forester can tow between 1500KG and 2000KG depending on spec as reccomended by Subaru as the limit. 85% is a reccomended guide for comfortable towing but the Scuby has a limit which is different to that. So if they want to tow 1500kg or more that is up to them.....

 

[John_5110340]

The general advice for newcomers is to stick to a van with a total weight of 85% of the towing vehicle kerbweight. With your Subaru that would put you in the 1160 kg total weight bracket. I am not aware of too many 6 berth vans that are going to fit those criteria. You could go up to 1300kg with care, but much more is not to be recommended. In addition, if you do find a van that does, there is more than likely a penalty to be paid in reduced payload. 3 children need clothes and paraphernalia etc. One van that does offer 6 berths is the Cristall Sprint 470TKM and has a max weight of 1300 kg giving a payload figure of 210kg. The other option is to get a smaller van and put the kids in the awning.

Start trawling the internet looking at all the manufactuers brochures and get some ideas, then go look at them all before making a choice.

Thanks for the tip. weights still confuse me though. Some people say you can tow 100% others say don't even go there! Is it really dangerous to tow at 100%?

 

[John_5110340]

Hi, We have 3 children, age 4 and 20 month old twins and we bought our first van last Nov. We have got a Lunar Quasar 615 and really like the layout. At the back there is fixed bunks and a side dinette which converts to a single bed. The 4 yr old is in the top bunk which seems safe as the is a high side to it apart from a small gap to climb in. Then one twin is in the bottom bunk and one on the single bed. Then there is a sliding door which shuts them all off and you haven't got to walk past any of them to go to loo or go out of the van. In the day the side dinette is good if they want to play its like their own space. Anyhow it doesn't seem cramped, one must is a full awning. We put all their toys out there and also highchairs so they don't mess up the van. Good Luck with your search. Denise

Thanks Denise, I looked at Lunar's website and their vans look good, especially the Quaser 615! Nice set up and that would be ideal but can't change the car and then there's the weight + twin axel!!! ouch! I think the set up looks to be the best one I've seen for our needs though.....pity!

 

[John_5110340]

Look at the Bailey and Lunar vans John, they seem to be the lightest around. I would recommend the Bailey's but that's just me and everyone else that has one.....

Good advice, thank you.

 

[John_5110340]

Hi John,

We also have 3 kids and used to own an Adria Adora 532ld - this is a twin diner caravan. We soon discovered that the hassle of creating the beds every night (all seat cushions off, make up the bunk, get all the bedding out, replace all seat cushions all the time with everyone else cramped up the other end of the caravan) was very wearing. We have recently traded in for the Bailey Pageant Bretagne 6 birth with the side diner and fixed rear bunks. Couldn't be happier - only one bed to make up at night on the side diner and that is a doddle. As far as the noise issue is concerned you hear everything in the van in any case and once they are asleep little short of an explosion would wake them. With the curtain closed on the side denner/bed they have their own area and don't know what you mean by being close to the cooker/sink - if you mean wanderering small hands you could always turn off your gas in the cupboard and switch off your water pump. To be honest we switch off the water pump at night and turn the water heater off to avoid us overheating at night, as it is below the front seats.

Our children are 5, 11 and 15 so we also have the large awning with attached bedroom annexe for the eldest when we go away for longer than a weekend. So for the main holidays we have only our own bed to make each night.

The only drawback we have is that because you don't have that closed off area at the rear of the van you are reduced to clothes changing in the toilet area - or closing all the blinds.

Hope this helps with your decision but I can only say we made an expensive mistake in buying the Adria and then changing it withing two years. If you are still unsure I would advise hiring one for a week to see if it suits you.

Mike

Thanks for taking the time to write about your thoughts.Interesting to hear about the hassle of making beds etc... I'm for fixed bunks and my wife's for making them up every night. i think she's turned off by the idea of the middle diner/ bunk bed. What's the lighting like in the back by the bunks?

I'm interested in learning how you can hire a van for the week? Where can i do that down south(E-Sussex)?

 

[John_5110340]

The Forester can tow between 1500KG and 2000KG depending on spec as reccomended by Subaru as the limit. 85% is a reccomended guide for comfortable towing but the Scuby has a limit which is different to that. So if they want to tow 1500kg or more that is up to them.....

Hi Richard,

I have a Subaru Forester 2.0 AWD 2000 X reg. Are you sure i can tow up to 1500Kg? I am getting conflicting views? would appreciate any feedback if poss?

Thanks

John

 

[Darryl_5040003]

As you say John a twin dinette model preferably 'L' shaped at the rear which gives the kids plenty of room, would be an ideal

choice.We had a Compass Reflection 510/5 (max weight 1100kg) when the kids were young it suited us perfectly.You could look at an Avondale Dart 510/5L or Sterling Europa 500.These are highly recommended for young families for the extra room at the rear, and the door which seperates the rear area is excellent for keeping any noise when they have gone to bed down to a minimum. Good luck with what ever model you choose. And you will be towing with a Subaru Forester (Caravan Club Towcar of the year 2004).

 

[Mike_5100596]

Thanks for taking the time to write about your thoughts.Interesting to hear about the hassle of making beds etc... I'm for fixed bunks and my wife's for making them up every night. i think she's turned off by the idea of the middle diner/ bunk bed. What's the lighting like in the back by the bunks?

I'm interested in learning how you can hire a van for the week? Where can i do that down south(E-Sussex)?

John,

I must admit lighting at the rear near the bunks on the Bailey isn't as good as it should be - but the two rear bunks have their own light - maybe a temptation for little hands (but you could always take the bulb out). Lighting over the side diner is fine. With only three children you will not be using the side top bunk and I must admit I haven't even made it up once.

It will come in useful when the eldest wants to take a friend abroad and we need an overnight stop.

Mike

 

[Tapestry]

Hi

We have 3 kids and a 5 berth Swift alloutte with an L shaped seating area at the back of the van. Kids were 2,3,5 when we first bought. We bought second hand first to see if kids and hubby liked it. I caravaned as a child. Our layout has worked well for us for the past 6 years.On a cold rainy day the kids have their own seating area to play, draw, play games etc. We are starting to think about upgrading the van to possibly a 6 berth with fixed bunks just to give the kids their own beds.

With 3 kids storage space in the van is important, as is the payload allowed. We tow at about 82%. We have windows all around our van, so can see were the kids are. Some 6 berth vans do not have windows at the back. It may not be an issue for you.An awning will give you extra space to keep toys etc when on site.

Every family is different, so our advice would be to look at lots of vans. Annette

 

[Robert_5095703]

We have a hymer with fixed bunks at the front ,the bunks are adult size and the top can take 80Kg plus it comes with a child safety board so they cannot fall out, the door is at the rear so no going past them.I would look at german vans as they all think the chirlden should have good size beds