Hello

Hello

My partner and I are thinking about buying a van conversion 6m max as never driven a motor home before, let alone owned one,  so we really are total newbies.

I'm not far off retirement and my partner retired from teaching last year. One of her ambitions was to spend retirement motor homing around the UK & Europe. so we are looking and researching and looking some more at the numerous van options and habitation permutations available. We took a visit to Spinney's  and looked at new AS Symbol and a Warwick XL they had in stock. I think we are def leaning towards a 5.99m Van and do like the quality offered by AS, so as far as I can tell our AS options are a Warwick Duo or a Stanway. We like the idea of a rear lounge and prefer a largish shower room, but, we are not sure about the shower room in the doorway of the Duo and not sure about the seating/bed  arrangement in the Stanway,   We actually only need 2 travelling seats but 3 would mean my partner could take her elderly parent out for day trips from time to time. We are looking at new vans so far but happy to consider something older in case we don't get it quite right the first time.   Anything else we should consider from the older model line ups? Stafford maybe? We are renting a VW camper next weekend for a a few days in Angelsey just to see how we get on with the whole concept of poling up at a campsite and getting set up , using on site hookup and facilities etc. but we now realise it will be too small for what we really would want. Still, it should be fun nevertheless!

Any suggestions, experiences with the Duo or Stanway and things we should think about before making a purchase would be gratefully received . Thanks

Welcome from the High Peaks (normally N.E Wales)  . A Warwick Duo is our ultimate aim also.   

Currently at South Shields, normally Warriington

We recently downsized to a Warwick Duo (from Spinney) and upto now haven't regretted it bar a few annoyances that need sorting.
It's had a good innings with 2000 mile on the clock since June so I recon we know it by now

I think the consensus is,  either hire one first or buy pre owned, then if you find it is not for you or the van you have chosen doesn`t work for you, then you will not have taken the big hit price wise, as soon as you drive off the forecourt.  

Some say it  can take three vans before you find your ideal van . I am on my second one and love it.

If you are not sure on the models you have seen up to now, then perhaps they are not the right ones, if you are going for up to 6metres why not a coach built? more insulation usually if wanting to use all the year round.

Don`t be put off by the size, they are easier to drive than a car, with all round vision and higher up, can see further in front and over hedges,  mine is my car. it will fit in a car parking place.
Good luck which ever you go for.

Best regards,
Margaret

If you are new to it all hiring first will give you an idea about what you want/don't want. By the time we bought the Nuevo we were on our third van and knew exactly what we wanted. (The first was just right too but we built that one ourselves.)

The way you use the van will also influence your layout. If you ALWAYS go to sites with showers/toilets your needs will be different to those never going to sites. We go mostly to sites but will spend some time at sports events without electricity or showers so our needs are slightly different again.

And as for driving something bigger, I was so frightened of the size of my first van until I realised it was actually shorter than the car I was driving at the time. You get used to it quite quickly and as Daisy Mae says, the view makes it so much easier.

Hi and welcome to the forum from Bridlington 
Boaby

Thanks for the welcome and comments - they are appreciated. Funnily enough my partner was really taken by the new Nuevo EK at Spinneys - the layout was perfect and it had a decent size bathroom ...  and well under 6m it ticks a lot of boxes, but I have my heart set on a panel van to start with as didn't want my first MH to look like its obviously a MH if that makes any sense? that said, we would expect to be not always at a site as our idea was to be as free and flexible as possible whilst touring so some wild camping is quite likely. We are also going to NEC next month to have a proper look at all the options available. 

dbroada, how do you find the Nuevo width wise - I am thinking narrow roads in Devon/ Cornwall for example. do you have to carefully plan your route in advance or is it a case of it will more or less go anywhere a van conversion will? how about things like popping out to the shop for supplies or visiting town centres , parking etc

The Nuevo is no bigger than mine," in fact the older ones are shorter than mine, not by a lot  I grant you, but if size matters daresay it could make a difference, as my MH is  my car " I do my shopping etc in it,  

The Nuevo is shorter than many van conversions, if a delivery drivers  can get there so you will.

stewen wrote:dbroada, how do you find the Nuevo width wise - I am thinking narrow roads in Devon/ Cornwall for example. do you have to carefully plan your route in advance or is it a case of it will more or less go anywhere a van conversion will? how about things like popping out to the shop for supplies or visiting town centres , parking etc

The first "extra" we bought were mirror protectors - and they have been used several times already but with decreasing frequency. I often find I am driving on a "narrow" road when a double decker bus comes from the other direction and passes me with loads of clearance. I do have a problem eye which makes me more cautious than I actually need to be. However, I do check on google earth before trying a new site. I haven't ventured far from wide roads yet but I did try (not on purpose) the narrow lanes of Devon in the van we hired. Not an experience I would want to repeat, and certainly not in a van of my own but van & me survived.

The Puegeot/Fiat/Citroen panel van is a little bit wider than the Transit I had previously but not by much. I don't really notice it once sitting in the driver's seat.

I haven't had this van long enough to really feel comfortable popping out to the shops in it but it has spent quite a bit of time in various Tescos car parks. It does feel enormous when trying to park but I think that is more to do with how much we spent rather than size. It is only fractionally larger than the Transit that I didn't have problems with.

We changed from a panel van to the coach built as we found "living in a tube" just too much for 3 weeks. We miss the sliding door but we love the extra space. We were limited to 6m because of parking at our flat so we went with the Nuevo and (so far) we don't desire more space.

When at the NEC check carefully everything you can thing of that you will use. We ended our 2nd day with a short list of two vans. Auto-Sleeper won by being the only manufacturer to fit their microwave at a sensible/safe height.

thanks - will let you know how we get on.

Hello & welcome from S/Yorks.