Quote: Originally posted by campernan on 12/4/2013I'm just curious, but how are your pitch fees worked out if you use a pop up ?? Do you get charged for a tent, a campervan or both ?
We've never been charged for both, just the campervan. Its conceivable that you meet a jobsworth site owner who might get picky. Theoretically an awning needs to be attached and a base seconds may not be, but the fact that noone is sleeping in it seems to be the key rule of thumb.
Ive heard the odd horror story about owners squeezing every penny they can from unsuspecting campers. Thankfully theyre few and far between. We tend to have our main holidays in Francve were campsites are generally more relaxed than in the UK. The quechua has never been an issue anywhere though.
------------- John
May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France
Best of luck with your bongo. We've not longed sold ours after 3 happy camping years. The Quechua base fits up neatly to the door - just leave a small gap so the door doesn't snag the Quechua when opening.
For longer stays the kyham motordome is a nice size. With a figure of eight, a tarp like khyams is a good addition.
One thing I would have changed with our bongo that has children sleeping upstairs is the upper bed platform. On the standard bongo pop top roof, the upper sleeping area is completely enclosed once the kids are up there. There are conversions for the bed platform that are worth investigating. Trying to get to a sick child out through the loft hatch isn't easy and I'd have preferred they weren't 'shut away'. An upper bed that still allowed space for them to see us and us to check them would be much better.
Bongos have a reputation for losing coolant - ours did only slightly, and only from time to time. A coolant alarm fitted gives piece of mind, and I would definitely recommend you regularly check your coolant level anyway. If your new vehicle is diesel make sure the seller is changing the timing belt before purchase.
The bongo can take roof bars - there's attachment points in the roof. Ours carried a canoe. But, always empty the roof box, and be prepared to push the roof up as the electric mechanism often can't lock it in place because of the extra weight.
It's a lovely vehicle to drive in automatic 4x4 and is very capable in snow- but, yes, it is thirsty - but, it always put a smile on our faces and never let us down!
"One thing I would have changed with our bongo that has children sleeping upstairs is the upper bed platform. On the standard bongo pop top roof, the upper sleeping area is completely enclosed once the kids are up there. There are conversions for the bed platform that are worth investigating. Trying to get to a sick child out through the loft hatch isn't easy and I'd have preferred they weren't 'shut away'. An upper bed that still allowed space for them to see us and us to check them would be much better"
you can have roof boards made up..just a couple of boards cut to size to fit in to slot were inner roof fits in to..add a bit of foam and covered ...this leaves a slot at the back that you can reach up in to the roof through....solves the problem of getting in to the roof with kids lying on top of trap door....
you can also modify a T4 fiamma bike rack to fit and add a fiamma box...though they aint the cheapest of things it gives you more space...cant carry bikes though..
Can anyone who has had a side conversion tell me .... Is there enough space under the rock and roll bed for chairs? ATM we have standard fold up camping chairs that go in a long thin bag, do you think these will fit?
------------- mum to four, three boys and a girl:)
2017:
July:
C&CC Chichester: 2 nights
or they could stow on top of the rear cushion while travelling if they don't? as youre having a bongo converted to how you want, why not ask them for some 'ammendments' - i was thinking specifically if you have a small gas locker at the rear, under the wardrobe area, then they could poss extend that to allow for your chairs or longer items?
as for the boards, they are just mdf (or even plywood) cut to size, then covered in fabric. i have them in my Honda stepwagon and they work fine
We've had our bongo for six years now, it's just gone through another mot first time (as it has every year that we have owned it!).
We are a family of four and the kids sleep in the roof on boards that we adapted when they were smaller.
We also own two quechua base seconds tents that we use along with a tarp that I adapted to fit on the van with a figure-of-eight fitting.
For longer breaks we have a Khyam motordome sleeper, although we toured Scotland with just the one quechua a few years ago.
The bongo is a small van but as it is our everday vehicle it suits us. We have no problem getting everything in for a two week holiday, though it would be a struggle on site without an awning of any kind.
I love the bongo as much as the day we bought it, we've had some great adventures in it and it has never missed a beat. It is fabulous to drive and the only downside is the fuel economy which isn't great.
Dave - I think I will measure all our long items and then will be able to check when I go over to see the man that is doing the conversion. I am already planning to ask for a couple of amendments to the standard:)
Jimsmimm - Thanks, I will wait until I get the van and have taken it out on a few trips before I decide whether or not will need the boards, but good information to know.
idetika - Many thanks, its nice to know that people are managing ok with 4 people and the bongo. Obviously we already had the Quechua, which is a bonus:) As ive said before we always pack as light as we can when camping, so hopefully everything will fit no problems:)
Do any of you with campers recommend an insurance company, I have heard that there are specialist insurers for camper vans?
------------- mum to four, three boys and a girl:)
2017:
July:
C&CC Chichester: 2 nights
Quote: Originally posted by Dave Beverley on 14/4/2013
idetika - is that a photo of the khyam motordome on your profile? take long to put up etc and I assume its a drive away?
Yes , it is the Khyam. It goes up really quickly, about 5 minutes and another 15 minutes to peg it all out and put the groundsheet/inner tent in. It is a drive away, and with practice it is easy to re-attach after returning to site
We are insured with Zurich through Lifesure. We had a claim last year (when some low-life decided to try and break into it ) and the claim was dealt with quickly and efficiently. We had no-claims protection so it didn't shoot up at renewal time.
I am glad it has an alarm fitted as the police said that it probably saved it from being stolen (the alarm woke us and they had scarpered).
We also have a coolant loss alarm fitted for extra peace of mind.
jamiedodger - we are insured through Adrian flux, we found them to be a reasonable price - we also have a cat 1 alarm/immobiliser fitted, more than is required by the insurers but for us, peace of mind counts for a lot and there wasnt much difference in the price between cat 1 and cat 2. If you are going to need an alarm, think of how you are going to use the van, do you want the alarm to operate when doors are opened when youre asleep etc. I wish I had thought mine through a bit more and will prob end up paying out again to reconfigure it to work how I want it to. if I had thought harder beforehand I could have it done 'correct' the first time around!!
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Getting a camper
to that!
) and the claim was dealt with quickly and efficiently. We had no-claims protection so it didn't shoot up at renewal time.
