Motorhomes and Campervans – Different Types of Van Life Vehicles

The world of motorhomes and campervans can seem really complex, with so many different types of van and new jargon to learn. In reality though the vehicles themselves are simple. They’re mostly based on commercial vans which have been converted to be lived in. They have a bed, cooking hob and a cool box as the bare minimum, but often have more luxurious features like a wet room, windows and skylights, fridge/freezer, sofas, table, TV and internet system.

Are motorhomes and campervans the same thing?

Erm, yes and no. Many folks use the terms interchangeably. Generally when someone talks about a camper van though, they are referring to a iconic classic VW camper or a newer Panel Van Conversion (PVC) like the ones below.

Campervans

Panel vans retain the original van’s cab, walls, side and rear doors, with holes cut for windows, heating vents, skylights and so on.

Some panel vans have the roof cut off and a higher one fitted (high tops). This allows you to stand up inside which makes them more comfortable to cook in, shower and move around. Some have a roof which you can lift when you’re parked (pop tops, like those shown above). This helps to keep them low enough to get under car park height barriers.

PVCs are also sometimes referred to as ‘day vans’ as they are typically used for short-term trips. That said, you can use your van any way which suits you. We’ve met a family of two adults and two children touring Europe for months in a small VW van.

PVCs come in larger versions too, like the rugged Mercedes pictured below. These tend to include a wet room and toilet and more likely to be referred to as motorhomes. Our first camper, which we called Harvey the RV, was a high top camper based on a Talbot Express base. He contained a shower and toilet, but we had to make the beds up every night. We knew this wouldn’t work for us on a long term tour, so we switched to a Hymer B544 motorhome with a drop down bed.

Motorhome Types

Most of us think of motorhomes as big white boxes like the one below (which happens to be our Hymer B544 – have a look around inside). This motorhome belongs to the A Class category. This means it doesn’t have the original van’s cab, and instead has a new one dropped in place which is the full width of the vehicle.

The other main type of motorhome is the C Class or Coachbuilt, which has the van’s original cab, including the standard van’s windscreen and cab doors. The example C Class motorhome below has the roof lifted in a ‘quiff’ making room for an overcab bed, a design called a Luton.

C Class vans without this roof bulge are called Low Profiles, like the one below.

If you’re wondering what happened to B Class by the way, join the club. In the USA panel vans are referred to as B Class vans, but not here in the UK. We’ve no idea why not!

Then there’s a whole bunch of other types of ‘van’, from the compact Romahome, to towed ‘fifth wheelers’ to huge expedition vehicles like the MAN-based truck below which we met in Morocco. Even over in North Africa most people travel in A Class, C Class and PVCs, but if another type of van takes your fancy, go for it.

And finally, there’s the good old RV, which stands for Recreational Vehicle. These vans are mostly found in North America but there are a few knocking around the British Isles. Some have ‘slide outs’, where a section of the side of the van extends when they’re parked up, making the space inside much bigger.

As you can see motorhomes and campervans come in so many shapes and sizes, so you are bound to find one to suit your needs.

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