Small Camper With Child Friendly Seats

[Rdsquibb]

Hi, it's my first time on the forum and wondering if anybody can help.

My wife and I used to own a VW LT35 camper which was much loved but we had to let go of it for practical reasons (nowhere to store it in the winter and it needed some attention that we couldn't afford).

We're now looking to buy a smaller motorhome but we have a baby coming along soon, so need to consider child seat and safety belts in the rear seats. We like the look of the Citroen Romahomes, and the newer Berlingos seem to have rear seats, but are outside our price range (we have about £5k to spend).

Any ideas on which motor homes would suit us, or of suggestions on how to modify seating to suit us, would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Rob

[glenw]

Good luck with your search,and welcome to the forum.

I can't offer any help regarding specifc vehicles, when we found out we were having our first child, shes 4 months old now, we decided to go bigger in terms of motorhome and are glad we did. We are lucky in that storage isn't a problem, we keep it on the drive.

Our concerns were similar to yours, the need for front facing rear seats. The other option is baby as front passenger and one of you 2 in the back but although the law appears to allow rear passenges to travel in the back without seatbelts ( if you search on here you will find quite a few threads on the topic) we are both paramedics and have witnessed what happens to unrestrained passengers in cars and decided this wasn't an option.

Having had a couple of trips as a family, the space a bigger motorhome gives us is a real bonus. We never really travelled light but with the added pram,baby carrier, moses basket, nappies etc etc etc space is a real premium, especially in winter with a wet dog too!!!

I would suggest you have a good look around as a many motorhomes in your price range as possible and consider which would best suit your needs now and in a year or 2. Where will baby sleep now in and when it is older, are you planning on expanding your family further etc. Also consider about factoring in the cost of storing a bigger motorhome at a caravan storage place, it might save you buying small then finding its all too much hard work - holidays are meant to be fun after all!!

[glenw]

Another option to consider if you find a motorhome that suits but doesn't have rear belts, this company maybe able to fit the belts you need. We haven't used them but I've read plenty of positive reviews on different forums.

OR - cross over to the dark side and buy a caravan!!

[Dabs]

Hi Rob
Have you considered a Mazda Bongo or of course any of the other imported Japanese MPVs that can be converted into Campervans.They really are good value for money.
For any info on Mazda Bongo go here www.bongofury.co.uk

Dabs