Calling all ex bongo owners

[Bob]

Have to agree, some of the motorhomes are splendid, but £££££

[roosmith]

If you are having to tow a car around with your motorhome you are not using your motorhome correctly.

Motorhomes are for touring, caravans are for when you want to stay in one place day after day.

Not always, we rarely stay anywhere longer than 2 nights in the caravan. Different people want different ways of doing things. We like the caravan as we have more living space but still have something small to go sightseeing in.

[mikeonb4c]

Hi

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately hubby is dead set against a caravan (possibly down to traumatic caravan holidays when he was young). I've done my best to convince him but he's not budging

Don't think we'd go down the full motorhome route but are considering Transit, Vivaro size conversions (quite like the look of Sussex Campers paradise twin)

http://sussexcampervans.com/our-work/paradise-twin/

Or possibly a wildax solaris type van.

Now just need to decide if we want to double the mortgage in order to pay for it

Sara

Hmmm. Think i'd prefer the Hiace. 4wd, autobox, Toyota reliability and a spare £15k in my pocket.

[Jim the Box]

Bought an eriba to be towed with the bongo but to be honest we preferred not to use campsites so the caravan was getting left at home and we just wild camped. We did miss the comfort of having a proper toilet and shower room and also the increased storage so sold the bongo and the eriba caravan. Bought a brand new 2 berth motorhome, with cruise control, microwave, king size bed, bike rack, full winter pack and heating system, etc etc Elaine loves it, I MISS MY BONGO.
Motorhomes are not as much fun to drive, parking can be an issue, quite a few places are anti motorhome, they take up more room at home when they are parked up, we almost bought a Nissan elgrand but Mrs wilson wanted her comforts, end of story.

[MountainGoat]

Hi Sara,

Did you know that the Gordons from Aberdeenshire turned up at at both Lossiemouth and Red Squirrel last year in a spanking new van based on a transit. No Idea who built it, may have been by Wildaxe. Get them to come to a meet somewhere so you can learn the vans pros and cons from them before you spend your hard earned cash.

Tony

[mountainmummy]

Hi all.

Love the Hiace (there are quite a few quirky ones on autotrader at the moment) but if we change we really want to go for something a bit newer (boring, dull and soulless probably).

Tony, we've had a look at the Gordon's van, it's lovely a wellhouse terrier I think.

By the way what has happened to the price of bongos these days? Some are being advertised at £18,000

We're really just speculating at the moment, went through this last year too and decided to stick with the Freda and just use our lovely Outwell Tent if we were staying anywhere for more than 3 days.

If we ever do move on, we'll definitely miss the camaraderie of this group and the basic loveliness of Bongo Owners.

Sara

[Bob]

No need to leave here even if you do change the Bongo.

All vehicles welcome at Meets, too. I quite enjoy looking round peoples new motors as who knows, we may have to swap one day.

Not planning that soon, but...

[Dr Fingers]

I think these have a lot going for them:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291400608892

Been in one when it was being driven around country lanes in a spirited manner and i was impressed. Tough as old boots too i believe.[/quote]


V impressed with Toyotas, saw nice ones at Andys Imports..

Derek

[mikeonb4c]

I think these have a lot going for them:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291400608892

Been in one when it was being driven around country lanes in a spirited manner and i was impressed. Tough as old boots too i believe.

V impressed with Toyotas, saw nice ones at Andys Imports..

Derek[/quote]

What i also like is they're no wider than a Bongo so should be able to travel all the same routes. I looked at a new Merc Sprinter conversion recently. V smart and had everything you need for the £65k price tag but apart from the stupendous cost it would still be a lot more than a Hiace to get down those lanes . And its still not automatic, which i would dearly miss in a campervan now i've experienced it

[Jillygumbo]

I think if I ever wanted something a little bit bigger than a bongo, I would want preferably a fixed bed and a bathroom/toilet room. The Hiace looks interesting but you've still got to make up the bed, unless you clamber up above the cab seats every night. If that was easy (to get down too) then mmmmm ...

But I'm not - I'm happy with what I've got - for now.

[BongoBongo123]

Is the Sussex camper really any bigger than a Bongo. Seems small to me, I think something bigger than that might be the order of the day if upsizing is the plan.

[mountainmummy]

Is the Sussex camper really any bigger than a Bongo. Seems small to me, I think something bigger than that might be the order of the day if upsizing is the plan.

It's not massively bigger, but it has a six foot wide bed that can be made at the front and cupboards, kitchen area at the back.

Our Freda is unconverted and we've chosen to remain unconverted because we occasionally all need to sleep downstairs when it's too cold or windy to sleep in the roof (we like to camp all year round). So our trips away involve quite a bit of packing and even worse unpacking . Hence the thought of a fixed kitchen with fridge is very tempting and not achievable for us in the Freda.

The kids are 8 and 9 now so all bunking in together is ok but I suspect they will be less keen to do this when they are 14 and 15, sigh (often wish I could roll back time to when they were 3 and 4). My ideal choice of van would be a wildax solaris, not too big but has a kitchen, loo and bunk beds for the kids.

In all probability we will stick with the Freda as doubling our mortgage is not an attractive thought, but it's great to get feedback and suggestions as there must be lots of ideas to consider.

Sara

[mikeonb4c]

Cost is another reason i suggest the hiace. Some of the alternatives are mouth wateringly expensive and i wonder what the depreciation might be like

[winchman]

Having had a few campers the problem is they are often too big, just been to North Cornwall and many of the roads only just fit a car down them.
I have a tin top and never camp in it as we feel its too small so take the caravan.
Problem with campers / motor homes is they are just too expensive for the amount of time you an use them.

[cmm303]

I found myself eyeing up the lwb fiat/citroen/Peugeot vans in their standard width guise. Very popular with the continentals visiting Scotland and definitely give that extra bit of accommodation, wc convenience, keeping a bed up and no crawling around! Then I look at the Bongo and realise how much I enjoy not having to give a second thought where I take it and anyway, Bongo has mansion like dimensions compared with ....

We were convinced they have to take the engine out to give the length to sleep!