Kingham based design panel van

Since buying my first 'van last July I have been trying to come up with my perfect layout for a high top van conversion (panel van  = more stealthy for wild camping than my current model which resembles an ice cream van!)


I know I want a rear washroom to enable shower hose to reach outside to clean mucky dogs and shoes. 
I also want to be able to get inside the van whilst still dirty and wet myself,  but NOT to come within proximity of the nicer parts of  the interior like the fabrics or cooking space, or in fact within anything but the WC/shower area until I  have removed all my dirty gear ( I do fellrunning all year round), so an accessible rear door is essential to my design.

I also want a fixed bed. I currently have one (over cab) and the ability to be able to simply forget all about it between getting up  in the AM and going back to bed at night is fantastic.

The Wildax Solarix XL ticks many boxes for me, but bunks may feel a bit cramped for prolonged use and the washroom access to rear is only designed as emergency escape. So I tried to incorporate a wider bed into my plans......

When I finally thought I'd cracked my ideal layout I realised that I had actually more or less designed a copy of the Kingham! But the Kingham, with a 4ft bed (as specified in the brochure and website) that means it's washroom can only therefore be 2ft wide, and it looks like its not much longer than that either - surely too small to use comfortably apart from in emergency? 

In my design I would have a 4ft bed same as the Kingham, but it would be quite/very high, to give options for the fresh water tank or possibly even compressor fridge underneath. 
Opposite the bed  the Kingham has a vanity unit. My design wouldn't have that. I'd have the bedroom sidewall extend further forward toward the front of the van, creating a corridor to the rear doors of approx 2ft by perhaps 4 and a half ft.

I'd hope to be able to utilise that  corridor to house a walkover shower tray, and perhaps somehow have a swivel WC on a slider at the very rear, being stowed/slid away under the high bed when access is needed to enter/exit via the rear doors. 

As far as I can think, the biggest issue with my design is this corridor space and if it really could be used as a washroom AND an access route. I know that the wheel arch would also be a consideration/obstacle. 

People also often seem to say that having a fixed bed in a van conversion means the living space is unduly compromised. But by not bothering with any extra travel seats you can have a really deep sumptuous settee (as seen in Kingham). And the area to stand and cook is (in my opinion) quite open and spacious in the Kingham too.

Couple of other minor design  points in "my" van....... the bedroom wouldn't have a window to rear. It would have a vertical wall sited approx one shoes width in front of the rear doors. This would allow a space in the rear to build shelving for.........all my running shoes.

I don't really have a question to ask - this is just my daydream, a way of filling some spare time so that when I win the lottery and can afford to have my perfect van built for me, I know what to order.  For now I just manage  OK in my 25yr old Talisman.

Actually, I guess I would like to ask any Kingham owners how they find the washroom in concurrent daily use? (i don't tend to use sites so therefore I use my shower/wc a lot).

We purchased our Kingham in December last year. So far have only managed to clock up just over 2k miles - having retired in April hopefully that will increase rapidly! From a design perspective it's generally very good. Our main concern was storage - having downsized from Roller Team and previously Swift fixed bed coach builds. In practice, this has not proved a great problem with some carefull planning. As to be expected when squeezing alongside a bed in a van, the wash room is certainly very narrow and may be a challenge for a larger person. We have not used the shower yet, preferring to use site facilities, and because of it's size, would treat it as an emergency rather than practical daily use facility.

Other points:

 - The bed has been pointed out in some reviews as being small but we find it fine - accepting we are both under 5'7". It's very comfortable and provides for a good nights sleep - unlike some of our previous larger bed coach builds!

 - Generally internal space is OK and what comes with the narrower van layout. We do not use the larger 'put-up' table inside the van, only outside - weather permitting. We manage with the small table option plus the nice additional lift up flap beside the sink when eating inside is necessary. It would be nice to have this small table top very slightly larger - I'll probably look to change this some time. The kitchen layout and facilities are great - only slight challenge we're found is the downsized fridge from what we've previously had, but otherwise plenty of storage and worktop, good layout and facilities.

 - Build quality is excellent and what I understand is typical of new AutoSleepers. We have had a few minor problems: One of the roof blind assemblies is not fixed properly - this is being sorted with a replacement soon. The side (sliding door) sometimes will not open from the outside, this is frustrating and proving difficult to resolve as its intermittent.

 - We used the van straight away though last winter and found the heating in the front of the van to be disappointing. On inspection, the feed to the outlet at the front of the van was not connected - dealer sorted this however the heat output is still little to none. There is another hot air feed that for some reason vents under the bench seat - I can only presume to keep the water input/solenoids warmer. But I have to say when it's very cold outside the heating is great in the back of the van but up front it can get quite cold - cold air coming off the sliding door.

 - Probably a minor point to most but I'm frustrated with the cab radio and it's bluetooth/USB input is only live with the ignition on - so when camped-up, you cannot plug & play any external music source (iPod, etc), only use the radio! I'm told by the dealer that's the way it is and can't be modified!

 - We've up-plated (a simple option given no physical upgrades are necessary) this primarily to accommodate a scooter & rack which works well. Only slight issue here is having to remove the scooter to access the toilet cassette through the back doors - but small price to pay for the 'convenience' of taking a scooter!

- You also mention the vanity unit, which is a nice "luxury" touch however in practice it is set too low. My wife prefers to sit on the bed and use the mirror in the washroom when 'doing her hair'.

 - The lack of an insect net for the sliding door was frustrating - the only one online is very expensive (£150+) so I made one up from insect net, rare earth magnets and rail hangers sourced from e-bay for a total of around £20. This was put to the test whilst touring France last month and worked really well with the side door always open fending off all the mossies & flies.

I mentioned a few 'issues' above but don't want to be too negative about this van. Overall we are extremely pleased with it, the few issues are far outweighed by the positives!

Cheers,

Nick