Pop top or full van?

If it was myself buying and travelling fulltime , i would buy a full height van you can just hop out of the car and open the van door and go straight in without mucking around winding up tops etc . If it were for holidays only then a pop top is fine .

" Would like to spend up to $25K for a 17' van without toilet and shower, second hand, with front kitchen and island bed."

Jazzy, my Van is Not For Sale :-))) LOL

Best advice I can give you Jazzy, keep looking and eventually you will find just what you want.

We looked long and hard after enjoying several vans over the years, and knew what we wanted for retirement, and then this Jayco appeared. It had been custom built for a couple working the mines in Kalgoorlie, and when they went off to Dubai, we were in the right spot at the right time to get hold of it, and we won't be changing vans anytime soon.

We use a shower tent when free camping, with Honda Gennie, coleman HWS, etc.

I see so many people with vans with showers and toilets, book into C/P's, and you don't see them for the rest of the day. Why pay money for a C/P site and then not use their amenities, and if you're free camping, then privacy is not an issue.

I'm sure you'll get a variety of replies here, but that's my two bob's worth.

Merry Xmas mate, and good luck.

Fred.

Full van every time...

We have had both and there is no difference in economy as far as I could tell. Easier to use in a town either just stopping for lunch or longer. Pop top shows when it is occupied. Much easier when stopping for smoko on the road. Better overall insulation. (not much insulation with a bit of vinyl). Usually not much heavier either way. If you have A/C fitted in the roof it is quite difficult to lift the top as the A/C is about 50Kg. You should get one for that price though it will not be a very late model. Some of the early Jayco freedoms are coming on the market for around $25K.

Poptops can sometimes be stored under a house.


www.bycompass.com

Hi there. We bought a pop top, after a fair bit of research. Forget about the comment above in reference to 'winding up and down', because there's no winding involved with a pop top. It isn't hard work, and it does not take long to raise and lower the roof. The main advantage for many with a pop top is storage at home (will it fit under the carport?), and also lower windage both in terms of head winds, but also side winds. Most experts seem to agree there's not much in it in terms of weight (ie, pop tops aren't a lighter weight alternative). You WILL lose storage capacity, because upper level cupboards are common in full height vans, and have to be sacrificed with a pop top.
We have a Coromal, but we don't have strong views about brand. We like the reputation and look of the Golf range, but I for one are scared that a bit of woodgrain and a few sheets of painted outer skins can hide so much!! Talk about buyer beware!
We thought that one way to avoid a $30,000 mistake would be to spend $12,000 on a van, and that's what we did!!
Does this help?

Jazzy,
A couple of van manufacturers made a van with a short pop. Windsor and Coromal are two that come to mind. Ours is a '96 16 ft Windsor Sunchaser Offroad bought in 2000 and paid $20,000 for it
It has a short pop. I am nearly 6ft and I can walk around in side with my head bent and the financail controller walks with clearance. From memory it is about 1.6 and a bit meters inside. also has top cupboards right around inside.
Camped in a few storms with the top down with no hassles.

Tony

Hi Jazzy
We have 2 friends - one with pop-top, other with full. They have travelled together a few times and their comments on the comfort differences were interesting.
The pop-top was much hotter inside in hot weather and much colder inside in cold weather. The guy with the pop-top wishes he had the other!

I've had both Pop Tops and full vans over the years and find there is little difference in van weight and fuel consumption.
We've settled on Pop Tops for our last two vans as we like the lower height for visiting National parks and driving some bush tracks etc as they offer more clearance for over hanging tree branches.
There are also a few roads where a full van with roof top air can won't get through like Monto to Many peaks in QLD due to low clearance under the rail line. We also like the increased ventilation in the skirt on warm night.
But each to their own I guess, there are pros and cons for both.
ozjohn

Hi Jazzy, I have a 2004 Jayco pop top. found that the places that I wanted to & were taking it a bit much needed more ground clearance etc. After some pretty severe modifications- The overall height increase was about 200mm & weight increase approx 120 kg (not worth worrying about) All mods engineered & certified. This bought the van to a
comperable height to a full height van.My fuel consumption increased from an average of18.5 l per 100k to 20.5l per 100k average.
Hope this helps. Mike.

When we had to make this choice, we went for full van.
More storage, cupboards
Easy to stop for a cuppa, lunch, pack in the shopping etc

Storing van at home is not an issue as we are on road full time. Also want the solar panels in the sun anyway.

We also went for shower and toilet, but we rarely use CPs - free camping most of the time.

Norm C