Full review

THE thing about the Skamper, it’s a car in both size and the way it drives and I even found myself clicking on the ‘car’ setting on our Snooper Ventura S7000 sat-nav, rather than the default ‘caravan/motorhome’.

If I’d taken it home to meet the rest of the Vaughan fleet it could have gone in the garage, while standard-fit parking sensors enable you to slot into the smallest supermarket spaces.

There are even twin sliding doors to let rear passengers out in tight spots. And a bit of origami with the back seat creates two chairs in the rear with headrests and three-point belts that use the original Fiat fittings. Clever stuff.

We were going camping, though, so after a quick demo the headrests and their supporting steel bar came out, then out came the rear seat and it was turned around and re-mounted onto a storage box.

Now the Skamper was transformed from four-seater car into two-seater, two-berth camper. When we arrived on site in the evening all we needed to do was push the front seats forward and fully recline them, allowing the rear seat to tip back into the space the cab seats had vacated.

And then came the really clever bit – the roof. It’s called the Sky Sleeper and it’s this unique elevating roof that makes the Skamper’s design possible.

There’s no way you could get beds for two and a kitchen into the body of the little Fiat van, so Wheelhome put the beds in the roof. It’s the roof that has taken so much time to perfect, but now it’s done it’s incredibly easy to use.

The only downside (if it’s cold, dark and wet) is that you have to release two external catches, but then the top goes up electrically and the horizontal extensions just slide effortlessly into place.

The panels that slide out over the side of the vehicle are, in effect, the bases of the two single beds, while the roof also provides well over 7ft of headroom and extra light and ventilation (care of flyscreened panels on either side).

Unlike some of Wheelhome’s past creations, everything about the Skamper is intuitive and straightforward. Yes, you do have to get out to raise the roof and swap the seats around, but it’s all done in a jiffy and you’ll hardly believe how much space you’ve got once you’re in camping mode.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s no tag-axle coachbuilt, but there is enough room for two folk to sit with plenty of legroom and, if you stand up, the sense of space is extraordinary. Only Dr Who does it better.

Of course, with the roof up there’s an absolutely enormous amount of space in which to dump bags, coats etc but I was concerned about having enough storage and had packed light for this trip. I needn’t have worried. As well as the base of the rear-facing seat, which is ideal for folded clothes, the rear footwell space can house your bedding.

The kitchen (which can be removed in three sections in a couple of minutes) also has a variety of cupboards, even though space is allocated to a Porta-Potti, the coolbox, gas cylinders and the 10-litre water carrier, which serves the sink.

The gas, loo, fresh water and coolbox can all be serviced through the asymmetric rear doors and via this route you can also reach a ‘secret compartment’ that Wheelhome have installed where the optional spare wheel would otherwise live.

More ingenuity is to be found in the way a portion of the centre of the galley slides out to provide a step to climb up into the roof beds. Much of the time I found this was also all the table I needed – certainly it was enough for my coffee stops and muesli breakfast – but, of course, Wheelhome have come up with more comprehensive answers too.

A rotating top extends the slide-out unit’s surface area for a diner on the nearside, while the cover for the sink becomes an island leg table (or extra worktop for the cook) on the offside.

I was relieved that the Skamper has twin single beds that are already in situ. They’re over 6ft long but dip down where your toes go – not an issue if you sleep on your front or side, but reducing the useable length if you lie on your back.

You’ll want good quality sleeping bags in the cooler months and you will notice external noise (such as traffic) more than if you were sleeping in the body of the vehicle, but look at the advantages – no bed-making, one-piece mattresses, masses of headroom, easy access and everything ‘downstairs’ undisturbed and ready for breakfast.

There’s even room to leave the Porta-Potti out, though a night-light to get down without waking your other half would be welcome.

• This review was first published in the March 2010 issue of Which Motorhome magazine.