At South West Camper Hire, we like to be able to offer our clients a wide range of vehicles to suit all tastes and requirements. With 10 vehicles on fleet, there is something to suit everyone - however, choosing the correct vehicle from the range can often be something of a dilemma. If you’re looking to hire a campervan or motorhome, we’ve answered some questions you should ask yourself to help make the right choice:
How many people are travelling?
Two of our vans are exclusively for a maximum of 2 people (Livingstone and Raleigh), so that's a start! The Volkswagens are aimed at up to 4 guests. The remainder of the range have 4 belted seats, with the exception of Hudson, which has 5 belted seats.
What sort of places do you intend to visit?
Our Volkswagens are pretty much ‘go anywhere’ vehicles. At just 4.8m long, they’ll comfortably fit down small lanes to a secluded cove, moorland gem or small town car park. The Fiat Tributes (Livingstone, Scott) are a good and popular mid-size choice. The coachbuilt Fiat motorhomes, however, require more space. Generally, the rule of thumb is that the road is okay if it has white lines down the middle of it - so tight country lanes are not advised unless you know there is a campsite not far down it!
Is an on-board toilet an essential requirement?
All of the Fiat fleet have an on-board toilet within a dedicated washroom. However, if a Volkswagen is more your thing, we have the optional extra of a Porta Potti toilet available to hire for those middle of the night emergencies! Fully supplied with chemicals and easy dissolving toilet paper for £9.99 per week.
How much space do you need?
Now that’s a tricky question. Sometimes, couples take the largest van and sometimes, a family of four will take the smallest van. It mainly comes down to personal choice. However, if you take a Volkswagen and a freestanding tent awning (£45 per week), you could create an additional room on your campsite whilst maintaining the ability to ‘go anywhere’. At the furthest end of the spectrum, Drake and Kingsley have garages, which will swallow up ALL of your luggage with ease.
What sleeping arrangements do you need?
All of the vans on our fleet have at least one double bed. The remaining bunks are either doubles or singles. The question to ask here is: are the children happy bunking in together (the electric bed is a great way to convince them!), or would they rather each have their own single bed?
The Volkswagens have two double bunks (the upper bunk is designed for children). The adults' double is the lower bench seat - so you'd need to make it up and put it away each day. Tent awnings can be hired with additional sleeping compartments. The Fiat Tributes are a nice mid-sized van, with the option to leave your bed made up for convenience, or to put it away and have two living areas instead. The motorhomes vary in layout - Kingsley and Hudson have rear low-level double beds, and an electric drop-down mid-level double bed. Armstrong has an electric drop-down mid-level double bed and 2 low-level single beds and finally, Drake has a large over cab double bed, a small low-level double bed, a small single bed and 2 bunk beds!
We hope that this guide helps give you some pointers to make the correct decision when choosing which campervan or motorhome to hire for your trip. Please remember that we are always available to assist you in making the right choice. For personal service and friendly advice, please contact Julian on (01392) 811931.
To find out more about the fleet, visit our Meet the Vans page.
