Full review

Probably the most popular layout in the UK for larger van conversions – campervans in the 5.4m to 6.4m class with on-board shower and toilet – is the rear lounge. Most of those are pure two-berths without even any rear travel seats.

But if VW campervans and their ilk can routinely offer beds for four in a two up, two down scenario, why can’t manufacturers create proper family campervans when they have more space to play with? And what do you do if you and your sprogs want to trade up from a T5/T6 to something larger with an on-board loo? Fortunately, there are a few options – albeit not many – and we reckon this French offering is probably the best all-rounder. Actually, the Dreamer Family Van even goes one better than its opposition and squeezes in no less than five berths and five travel seats.

It does all this not, as you might expect, in the extra-long, 6.36m Fiat Ducato but the more manoeuvrable six-metre panel van. Though, while Dreamer may not use the longest Ducato van, the Family Van is based on the loftiest version, the extra-high H3 model.

The bed – measuring a respectable 1.86m by 1.24m – descends manually, with a ladder provided for access and, once up there, you’ll discover remote radio controls alongside the bed, as well as the TV bracket, a bookshelf, a couple of pigeonholes and even the heating and hot water controls.

Under the lowered bed there’s still just enough headroom to sit in the lounge and it’s possible to turn the seats here into a fifth berth. In a camper like this a 2+2 family is probably more viable, though, and that’s just fine because – with the drop-down bed for mum and dad and twin bunks in the stern – four can sleep in here without any fiddly bed-making.

Better still, the rear is not just a bunk room, but also a versatile stowage area. Most bunk layout ’vans do the same trick but the advantage of a campervan is that the rear doors give wide and tall access to all that space. Locker capacity is good with both bunks in place, but even greater when the bottom bunk is folded up and forwards. The top bunk can even be removed and left at home – thus extending the appeal of the Family Van beyond motorhomers with a pair of kids to those needing inboard space for sports gear, etc.

The bunks themselves are as wide as many a motorhome’s adult single bed and both sleepers get shelves and an eyeball reading lamp. Lengths are 1.73m (top) and 1.83m (bottom).

The lounge is, unsurprisingly, based on a half-dinette and this provides two belted travel seats. Cab chairs make it four seatbelts, while a rearward-facing, lap-belted removable seat sets up atop a box just inside the side door for passenger number five. This box also provides a jump seat for the lounge when the travel seat is stowed.

Moving rearwards, the kitchen includes a low-level oven/grill (something often omitted in this size of van conversion) and a two-burner hob/sink combo that fills the counter space. There is a small-but-useful flip-up surface at the unit’s forward end to make the cook’s life easier, while the galley’s drawers are big and centrally locked via a twist knob (a feature more usually seen in luxury A-classes).

The wardrobe and fridge face each other across the aisle at the rear. Both are roomy, the fridge being a 160-litre two-door machine with freezer section up top – another feature that is better than you’d anticipate in a campervan.

Despite all this, the Dreamer still offers a full washroom – making it all the more desirable for those trading up from a small VW. The two best features here are the convenient tambour door and a strong, sensible washbasin in stainless steel. The loo is one of the latest from Thetford and there’s good bathroom storage, too.

Another plus concerns the fresh and waste water tanks – unusually for a van conversion, both are inboard, beneath the washroom. The grey water drain valve is kept nice and clean and easy to get at in a rear cupboard, too.

Finally, the Confort Pack (sic) adds goodies such as cab air-con, cruise control, passenger airbag and a radio, while almost all the conversion fittings (fridge and heater vents, hook-up and water fillers) are colour-matched to keep things looking neat. The frames to the upmarket windows (rarely seen on a van conversion) get the same treatment, too.

So, here’s a six-metre van conversion that really does work for a family – without requiring mum, dad or two kids to ever have to assemble a bed. It’s well-made, winterised and has good storage, while its compact dimensions will let you explore off the beaten track where a coachbuilt wouldn’t fit. Result!