Auto-Trail versus Auto-Sleepers Van Conversions

We moved from a 2 berth caravan to an AS Warwick XL over 2 years ago and love it. Would we go back ?  Never. We can get the AS on the drive which is a big bonus, and find we are perhaps a little more selective when picking sites as you don't always want to move the van every day, but are happy to do so as required. It fits on a supermarket car-park, but pick a plot on the edges. It fits in many town car parks but not all. Its not very good with height barriers. Top bonus with taking the van out for the day is you have everything with you, and if you shop whilst out its straight into the fridge. We like the lay out, we use it as 2 singles, all other facilities are more than adequate and use them all fully, even on no facility sites. Storage is less, compared to a caravan, but you learn to pack tight and use every nook & cranny, we also have a waterproof box for storing stuff which you may have in your caravan gas locker outside of the van, in the summer a pop up tent too for chairs and BBQ. Touring is different in a van, we never stay more than 4/5 nights, often less, and move a shorter distance further on each time we move. We find we can carry clothes for 3 weeks, and food for about 4 days.

Quality of fittings is good, quality of build less so, we have, as many others have experienced minor niggles... faulty switch, leaking waste pipe, blind, fell off, screws loose, water pump failed.. Bear in mind they are a complex beast, and whilst they work ok in the factory, once you have dragged them around country roads for a few hundred miles things do fail.. No problems long term apart from the first few times out. We love it ....

There are a number of slimline coachbuilts on the market. I've fairly recently bought a Marquis Majestic 125,  6 x 2.14, so only 2" wider than a PVC. If you've got deep pockets, Carthago have a slimline A class range although the shortest is 6.4m.

PS  :

As I understand it Autosleeper and Autotrail and indeed Marquis are all part of the same group, all now owned by Trigano I think. 

https://www.practicalcaravan.com/news/42608-british-giant-marquis-leisure-bought-by-trigano

Our Carthago i138 is the 6.4m one that CY mentions, and at only 2.12m wide it is very slim..so (as the strapline goes) proper MH comfort in a Van footprint...

yes, they are (relatively) expensive, but are extremely well finished, have double floors, huge storage, two very large double beds....but I wouldn't expect this sort of van to be someone's first MH, especially moving from a typical uk caravan layout....this is our fourth and our first was a Swift.

so, our van (specifically) probably wouldn't suit the OP ....but some points are worth exploring...

Manoevrability:  I'm pretty sure our van has a shorter wheelbase than the 6/6.36m ducato/boxer vans (which are both the same, longer overhang on 6.36 version) which makes it easier to park on site and to spin round a mini roundabout.....my road test really surprised me compared to the longer wheelbase of our previously van.

the 'concept' of smaller/slimmer coachbuilts (see Hymer, Burstner, Elddis, Swift) gives more interior space than a same footprint PVC (more vertical sidewalls allows for larger lockers and a higher roofline) and generally better insulation, which can vary tremendously by PVC brand, depending on how well the van walls have been filled and how little and how good (or not) the materials are ....I can assure you they are not all the same...

the OP also mentioned the convenience of leaving the beds made up, which always makes me wonder why not just have two permanent singles in the rear, can be low for ease of access or higher to provide good storage beneath, they will 'always be made up', can provide day bed relaxing should this be required....and are (generally) far more comfortable than beds designed to be sofas... If away for many weeks this might have a bearing..

so, perhaps the question might be......a bed that can be relaxed on, or a sofa that can be slept on.....my OH often uses the rear bed to relax and read....

...but PVC with fixed beds will (due to space) have small(er) lounges and this may be a step too far for someone coming from a caravan.

For the OP's info (who didn't know that Swift made PVC vans) there are umpteen brands who make PVCs, although many won't have a rear lounge version, but can provide rear singles (and even the odd drop down bed) who have terrific build quality....incl Carthago (Malibu range), Adria, La Strada, Rapido, Hymer, Knaus, Pilote, Westfalia...

to balance the post, there are also plenty of other UK manufacturers who produce popular UK style PVC layouts....obviously AS, AT, East Neuk, IH, come to mind.

Justus2 05/03/2018 07:25

Cyberyacht 05/03/2018 07:30

BoleroBoy 05/03/2018 09:04

Thank you for taking time to help me, especially concerning Warwick XL usage/packing, and slimline coach-builts, which I was not aware of and will investigate. We are not far from East Neuk and will visit. IH look good but are very far away from we here in Perthshire.

Once again thanks to you all for sharing your knowledge and experience. It is much appreciated. Kind regards, Dave.

This discussion is very helpful as we make the change, after forty years, from a 2 berth caravan to motorhome.  The difficulty we have found in making a choice is the prevalence of Peugeot, Fiat or Ford as a base vehicle.  Neither my wife nor I can never imagine being happy to drive a Peugeot, a Fiat or a Ford.  This means that we are left with one choice: a Mercedes Sprinter with a proper TC 7 speed box.  We have looked at every available layout and tried to imagine every scenario in which we will find ourselves.  We keep coming back to what we see as the reality that only a parallel lounge layout will work for us and provide us with a short enough vehicle.  The answer, for us at least, is an Auto-Sleeper Stanton.  The next part of the equation is to talk to Auto-Sleeper and see if they are willing to build us one without the full oven and microwave.  We would never use the former and I cannot use the latter as I have a pacemaker. I know the arguments about second hand value of motorhomes without ovens but such an argument is irrelevant to us.  This will be our last motorhome and if our son wants to add an oven some time in the future it would not be much more than a day's work for him.

Unfortunately, Q, the Stanton is probably wider than Dave wants. It’s the same width as our AS Suffolk was and it took a lot of soul searching to give up the auto Merc and replace it with the manual Pug in order to get the narrower width van with a layout we were happy with.

We like the new van and the change was worthwhile but we do miss the Merc. At the end of the day, we each have to weigh things up and there'll always be a compromise to be made somewhere along the way.

Q, why not get your son to remove the oven and microwave?

2018 Swift Select 122  (Formerly Autocruise Rhythm as suggested by Fisherman).

6m PVC. Has a very nice long parallel 6ft fixed twins/make-up double bed. Decent wash room. No microwave. Gas bottles under the sink. Tight storage. Keenly priced. A contender for us.

According to local dealer 2018 production is sold out.

"Neither my wife nor I can never imagine being happy to drive a Peugeot, a Fiat or a Ford."