What a disappointment

bigfoot

I've been on the prowl to day for a new van,and we were looking for one with an end lounge. Found the Autocruise Starspirit.
Shock horror such a cramped cab. I'm 6'3" and the additional storage shelf was in my line of sight,I had to squeeze myself to get in and there was no seat adjustment. Such a shame because evrything else was superb-sorry Swift.
How tall is the person who designed it?
I am mortified it was near the top of my list Sorry Swift
Going to look at some A class models instead.

bandaid

you think you got troubles, I'm 6'8" and I cant get through most of the doors without ducking, let alone se me way round.
do agree tho' about the designers, maybe they're all ex jockeys or summat. Laughing

Steamdrivenandy

Compared to you guys I'm tiny at 6ft 2ins but I too found problems in our prowl round dealers over the weekend.

Starting from the front.

I'm not keen on the cassette blinds on screens as they remove the top inch or so of the screen (and in my experience fall apart, but that's a different story). This combined with swivels adding one to two inches of height mean that your posture is compromised on a lot of vans.

Curtains IMHO are a better solution and are fine if the track is fixed above the windscreen on the cab headlining. Our current van has the track fitted about 2ins above the screen edge and it passes behind the sun visor. This means that when you deploy the curtain you have to deploy the visor, but that's no big deal. Yesterday I noticed in some Autosleepers that the curtain track was fitted to the edge of the cab/windscreen on 'stalks' so it ran around the windscreen about an inch below the top, almost as much in line of sight as the blind cassette. Not good and looking like a potential forehead slicer in an accident.

Then we found that all Fiat/Peugeots with a washroom immediately behind the driver were out because the seat couldn't be extended back far enough. Oddly those based on the Ford Transit had loads of rearward adjustment. I suspect it's because the furniture is fitted up the the chassis floor member between cab and hab and the Ford seat happens to be positioned further forward compared to the X2/50. It certainly knocks a lot of rear lounge vans straight out of the frame for us.

Then there were the showers.

It's bad enough that designers seem to think that most motorhomers are skin and bone, which they're patently not, but I lost count of the number of showers where my head rubbed the roof. I suppose that with a mat/board to stand on and a ventilator above, the distance between the two is reduced considerably. In one van when I bent over to touch my shoe as a sort of trial, my rear and shoulders wedged against the sides of the circular shower and when I stood straight the roof rubbed my head and the shower head poked in my eye. I know most people say they rarely use the shower in a van but it seems fashion is definitely winning over function in this area.

It's daft that converters are losing sales to so many slightly larger people by dint of such sillinesses.

Andy

duxdeluxe

I suppose that it has to be looked at from the point of view of pleasing the majority within the confines (no pun intended) of designing something where space is at a premium.

Steamdrivenandy

What those designers seem to forget DD is that motorhomes tend to be purchased by couples.

In our case Mrs SDA redresses the 'average' as she's just 5ft 2ins of pocket rocket. However althugh none of the issues would affect her personally she isn't going to suggest we buy a van with any of them because of the probs for me.

Somewhere in that is a complicated formula for designers that should make them realise that they need to design for a larger than average
person because the csmaller people aren't the limiting factor in the purchase decisions and can therefore be, to some extent, discounted.

However, speaking up for 'littlies' I will say there are occasional problems for Mrs SDA in seeing or reaching into distant roof lockers.

Andy

GerryD

I have the same problem in most of the Swift Bolero's and sisters. I am 6 foot but cannot stand below the Heki in most of them.
Never had a caravan that low, there is no excuse in a motorhome.
Gerry

Zebedee · Moderator

Hi Andy

We're back to the new model Autosleepers Nuevo then (among several other makes/models I'm sure) and assuming one of the layouts suits you (there are two options).

The X/250 for all its (alleged Rolling Eyes

) faults has a really comfy driving position with plenty of seat adjustment. I'm 6' 3" and can even pull the seat forward a bit on a long journey when I want to change my driving position.

I can stand up straight in the hab area, and only just brush the crankup winder with what little hair I have left.

I can't touch both ends of the bed at once with feet and head - and what a luxury that is for a longshanks!!!

The lavvy is not so good, but easily manageable. Sitting down is a bit cramped, but the swivelly bog seat helps a lot. The shower compartment is no problem at all, and quite spacious for what is quite a small van.

Call in for a cuppa and a browse. It's one of the best we have found - maybe because the designer is the same height as me. (He really is - I've met him.)

Cheers

Pusser

Grizzly