Ovano, JC Vans, Slidepods, Plyguys, Steelpods, Fortywinks, Vanessa - Kombi dilemma!

[WHSE]

Hi all,

Other half and I have been going around in circles evaluating all of the options out there to make a Kombi my versatile as a day van/camper.

It's great having all of these options out there, but it makes narrowing them down to a decision that much more difficult.

We had a camper but there were compromises with it as a daily driver so it only really came unto it's own on a long camping trip. We switched to a Kombi with a view to it being more versatile (bikes, lugging stuff, able to put the drivers seat back without it hitting the kitchen units, twin slider better for kids etc).

We like the Kombi but now need to decide what solution we go with to give us the sleeping ability we need.

All of the options out there obviously come with their own advantages, but we would be really keen to hear about everyone's real world experience of them. Are the bed heights with the Kombi seat clearance OK? Do they provide the flexibility you need? Maybe you've gone to these from a camper in the past just like we have.

Would be really grateful for any of your thoughts and pics.

Thanks!

 

[Mike Dean]

I’ve just gone down this road and went Kombi and Ovano + Forty Winks mattress. Also have the front cab mattress for the small.

We did think about slidepod but don’t need it enough. Our experience when camping is that we spend 99% of the time outside on the cadac, and the handful of times I would want a coffee on a day trip I will bring a flask or go to the local codfe shop.

You can pop a portable stove on the ovano tray and you have a kitchen

 

[Arrow]

OVANO + Forty Winks mattress + Rear inflatable Vango awning. World's your oyster.

 

[Shuttled]

Having had a very similar situation I have gone for a OVANO xl. I am collecting it in 2 weeks time, so looking forward to the flexibility it will hopefully bring.

 

[Smithy8]

As I need the option to transport my motorbike to do trackdays I went for the Infinity ply bed in my kombi and a vango side awning. It's a bit of a pain that I can't leave it in the van but not too bad to take apart and store away.
Pro's
It slots together easily and is well made. It folds back to allow the rear seats to be used as normal and has plenty of room underneath for storage. I had a trifold mattress made at a local foam upholstery company, it's equal to a king-size bed and more comfortable than my bed at home.
Cons
£275, maybe not the cheapest option but it is very well made.
as it uses the kombi seats folded down this type of bed doesn't give much head room although my mattress is about 5" thick so that doesn't help.and makes it a bit of a climb to get in bed

 

[hunta]

It's worth bearing in mind how useable the space is with the kit installed. I bought a Slidepod on the basis that it ticks all the boxes of a full size bed and camping setup that can be removed easily. However it's a two man job, so tend to leave it in and I'd not factored in the fact that anything placed on top of the unit will slide on to the floor, and the support rails make accessing the area behind the seats quite tight. As a consequence we end up cramming the tiny runaround car to the gunwales when we do the massive weekly grocery run...

It's my biggest gripe. I really hope @slidepods will think about an upgrade to make the space more useable when the unit is in place but not being used for camping trips.

 

[jimc91]

I went down the (Van Furniture) kombi sliding bed route. Same height as the seats but not much headroom if you're planning on spending time sitting on it, we don't. The units come out really quickly if I need to use as a van. Like you I previously had a camper with built in cupboards and a pop top, dont miss any of that as its all in the awning now and no kids

 

[Jay586]

This is the sort of space above a bed high enough to go over the seats with a removeable bed. This the Exploria Kombi Bed. We used it a lot in a van without back seats but found having the seats a lot more awkward when we bought the Kombi but that's probably more us being lazy than the bed's fault.

The Ovano looks nice, maybe more flexible?

 

[f6100153]

I had this same dilemma when converting ours LWB

I originally wanted a Slidepod but when seeing one in the flesh I realised it would be too impracticable on a day to day basis as it blocks access to a large part of the van. You can fold the kombi seats forwards and access it from that end but we have 2 young kids so would have to remove their car seats each time. I know it could be removed but it's a 2 man job and I don't really have anywhere to store it without being in the way.

Similar with the Ovano, great design and practical most of the time but if we're going out for the day and want to remove it and stick 4 bikes in the back of the van, or take my MX bike out again it has to be removed and stored.

I ended up going with a Van King bed, great height to store things under, bed is comfy and it takes me about 30 seconds to remove the 2 boards which can be stood up against a wall in the garage, taking up no room. I usually leave in the frame that connects to the anchor points but this doesn't really take up any practical space in the van. The mattress still takes up some room but I assume this would be the case with anything.

So far no complaints with the Van King set up, really simple, versatile, easy to remove and easy to store out of the van.

 

[Rioja John]

I have the Van King bed too and the storage underneath is great.

John.

 

[benp1]

One of the problems with using a Kombi style bed is you can't really sit up in bed without hitting your head on the roof (I am tall though)

Mine is a daily driver, it's used for family use and I keep the boot mostly empty to get bike(s), buggy or other kids stuff in when required. I made a slot together ply bed, a bit like the ply bed above with less refinement but more versatility. I can have it as a king size or a single. Means I get get a bike in whole and still sleep in there. You can't do that with a normal kombi bed set up unless you take the bike apart. My van is ply lined so I also have the option of sitting on a wheel arch box, they're lower than the rear seats so I can sit comfortably

I use self inflating or inflatable camping mats in mine. But I do a love of non camp site camping (on foot or bike) so have a lot of kit to use for that anyway

Something like the ovano with the sliding drawer means you can use the furthest bit of storageeasily. I find storing stuff underneath my bed (or any Kombi bed) a bit of a faff. The boot is big and you end up having to reach in to grab stuff without being able to walk in. My bed has liftable sections so I can access underneath without having to access things with the tailgate open. I only put my bed set up in when required as I then have a huge boot to use most of the time

 

[WHSE]

Really really appreciate all of these replies, really gives food for thought.

One thing we often consider is that if the pair of us go away (kids at grand parents!) then we would leave the Kombi rear seats at home. That seems to rule out quite a few of the options because they use the folded seats as supports, unless people have come up with ways for things like Van King, Fortywinks etc to be used without the seats?

Will take a look at the van furniture options too. Haven't seen those before.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Dave A]

As I need the option to transport my motorbike to do trackdays I went for the Infinity ply bed in my kombi and a vango side awning. It's a bit of a pain that I can't leave it in the van but not too bad to take apart and store away.
Pro's
It slots together easily and is well made. It folds back to allow the rear seats to be used as normal and has plenty of room underneath for storage. I had a trifold mattress made at a local foam upholstery company, it's equal to a king-size bed and more comfortable than my bed at home.
Cons
£275, maybe not the cheapest option but it is very well made.
as it uses the kombi seats folded down this type of bed doesn't give much head room although my mattress is about 5" thick so that doesn't help.and makes it a bit of a climb to get in bedView attachment 146423View attachment 146425View attachment 146428

I've just put one of these in by SWB Kombi. The main use is as platform for my dog crates with out of site storage underneath. It will be great for infrequent use as a bed. Mine has a 1/3 & 2/3 top section so that either the single or double second row seats can be left up. I agree well made and quick and easy to install and remove.

 

[GtiOli]

We were in exactly the same situation and have bit the bullet on the Exploria Kombi bed, time will tell if that’s the right call over an Ovano, but I don’t think it would be too hard to add a sliding draw, Exploria have done it on their website or Instagram. We hired a van with a slidepod, I loved the idea but when the weather was nice I found it strange to be at the back of the van, I’d rather a portable hob on a table.

 

[Sackmycook]

I had a high Exploria bed with a direct 4x4 Sliding Tray underneath which worked well. Only reason I sold them was we found it a bit of a pain climbing up onto the bed....
We eventually went for Vanfurniture sliding bed with Vangear furniture which we love....but obviously we don't have middle kombi seats so could go lower....

 

[Johnnyboy67]

I've just bought exploria bed with short legs because I don't need the kombi back seats in all the time . When I purchased the van it had kombi nation bed installed which used the folded back seats as part of your bed but I have a dog there was no room for her to sleep it also makes a make shift table.

 

[f6100153]

Really really appreciate all of these replies, really gives food for thought.

One thing we often consider is that if the pair of us go away (kids at grand parents!) then we would leave the Kombi rear seats at home. That seems to rule out quite a few of the options because they use the folded seats as supports, unless people have come up with ways for things like Van King, Fortywinks etc to be used without the seats?

Will take a look at the van furniture options too. Haven't seen those before.

Thanks everyone.

Our Van King bed still works with or without the Kombi seats in, we also take the out when going away with out the kids. It is a LWB, I think the SWB version does require the seats to be folder down.

 

[Pejer13]

Great thread! My SWB T6.1 will be delivered in summer. I want to make a flexible workspace/minimalistic camper (for one night). I really like the units from the PlyGuys. When they are in "seat-mode" there is enough space to stick my bike in between.
Is there somebody who have some experience with the PlyGuys?

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

I’m going down the day van / camper / car route on my second T6 after having my cherry red written off … we looked at the options and are going for the slidepods unit and bed …

 

[JiMsHaDY69]

Great thread! My SWB T6.1 will be delivered in summer. I want to make a flexible workspace/minimalistic camper (for one night). I really like the units from the PlyGuys. When they are in "seat-mode" there is enough space to stick my bike in between.
Is there somebody who have some experience with the PlyGuys?

View attachment 148167

I bought the Kombi Assynt units direct from The PlyGuys, but ending up selling it on to another forum member as the wife didn't like sitting on the benches and wanted a "proper" car seat in the back. They're very well finished and solidly built, only downside is that even for someone short like myself there's not much headroom if you don't have a poptop.