Choosing A New Family Vehicle | AD

Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with Danbury Campervans

The time has come to replace my car, and although it's an exciting time as there will be a new shiny car outside of the house early next year, it's also a difficult time as there are so many different choices and types of car these days that it can be a time consuming activity researching to find the perfect car.

When I started my new car research one of the first things I considered would be the practicality side of things. We are a family of four who love to travel, and when we travel we don't travel light! So there needs to be plenty of room for storage, boot room, and other considerations such as being able to fit in any camping equipment that we may need to take with us if we are staying over somewhere outdoors.

When considering all of the above and putting in some simple google searches there are a surprising variety of options for cars that will be the perfect accompaniment for a camping holiday. I have looked at traditional caravan type vehicles however the costs of some of these, along with the size really put me off.

I also came across VW Campers. Honestly I didn't know these are still manufactured today, but VW is where it all started and there is still a large range available today.  When you look at the range available it appears that the campers also offer a sort of tent option on top of the van. When researching this a bit further I discovered that roof tents for cars or vans are actually very popular.

Initially I thought 'why would anyone want to sleep on top of their car?', however upon reading a bit further the practicalities of this potential sleeping area are really useful. Many people don't like sleeping on ground level. Whether this be due to risk of running water, or just because you are closer to bugs and animals for some people this is a no go area.  The option to sleep on top of your vehicle in a purpose made, easy to put up tent actually becomes a good option.  There could also be a space consideration, some camping areas charge you for the space you are using, so sleeping in a tent on top of your vehicle saves the spaces and keeps costs to a minimum.

Then there is the fun aspect too, when I asked Little J what he thought about sleeping on top of he car in a tent he was really excited by the prospect.  Its something new, something none of his friends have done and something that could mean he gets to sleep out somewhere that otherwise we may not have been able to go.

Clearly there will also be some considerations to make when thinking about what would suit your family, however something that I did not even realise existed until I started looking at it could be a really good option.  It also shows that you cant dismiss any potential ideas until you have explored them with your family, something I wouldn't have considered that Little J would enjoy, he really liked the idea of!

John