Family Conversion With 6 Seats

T

Tjf

New Member
Hi

Just bought a T6....we haven’t owned a car for years so very excited and now intend to convert this (professionally) to a campervan for our family. Found this site and it looks brilliant and I am sure we will learn lots from previous postings.

So our problem is we have been looking at conversion companies for ages but cannot find anyone who can give us the following:

- two burner hob
- double passenger swivel
- proper M1 crashtested rib bed with three seat belts.

Is there anyone out there who uses the van for 5-6 sized family ( we will be using drive away awning too) and has found a conversion company that make a configuration that includes these elements? Camperking have a new portofino but the sink is very small. Bodans have a good one but their waiting list is long. Danbury have one but their bed looks very uncomfortable. Also, I was kind of hoping not to have to pay as much as those guys charge.

We find plenty who can do the bed, but then the hob only has one burner or there can only be a single swivel seat or the fridge is really small or the sink is tiny.

Any advice, suggestions for conversion companies would be great. We have taken time off work and visited quite a few already which has been incredibly helpful.

TJF
 
Hello and welcome.

What is the spec of your van (SWB/LWB, weight rating, etc.)?

You will probably have to compromise somewhere if you want 6 travelling seats in a T6 camper; typically a crash tested bed, e.g. RIB, with 3 seatbelts, is going to be wider (130cm or 150cm) which in turn will limit the width available for cupboards, size of sink, appliance depth, etc.. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the size of the sink too much - no matter what size it is you would struggle washing up after 6 people in a T6. We do use ours to wash up occasionally (3 of us), e.g. mugs, glasses, smaller plates, etc., but usually take a bowl outside and/or use the onsite facilities where availalble - most of the time our sink becomes little more than a place to dispense water. Similarly the hob - we use it for boiling water but do most of the cooking outside - don't think we have ever had both burners in the van going at the same time.

Something like a Slidepod may help you?
 
We have a Reimo Triostyle conversion of a LWB T6 which we use with three kids.

I’d advise a sliding seat if you can (like the Reimo Variotech we have) , it makes the vehicle much more flexible.
 
If you need an occasional extra seat, Reimo also do extra ‘airline’ style seats which slot into the rails. You likely need a LWB to do this which I’d very much advise if you want to fit 5/6 in.

To have six seats on a permanent basis, you’d need a double front passenger seat. I don’t know if you could get a swivel version, it would be very awkward even if it’s possible.
 
Thanks so much for the replies so far...you have given us lots to think about. The van is a T28 SWB. The children are very young so don’t weigh too much! We want the three of them at the back on the three seat bed most of the time when travelling but when squabbling begins we would like to be able to separate them and have the older one up front with us!

Good point about the sink...I seem to recall from owning a Bingo on the past that the sink was only used to clean teeth or to store dirty cups after a tea break.
 
Just a thought that may mean the eldest spending more time up front with you; how many of the children need child/booster seats? Even with a wider seat bed in the converted van, I think you may struggle to get 3 seated comfortably across the back if a couple of them require chid seats - those things are wider than they look.
 
How about a Slidepods Kombi, Kirivans double swivel and an SCA 194 roof? This was one of the routes I've been looking at.

It keeps the kids closer to you when travelling. Utilises existing seating for part of the bed.
 
Thanks so much.

Wow...that 4 seat back to back bed is amazing. Never seen anything like it! I would also love to know what it is called.

So we have made some progress but just trying to gather as much information as possible and process it. Any tips for a van with three children in it would be appreciated! They are 2,7 and 8 so we hope to have them mostly sat at the back but move one up front when they start fighting!

One thing that confuses me is the furniture. Do most converters use a pre packaged units like Evo and those who have cutting machines (presumably the bigger places) do it themselves so can be more bespoke?
 
I would consider whether you can get away without the double passenger seat. With a double passenger seat, you wouldn't have a gap to be able to easily get from the front to back without going out the van and back in again which makes it a hassle to easily get back to the kids to sort out issues/seatbelts/fights etc. If you do get one, make sure you try it out first to make sure the swivel is manageable.

We have three kids of similar ages and it does work (for us) putting all three of them on the backseat, even for extended drives. Having something like mp3 players each definitely helps here so they can listen to stories etc. We can also squish them all in the pop top to sleep but I suspect in a couple years the eldest will prefer to go out in his own tent.

Another thing to consider (which might seem obvious) is that five peoples worth of camping/holiday kit takes up a lot of space! If you fill the van with seating, then you could struggle with fitting everyone's stuff in. Large driveway awnings, in particular, are absolutely huge. This is where sliding seats really excel, you can bring the seat forward and create loads of room for kit in the back.
 
As @t0mb0 says above (as well as comfort) easily accessing front to back was our main reason for choosing a single passenger seat. I tend to use the rear slider for access/egress about 90% of the time rather than the drivers door.

You could always carry some of the camping/holiday kit on the roof and/or on the back. However, wherever you store the gear, you will need to be mindful of the weight as your converted van will eat up quite a lot of the available payload (768-917kg on a T28 depending on spec). We are "take the kitchen sink" (quite literally with the van) campers and packed up for a week away with the two of us, 1 teenage chid and 2 medium sized dogs we weigh in at 2870kg - that does include bikes on the back, and full tanks of fuel/water though.
 
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