Another campervan question

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 Billhook 12 Mar 2019

My wife and I are looking at camper options.  

For those of you that have them, or had them  low roofed ones.

I'll need to bend over when standing.  Is this a real problem or is it just a case of getting used to it?

(my wife will probably able to stand up but I doubt i will!!)

 Tom Valentine 12 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I had a little Nissan with a pop top but on windy days could get by without raising it , only finding it awkward when cooking.

 The Norris 12 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

My wife can stand in ours, but I can't. We decided pretty early on that she'd do the majority of the inside chores, and I'd do the outside ones. It works fine for us.

 Heike 12 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

It's a pain.... we have got a pop top and I often don't remember when it is open and will stoop all the time. My family has had quite a laugh about it. But yes, standing up straight to make your tea and your dinner is quite a nice thing.  

 andy dunn 12 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

For us a pop-roof was a must have on our T5 conversion. The thought of not having one and having to spend quite a lot of time in the van (winter trips / rainy days) wasn’t appealing. 

If we were to do it all again we wouldn’t be looking at the roof as something we would want to do without.

Neither of us are over 5’8”.

 Andy Hardy 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

A high roof means height barriers could stop you using some car parks / shops etc but they are better insulated, important if you are using it for winter trips.

We went with a pop top and will again, but we're not winter warriors!

 snoop6060 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I'm very short and even I would not get one with a low roof. I have a pop top but when I'm camping without it up it's a bit grim. Doable but not comfortable at all. 

 didntcomelast 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

We had a pop top VW for 7 years. Used the van in all weathers all year. Now have a full height Sprinter camper van.

With the VW, if it was very windy the roof stayed down for fear of damage to the structure, if it was very cold the roof stayed down to keep warm, if it was wet the roof stayed down because it was a pain sorting out drying it.

Don’t  get me wrong we loved that van, trouble was we were so conscious about looking after the roof we put ourselves through discomfort to protect it.  I lost count of how many times I banged my head and cooking was a pain as we tended to have to sit down to do it.

Having a full height vehicle is far simpler for living in, but, you can’t park in height restricted spaces and fuel consumption is reduced. It’s a compromise. 

 Dark-Cloud 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

We converted a T5 into a camper without pop top roof at first and lived with it like that for 2 years and did loads of trips, it was doable but eventually got a pop top put into it and it’s was a revelation, it made it 100 times more practical and usable, I wouldn’t even consider a limited height van now.

My next one will be a Ducato or similar full height one, just need to find £50k.......

 jon 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Heike:

> we have got a pop top and I often don't remember when it is open and will stoop all the time.

Ha yes! I’ve had a number of campers over the years without pop tops. A couple of years ago we rented a VW with one for a couple of weeks... and spent most of the time stooped over, just like you!

 Siward 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

LWB Hi Top for me. Room for a proper conversion, plenty of storage, can walk about happily inside, just much more liveable. It is horses for courses though- what do you need from your camper?

 guy127917 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

We have a normal height ("low roofed") LWB vivaro and it's fine for being a weekend warrior.. for longer trips I do end up getting quite stiff because of the lack of standing ability. Especially in the summer if you cook/hang out outside a lot anyway, it's not a necessity. (Would be "nice" though, and ultimately the van is a luxury anyway)

 Cheese Monkey 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I’ve had both and will never have a low roof again. 

Never had a problem parking the high roof 

 Tigger 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

We've got a low roof Vito (I'm 6 ft 2), we use it mainly for weekend trips and for a couple of week trips a year. I don't find standing all that important the table extends from the worktop to the seating so food pre can be done easily whilst sitting. It also meant I could fully insulate the roof, making winter nights warmer without the need of a heater.

 two_tapirs 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

We've got a T5 and I'm 6'4, so can't stand up in it as it is, but we're going to have a pop top installed this year.  

The height (or lack of) isn't really a massive hinderance for us as we're not living in the van for long periods of time, and I can do the cooking/tea making when sat down on the bed.  I say it's not a hinderance, but it's not ideal if we were spending long periods of time in the van. I can sit up in bed or at the table and there's just enough head clearance.  

I'd recommend that you consider the pop top, or a high top roof, as it does make a difference.

OP Billhook 13 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

thanks for all your replies.  Food for though and very useful. looks like a pop up top if you are likely to spend more than the odd weekend in!

 nathan79 14 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

Could be worse. I can't even sit up straight in my wee Berlingo one! A couple of inches too low.

 aln 14 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I found a caravan swingers site the other day.

2
 BruceM 15 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I built ours out of a low top van.  No pop-top.  And no problem, because I didn't build it to stand in.  We go outside for that.  Inside it's basically a full length, narrow, double bed, at sit height.

Everything else down the side and front.  So you sit on the bed to cook.  Toilet under dinky trapdoor down back.  So aside from a few moments shuffling in or out of the side door, or down to the toilet, if you are inside, you are sitting -- or lying.

Works well for us (3-4 months living in at a time max) and allows a watertight, warm, thickly insulated and fully carpeted cozy interior.

 galpinos 15 Mar 2019
In reply to Heike:

Do you mind saying what you've got? We are a family of four and our ageing Bongo is feeling small but as we are a little cash strapped at the moment finding a replacement is proving tricky.

Andrew Kin 15 Mar 2019
In reply to Billhook:

I must be doing something completely different with my van to others.  I did over 10,000 mls last year.  Went to Austria.  Went on numerous climbing weekends.  Probably slept in it about 30 nights at least.

Not once did I think, I wish I could stand up in this.  My van is for transport, cooking, sleeping and eating.  Every so often it will be wet and I sit in it and read.  If the weather is what I hope it to be, I can’t see the point in being inside a metal box. I think I will add a raising roof eventually to add more sleeping space, but not so I can stand up

 Heike 15 Mar 2019
In reply to galpinos

> Do you mind saying what you've got? We are a family of four and our ageing Bongo is feeling small but as we are a little cash strapped at the moment finding a replacement is proving tricky.

Hi, no problem, we have got a VW T5 with a pop-top, a conversion of a relatively new secondhand VW van. Despite what I said I think it is still more versatile than a highroof for parking, etc reasons. We spent all our savings on getting this van (and selling the previous) but I would say it was worth it! It allows us to do what we want which is going away at the weekend when we want without much prior planning and in reasonable comfort. We could do the same when we were just a couple with a crappy car and a tent when it's just the two of you, but with kid(s) this is definitely a bit better!

Post edited at 13:19
 Andy Hardy 15 Mar 2019
In reply to aln:

> I found a caravan swingers site the other day.

I had no idea that caravan swinging was a thing. I thought they'd be much to heavy.

 galpinos 21 Mar 2019
In reply to Heike:

Thanks. I'm not sure we have the capital for a Transporter (of any vintage) at the mo as trying to buy a new house. Will just have to try to keep the Bongo on the road......


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