Coming from a 'conventional' camper.

[earthman]

How many of you demountable owners had owned a 'normal' camper van before you went down this route?

I have a question in my mind that keeps popping up from time to time, do you now find that you have less general 'living' space inside?

We currently have a Peugeot Boxer medium wheel base van, that's got a long rectangular floor space as such but if one of us is stood at the cooker, the other can't get by to a seat or the fridge for example. From what we've seen of these demountables, is it fair to say that the floor space you have is basically a small square?

In practice, how do you find living with this space, what are the pros & cons?

[zildjian]

For ourselves we came from a VW so the (floor) space was even smaller although accessed from the side door of course rather than the now linear demountable (rear door)
we only find the whole getting-in-the-way occurs around feeding time so get a seat early,
or as these days cook/eat outside fit an awning sunshade


worst case angry scenario; sit in the car fuming

[Madmountainman]

I've not had a conventional camper, but i did look long and hard at all the options before settling on a demountable and spent time with friends in their campers/motorhomes. My criteria for a camper was to have the most comfortable/biggest bed in the smallest camper. To get a full Euro Kingsize in a camper, you have to go large i.e. Jumbo Transit or Coachbuilt at a minimum. You get a bigger bathroom and bigger lounging area as a plus (if that's what you're after), but you end up just carrying around a lot of space you rarely need or use. This all involves extra weight, which then affects your fuel consumption. If you're wealthy, then this isn't a problem. I'm not wealthy and need the best mpg I can find. Besides, if you're too busy worrying about the cost of travelling in a big camper, you'll end up not going anywhere!
In virtually any camper, there's the difficulty of passing your partner etc when cooking. It's not impossible in a demountable, but it's best if your other half is sat outside in the sun, or inside reading a book if it's raining. I've found that my demountable has given me all the creature comforts I require on the road, at a fraction of the price of an equivalently specced camper. Once i've retired and have more time to travel, i'll also have the benefit of getting my camper to many places a normal camper won't go.
It takes up less room on the driveway, gives me a car to use every day and, because you can take the camper off, you're not paying the fuel penalty of a normal camper, lugging around the full weight all of the time.
In my opinion, the whole point of a camper is to provide you with a comfortable base to explore from. If you're carrying around a load of space, you'll only be tempted to relax in its' confines instead of getting out and about. Big campers are for people that like to show off a little and also entertain friends inside, which, if that's your thing, will be perfect.
The other side of demountables, that rarely gets a mention, is the type of people that get drawn to them. I've had a similar experience in my bike club, where i've found a group of people with common interests, values, social backgrounds, fondness for beer and good food, good times etc etc. I've not met anyone here as yet, due to only just getting my demountable, but the vibe from this forum and facebook give me the impression i'll be meeting another similar bunch of people here. I can't say the same from my forays into some of the motorhome/camper forums.

[zildjian]

You can write our mission statement,







couldn't have put it better myself

[earthman]

I'm thinking that at least there is a nice big bed that's permanently made up top, one of us could always jump up there and get out of the other ones way.

Our first motorhome were a VWT4, Holdsworth conversion, we lived with that for 10 years, got fed up with the porta potti in the cupboard and just out grew it a bit really, the Boxer is a bit longer so there's space for a 'proper' toilet cubical which we really like.

There's bound to be pros & cons I know, no matter which type of camper one buys,....we are still planning on going down the demountable route, trying to find 'the' one for us at the right price will probably be the biggest challenge though.

[Madmountainman]

My EC6 S Karosser has a permanent kingsize bed, dinette seating for four people, large fridge, shower, flushing bog and posh central heating. The only thing missing is an oven, but you can retro-fit one. Other mods in the pipeline are an extra battery and inverter and converting my bed to a lengthways one. As stated, for a lot less cost than an equivalent camper. If you're down Devon way, you're welcome to call by.

[sabconsulting]

We haven't come from other campers, but have used these in various places around the world:









One of the things I really miss when I rent a camper is not having the fixed bed over the cab - the Mitsubishi Canter did, but that was a big box of a thing and I wouldn't get that in many of the places I get the demountable. So although squeezing past someone cooking is a struggle (but is possible if you are slim), with the fixed bed there is somewhere to retreat to to get you out of the way. So for anyone coming from a small camper without a fixed bed the over-cab bed can be a real benefit.

A few other things when comparing regular motorhomes with demountable campers

I would say a regular motorhome is much more of a "turn key" solution. Where-as with a demountable camper you have a separate truck and camper and need to ensure they are properly matched, correctly tied down, possibly with the correct modifications to the truck to accept the camper and you know how to load and unload, etc. It is often a much more customisable solution though and of course you can change the camper or the truck separately AND use the truck for other purposes.

Also, because the camper is not integral with the truck you have to remember you cannot get from the cab to the camper and therefore lose the option to have rotating captains chairs at the front that can be used from within the camper. You also need to consider how the vehicle handles - a van-based motorhome is a steel monocoque. A demountable is a large heavy box tied down to the truck, often with a higher centre of gravity since everything must be fitted above the load bed level whereas on a motorhome you can install heavy things like water tanks, batteries, gas bottles etc. down at the chassis level. You therefore need to think a bit more about how you drive when on bumpy surfaces since you can get a bit of an inverted pendulum effect, and you don't want to stress your tie-downs too much. On the other hand your ground clearance is much better and the pickup truck is narrower than a van so the camper body (the wide bit) starts higher up. In practice I have found this means I can squeeze the demountable along places you would't think you could, because there is little to catch on obstacles low down. Plus you get 4x4.

Steve.

[rubberrat]

We've come from just about everything, tiny Romahomes, a dozen or more VW's, American ('Murican) RV and every shade of panelvan and coachbuilt in between.

First off, I'll divide campervan/motorhomers into two distinct camps -

The hardcore Brit weekender who needs to replicate their permanent residence. Usually a tidy bungalow on a street of similar. Daily mail every day etc. They needs lots of space to live indoors as they never leave the cold and rainy UK- only poking their noses outside after Coronation Street to make sure everyone else is nicely in line.

The second bunch travel further afield - often to warm places full Johnny Foreigner and funny food. This lot are rather more adventurous and spend more time outdoors (being bitten by mosquitoes) and thus need less inside space but like something to negotiate narrow roads and villages and don't mind a bit of compromise.

In a slightly more serious line - our experience has show that the smaller camper that has just enough of what you need and you can enjoy is usually the best choice.
However - an hour at a big motorhome dealer will show you that most folks like big stuff with everything 'Just like home'

[earthman]

My EC6 S Karosser has a permanent kingsize bed, dinette seating for four people, large fridge, shower, flushing bog and posh central heating. The only thing missing is an oven, but you can retro-fit one. Other mods in the pipeline are an extra battery and inverter and converting my bed to a lengthways one. As stated, for a lot less cost than an equivalent camper. If you're down Devon way, you're welcome to call by.

Many thanks for the offer, sadly I'm miles away in Hertfordshire, moving soon to Lincolnshire so will be even further away from you. If you have any pictures of your rig, I'd love to see them.

[earthman]

We haven't come from other campers, but have used these in various places around the world:









One of the things I really miss when I rent a camper is not having the fixed bed over the cab - the Mitsubishi Canter did, but that was a big box of a thing and I wouldn't get that in many of the places I get the demountable. So although squeezing past someone cooking is a struggle (but is possible if you are slim), with the fixed bed there is somewhere to retreat to to get you out of the way. So for anyone coming from a small camper without a fixed bed the over-cab bed can be a real benefit.

A few other things when comparing regular motorhomes with demountable campers

I would say a regular motorhome is much more of a "turn key" solution. Where-as with a demountable camper you have a separate truck and camper and need to ensure they are properly matched, correctly tied down, possibly with the correct modifications to the truck to accept the camper and you know how to load and unload, etc. It is often a much more customisable solution though and of course you can change the camper or the truck separately AND use the truck for other purposes.

Also, because the camper is not integral with the truck you have to remember you cannot get from the cab to the camper and therefore lose the option to have rotating captains chairs at the front that can be used from within the camper. You also need to consider how the vehicle handles - a van-based motorhome is a steel monocoque. A demountable is a large heavy box tied down to the truck, often with a higher centre of gravity since everything must be fitted above the load bed level whereas on a motorhome you can install heavy things like water tanks, batteries, gas bottles etc. down at the chassis level. You therefore need to think a bit more about how you drive when on bumpy surfaces since you can get a bit of an inverted pendulum effect, and you don't want to stress your tie-downs too much. On the other hand your ground clearance is much better and the pickup truck is narrower than a van so the camper body (the wide bit) starts higher up. In practice I have found this means I can squeeze the demountable along places you would't think you could, because there is little to catch on obstacles low down. Plus you get 4x4.

Steve.

That's funny, I would have said that a conventional motorhome isn't a 'turn key' situation, well not when you have to drive it off a campsite every other day at least, to buy supplies or visit another town/attraction for example,....constantly having to put away the kettle, toaster etc and swiveling seats can be a pain. I know what you are getting at though, the loading/unloading the camper unit can be a royal pain I guess, we would aim to do it straight away when we arrive at a campsite and reload at the end of the holiday.

Great pictures by the way, I do like those B class American motorhomes, I watch a few people on YouTube who live full time in them.