2007-present: VANTAGE REAR-LOUNGE MODELS

Each issue, Gentleman Jack focuses on a great secondhand motorhome. He then reveals which is the best of the bunch, what to pay and which problems to look out for

Leeds-based Vantage will be very familiar to longstanding readers as serial Gold Standard winners in the annual Practical Motorhome Owner Satisfaction Awards. The business was started in early 2007 by experienced motorcaravanners and global travellers Scot and Jane Naylor.

Early conversions were on the X/250 high-top Peugeot Boxer panel van. All were in silver-grey coachwork with quality foil-wrapped cabinetwork and furniture, reflecting Scot’s experience as a highly regarded domestic and commercial furniture designer and manufacturer. All models converted during the founder’s watch also had dedicated two-berth interiors, with only the cab pews as travel seats.

First up was the long-wheelbase 5.99m (19’ 8”) Max, featuring twin inward-facing settees at the far rear. The nearside kitchen was linear and the wardrobe was located behind the driver’s seat, ahead of the washroom. Nothing exceptional in the layout, it was the quality of the build and the materials that set it apart.

Ingenious design details, such as the rising 230V socket stack and the inclusion of many spacious drawers, reinforced the first impression that here was a motorcaravan designed by motorcaravanners.

Max was quickly followed by Sol, whose USP was that it provided longer settees – these could be converted into a brace of easy-access longitudinal single beds or a huge double.

Med is a shorter version of the Sol, and in 2010, the innovative Cub joined the line-up. Although the latter was just 5.413m (17’ 9”) long, the somnolent could sleep either in a double or in two single beds. Its wardrobe is half-height and loftily mounted, allowing for the offside occupant to rest their feet underneath in comfort.