Our Van!
Yes - we own a little camper van! These pages will give details of our van, what we think of it, modifications we made and what we do with it!
Why!?!
We had talked about getting a camper van for a while, saying how good it would be to get one to escape from work.... But then we sort of twigged - why wait 10 years to get one - when by then we'll be too old to enjoy it as much as we can now! Quite obvious when you see what we get up to - but bringing a dream to reality isn't always easy....
Stereotypical image
Okay - lets get slated.... The stereotypical image of caravaners are the older retired generation who like going to campsites and sitting around reading the paper. I'm sure I've seen surveys with the average age being 65 or over!
Campervans seem to vary between younger people and older - but even now we seldom meet people in roughly our age group without kids and with our outlook. Are we that rare!!? If you are the same get in touch :)
So for us, we didn't really want to conform (do we ever) - and so didn't really want a white box on wheels with the image that portrays....
Our specifications
Over a year or so we went to a few shows and to be honest, didn't really see much we liked. We preferred van conversions for the more stealthy look, but again - none stood out....
But we decided on some criteria that suited us:-
- 4-Belted Seats and forward facing, to allow us to take passengers when needed as this would be a 2nd car
- Short ideally under 5m but would consider 6m
- Shower/Toilet an absolute necessity - and a real room and not a simple portapoti
- Choice of Double and 2x Singles to allow it to be used for us as a couple and also with a friend for track days or something similar
- Kitchen - a reasonable sized kitchen and fridge etc
- Stealthy - something that doesn't look like a typical campervan! :)
Choosing make/model
After lots of talking but seeing nothing exciting, I managed to visit Roy Wood Transits to see their Cavarno range near Reading. We stumbled across their offerings by seeing an ad in a magazine (not an ad that stood out to be honest) - and as I was able to go for a 3-hour lunchbreak without anyone caring, I took a look and was impressed....
So Mel & I had a chat and I didn't give many details, and we decided to go on a tour of all dealers in the area. Every dealer had numerous van conversions in, and without exception, everyone we looked at left us feeling flat. They included the market leaders; the main names; and all other sorts; and to be honest they were okay - but nothing exciting. Mel was really trying to get excited but really did fail!
The last stop was at Roy Woods, and after seeing the offerings from others, their offering of the Cavarno range stood out like a sore thumb! It met all of our criteria and the build quality is absolutely stunning and hand made, with no real plastic and tacky mouldings; no screw heads showing; and quite simply a league above the rest.
Mel asks "Whats the downside - how much?".......
The astounding answer was completely on par if not cheaper than the mainstream makes - but with a lot more for your money. Makes you wonder why people buy the other brands....
See the other pages for complete specification and the modifications we have made (mainly enhancements rather than fixes!)
LINKS
- Roy Wood Transits http://www.roywoodtransits.co.uk/
Van Pics
About to have a BBQ and picnic!
One of our first trips and the numberplate fell off :(
Great use to carry the bikes to and from a mountain bike trail! Mel would have almost certainly got a bruise! :)
Wild camping in the lake district!
Another camping trip