Guess this is a "how long is a piece of string" type question - but -
I'm in the market for a cheap 5 berth van to do up over the winter. I have been to see a couple and walked away (seen two 490's and a 500 -size seems about right for our family of 5 - quite spacious)
I have the chance to see an Elddis Wisp 450 on the weekend which seems in the right price range - in your opinion though is it going to seem a little cramped?
Anyone with a family of 5 own a 450 size? whats the general opinion?
Cheers
Could 5 of you live in a 2 bedroom semi detached house?
If the answer is yes then reduce that living space to a quarter of the size and then ask yourself the same question again.
I know I couldn't as I have a 2 berth 450 caravan with just the 2 of us with one small dog and sometimes I find it a bit like living in a shoe box especially when it's raining.
Any touring caravan is going to be cramped with 5 people in it. Even the largest. So size is not really the issue. Just ensure you have enough bed space in any caravan you look at & aim to enjoy your caravanning mostly outdoors.
Cheers for the reply - as I say 490 - 500 seems about right for us, as Iv not seen one, just wondering how much smaller a 450 "feels" if you catch my drift - wondering how much difference a couple of feet can actually make??
I'm often out over the weekends with 3 adults and 2 children. My old Avondale is 5 berth and now as the grandchildren are older, 11 and 9, it is cramped. We use the bottom dinette area as fixed bed with a bunk - but that limits the seating area. In summer I usually make good use of the awning for reading my kindle, books or papers and enjoying a beer or two or a glass or two wine. In the colder months my wife and I are normally on our own so the space isn't a problem then. I don't want to make up the beds each night but I suppose that would give me more room. If you have a fixed bed I suppose you wouldn't have this option.
Cheers Geoff48 - its an elddis wisp 450 I'm looking at over the weekend - two doubles and a bunk. Dont mind leaving the back double and bunk built up to be honest, just wondering how much seating space there would be for us in the evening - 2 adults 3 kids (9, 6 and 2) - we are pretty "outdoorsy" but with the little one only being 2, we like to batton down the hatches early evening and play cards etc (although the kids want me to put a small tele in our new van when we get it!).
Will the children want to sit with you in the evening? I'm thinking maybe your 9 your old would be happy lounging on the back bed with ipad etc? Maybe wanting to play on a sports field or playground, scooters bikes etc. In which case you'd have plenty of room. If however you're thinking of board games, card games and interacting with them then space may be an issue. You can accommodate three persons on each side of the front seats (depending on size of adults) and at the moment your two year old won't be too much of an issue. You'll definitely have more space with an awning.
I presume this is a 450 EB, as this is the 5 berth version. We have a 450 CT that we bought in July, and it's a lovely van, but then there are only the two of us and a little dog. The EB and the CT are the same external size, but are a different layout internally, the CT having longer front seats and two bunks at the rear.
The 450 might be a little small for a family of 5, but they are great vans. Seemingly well built, comfortable, and tow very well.
I think the shorter ones will have a small front dinette with seats barely 4 feet long if you are lucky. We had a small Abi and the front double was 3 feet 5 inches wide. Hopeless.
Worst time for space I think is setting the beds up with sleeping bags and cushions being moved around.
Yes its the EB version - front seating is whats bothering me to be honest - the van itself would be just for the late evenings/ sleeping - happily sit in an awning with a table and camping chairs (we are coming from "tenting" anyway). Going to see it at 11 in the morning - just wanted to have an idea in my head of what the size will be like before I go if you see what I mean - will keep you all posted - thanks all for the advice/ feedback!
We used a 450 for many years with a family of 5 however we had a full sized awning and with a bedroom compartment the two older kids made that their own space and the wee one got the rear double with bunk above as his space
However we slept in the caravan and spent most of our time outdoors so it was a comfortable place to sleep and eat after a hard day in the outdoors
you say you want to 'do it up over the winter' and it needs to accomodate family of 5. Beware cheap and damp, would it be better to spend a little more and get better quality with our the cost of work?
Also need to consider weight, what vehicle will tow it?
Have you considered a folding camper, such as pennine sterling/pathfinder or Conway crusader?
Our son has 5 children so needs lots of space, they now use our pathfinder with the full awning and extension, it's brilliant for them so much space, lighter to tow.
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Topic: Caravan size advice
