Re: thinking of buying an AutoSleeper Kingham

by yammy Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:42 am

m8form8 wrote:Interesting thread, had not actually looked at the Kingham but followed Dutto's lead and watched the video presentation. We to would love a fixed double bed in a van or maybe a coach built, the trouble is we can not cope in a 4 foot wide double?? bed. Goodness knows why a four foot bed is said to be a double by motorhome builders and caravans, it is actually just a super large single in reality. We are spoilt by our aged Bertha being so comfortable apart from having to put the superking sized bed away. It seems there just is nothing made in motorhomes unless you buy one of massive proportions that has a proper sized 4 foot six without the corners knocked off double fixed bed.
Love the Kingham concept, but would not be a big enough bed, and oh yes it seems not to be available in an automatic either. Starting to think I will keep Bertha for ever as while we could afford a new one they offer no advantage to us.

Hi m8form8

Interesting, I am sure that what most people think about bed sizes, i usually set up the front double (seat conversion) and my oh uses fixed bed at the back so can both go "star shaped" without knocking each other out snigger

I would like to add that Autosleeper now use Fiat based vans (as well as Peugeot) who offer the "Comfort Matic " box which is their version of automatic, however you would have to buy new as they have only introduced this option this year and you probably wont find many second hand.
cheers Robin

by yammy Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:49 am

LovetheDales wrote:Hi, sorry for delay, been away for a while. We don't use the shower but it is no different in size to the Mclouis we had so it wouldn't be a problem. Also the bed is the same size as well although the side does taper off a little but that is ok for us. We find that having a slightly smaller van has had no impact at all, we just carry less junk, only the things we need. The only issue we had was that the gas tank was not fitted level so we filled the tank up twice and still only had 1/4 tank of gas, this has been resolved by Autosleeper in Broadway who were very helpful.

Great to hear so are very happy with the Kingham. I think if every one went thru the notion of "..if you dont use it then lose it !!" then alot of people would end up with alot more space, unfortunately and i am no different, we all want to keep the same stuff in the van just in case.
The other day i completely emptied everything out of the van, and i was surprised just how much stuff i had and then sorted it all out and all the stuff went straight back in the van. I simply could not reduce the weight, but it was fun finding stuff i forgotten i had ..... hugegrins

by yammy Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:57 am

Milliways wrote:We downsized from an Autotrail Cheyenne 8.6m tag axle to a Kingham, and are very happy.
It is perfect for short breaks but we also just had 16 nights in France and were amazed at how well it went. So much easier to navigate through the villages, very comfy to relax and sleep in. We found our Dyson fan fits perfectly on one surface to make the extremely hot nights more bearable.
The bed is a step down from our island bed, but you get used to it and we slept well. The loo has more knee room than our last van and the shower works fine. Just wish there were 2 drain holes- our last few nights were at the Puy du Fou Aire and we weren't totally level, but the water all washed away once we started to drive with no leakages.
There is loads of storage, I was amazed how many clothes we could pack (with several T shirts etc in each hangar).
Now there is just the 2 of us at home this van is perfect for us.

wow, that is certainly downsizing and i am really pleased that you have had no problems in getting used to the reduction in size. I am in a similar situation, I have a 7.04 meter coachbuilt and want to downsize to a kingham. i dont care what anyone says about having a fixed bed, having a good nights sleep is vital (IMHO) , the only thing that is a little disappointing is the fact there are no opening windows at the back of the van but i guess it would change the asthetics and streamline of the van ... but hey ho, cant have everything but I am envious of you having a KIngham, cheers Robin.

by m8form8 Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:00 pm

Interesting, I am sure that what most people think about bed sizes, i usually set up the front double (seat conversion) and my oh uses fixed bed at the back so can both go "star shaped" without knocking each other out

I would like to add that Autosleeper now use Fiat based vans (as well as Peugeot) who offer the "Comfort Matic " box which is their version of automatic, however you would have to buy new as they have only introduced this option this year and you probably wont find many second hand.
cheers Robin

I am getting tempted by the globevan revolution, if I dare mention a competitor on here, again new but it does have a very interesting bed arrangement and lots of space. But it is a trade off as while it scores on that, i do notice it is not up to the spec of auto sleepers fitting out. Not actually seen one in the flesh they seem hard to find to view around here. Its a maybe, til then Ill stick with bertha, at least she is comfortable and well fitted out. It amazes me that even paying out in excess of 50 to 60k new for something larger many do not even have a draining board area? confused3

I hate having no where to put things too.lol.

by yammy Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:31 pm

m8form8 wrote:

Interesting, I am sure that what most people think about bed sizes, i usually set up the front double (seat conversion) and my oh uses fixed bed at the back so can both go "star shaped" without knocking each other out

I would like to add that Autosleeper now use Fiat based vans (as well as Peugeot) who offer the "Comfort Matic " box which is their version of automatic, however you would have to buy new as they have only introduced this option this year and you probably wont find many second hand.
cheers Robin
I am getting tempted by the globevan revolution, if I dare mention a competitor on here, again new but it does have a very interesting bed arrangement and lots of space. But it is a trade off as while it scores on that, i do notice it is not up to the spec of auto sleepers fitting out. Not actually seen one in the flesh they seem hard to find to view around here. Its a maybe, til then Ill stick with bertha, at least she is comfortable and well fitted out. It amazes me that even paying out in excess of 50 to 60k new for something larger many do not even have a draining board area? I hate having no where to put things too.lol.

not sure but I think you mean Globecar as opposed to Globevan by Dethleffs, yes very interesting set up but autosleeper do have a habit of making things very cosy and very well made. I am going to the NEC in October, you will get to see everything out there including the latest 2016 vans. always exciting to see what new innovations have been produced, you can stay there on a temp site with ehu on the NEC site for about £30 per night, well worth it and you get free entertainment with music in the evenings. drinksallround

by artheytrate Wed Aug 05, 2015 6:50 pm

Don't you fancy the Broadway EB anymore yammy.

John.

by yammy Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:29 am

artheytrate wrote:Don't you fancy the Broadway EB anymore yammy.

John.

Hi John, I indeed do love the EB but i showed my partner the EB and she wasnt impressed at all due to the fact that we would have to make up a bed, so back to the drawing board for a fixed bed van, thats the reason for the Kingham but i fear if i show her it she will complain that it will be too cramped !! If parking wasnt an issue I would like to go for Auto Sleeper Burford or the Swift Kontiki 635. Life is never simple but it is fun looking , cheers Robin.

by m8form8 Thu Aug 06, 2015 10:33 am

Opps! Yes Globecar not van.. Seems an ingenious bit of layout but do need to see one in the flesh to make sure its for us. Just wish Motorhome builders would realize beds of 4 foot wide are not wide enough for many. Hats off to those who can sleep so entwined in such a narrow space, be no holiday for us. I agree autosleepers do have some nice living space ideas..

by m8form8 Wed Aug 19, 2015 9:40 pm

Was down in Canterbury last week and they had a good range of Auto sleepers, did look at the Kingham there but although nice we just could not cope with that sized bed. Looked at the Burford but decided it was to big for us and even that really did not have a very large double bed. Parking it would be a nightmare in the many places we like to visit and we would end up towing a car. Our search goes on.. confused3