flarts wrote:Hello!
My name is Mike and I actually live just over the boarder in North Wales near Mold (not far from Chester and the Wirral) but I decided to post my debut post in the NW section of the forum as most of the NW is far more accessible to us than much of Wales... and my wife IS from the Wirral... so we're NW with intent.
We've been pondering buying a Bongo for a good while and feel we're now just about ready but we need some help.
The trouble is, we're a bit lost, confused, perhaps not even sure it's right for us and in short I'm hoping some kind soul on the forum will say something along the lines of "hey, I'm only 20 minutes away, pop round and I'll show you my Bongo and tell you all about it"
Cheeky I know. I've looked at every site from second hand to all the main importers and converters so I've done as much internet research as my poor brain can take but I think we need to see one up close (which is proving quite elusive for some reason), have a good look at the "upstairs", figure out where we'd fit the dog etc and have a proper chat with a real life Bongo owner.
Thanks in advance and I apologise if I'm being a little forward.
Is it just you and your wife or kids as well? Is it just the one dog?
We are new to Bongos but when we go away there is me, my wife, my 7 year old, my 3 year old and our 2 year old dog.
We've just been away for 15 days in it with no problems at all. We have a drive away awning which gives ample space. Ours has a mid kitchen with the full bench seat still in place at the back.
We have slept in many different configurations, the most common is my wife and 3 year old downstairs, the dog on the front passenger seat and me and my 7 year old in the roof.
There is space for and adult and both children in the roof. Which then gives loads of room downstairs, we also managed one night with my wife and 2 kids down stairs and me and the dog in the roof.
The front passenger seat folds back flat making the whole of that side a bed which is very long! There are loads of ways to do it.
We've done a few nights without the awning - that is harder but possible. It is easier if the weather is nice. Our boot is normally packed very well and there is nowhere for all that to go if we don't have the awning up, so we leave the seat upright and I sleep further down with my head on the rear seat base and my legs on the front passenger seat. The dog fits on the rear bench seat next to me and the others go in the roof. The kids car seats go on the front drivers seat.
Edit...
Forgot to add that we have a large roof box too, this helps with travelling but has the downside of needing to empty it to lift the roof, so it all has to come in. Most of it is bedding anyway, cushions and sleeping bags and the bed base for the middle downstairs. There is also the awning which can go under the bed or even under the bongo.
but you're welcome if you're passing. I did a lot of research like you before committing to a Bongo nearly 9 years ago.
