UK Built Motorhomes

Can you please tell us what make/model your 6 metre with drop down bed is?

You can't just press a button and the bed descends in an a-class which uses the cab area. You have to fiddle about with the seats, sometimes the adjustable steering wheel and sometimes the handbrake. There are numerous other disadvantages as well.

On the upside, the whole of the main body of the van is available all the time which means one can stay in bed whilst the other brews up 'downstairs'. 

Wherever the drop down bed is located, it is a good solution for people like me who have limited space for a motorhome [ours is 6m like Blackdeath's]. It's the equivalent of having an extra 1.5m of motorhome. This benefit overrides all the disadvantages.

Personally I prefer beds at a "normal" level and I like having an easy choice of singles or a double. Singles allow for anyone to get out without disturbing the other occupant, nice and easy for the tea maker in the morning (me...) I'm not a fan of climbing up steps to bed either, with very little room to sit up in bed. It all needs careful thought about comfort and ease of use.

I think the van shows are worth visiting to really get the feel of different designs and layouts.

I think the main thing you should think about is how you will use a MH compared to a caravan and the layout you want.  We changed to a MH in 2016 and thought carefully before we bought it, we knew from reading blogs and posts in forums that we would be using it differently and rather than set up on site and travel out for days we would travel out for days and then stop the night at different sites, doing a more circular tour rather than a hub and spoke tour.  We only spend 1-3 nights on site now then move on, its the fun in MH'ing.

Layout we decided we definitely did not want a caravan style layout as it would waste too much space, we wanted captains chairs to make use of the cab but we did want a fixed bed.  Remember if you have a 8m caravan now to get the same space in a MH it would be 9-9.5m long, maybe not practical for touring.  

Are continental vans better built, IMHO yes but they are also better designed, the base price with nothing in is the same as a UK van with all the bells and whistles so you can tell where the money goes!

If you want a top quality Motorhome with parallel beds then in the UK you can’t do much better than an Auto-Sleepers. You will get the same parallel bench as a caravan but as others have said you will need to compromise on the internal space and the lifestyle is very different to a caravan.

We have had our Broadway for 2 years and I am extremely impressed with the quality which I would argue matches the top European makes, but of course at a price. I like that the design has been fixed for several years so you get incremental improvements without the risks of a prototype. Plenty of models to choose from either Peugeot or Mercedes based and a large dealer network (Marquis plus others).

I'm  in the same mind as brue, we like beds at normal height, not climbing steps or drop down type.

We have a British built van, end lounge just like a caravan lounge. Make up bed at night either 2 singles or a king size. We have plenty of storage for bedding etc. and a good payload that allows us to carry 2 ebikes on a rack on the rear of the van. A full washroom not wet room, and both cab seats swivel. Good sized full kitchen for use in UK  we've  had it just over 5 years now and very happy with it. Like all makes its had its issues but nothing that a good dealer can't fix. By the way its 6.6mtrs.