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I have very little experience, having just bought my first van, but I spent ages looking at the options and decided to go for the Adria Altea 542DT, which has triple fixed bunks at the back (I have three kids) and a big bathroom also at the back (so one end of the bunks is enclosed by the bathroom wall).

We've only had two long weekend outings so far but this layout really works well for us.  We haven't had to use the shower yet but if we did it's big enough for a parent to be in there washing hair without risking losing an elbow (unlike many vans I looked at).  We use the bathroom as a dressing room come storage area (for things like the laundry basket) and this, together with the fixed bunks acting as playroom/den/reading room for the children keeps the rest of the van clutter free.

One thing is for sure - there's plenty of choice of layout so I'm sure you'll find the right one for you somewhere!

Cheers,

    Derek.

I suppose it depends on whether you intend to use the toilet/shower facilities in your caravan. If you do want to do that on a semi permanent basis they an end bathroom may well be worthwhile. However if you intend to use the site facilities in main then perhaps the extra room would be useful. We have an end bathroom caravan but we use the facilities all the time.

David

We had an end washroom and it was lovely, used it all the time. Now we have a fixed bed with corner shower cum toilet with a vanity unit in the bedroom. This also works well as we can get dressed in the bedroom and use the shower etc. We use the on board facilities all the time escept toilet during the day sometimes.

If there are several of you, bearing in mid you want 5 or 6 berth, you may find the hot water insufficient for 2 or 3 on the trot. The 40litre aquaroll will do 2 showers, but the water usually runs cold half way through the second. there for we have a shower either every other day or one morning and the other in the evening.

The onboard shower is very good, they really do work, but don't forget you have to fill the aquaroll and empty the wastemaster more.

The other point is that the end washroom is great if you need somewhere private to change, for instance if you have children you don't want to change in front of or, like us, when we used to take Mother in Law

The small wetrooms are probably a bit small to change in, but not having had one I'm not sure on this..

We went for the bretagne which has small wet room. We have used the shower in there on a couple of occasions.  It is fine you just need to be organised.  I then use the small room at the back of the caravan for dressing. 

We decided to have a smaller bathroom because we wanted as much living space as we could with two young boys!

If you're looking to buy a 2nd hand 5 berth, I'd suggest you look at the Bailey Pageant Provence. Series 5,series 6 or 7 to see if the layout is any good for you. I think the new Olympus does the same layout but I've not seen it. The Provence is IMO an excellent 5 berth family van & they've got a proper walk in shower cubicle. We'd never go for another wet room, the first van we had was with a wet room & we never used the shower in it. Having said that, we've got friends who rally all the time with a wetroom & they use it to the full with no problems so far.

BB

End washroom with a seperate walk in shower for us. 

Our last van (the one we had stolen) had a side washroom with a seperate shower.  If ever I needed to sit down on the loo, I always had to shut the curtains in the van and the bedroom partition and leave the toilet door open - otherwise not enough room - even then I struggled.  No problems with our Sancerre.  In one respect the person who nicked the van did us a bit of a favour, so if he's reading this, thank-you for that, but don't nick the Sancerre.  We use the washroom for changing too - don't think a 'wet-room' style bathroom would do us very well.  We love the fixed double bed, by the way.

The moral of the story: always sit on the loo and try it for size before buying the van.

We wanted maximum living space so went for the double dinette (sofas converting to double beds at front & rear plus pull-out bunk over the bed at the back) with a middle bathroom.  Our bathroom has toilet, vanity unit & walk-in shower cubicle so would be fine if we did need to use it.  You can just about get changed in there & as we use on-site facilities the shower cubicle houses the laundry basket. 

The layout works great for us - kids have their own space at the back during the day & then comfy beds at night.  The only gripe would be having to make the beds up but it's a trade-off between living space or the convenience of fixed beds/bunks.

We have recently changed from a Bretagne with a side washroom as for us the washroom was a chink in an otherwise excellent van.  Having a curtain made the shower unusable.

We only have one daughter (who is staying up later now) so we decided to go for a fixed bed with a corner washroom.  This gives a bigger front lounge compared to the end washroom version of our van.

We find the corner washroom much more usable compared to the side washroom as ours has a proper screen rather than the annoying curtain that sticks to you as soon as you are wet.  This issue was not apparent when we dry tested our last van before purchase.

If your budget & towcar can stretch to it, you could consider twin axle fixed bunk vans (Senator S6 Carolina springs to mind) as they have a separate shower in the side washroom and an end kids room too.

The Lunar Quasar 646 has this too, but we found the lounge too small as the van is artfully fitted onto a single axle.

Its purely personal preference isnt it. We have an end bathroom, but then we only have one 13 yr old who stays up later.  If I had young children, sleeping arrangements/space would be more important. Im guessing if the kids are young, changing isnt such an issue. Are five of you planning to use the caravan shower each day? Because that will take some planning, and several trips with aquarolls and wastemasters etc each day. My OH and son nip to site showers while I use the van simply because its quicker. We often stay on CLs, and showering three of us takes planning!  As you have a folding camper, you must be used to using site facilities.

You really need to decide how often your family is going to use the onboard shower.  And when youre only away for a weekend, cant you just "top and tail" the kids, and then stick them in a boil wash when you get home?