How do you manage in a campervan

Brookmans.

You may have already thought of this - it may be worthwhile hiring the sort of campervan you may wish to own so that you can try it for a couple of days or so including on a campsite. Some companies reimburse the hire fee if you buy.

 If you have opportunities to talk to campervan owners directly you may also find that helpful.

I wouldn’t want to take a big van or motorhome down those narrow sunken Cornish lanes.

I wouldn’t worry too much about that. If you avoid those lanes you’ll miss out on much of what Cornwall has to offer and never avoid the madding crowd. Those lanes will take you to beaches where you’ll be one of half-a-dozen people in peak season. Be bold. If you meet a local they’ll know how to handle the situation and get out of your way - it goes with the territory. If you meet a visitor some aren’t good at judging the width of their vehicle or driving backwards. They’ll generally just freeze, so take the initiative. Most panel vans are a tad over 2m wide so not much more than a modern family car/SUV etc, Just practice driving backwards! All of these situations resolve themselves without too much drama, it’s all part of the fun! Meeting a farmer in a tractor or worse is an entirely different proposition!

This is what I was trying to say earlier. You can go down these narrow sunken lanes in a smaller VW-size camper van with much more ease than a big van or motorhome. Just one of the reasons why VW vans are so popular in Cornwall. Trying to take a big coachbuilt motorhome on narrow roads can cause traffic chaos - as I saw last year when I came across one on the Bealach na Ba. Another advantage of smaller camper vans is they keep up with the pace of regular traffic on motorways and the open road. 

I am following this thread with interest as I have exactly the same problem and after 40+ years of caravanning see a campervan/motorhome as a more suitable choice.  I think that a big compromise is needed and ideally I would like something that I could use for holidays as well as a day van.  I have decided that campervans are just too small and have been looking at several van conversions.  I used to go fishing while away and this seems impossible without a garage which are not found on smaller vans.  My thoughts have now gone up in size and I have just looked at a Swift Escape Compact C205 which at 5.99M has a fixed bed and a garage.

Not forgetting you are welcome everywhere as you have the footprint of a regular car👍🏻