Choosing a Van

Travel style – Our van is used for holidays for two people, not as permanent accommodation. We don’t usually spend more than a week at a time in the one location. More often our stay is for two or three nights before moving on. 

While we enjoy free-camping for a few nights while travelling between destinations, we regularly stay in caravan parks and campgrounds, utilising access to plug-in power and on-site bathroom facilities.

When our ’20-something’ children use the van they always free-camp. Often for weeks at a time, but generally only staying a couple of nights in each location.

The MWB Sprinter works well for us in both the above situations – the formal campground and the casual free-camp environments. However, If you are planning on regularly setting up camp for longer stays in the one place (say more than a week at a time), or travelling with more than two people, then a larger van may be more appropriate.

If you are planning on regularly free-camping for lengthy periods of time, a larger bathroom (with a separate shower and toilet) and increased water tank capacity might also be a consideration.

Either way, when considering what size van will best suit you, it is worth thinking about how you plan to travel – where you will stay, and how long you might spend in each location.

Living area – Larger vans have more indoor living space. This is likely to be of greater significance on longer trips or during inclement weather.

MWB (5.9 metres) – We went with a medium wheelbase van. An overly-spacious indoor living area wasn’t a major consideration for us – we are not ‘indoors’ folk, and prefer setting up an outdoor living area when camping in fine weather, or snuggling in with a good book in crook weather.

The fold-down table at the end of the kitchen bench can be used in conjunction with a swivelling passenger seat to form a separate reading or work space if required at night or in cold or rainy weather.

As noted above, if you are planning on regularly staying in one location for extended periods of time, a larger van with greater indoor living space might be worthwhile. Winter camping, with earlier sunsets and cooler evenings, is also likely to result in increased use of indoor facilities.

LWB (6.9 metres) – A long wheelbase van can include one or two seats behind the driver’s seat. This can be used for additional passengers (with seat belts), and is able to be part of a dinette area when the two front seats are swivelled. The trade-off is a longer van when parking or manoeuvring in tight spaces.

The LWB layout can also include an additional sleeping option, most likely for a child…

See also:

• • Sleep on it – Bed and storage makeover
  • Awning privacy screens

Bed size – We are both under 6ft (1.8m) tall. The bed in our van is 1850mm long and 1670mm wide, which is fine for our average-size bodies.

If you are over 1.8m tall, a layout that provides a longer bed would be worth investigating, most likely in a long-wheelbase van.

If you are considering a layout with an east-west bed (across the van), test it out with pillows and a stretch out in the bed. Fiat vans are a little wider than Mercedes vans, but I think still too narrow for anyone approaching 1.8m in height to sleep across comfortably. An east-west bed also requires one occupant to climb over the other to get out of bed.

Bathroom – Having a toilet and shower onboard creates a convenient self-contained environment. Free-camping becomes an easier option, and those middle-of-the-night whizz-bang excursions are avoided.

Smaller vans, such as our Sprinter, generally include a ‘wet bathroom’, where the toilet and shower share the same cubicle. This is OK for shorter free-camping excursions, with occasional showering or quick top ‘n’ tails washing, but may not be ideal if you are free-camping for weeks at a time, depending exclusively on using the on-board bathroom for regular showering.

The shower is a relatively big user of your water supply, so a more dedicated shower facility would most likely require increased water-carrying capacity for extended free camping. Maybe even a separate water tank supplying only the shower. (Though on a coastal holiday, the ocean is a great body cleansing option!)

If you will be staying regularly in campgrounds with town water available, a town water inlet is a worthwhile addition to your van’s plumbing facilities.

See also:

• • Bathroom Accessories
  • Install a Town Water inlet
  • Add a shower arm extension

Water and Fuel tank capacities – Larger storage tanks (fuel / water / waste) mean longer ‘off-grid’ capability. However, with the wide availability of drinking water and fuel on most popular travel routes, consider where you are likely to be travelling and staying – and the quality of the water available at these locations – before deciding if you need additional on-board capacity.

We have a 75 litre water tank, which, used carefully, is fine for several days free-camping, including quick showers each day. (We also carry an additional 10 litres of water, in 2 x 5 litre containers, as a ‘reserve’ supply.)

Without being too miserly with water use, we use about 10 litres of water per day – cleaning teeth, washing dishes, flushing the toilet and washing hands. If necessary, we can reduce this daily consumption without too much effort. (Of course, when staying in a formal campground with bathroom and kitchen facilities, usage of our onboard water supply is minimal).

Daily usage can jump up to 20 – 25 litres per day if we each use the shower once each day. If using the shower regularly for free camping, another separate water tank for shower use only might be handy – but more water equals more weight, impacting on your van’s GVM. (Ditto for additional fuel capacity.)

If regularly staying in formal campgrounds, a town water connection reduces dependency on your onboard water tank.

No need to stress too much about waste tank capacity. Your grey water waste tank doesn’t need to have the same capacity as your main water tank. Our grey water waste tank can hold 40 litres, and this has proven to be more than adequate. (You don’t want to be keeping your ‘grey’ waste water for too long anyway, as it will likely  deteriorate and become ‘black’.)

Sea also:

• • More about our daily water consumption
  • Install a town water connection

Fuel consumption – Our Sprinter uses around 10 litres of diesel fuel per 100 kms, providing a ‘safe’ range of around 650 kms from our 75 litre fuel tank.

Larger vans or large vehicles towing caravans can use twice as much fuel (or more), which becomes a substantial cost when travelling long distances.

If your trips will include lots of kms, fuel consumption, and the distance available per tank of fuel, is an important consideration.

A larger fuel tank will provide a greater travel range, but will impact your GVM. (1 litre of diesel fuel weighs 832g).

Sustainable 12V Power – Not necessarily related to the size or type of vehicle, but definitely worth considering when assessing vans and options.

We recently upgraded our 12V energy storage to 2 x 120 Ah Lithium batteries, providing 12V power for our refrigerator, lights, water pump, toilet, etc. Our van was previously equipped with 2 x 100 Ah AGM batteries – and these did the job OK too.

The batteries are recharged (through an appropriate charger / regulator) by:

• • a roof-top 150W solar panel;
  • the vehicle alternator;
  • 230V mains power.

I would consider 2 x 100 Ah AGM batteries and a 150W solar panel to be the minimum requirement for sustainable off-grid free-camping, for a van of this size. The Lithium batteries effectively double our off-grid 12V capacity (compared to AGM batteries) – but it comes at an upfront $$$ cost. Worth it if the budget has the capacity.

We also carry a portable 200W solar blanket for additional off-grid battery charging capacity. This portable panel is also useful when the roof-top panel is shaded by trees.

Of course, if you are planning on using the van only for short weekend getaways then a portable solar blanket might be all you need – or maybe no solar recharging facility is required at all if the vehicle alternator is able to re-charge the batteries after each overnight stay.

• • More info in the Batteries & Solar pages >>>

Heating – Again, not necessarily related to the size of the van, but it is definitely worth checking for a ducted air heating system when looking for a van. Essential (well, sort of essential!) for travel anywhere away from the coast in winter if not staying in powered sites where you can use an electric fan heater.

If there are ducted outlets in a van you are buying, check that the heating unit is a known brand name (rather than a cheap Chinese copy heater from eBay).

• • Read more about RV heating options >>>

Storage –  Large externally-accessible storage lockers for chairs, tables, golf clubs, fishing gear, surfing equipment, levelling ramps, etc, is a facility usually only available in larger vans.

We are fortunate to have a happy compromise available in the Sprinter – a permanent under-bed storage area, which is accessible through the rear barn doors. 

Our fit-out also utilises space inside the driver side sliding door for storing a second table, the LPG bottle, a tool kit, and accessing the toilet cassette. 

We also use our bathroom to store (sometimes wet) surf gear when travelling between locations.

• • See also: Sleep on it – DIY under-bed storage >>>

Seating capacity – Most manufacturers offer a fit-out option that includes rear seats fitted with seat belts. This is essential if you are travelling with children, or for daily use around town with passengers.

The compromise here, at least with smaller vans, is usually in the availability of permanent bedding. Larger vans provide more flexibility in this department.

Not too much of an issue though where the van is for use by only one or two people.

Home duties – This was an important consideration for us. We didn’t want a large van sitting idle between trips, but rather one that is able to double up as a second domestic vehicle when required.

A smaller van can be parked in a residential driveway, and used for local transport. Our Sprinter van can be parked in a regular 6m ‘nose-in’ parking space at shopping centres.

The bedding and rear under-bed storage space can also be quickly re-configured and opened up to create a full length passage through the van to accommodate bulky items requiring local transport – such as mattresses, furniture, etc.

Larger vans may sit idle for lengthy periods of time between trips, and could require a paid storage site in a non-residential area.

• • See also: Bed and storage makeover >>>

It was with the above considerations in mind that we settled on the ‘compact’ MWB Sprinter van as our base vehicle.

While including the convenience of an enclosed shower and toilet, the MWB Sprinter van retains the manoeuvrability and ease of driving more usually associated with a smaller vehicle.

More reading….

• • Design and layout
  • Sleep on it – bed design
  • Shower head extension
  • Overhead cupboard organisation
  • Heating options
  • LastVIN – Mercedes-Benz VIN Decoder