Think we gonna need a bigger boat
- Thread starter Macp
- Start date
Depending on how you use the camper there are some fairly restrictive limits with bigger vans.
In Spain at least you can use the free beach car parks overnight if you are under 5m long and in some cases there’s a 2.1m height barrier. I quite often end up in some idyllic spots for free with just a couple of other small vans while there’s lay-bys and occasionally bigger car parks a few hundred meters inland where the hoards of bigger vans have to go.
Bigger vans do stop where they shouldn’t but they occasionally get moved on as they are taking up too much space.
In Spain at least you can use the free beach car parks overnight if you are under 5m long and in some cases there’s a 2.1m height barrier. I quite often end up in some idyllic spots for free with just a couple of other small vans while there’s lay-bys and occasionally bigger car parks a few hundred meters inland where the hoards of bigger vans have to go.
Bigger vans do stop where they shouldn’t but they occasionally get moved on as they are taking up too much space.
Passing through St Malo, which is a lovely historic walled town as well as a port we found many car parks 1.9m so obviously very restrictive for campers (we’re low at 1.95 and wouldn’t fit!)
Nice looking van, keep it and adapt
But make sure you both sit inside a few SWB u shaped vans to try for size etc, before you change your layout,
The ply guys website should give you some inspiration, they do a layout where the centre section of the u layout can be removed so you can enter the van from the tailgate, so then you could fit a tailgate awning for extra cooking space, keep your side awning for chilling in the sun.
Buy a set of decent storage bags for cooking gear, food, clothes, I use the soft folding front runner bags, great bits of kit you can take indoors to pack/unpack and then fold up and store away, we’ve got about 8..
Another option would be to keep van as it is, and buy a tent for longer campsite stays, sleep/cook in the tent, and just use the van for sleeping in for one night stop overs
Camping is great,
But make sure you both sit inside a few SWB u shaped vans to try for size etc, before you change your layout,
The ply guys website should give you some inspiration, they do a layout where the centre section of the u layout can be removed so you can enter the van from the tailgate, so then you could fit a tailgate awning for extra cooking space, keep your side awning for chilling in the sun.
Buy a set of decent storage bags for cooking gear, food, clothes, I use the soft folding front runner bags, great bits of kit you can take indoors to pack/unpack and then fold up and store away, we’ve got about 8..
Another option would be to keep van as it is, and buy a tent for longer campsite stays, sleep/cook in the tent, and just use the van for sleeping in for one night stop overs
Camping is great,
