Autotrail Expedition 68

Does anyone have any experience of the. Expedition 68? It looks like everything me and my Mrs need for some cycling holidays in the UK and Europe. But being long and narrow I wonder if there are any negatives room wise and with driving it compared to a standard motor home.  I really like the garage for bikes and the fixed bed and all the other standard bits make it pretty much self contained. Is the 140bhp 2.2d a decent engine for pulling a 3500kg van? Apparently it is at the budget end of camper vans and does have some weak points, plastic coated cardboard heat ducting and flimsy pipe work exposed under the van have been mentioned in some yt vids. I’m 6’1″ so I’m not expecting the bed to be a good fit either. Any thoughts?

Autotrail build quality isn’t great in that model range –  it’s at the lower end of Autotrail range. Normally they are okay but the fit and finish of the expedition ones isn’t great

We had a bespoke one made for about that off a new base van, ours sleeps and travels 3 and has garage space for 3 bikes and 3 paddle boards in a 6m body. Not massively impressed with that one.

I’ve just been reading this thread on the t6 forum which is about the auto trail, goes into some detail so might be useful. No idea why I was reading it, no intention of getting one! Just another rabbit hole!!

Anyway, you might find some useful info

https://www.t6forum.com/threads/life-after-a-t6-camper.52748/

@mrhoppy who did you use for your bespoke conversion out of interest? Looking into it myself… Thanks

I looked at the 68 on Friday at NEC. Was about the only one that’s got the garage under the bed, most ‘vans’ opting for the lounge area at the rear. We’re also looking at motorhomes, but I think we’ll stick with my plan of a Peugeot Traveller (van with seats), and make a fold out bed in the boot area. We’ve got a very nice tent and all the gear, which something a bit bigger will be better for carrying, and also as a day van. Added advantage is you can get it in all car parks – many coastal ones are 2.2m limit.

I was also at the show on Thurs and looked at the 68. In general I thought it was pretty reasonable at the price, but at 6’2″ I’m not really compatible with transverse beds…

Found a few options with height adjustable rear longitudinal beds that were much better for sleeping, but seem to start at about £20k more than the Autotrail… hence looking at a bespoke solution!

@nre we used Vantage conversions in Telford. They do commercial vehicle conversions mainly so their VSport badges bits are generally for the guys to have fun.

We’ve got a longitudinal bed with a big storage area along the side of it. Means we have loads of storage space for clothes and stuff.

Website is here https://www.vantagevcltd.co.uk/

Great, thanks @mrhoppy

Any pics? Yours sounds similar to what I had in mind. Do you choose from some standard designs or was it completely to your spec?

It was done to a completely bespoke design that we worked out, then sat down and talked over with them and worked out some compromises between what we wanted and what was feasible.

Van – kitchen unit in the doorway, toilet & shower unit behind.

Garage (it now has a sliding tray for the bikes) bed above and full length storage cupboards. Garage has gas bottle storage, onboard water tank and the Truma combined water/air heater behind the seats. Bed is ~185cm long to fit the bikes in.

Internals with seat up and pulled out as a bed – rotating passenger seats now replaced with a unit that allows both to be individually moved, reclined and reversed. Electrics are under the seat. Over an storage for coats and bags and stuff.

Kitchen unit has 2 burner hob, sink, fridge and storage.

Looks great, thanks for all the info!