First night away in Bunty

[C&C]

Finally got away for the weekend in Bunty. We took ourselves off to The Forest of Dean, 2 adults, 2 kids and 4 bikes. Lots of mountain biking (on the family trails) and no crashes. Stayed at Bracelands campsite in the forest which was quiet, friendly and spotless. Could have happily stayed 3 or 4 nights as there is loads to do, but sadly school and work on Monday dragged us back to London.

Had a fantastic time, loved the van. Slept really well despite the really quite heavy rain. Cooked on our little campinggaz stove and all in all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves playing with all the stuff we've bought and creating an even more extensive list of things to buy for our big trip to France in August.

Definitely want a drive away awning, a different bike rack, as we are still using our tow bar mounted one due to funds being low and a calitopper to keep the girls a bit warmer and darker.

 

[Lorri]

Hi. We have an Ocean, we treated him to a Vango Cruz drive away awning. Have only set it up in the garden so far, but it seems ample for our needs (2x adults) bike storage, seating etc. Enjoy.

 

[C&C]

Hi. We have an Ocean, we treated him to a Vango Cruz drive away awning. Have only set it up in the garden so far, but it seems ample for our needs (2x adults) bike storage, seating etc. Enjoy.

Thanks a million will have a look!!

 

[Esandar#1]

Finally got away for the weekend in Bunty. We took ourselves off to The Forest of Dean, 2 adults, 2 kids and 4 bikes. Lots of mountain biking (on the family trails) and no crashes. Stayed at Bracelands campsite in the forest which was quiet, friendly and spotless. Could have happily stayed 3 or 4 nights as there is loads to do, but sadly school and work on Monday dragged us back to London.

Had a fantastic time, loved the van. Slept really well despite the really quite heavy rain. Cooked on our little campinggaz stove and all in all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves playing with all the stuff we've bought and creating an even more extensive list of things to buy for our big trip to France in August.

Definitely want a drive away awning, a different bike rack, as we are still using our tow bar mounted one due to funds being low and a calitopper to keep the girls a bit warmer and darker.

View attachment 21668

View attachment 21669

Hi C&C,
Following a series of trips last summer (in our temporary van), we bought a Kyham driveaway awning for any longer trips this summer - to give us some more indoor outdoor space! http://www.khyam.co.uk/shop/campervan-motorhome-awnings/driveaway-sleeper/ The 'Driveaway Sleeper' seems perfect for our needs (2 adults, 2 boys aged 10 &12). The awning can be configured with our without the fully enclosed 4 berth sleeping section, meaning loads of space if just the 4 of us or we can offer to accomodate any extras! That proved handy on our first test camp of the year as I was in charge of packing and left the entire comfort mattress at home (Unbeievable I know). So, the boys and their cousin all slept in the awning and my wife and I slept up on the top for the first time ever!

The awning was pretty easy to assemble and pack down, though getting it all back into its carry bag was a challenge. It offers a very good outdoor indoor space but you wouldn't want to take it unless you were fairly sure you'd want to use it (as any tent of even this size is quite heavy / bulky - although I'm sure in it's compressed state it is tiny compared to many big tents)

Re Toppers, I've been round the houses several times researching this one! There is a full Price / type of use / Size / Easy of fitting matrix that you can draw up, and even then they all have some pros and cons for something which clearly probably won't get used that much.

For me the choice is coming down to the Kyham's Camper Cozi (cheaper, bulkier £199) and the Comfortz topper (smaller to store but more expensive at £299 or £235 with or without windows). You may get a discount on either or both through being a VIP member of this forum. Then Comfortz throw in the roofless (future proof) version to confuse me even more. I was originally going to go for the Pucer screen (£135 plus £28P&P), but that seems even bulkier again to store, and our Beach was quickly beginning to fill up!!!

Forest of Dean site looked nice, though surprised from London you didn't opt for new forest for scenery and cycling!

Cheers
Ian

 

[C&C]

Hi C&C,
Following a series of trips last summer (in our temporary van), we bought a Kyham driveaway awning for any longer trips this summer - to give us some more indoor outdoor space! http://www.khyam.co.uk/shop/campervan-motorhome-awnings/driveaway-sleeper/ The 'Driveaway Sleeper' seems perfect for our needs (2 adults, 2 boys aged 10 &12). The awning can be configured with our without the fully enclosed 4 berth sleeping section, meaning loads of space if just the 4 of us or we can offer to accomodate any extras! That proved handy on our first test camp of the year as I was in charge of packing and left the entire comfort mattress at home (Unbeievable I know). So, the boys and their cousin all slept in the awning and my wife and I slept up on the top for the first time ever!

The awning was pretty easy to assemble and pack down, though getting it all back into its carry bag was a challenge. It offers a very good outdoor indoor space but you wouldn't want to take it unless you were fairly sure you'd want to use it (as any tent of even this size is quite heavy / bulky - although I'm sure in it's compressed state it is tiny compared to many big tents)

Re Toppers, I've been round the houses several times researching this one! There is a full Price / type of use / Size / Easy of fitting matrix that you can draw up, and even then they all have some pros and cons for something which clearly probably won't get used that much.

For me the choice is coming down to the Kyham's Camper Cozi (cheaper, bulkier £199) and the Comfortz topper (smaller to store but more expensive at £299 or £235 with or without windows). You may get a discount on either or both through being a VIP member of this forum. Then Comfortz throw in the roofless (future proof) version to confuse me even more. I was originally going to go for the Pucer screen (£135 plus £28P&P), but that seems even bulkier again to store, and our Beach was quickly beginning to fill up!!!

Forest of Dean site looked nice, though surprised from London you didn't opt for new forest for scenery and cycling!

Cheers
Ian

Thanks so much for the advice! I love the idea of a topper matrix, sounds beyond my analytical abilities .

I think we will go for the comfort topper with windows in the end, but think I am going to prioritise the awning, seeing as we seem to have accidentally taken up another expensive hobby - buying things for the van!

We are trying to decide what we will use the awning for and I can totally see why you've gone for the Kyham you linked to. We are likely to have our Aupair come with us at times and various random friends of the kids, so makes sense to have the extra space, but as you've rightly said, they are big bags for the big awnings and I worry about fitting everything in, especially on a longer trip when we are going to be away for 2-3 weeks - argh! Decisions!

Forest of Dean was absolutely gorgeous - reason we didn't go the the New Forest is that we've been there quite a few times for long weekends, albeit at hotels but more importantly a lot of the campsites in the forest don't seem to have 'facilities' and I hadn't got round to figuring out the toilet situation yet. I can't decide if I want a popaloo or a proper flushable jobbie. As we are 3 girls and only DH representing the boys, want to make the right toilet choice So once I sort that one out, new forest is on the list.

 

[Esandar#1]

Thanks so much for the advice! I love the idea of a topper matrix, sounds beyond my analytical abilities .

I think we will go for the comfort topper with windows in the end, but think I am going to prioritise the awning, seeing as we seem to have accidentally taken up another expensive hobby - buying things for the van!

We are trying to decide what we will use the awning for and I can totally see why you've gone for the Kyham you linked to. We are likely to have our Aupair come with us at times and various random friends of the kids, so makes sense to have the extra space, but as you've rightly said, they are big bags for the big awnings and I worry about fitting everything in, especially on a longer trip when we are going to be away for 2-3 weeks - argh! Decisions!

Forest of Dean was absolutely gorgeous - reason we didn't go the the New Forest is that we've been there quite a few times for long weekends, albeit at hotels but more importantly a lot of the campsites in the forest don't seem to have 'facilities' and I hadn't got round to figuring out the toilet situation yet. I can't decide if I want a popaloo or a proper flushable jobbie. As we are 3 girls and only DH representing the boys, want to make the right toilet choice So once I sort that one out, new forest is on the list.

Hi C&C,
The Kyham we bought is a pretty good option and would definately offer you the combo of extra space and the flexibility of extra sleeping options for Aupair or extra friends if needed. I even think our boys may prefer that to sleeping up top on our planned summer trip but we'll wait and see. That would allow up to have the roof and upper bed raised and make sleeping downstairs better for us too. You can get two double inflatable matresses in at a squeeze, or have it as an extra 'double bedroom' with space for kit, though you also have the other part of the awning for that. In theory it attached to the Beach awning with a Figure of 8 strip (available from Go Outdoors for £5 for 2x80cm strips). Before we bought the awning we had a pop up pup tent that we used to keep our pitch / store our plastic boxes of gear. This allowed us to arrive at a site, secure our pitch, dump some stuff and then drive off to the beach etc as needed.

We bought the awning to use on trips where we thought we'd be away for a minimum of 2 nights or more, as to put it up for just one night takes away from the beautiful simplicity afforded by campervan life style over tent camping.

As for loo options, we are 3 boys & 1 girl, so rather easier for us!!!!

Have found some great spots in Dorset, Devon & Cornwall, so please just ask if you intend heading that way.

Cheers
Ian

 

[flying banana]

get a thule roof bar system . think Halfords have them. then a roof box. throw in all your light weight stuff in that and the roof should still nicely pop up with it on.also the vw 4 bike rack is good and you can lock your bikes to it with the clamps plus your own locks. although I wouldn't raise the tailgate with bikes on incase the weight dents the panel. all extra expense I know but maybe ebay is your friend there. I have a beach too. love it.

 

[soulstyledevon]

get a thule roof bar system . think Halfords have them. then a roof box. throw in all your light weight stuff in that and the roof should still nicely pop up with it on.also the vw 4 bike rack is good and you can lock your bikes to it with the clamps plus your own locks. although I wouldn't raise the tailgate with bikes on incase the weight dents the panel. all extra expense I know but maybe ebay is your friend there. I have a beach too. love it.

Skip the tailgate bike rack. Its a nightmare having to remove the bikes to gain entry to the rear. Instead have a look at the Atera sliding rack. We changed from the Volkswagen to this rack and its one of the best things we did.

 

[Speleo62]

Thumbs up to altera sliding rack.. we love it. So easy to use, can still go through height barriers car parks too.
Have a look at a sheltapod awning. They are a new concept. Just on the market. Cheaper and smaller to pack than most. Ours has just arrived. Itching to put it up and try it out..

 

[C&C]

Thanks for all the continued responses and suggestions - DH has bought a vango awning on eBay (without suitable consultation ) so that's been taken out my hands. Looking forward to its first outing in July, we are heading to Camperjam (anyone been??)

Looking at the altera bike rack, having driven ourselves mad looking at YouTube options for bike racks and agree that looks like the best option, as lots of height restricted car parks in London. Currently watching a few on eBay...

Next up is the fridge for the France trip in August. Think 40L looks like the right size but still researching. Just need to rob a bank/win the lottery/receive a massive inheritance from a long lost relative and we should be good