More Euro-van ideas!

[Davydd]

There was about a foot clearance cantilevered over the bed and a cabinet was above it as well. The tri-fold sofa bed was full length the same as what they were putting in after they changed the bathroom. The sink was fairly big for a Class B bathroom and there was vanity top space. In that regard it was nice. They had somewhat resolved the flexible drain hose after mine. I finally just redesigned mine with better hose and connections, and pretty much eliminated the problems. Anything that flexes is going to eventually crack. After my fix I had one last extended trip and it worked. Before, about 6-8 weeks of use a crack in the flexible hose would develop. It was frustrating but carrying a spare hose made it a 5 minute fix. I think most people thought the whole design was strange.

[BobB]

Thinking of space saving sinks, Hymer had a swing-away bath sink a year or so ago in their Compact series. Do not see it in their current brochures.

[mumkin]

I like that swing away sink... very nice idea.

[BobB]

Originally Posted by mumkin

I like that swing away sink... very nice idea.

Cannot find it in 2016 brochure, so I wonder if it did not work as expected and/or was a bit too costly. They seem to now just have a fixed sink or a flip-up sink.

[BobB]

Just saw this video posted on the 2016 Adria lineup.

Very interesting how the narrator really pays attention to space saving ideas. Adria has a van less than 18' long with transverse double bed, wet bath and dinette. But listen to the review of the Adria Compact Plus SP. Use of concave overhead cabinets to make space feel a bit larger, table extension that pops out and up from underneath, L-shaped cooker/sink to give one some counter space. Bath with rotating toilet and flip-up sink to make larger shower. And it comes with a huge - to me - "garage". And it is under 20ft. long.

Lots of interesting ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33opsx1NLRU

[mkguitar]

Here's a link to the company we rented from in Ireland last year:

http://www.bunkcampers.com/


The vehicle was French ( Citroen) the conversion Italian, the Company is based in the Northern Ireland with branches across the UK and Dublin.

I spend alot of time in Europe ( I tour with Rock Bands)- generally the coaches we use on tour and the campervan we rented use similar materials.
lots of synthethics, strand or MDF board covered with laminates or carpeting.
the upholstery of the seating is durable- not deluxe for comfort though.

I think quite a distance from Euro-Utility to American comfort expectations.
there was some outgassing from the materials, adhesives used in the van- giving a slight odor.

Our van had a 2 burner stove with oven, heat and hot water all gas. A bottle was secured into a cabinet with spare bottle under the bed area.

The sideways sleeper was tight

cassette toilet...

Wet bath, but we realised we'd rather not use the shower and keep the van free of moisture

The experience gained from that trip helped us determine what we wanted in our own van

As for the rental experience, they were great and the cost was good- the insurance we bought was a large part of the cost- but driving a larger vehicle on very slender roads...I felt we really needed to have coverage

Mike

[mlts22]

Of all the items mentioned, I remember three from perusing Motorhome Magazine's videos:

1: I like the replacement door, instead of the sliding door. This adds a few inches of space, and it cuts down on the racket when opening/closing. No slamming needed, as with a RV door, I can pull on the latch to preload the spring, and then close it noiselessly, when sleeping in a dense area. I only saw one European rig with that, but forgot the name. That, I would love to have.

2: Seitz windows. I wish I could get those on a van here in the US. Yes, they are plastic, but they open far wider, and because they are double-paned, provide a lot of insulation and noise dampening.

3: i don't recall the floor plan, (thinking it was one of the German "B" makers), but it had an aisle shower with a tambour door around it. So, on a normal basis, the only space needed was for the toilet (and the sink flipped down.) However, when one wanted a shower, one closed the door, and had a lot of room to easily shower, more than almost all "B"s, except the RT Chevies with the aisle shower.

Of course, their Truma and Alde setups are one generation ahead of what's in the US. I would really love a diesel Truma Combi model, just because it means that the propane tank could be made smaller and just used for the stove and refrigerator.

[BobB]

Originally Posted by mlts22

3: i don't recall the floor plan, (thinking it was one of the German "B" makers), but it had an aisle shower with a tambour door around it. So, on a normal basis, the only space needed was for the toilet (and the sink flipped down.) However, when one wanted a shower, one closed the door, and had a lot of room to easily shower, more than almost all "B"s, except the RT Chevies with the aisle shower.

Of course, their Truma and Alde setups are one generation ahead of what's in the US.

A number of Euro rvs that do a van conversion have the aisle shower. Below is photo of an Adria Twin - a tambour door runs in that track. Rialta's had a similar configuration where the drain pan was under a panel in the aisle and the shower walls slid out over it. I think Davyyd's Alvar has an aisle shower, too, but don't recall seeing it in photos.

There are American manufacturers using Truma and Alde - WGO has Truma combos on the Travato, for instance.

[wincrasher]

The Truma is now on the Era as well. The Coachmen Galleria is also using it.

[sheral]

Originally Posted by BobB

Just saw this video posted on the 2016 Adria lineup.

Very interesting how the narrator really pays attention to space saving ideas. Adria has a van less than 18' long with transverse double bed, wet bath and dinette. But listen to the review of the Adria Compact Plus SP. Use of concave overhead cabinets to make space feel a bit larger, table extension that pops out and up from underneath, L-shaped cooker/sink to give one some counter space. Bath with rotating toilet and flip-up sink to make larger shower. And it comes with a huge - to me - "garage". And it is under 20ft. long.

Lots of interesting ideas.

Wow, that's a very interesting 'watch.' Seems the Europeans are way ahead of the curve in some aspects. Thanks for the post!