British caravans

 Benimar (spanish company being imported by Marquis) have their door on the uk nearside.....

also, one particular 2017 Chausson model (611 Travel Line) has two cab doors and two habitation doors, one on each side, so take your pick....it even has a rear lounge (just as the brits like 'em) with a drop down bed above to avoid cushion shuffling, and
another up front for good measure above four individual captains chairs for travelling and dining......

could you actually see a UK company coming up with a radical design like this, let alone have the balls to actually build it and put it into production...

Do german caravans do model with aldi heating and a bathroom which you dont shower over toilet

 In a word yes they do, alright three words

Our Hymer 590GL has Alde heating including underfloor, a fan assisted convector in the door way and a warming draw  

It has a rear bathroom with seperate shower. 

Two of the specific criticisms I had of the Bailey Vigo, which is basically the same layout, were as follows.  Firstly although the shower was nice and big, the 1 piece shower door opened outwards so any water collected on the door is going to run onto the washroom carpet

Secondly. The convector at the head on the bed is mounted across the hatch.  There is no form of protection, It is inevitable in my opinion that it will get damaged, the fins on this in the 2015 bailey which otherwise was in cosmetically as new condition were already bent. This fault would stop me from buying this van. 

This is a YouTube clip showing the layout and construction of a Hymer although it is not the 590 as claimed the washroom is identical

We had alook at a few Hymers the other day, we found they were well constructed, but the worktop in the  kitchen area was a bit on the small side, we did not like the narrow  fridge as much as our wider Thetford, but mainly we found the shower far too small for our liking.

Our current van os a 2008 Sterling Searcher.

Kj, most continentals don't cook in their vans. If its a caravan they cook in the awning or bbq, with m/hs they tend to have a fold out flap from their garage door, we've seen lots like this, they either have a gas ring or electric plate that they russell
up something on, along with a lump of bread and a salad there are a lot of them using multi cookers to nowadays, of course the bbq is still the
king.

They tend to prepare things at the fixed table, then pass it outside for cooking, even when its raining they just put the canopy out. If the weather is really bad they either eat out or move I
must admit that we brits think differently about meals, they seem to eat much simpler than us. There main concern when buying a m/h seems to be big garage, fixed beds, the rest they just manage with.

They tend to prepare things at the fixed table, then pass it outside for cooking, even when its raining they just put the canopy out. If the weather is really bad they either eat out or move I must admit that we brits think differently about meals, they seem to eat much simpler than us. There main concern when buying a m/h seems to be big garage, fixed beds, the rest they just manage with.

When we looked at (a lot of!!) MHs just recently, we really liked the lounge area with its swivelling driving seats that are so comfortable.  The permanently fitted table was very flexible in that it could be slid and turned in several directions, so having it there all the time would not be a problem for us.

Using it to supplement the kitchen for food prep would be OK, though the height is not ideal for working at.

The MH we really wanted to see was the Hymer Exsis 598, available in both integrated and semi-integrated styles.  It proved very difficult to find an example till right at the end of our trip we located one in Darlington.

We had however managed to see a lot of other MHs and had got the feel of the length, and to a certain extent the width of a MH of that size and layout, so only a few details remained to fill in. We also had a lot of info in the Hymer brochure on size of bed, toilet area, shower area and kitchen area.

The problem in the kitchen area is the lack of free workspace, there is plenty if you keep the hob and sink covers in place.  The sink was also rather small.

If the appliances were better arranged there would be more usable worktop, Dethleffs have a wider but shallower hob that gives some workspace in front of it.....much more user friendly.

Kitchen storage was very good, but if you want an oven you then lose a bit of that.  We reckoned we could do without a gas oven.

The fridge was disappointingly small, a significant  drawback.

We had already seen similar "bedrooms", so knew the space would be limited, but the bed size was good.

The low provision of electric sockets was very disappointing.  Indeed the basic spec was just that.....very basic.

The deal breaker was the shower area.  We had thought it would be big enough as the size was given as 74x74 cm, and similar ones we had tried out felt fine.  However, when we did get to try the actual Exsis t-598 in Darlington, we found it felt cramped and the sizes (we took our tapeline) did not match the 74x74 stated.  It must depend on where you measure it!

In many caravans and MHs that we looked at recently, both UK and continental,  the shower area was very small indeed, and the "wet room" types are very common.  Lack of ventilation in many would also be a problem.  It seems that many manufacturers are providing a "token" shower room.

The other drawback with the 598  was that in such a narrow van, the pinch point with the toilet opposite the shower was just a bit too narrow for our liking, would be fine in a slightly wider MH.

As we have particular requirements, such as automatic transmission, and ideally wanted a lightweight MH, we reckoned we were looking at having to order a new one to our spec, so we had one dealer price up what we wanted......that was quite a shock!  Plus no dealer would entertain moving over our 3 year old air con from our caravan, meaning another 2k+ for new air con.

Even adding only the options which we really wanted (tow bar, autobox  and roof mounted air con),  or felt were essential, like the more powerful engine,  cab air con, spare wheel, some extra sockets etc, for the semi-integrated version we would have been looking at £70k. 

Prices are well up for next years models due to the exchange rate.

The idea that certain things, such as kitchen space,  in continental caravans and MHs are different to UK built ones,  due to a different way of using them does make sense to a certain extent, but the weather, as we know from experience, is not always good, even in France!  You cannot always cook outside, and a long trip would become very expensive if you had to keep eating out as cooking meals inside was impractical.

Likewise with dishwashing, and showering,  who wants to be trailing to the facilities in the rain? 

For a 2-3 week trip, fine, but not for long trips.

Kjell, putting aside JVB's usual 'helpful' post, youve obviously realised that there are 'downsides' to how you currently tour (large caravan, large and expensive towcar) otherwise you wouldnt be foing through the process ypu are at the moment.

so, lets try and be objective.....

firstly, the kitchen....i appereciate that the specific model youve looked at appears to have a small kitchen....its pretty much like the one we have (ours has 6 drawers instead of 4 and may be a tad deeper) but i find this has sufficient space to prep up first, probably with the hob covered, then start to cook with the hob lid up and the sink covered....our oven and fridge/freezer are on the opposite side of the aisle as in the Exsis.

when the meal is finished, the hob is cool, the lid can be closed and dirty crocks sit on the hob lid before washing in the sink and then placed on the drainer (the one i showed you a while back) to drain.

this may be a different process to one you currently use, but we eat in the van around 5 days a week and it seems to present no problem, certainly not one which i would describe as impractical.

the shower thing is also interesting....while many continentals use site services, those that dont, including some pretty hefty German customers, must manage in this shower, its built for the German market, where folk are a little larger than here.

i realise that your personal showering requirements are slightly different to some, but i wouldnt describe a 75cm x 75cm as small or cramped. in the uk we will not trott to the showers, unless its really sunny (short/t-shirt) so we (obviously) use our van shower a lot....

now, i reckon we're within  a cm or two of the dimensions above and i reckon we could both get in there should the Rioja take us.....

now, we are both pretty slim, but, seriously there is bags of room to wash more than adequately.

perhaps, a total wildcard to throw into the mix might be the Frankia 640SD......short/light van, very large lounge, good kitchen and across the rear washroom.....all in 6.4m A class....

http://www.motorhomes.co.uk/motorhomes-for-sale/frankia/exclusiv/i640-sd/1749/#prettyPhoto

ok, the downside......for you.....the bed.....its an A class Drop down.....

however, along with Hymer, Frankia have made this into two longitudinal singles (joined at the head end) and comes with a small set of steps (two steps only) to access.....

very large bed, accessible by either occupant without disturbing the other, and a large spacious van when the bed (electric, of course) is swung up out of the way......

good luck, Kjell.....

the Hymer B544 is another in the same vein....like hen's teeth for a recent 2nd hand one.

IMHO, that 2014 Frankia would be far better built than the Burstner (IT 680 G?) but it is shorter and the Burstner has a garage in its extra length.

if thinking about the 680, have a very close look at the (nicer, IMHO) Dethleff 4-travel....same van, but a tad more upmarket.

also, the new Dethleffs Globebus look interesting....slim, light A class..