October NEC - what were your best bits?

Family layouts at the moment are for the smaller children and I believe that this gap needs to be filled.

I couldn't agree more.  There is a real shortage of vans suitable for growing families and I haven't seen one with a fixed bed that could accommodate a family with a couple of young teenagers.  A fixed double and a made up double does not make a four berth family van.  Most children do not want to share a bed with a sibling.  A couple of the 6 berths aren't bad but they are generally long, expensive vans. 

The usual answer is to say to put them in the awning or a pup tent but some sites don't allow sleeping in the awning and it's not much use for a quick overnighter to break the journey.

There are some non-UK offerings that achieve family friendly layouts but the UK manufacturers clearly know their market and don't need to attract the next generation

The October NEC show is over for another year; hope you all enjoyed the show!

What were some of your best bits?

Not going 

Family layouts at the moment are for the smaller children and I believe that this gap needs to be filled.

I couldn't agree more.  There is a real shortage of vans suitable for growing families and I haven't seen one with a fixed bed that could accommodate a family with a couple of young teenagers.  A fixed double and a made up double does not make a four berth family van.  Most children do not want to share a bed with a sibling.  A couple of the 6 berths aren't bad but they are generally long, expensive vans. 

The usual answer is to say to put them in the awning or a pup tent but some sites don't allow sleeping in the awning and it's not much use for a quick overnighter to break the journey.

There are some non-UK offerings that achieve family friendly layouts but the UK manufacturers clearly know their market and don't need to attract the next generation

...a popular solution to this issue, in MH design, is to have the two bunks (singles) set transversely at the rear, one above the other, so this gives a bed length of over 2m. by also making them (say) 80cm wide, they would then be adult friendly, should they be required for 'full sized' guests.

also, its usually possible to fold the lower bunk up against the back wall to reveal a full sized, bike-swallowing garage.

the other two berths would usually be accommodated in a drop down bed (say) over the lounge.

this actually results in a not too long van, probably less than 7m.

considering that there is a 1.5m length 'allowance/penalty' for the engine and dashboard in every MH, a caravan 'should' be able to replicate this layout in 5.5m....

however, i guess the main issue is likely to be weight...drop down beds and garages (heavy contents at the rear) don't sit well with usually tiny payloads.

still, the small Knaus 'lifestyle' caravan had a raising bed and large garage doors at the front, so it can be done with a bit of thinking.....

a slightly longer version (modified with 2 extra bunks) of this caravan might fulfil the brief?

Agree with JayEss that there seemed to be fewer accessories and 'quirky' stalls this year. I usually come away with a range of gadgets that I never knew I needed, but none this year! Still, ordered a new van, so that made up for it.

Family layouts at the moment are for the smaller children and I believe that this gap needs to be filled.

I couldn't agree more.  There is a real shortage of vans suitable for growing families and I haven't seen one with a fixed bed that could accommodate a family with a couple of young teenagers.  A fixed double and a made up double does not make a four berth family van.  Most children do not want to share a bed with a sibling.  A couple of the 6 berths aren't bad but they are generally long, expensive vans. 

The usual answer is to say to put them in the awning or a pup tent but some sites don't allow sleeping in the awning and it's not much use for a quick overnighter to break the journey.

There are some non-UK offerings that achieve family friendly layouts but the UK manufacturers clearly know their market and don't need to attract the next generation

..Elddis made a layout with two bunks across the rear, of which the lower could be lifted which with a large rear acces hatch with windows gave a garage type rear access,but it was short lived 

One thing that I have got was some of the latest "lavender" scented Aqua  Kem + some Freebees

considering that there is a 1.5m length 'allowance/penalty' for the engine and dashboard in every MH, a caravan 'should' be able to replicate this layout in 5.5m.

BB - I agree.  They 'should' be able to. What we discovered when we were looking to replace our 4 berth side dinette model was that most bunks weren't much improvement on the 1700mm or so we already had. It may have changed now but we ended up with a two berth and an awning bedroom annex.

Do you mean the Knaus Deseo with the raising bed?  (The Lifestyle certainly delivers decent sized bunks and an unusual layout in a caravan but doesn't quite tick the boxes for us)

sorry, i probably confused by using the term 'lifestyle'....i meant it generically as i couldnt remember the name of the Knaus...

it was the Sport and Fun, which has a front double bed which raises (im sure ive seen a crank handle in the garage) to increase the, already large, front garage.

no doubt, with this being at the front, as long as the towhitch weight is not exceeded, the stoage can be useful.

again, this could easily be two bunks rather than the double, and would retain the storage area and give two good, long singles with no rear weight issues.

however, this would need a rear lounge/bed arrangement, but ive seen plenty of these (hobby/hymer) which seem to work.

the issue with uk vans is that, by having the bedroom at the rear, any decently utilised underbed storage works badly for balance and nose weight.

moving the load area (and therefore bunks) to the front seems a way to acheiving the required bunk space, plus good load area and, perhaps, the capacity to make use of it.

thinking about it, it might not be that uk vanners like a rear bed...they might just like a front lounge.....?

The S&F has a (possibly optional) hammock bed over the double which can indeed be at different heights. The dinette makes up into a bed as well.  I think you're right and a bit of tweaking could get a workable layout. 

Hobby had something similar a few years ago. A lot of German vans have a front bed which does seem to be an issue for some 

Family layouts at the moment are for the smaller children and I believe that this gap needs to be filled.

I couldn't agree more.  There is a real shortage of vans suitable for growing families and I haven't seen one with a fixed bed that could accommodate a family with a couple of young teenagers.  A fixed double and a made up double does not make a four berth family van.  Most children do not want to share a bed with a sibling.  A couple of the 6 berths aren't bad but they are generally long, expensive vans. 

The usual answer is to say to put them in the awning or a pup tent but some sites don't allow sleeping in the awning and it's not much use for a quick overnighter to break the journey.

There are some non-UK offerings that achieve family friendly layouts but the UK manufacturers clearly know their market and don't need to attract the next generation

...a popular solution to this issue, in MH design, is to have the two bunks (singles) set transversely at the rear, one above the other, so this gives a bed length of over 2m. by also making them (say) 80cm wide, they would then be adult friendly, should they be required for 'full sized' guests.

also, its usually possible to fold the lower bunk up against the back wall to reveal a full sized, bike-swallowing garage.

the other two berths would usually be accommodated in a drop down bed (say) over the lounge.

this actually results in a not too long van, probably less than 7m.

considering that there is a 1.5m length 'allowance/penalty' for the engine and dashboard in every MH, a caravan 'should' be able to replicate this layout in 5.5m....

however, i guess the main issue is likely to be weight...drop down beds and garages (heavy contents at the rear) don't sit well with usually tiny payloads.

still, the small Knaus 'lifestyle' caravan had a raising bed and large garage doors at the front, so it can be done with a bit of thinking.....

a slightly longer version (modified with 2 extra bunks) of this caravan might fulfil the brief?

 

That's possibly might be ok, but what if said teenagers are of differant sex, they may not like sharing the same room area. When we used to travel with our teenage boys it didn't matter if they shared, it usually was just for the overnight stops as once on site Italy/Spain they slept in a tent, (by choice) the caravan we had then was a Rambler 4/4 there was 2 long couches that could be used as singles by the boys when traveling, we then used these as a huge king bed once on site.  At the other end was 2 shorter couches that made up into a double bed that we used while traveling. Then on site it became a table and benches should any one want to sit in the van or for playing games etc. youngest boy always had a pad and pencil on the go sketching, still does. 

As J says these type of vans are rare these days.