Don’t need all the facilities of a campervan? This day van could be a lower-cost alternative…
THE beauty of a VW-sized campervan is its ability to be an everyday car, people-carrier, even perhaps a van, as well as a holiday vehicle. But, for some buyers, the day-to-day role – shopping, school, run, going to the office (if anyone still does that!) – is far more important than the camping side. Not everyone needs – or wants to pay for – a comprehensive fitted kitchen on board and, if you’re forking out tens of thousands, you probably want your vehicle to be as multipurpose as possible.
With this in mind, VW Transport specialist, CamperKing, reckons its new Pursuit fills a gap in the market by catering to those who want a vehicle that provides for their everyday needs during the week, in addition to the quest for weekend adventures. It is designed for the school run, the daily commute or transporting work equipment, as well as camping trips.
This new day van has been almost a decade in development, CamperKing says, and the company describes it as an entirely new class of vehicle, designed to bridge the gap between a Kombi van and a fully spec’d Transporter campervan. Of course, day vans as a concept are nothing remotely new – VW’s own California Beach is an obvious rival – but the Pursuit certainly does meet the needs of a specific type of customer.
Based on the Transporter T6.1, it’s available as a two-berth, the Pursuit 2, with standard VW tin roof and no standing room, and the four-berth Pursuit 4, with CamperKing’s own pop-top. You can also have it in short or long-wheelbase form.
Rather than listing all the standard kit, we have to start this time with what’s not included! You won’t find a cooker (not even a portable one), there’s no fridge and no storage lockers. A sink is not part of the spec, and you certainly won’t find a washroom, or even somewhere specific to store a portable loo.
What it does have, though, is a lot of space and flexibility, thanks to the floor rail system, onto which is mounted a sliding three-seater rear bench, manufactured by Mobiframe. This folds flat into a full-width double bed, measuring 1.91m by 1.50m – a lot wider than the typical VW bed.
Depending on how you are using the vehicle, you can slide the seat forward on its rails to create a huge storage area at the back, or slide it towards the rear to give you more living space. Or, if you need even more capacity, you can remove the seat completely to turn the Pursuit back into
