We had a week back in the Dales to recover from the long road trip home before we were off again. This time the destination was a little closer to home as we had booked tickets for the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome show. The search continues for our new campervan at the NEC and hopefully we are ready to make a final decision and get it ordered in the next few weeks.
We went with a finely tuned plan of what we were looking for as we have already visited the show on two previous occasions. We were looking for:
A van no longer than 5.40m as we can't get anything bigger in our drive due to a large dry stone wall! It will also be our main daily drive so want something we can park easily.
A fixed rear bed with a big garage for storage underneath - we were also wanting to check out some vans with a rear lounge to see how much storage you do actually get.
Preferably a van based on a Fiat Ducato as they are 10cm wider which makes a lot of difference in a shorter van.
We really enjoyed having a good look around the show and we looked in literally dozens of vans over the course of the day. The length, 5.40m does prove to be more illusive to find but we have finally narrowed down our search to a handful of vans, 2 of which we will still need to go to local dealers to have a look as they were not at the show.
Dreamer D43up
We were really pleased to be able to look around the dreamer van again as we had seen it a year ago and really liked.
Not something we had really considered on our desirable list but it has a pop top roof which looks, spacious, light and airy and much more comfortable than the one in our VW. There is a really thick memory foam mattress up there and an air vent for the heater blower so it would be warm even on cold winters evenings.
The rest of the van was also equally as impressive. The dinette area has the 2 captains seats that swivel round and a small bench area that was quite comfortable to sit in.
The kitchen area was compact and well formed, we liked that in the addict spec of the van that we would probably go for - there is a small oven. Again, not something that is essential but when we are away on long road trips, particularly in the winter, we would be able to bake some delicious dishes.
I had a lie down on the fixed rear bed at the back which was comfortable and we really liked the finishing touches of the lighting and control panels.
Another feature that we like is the large roof panoramic window that makes the light feel very light inside compared some models we looked at.
At around £70k for the spec we would want to be able to ski and tour comfortably on long road trips it is right at the top of our budget.
Joa Camp 54g
This van has caught our eye a couple of times - it is at a lower price point but seems to come with a lot of van for your money.
The layout was very similar to the Dreamer (no pop top roof and no panoramic window) It felt very light and airy inside as much of the interior was white.
We liked that the spec which included 2 AGM batteries, solar, a bike rack, a wind out awning and reversing camera's amongst other things.
Joa is part of the Pilot group and the van seemed to have many of the same features found in the more expensive Pilot vans.
Sunlight Cliff Adventure 540
Sadly this van was not at the show but we have spotted there is possibly one in stock at a motorhome dealership in Lancaster so we will hopefully be able to have a look around it this week. We have seen a lot of these vans on our travels around Europe and they are quite striking to look at. The 2024 vans could be configured with a pop top roof so it would be comparable with the Dreamer 43up.
Consort Nova 540
After releasing our vlog this morning we have had so many advocates for the Consort vans that we feel we really should go have a look at their showroom which is only based in Leeds.
The vans do look great and are really well specced - sadly I feel even if we really like the van, it will be out of our price range at a cost of £80k! But we want to go and have a look to see what all the fuss is about.
Finally, we did look at a few vans with a rear lounge area that converts into a bed at night. There is no denying that the vans feel so much more spacious and we did really like the Auto trail V- line 540 van.
Most vans with a rear lounge are British made and while we would normally advocate for that when shopping, we do have concerns as to how winterised they are - many have the water tanks under the van and could be prone to freezing. One of the trips we will definitely do every year is a skiing trip into the Alps where the temperatures would regularly go below -5 degrees so we want the van to be as insulated and protected from the cold as possible. But it was actually the amount of storage space that is an issue for us. We thought that there may be ample space under the bench seats but this seems to be taken up by batteries and various technical equipment.
Lots to think about and some research to be done but hopefully by the middle of March we will be in a position to put a deposit down and get the van ordered to arrive before our ski trip next winter.
I have included a link below to the vlog we recorded of our top picks from the show:
Early Retirement Wanderlust Hiking Challenge
We have been back out exploring the Dales in earnest. Luckily, the weather has been dry so far and we have managed to get out most days. Although I have to say, there have been times this week when we would have been warmer in the Alps. The wind has been quite bitter!
Since getting back, we have managed to purposely hike around 50km and gain 1500m of elevation which has helped to get us back on track for our first Everest by the end of March.
We are really pleased with how people are getting on with their own challenges and we love the interactions on the facebook group we have set up so we can will each other on and celebrate our achievements. Feel free to join the challenge group and share your fitness goals with us, there are around 400 members now!
Subsidence updates
Those of you who have followed our blogs over the past couple of years will know we have had an ongoing struggle to get Richards mums house ready to put up for sale. We discovered cracks both on the interior and exterior walls about 18 months ago and it has meant that we have been working our way through the lengthy process of getting it repaired.
The insurance company has been pretty good to be fair. It is the process of assessing, finding the issue, fixing the cause of the subsidence and then leaving the building for at least 6 months to check that the subsidence has settled that has been lengthy.
We are pleased to say that finally, the repair team are in, the walls are in the process of being fixed and replastered and the decorators will hopefully be finished by Easter so we can finally get the house up for sale. Richards mum luckily is now in a care home so has not had to live amongst the chaos!
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
New family member
On our way down to the NEC, we called in to see our daughter and her partner Molly who have adopted the most gorgeous kitten. She is a British Short haired cat and has the most beautiful markings. We are all totally besotted with her. She does have her own TikTok channel if anyone is as daft as our family about kittens!
@misspotatowaffles
Finally it has just been so lovely being back home in the Dales. After living in the VW campervan for nearly 4 weeks in winter conditions in the Alps we are enjoying the joys of the fire and all our home comforts.
We are excited to be home for quite a few weeks before our next trip and have a few little overnight trips planned to get up into the Northern Dales, an area we have not really explored yet.
We are also loving the start of the lambing season - the field at the bottom of our drive is the nursery field and every day more lambs are appearing. Spring is on its way!
Hope you have all had a great week
Jackie and Richard
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