V 60SP TentTop vs. S 72DL
Van versus motorhome. What do we notice regarding the difference in size? And do you really have to close the sliding door as hard as people say? We test it ourselves.
Van versus motorhome. At Easter we enjoyed a long weekend in Germany with the semi-integrated S 72DL for accommodation. This weekend to Heythuysen/Leveroy we will stay in the V 60SP TentTop van. What do we notice regarding the difference in size? And do you really have to close the sliding door as hard as people say? We test it ourselves.
We pick up the van a day before our departure so we can pack our belongings in front of the house. This model is only 6 m. long and almost fits in a regular parking place. No one has to be bothered by it. A good start. Our Easter trip was in April, when it was still quite cold. What clothing do you take with you? But now, it is summertime so no need for warm sweaters. We even have some empty cupboards on board now!
The refrigerator is a lot smaller than in the motorhome but still big enough for 4 days of food. The kitchen block has 3 gigantic drawers. Two are occupied with the necessary kitchen equipment, the 3rd is completely empty. It will be our storage drawer. Practically divided into 2 compartments. Both full when we leave and 1 empty when we return.
We leave for camping Scheyvenhof in Heythuysen on Friday morning. We made a reservation there for 3 nights. It is only 148 km away from home. Nevertheless we plan to stop along the route somewhere. Just because we can. We leave the highway near Empel and drive towards the banks of the Maas river. Strangely enough we would never do this travelling by car. You just drive towards your destination and that is it. This makes travelling with a van or motorhome a relaxed experience from the beginning.
Our purpose for the weekend is to visit an RC model plane show in Leveroy. Demonstrations are being held there on Saturday and Sunday. As we want to go there with the van, we decide to first drive to the flight club, before we go to the campsite. To see, if there is space enough for the van. And already today, they are flying. We park the V 60SP “at the strip, take out the chairs, sit back and relax. And when it is time for a sandwich, no problem, we have our kitchen close by. As well as our toilet. My husband builds and flies RC planes himself and if you ask him, we are staying here for the rest of the weekend 😊.
We drive to the campsite at the end of the afternoon and hear that we can choose our own spot. Out of 28 camping places, only 6 are occupied. In our opinion, we have the best spot, with a wide view.
Time to prepare dinner. The van has a 2 burner cooker. When thinking of what to eat, we did consider this. It’s a pasta. The worktop is rather small, especially when the pans are on the burners. The extra table top, hidden under the big top and turnable, offers extra space. And with the view that we have, cooking inside is really a pleasure.
The sanitary facilities on the campsite were very neat and clean. We did not use the shower in the van (but we also did not use the one in the motorhome). We did use the toilet. That is so practical to have with you. The V 60SP TentTop offers 4 sleeping places. Two in the back by the bed in the width of the van and two on top, in the TentTop. We are just with 2, we did not use the TentTop.
This model can also be purchased without the TentTop. Instead of the opening to the roof, a roof light is in place. For us, this would be more suitable. We are just with 2 and it is rather dark quickly in the front of the van now.
Enjoying breakfast on the last day, we conclude that travelling with this van is just as easy as with the semi integrated. The extra space offered by the S 72DL is not really necessary for us. The comfort of parking was not only visible at our house, but also at the flight club where there were many more cars and motorhomes during the weekend, than on Friday afternoon.
Toilet, fridge, kitchen, a resting place, both models offer. The comfort of travelling can in our opinion be found in the compact dimensions of the van. That is more than sufficient for us. Which is of course a personal experience. Everyone has to make their own choice.
The test with the sliding door. People often complain “that those doors are closed so loudly in many cases the whole campsite wakes up”. This van has a sliding door with softclose. We could close it easily without having to apologise for the sound. The softcloses causes the door to close itself when it locks. Pushing hard to close is absolutely not necessary.
Finally, a personal highlight … the view from the dinette to the outside. With the sliding door open you feel so free and the van feels so spacious. No motorhome can beat that.