Rear Box

It depends on the overhang behind the the rear axle and what else you are "tempted" to put in the box,

There was a motor caravan near us this last w/end with a long overhang that had a rack on the back that carried a small m/cycle,and the front wheels looked as is they were hardly touching the road,but they seemed oblivious to it 

We keep our chairs in a made to measure bag from 'bags 4 everything' and then they are on the twin beds whilst travelling and underneath the motorhome when pitch up if not being used.

That sounds a great idea.  I am not too keen on extending overall length with a box.

If you are still thinking of the Stanton, you shouldn’t have a problem with the weight of a rack, box and contents on the rear wall but it might partially obscure your kitchen window. From memory, I think the weight limit on the rack is only 35kg but check it out as I could well be wrong. Extending the length will, obviously, be reflected in ferry fares and could make parking more difficult.

However, I would urge you to get the van first and see how your storage works out as you could be pleasantly surprised. Personally, I think Paolo has the right idea. 

I haven’t heard anything of Beeny Boxes for years but, essentially, they fitted 'drawers' in the skirt of the vehicle by cutting into the bodywork. I suspect modern vans with underslung tanks, spare wheel and associated gubbins simply don’t have space underneath for additional storage.

Q, i think you're right...any external box (or bike rack) is seen by (some) campsites and ferry operators as extra length, ie chargeable yet doesnt get you any more 'space'..

we could have had a 6m van (with no decent exterior storage.....youre issue, im afraid) and, with our bikes, the total length would have been close to 7m.....but with still a 6m living space...

so we went for a van with sufficient storage to keep them inside the garage (warm, dry and out of sight) and maintained an overall length of 6.4m..giving a living space of......6.4m

so 'saved' half a metre and bikes (and other outside stuff like chairs, footrests, tables) are in a better place...against the backwall of the garage, taking up little space....

unfortunately, the No 1 issue (IMHO) with the small van with front lounge/bed layout, is the (often) lack of external hatches and somewhere to put bulky wet gear.....

your underseat lockers will (no doubt) be full of Truma Combi/battery/PSU and on the other side all your bedding.....

neither is the place (possibly) for wet levelling blocks, outside coats/boots, ehu leads and connectors, hoses/fittings, other fluids (blue etc)....

its a shame that BeenyBox arent around as this was a great way to make use of unused under chassis space.....unfortunately, just not a common British 'thing'......think more likely tiny lockers with even tinier openings..

so, having ruled out all the 'nice' solutions, i would go for the 'bag' technique on the benches... you might even be able to put them in that favourite place for folk without decent storage.....the shower....

now we are starting to get to the nitty gritty of how different layouts favour different aspects of MHing.....and the compromises that often are a direct result of those 'reasons to buy'.

i wish you well in your quest.  

good luck

Qashqai, there is one point I forgot to mention and that is if you choose the AS option of having overcab storage rather than the panorama roof light (I think the option still exists), you’ll find the overcab area large enough to take your bedding. That not only frees up storage under bunk but also saves backache. 

So what have you decided on Qashqai66? One of the reason we went for the Majestic 125 was a garage yet still within 6M length.

We have two La Fuma light weight reclining chairs. We store them in a nylon bag and they fit across the shower. As they were quite expensive we are reluctant to leave them outside when we are out or overnight but we find they fit perfectly behind the turned round passenger seat when on site. 

David 

Cyberyacht, we have definitely decided on the Auto-sleeper Stanton.  It is the right size for us and is similar in layout to a 2 berth caravan which is the format which has served us well in almost forty years.  We also like the Mercedes with 7 seed DCT transmission.  We are meeting the sales manage of our nearest dealer at the Auto-sleeper factory towards the end of November in order to have a look at the Stanton and talk numbers.

Many thanks for helpful replies with regard to a rear box.  It seems to me that if we can manage without it would be a preferable option.  Auto-sleeper still offer the choice of overhead lockers above the cab which we definitely want.  We have no desire for a skylight there, not least as I need sunglasses nearly all the time for driving and the extra storage will be a real bonus.

We are planning to do the Motorhome Manoeuvring course.  having driven trailed vehicles since childhood I was surprised that there were tips I picked up on the caravan course so no doubt the motorhome one is similarly worth doing.