The Best Campervans: 8 Models Worth Your Money

There’s no single best campervan, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling one.

What there is, though, is a group of models that keep proving themselves. They come back to us in part-exchange in good condition, they sell again quickly, and owners tend to be reluctant to let them go. That’s a more useful signal than any brochure.

Here are eight I’d stand behind, what each one actually is, and who it suits. If you’re still working out what size and layout you need, start with our guide on how to choose a campervan.

What’s the short version?

• Best all-rounder: Adria Twin Supreme 640 SGX

• Best small campervan: Volkswagen California

• Best for couples touring: Auto-Sleeper Kingham

• Best four-berth: Bailey Endeavour B64

• Best California alternative: Ford Transit Custom Nugget

• Best value used route into VW: VW T6 and T6.1 conversions

• Best British rear-lounge layout: Auto-Trail V-Line 635

• Best premium pick: Mercedes-Benz V-Class Marco Polo

How did we choose these campervans?

Five criteria, weighted towards what matters after the first year rather than what looks good on a forecourt.

• Build quality that survives. I see these vans again at three, five and eight years old. That’s the real test.

• Honest weight figures. A campervan with a genuinely usable payload beats one with a clever layout you can’t legally load.

• Layouts that work in practice. Beds you’d actually sleep in for a fortnight, not just photograph well.

• Residual values. The models that hold money are the ones people want, and demand tells you something.

• Parts and support. A conversion is only as good as your ability to get it fixed in five years’ time.

Two of these we stock regularly. Several we don’t stock at all. The list wouldn’t be worth reading otherwise.

Adria Twin Supreme 640 SGX

The Adria Twin is the van most other panel van conversions get compared against, and it’s been that way for two decades. Adria launched the original in 2004 and the layout has been copied across Europe ever since. The 640 SGX is the extra-long version with a height-adjustable rear bed over a substantial storage area.

It’s genuinely popular rather than just well-reviewed. Adria shifts these in volume across Europe, which means parts, dealer familiarity and a healthy used market.

Specifications

• Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato XLWB

• Length: 6.36m | Width: 2.05m | Height: 2.58m

• Berths: 2–3 | Travel seats: 4

• MTPLM: 3,500kg | Payload: around 402kg

• Engine: 2.3-litre, 140bhp, Euro 6d

• New price from: around £52,865

Why we chose it. The build quality is the giveaway. Out & About Live’s tester noted it barely squeaked along bumpy country lanes, which sounds like a small thing and isn’t — rattles are the first sign a conversion was assembled rather than engineered. The lift-up rear bed gives you a garage big enough for bikes without sacrificing a proper sleeping area, and four belted seats mean it works as family transport during the week.

Best for. Couples who tour seriously and carry gear. Cyclists, walkers, anyone who needs the back end to swallow equipment. Also worth noting: at 2.05m wide it’s narrower than most rivals, which matters on Welsh and Highland lanes.

The catch. A 402kg payload isn’t generous for a van this size. Load it carefully and weigh it.

Volkswagen California

The California is the most recognisable campervan in Britain and the only one where the base vehicle manufacturer does the conversion in-house. That single fact explains most of its appeal — the fit and finish are automotive rather than aftermarket, and the whole vehicle carries one warranty.

The current T7-based version arrived recently, but the T6 and T6.1 Californias remain the ones most people buy used.

Specifications (T6.1 Ocean)

• Base vehicle: VW Transporter T6.1

• Length: 4.90m | Width: 1.90m | Height: 1.99m

• Berths: 4 | Travel seats: 4

• Gross weight: 3,000kg | Payload: around 515kg

• New price from: around £66,643 when current

Why we chose it. That 1.99m height is the underrated feature. It slips under most height-restricted car park barriers, which means the California does something almost no other four-berth campervan manages — it works as a normal car. The integration is the other thing. There’s none of the cheap carpet lining you find in so many campers; the furniture and fittings are built to the same standard as the cab.

Best for. Buyers who want one vehicle rather than two. Families with young children who need four belted seats and a school run.

The catch. Expensive new, and expensive used, because demand never softens. There’s no toilet or washroom — you need the much larger Grand California for that.

Auto-Sleeper Kingham

The Kingham is a British-built two-berth on a Peugeot Boxer, and it does something unusual: it commits entirely to comfort for two rather than trying to be a four-berth as well.

Auto-Sleeper builds these in Gloucestershire, and the Kingham has been in the range since 2013 — long enough to have proved itself and to have a well-understood used market. We usually have several on the forecourt at any one time, which tells you how steadily they sell.

Specifications

• Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer XLWB (Fiat Ducato available)

• Length: 6.36m | Width: 2.26m | Height: 2.64m

• Berths: 2 | Travel seats: 2

• MTPLM: 3,500kg | Payload: around 398–433kg

• Engine: 2.0-litre, 160–165bhp Euro 6

Why we chose it. The lengthways French bed is the reason. Most Ducato and Boxer conversions put a transverse bed at the back with a half-dinette up front; the Kingham uses a lengthways French bed and a side settee instead. The result is a sofa that’s genuinely comfortable because it never has to convert into anything, and a bed you don’t climb over each other to leave.

Best for. Retired couples and anyone touring as a pair for weeks at a time. If you’re never going to carry more than two people, this layout gives you more comfort per metre than almost anything else.

The catch. Two travel seats only. It cannot be a family van, and some model years are plated above 3,500kg — we’ve had one at 3,650kg, which a post-1997 licence holder can’t legally drive. Check the plate.

Bailey Endeavour B64

Bailey came late to campervans, launching the Endeavour range in 2022 after decades of building caravans and motorhomes in Bristol. The B64 is the four-berth version, using a pop-top roof and two rear travel seats to take a traditional British layout and make it work for families.

Bailey tested the range in the Sahara before launch, which is marketing, but the vans do feel properly developed.

Specifications

• Base vehicle: Ford Transit

• Length: 5.98m | Width: 2.10m | Height: 3.00m

• Berths: 4 | Travel seats: 4

• MTPLM: 3,500kg | MRO: 3,074kg | Payload: around 426kg

• Engine: 2.0-litre, 155–165bhp

• New price from: around £76,000

Why we chose it. Four berths and four belted seats with ISOFIX on the rear pair, all under 3,500kg, with a washroom. That combination is rarer than it should be. The washroom uses a rotating tambour door that gives you a wide gangway most of the time and a proper cubicle when you need one — a genuinely clever bit of design.

Best for. Families of four who want a washroom and don’t want to step up to a coachbuilt. The Transit base is also cheaper to service than a VW and easier to get seen anywhere in the country.

The catch. Out & About Live’s tester was blunt that although the B64 has seatbelts and berths for four, storage is much less family friendly. Four people’s luggage in a van with 426kg of payload needs planning.

Ford Transit Custom Nugget

The Nugget is Ford’s answer to the California, built for Ford by Westfalia — the German converter that has been doing this since 1949 and also builds the Mercedes Marco Polo. It’s sold through Ford dealers with a full manufacturer warranty.

It’s less famous than the VW in Britain and considerably more established in Germany, which is why it tends to be better value used.

Specifications

• Base vehicle: Ford Transit Custom (L1 or L2)

• Length: 5.00m (L1) or 5.34m (L2)

• Berths: 4 | Travel seats: 5

• Engine: 2.0-litre EcoBlue, 128–182bhp

• New price from: around £56,273 when introduced

Why we chose it. The layout is the differentiator. Where the California and Marco Polo run the kitchen down one side, the Nugget puts it across the rear, which allows twin sliding doors and a standard three-seat bench. Five travel seats in a van this size is genuinely useful, and the twin doors change how the living space works when you’re parked up.

The L2 Nugget Plus adds a plumbed-in cassette toilet, which the California doesn’t offer at all.

Best for. Families who need five seats. Anyone who wants California practicality without California pricing.

The catch. Weaker residuals than the VW, which is bad news when you sell and good news when you buy. The name puts some people off, which is not a rational reason to reject a van but is a real one.

VW T6 and T6.1 conversions

This isn’t one model — it’s a category, and it’s how most people actually get into a VW campervan. Converters like CamperKing, Jerba and Leisuredrive take a Transporter panel van and build a camper interior into it. Typically a pop-top roof, rock and roll bed, side kitchen and leisure electrics.

We stock more of these than anything else, in the £35,000 to £50,000 range, which is roughly what a used California costs before you’ve added anything.

Specifications (typical CamperKing T6.1)

• Base vehicle: VW Transporter T6 or T6.1

• Length: around 5.0m (SWB) or 5.3m (LWB)

• Berths: 4 | Travel seats: 4–5

• Plated weight: commonly 2,800kg

• Engine: 2.0-litre TDI

Why we chose it. You get the Transporter — the drive, the residuals, the everywhere-availability of parts — at a price the factory California doesn’t reach. A good converter’s work is close to factory standard, and you often get more useful specification than VW fits as standard, including diesel heating and decent solar.

Best for. Buyers who want a VW and a realistic budget. Anyone using the van daily as well as at weekends.

The catch. Two, and they matter. First, the converter’s identity is everything — a recognised converter’s work holds value; an undocumented self-build doesn’t. Second, watch the plated weight. Every T6 conversion currently on our forecourt is plated at 2,800kg, not 3,500kg, so a pop-top, four people and a fortnight’s kit is a much tighter calculation than buyers expect.

Auto-Trail V-Line 635

Auto-Trail’s V-Line range is the company’s high-specification panel van conversion line, built in Grimsby on Fiat Ducato underpinnings. The 635 is the longest variant, and the rear lounge layout it uses is the traditional British arrangement — two facing sofas at the back, opening rear doors, kitchen and washroom amidships.

The V-Line range now runs from 5.41m up to two 6.36m variants, and the fact they’re all rear-lounge models tells you how popular that layout remains here.

Specifications (V-Line SE 635)

• Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato XLWB

• Length: 6.36m | Width: 2.51m with mirrors | Height: 2.64m

• Berths: 2 | Travel seats: 2

• MTPLM: 3,500kg | Payload: 390–510kg depending on variant and options

• Engine: 2.2 or 2.3-litre Multijet, 120–140bhp

Why we chose it. The rear lounge is underrated by people who haven’t lived with one. Open the back doors on a decent evening and you’ve got the best seat in the campsite. It’s also the most sociable layout for two couples having a drink, and it converts to twin singles rather than one double, which suits plenty of people better.

Best for. Couples who tour in Britain, spend evenings in the van rather than out of it, and want a British-built van with British dealer support.

The catch. Payload varies substantially between variants and option packs — the Sport comes in around 390kg where some SE models manage 510kg. Check the specific van rather than the model.

Mercedes-Benz V-Class Marco Polo

The Marco Polo is the premium end of the small campervan market, built by Westfalia on the Mercedes V-Class. It’s the most car-like campervan you can buy, and it’s priced to match.

What Car?’s testers went as far as calling it the best campervan in the business, while acknowledging you need serious money to buy and run one.

Specifications

• Base vehicle: Mercedes-Benz V-Class

• Berths: 4 | Travel seats: 4

• Engine: 2.0-litre diesel, up to 233bhp

• Real-world economy: around 35 MPG

Why we chose it. It drives like a large estate car rather than a van, which after a 300-mile day is not a small consideration. The 233bhp engine makes it genuinely quick, and testers have recorded nearly 35 MPG on a typical camping trip without resorting to economy driving techniques. The interior materials are a clear step above everything else in the class.

Best for. Buyers who do long motorway miles to reach their destination, and who want the campervan to feel like a car for the other 340 days a year.

The catch. Cost, both to buy and to service. Mercedes parts pricing is what it is. Like the California, there’s no washroom.

How do you choose the best campervan for your needs?

The right van depends almost entirely on who’s travelling and how long you’re going for. Here’s the short version by situation.

What is the best campervan for families?

Bailey Endeavour B64. Four berths, four belted seats with ISOFIX, a washroom, and all under 3,500kg on a standard licence. If you need five seats instead of four, the Ford Transit Custom Nugget is the answer.

What is the best campervan for couples?

Auto-Sleeper Kingham. The lengthways French bed and dedicated side settee give two people more genuine comfort than any convertible layout. For couples who carry bikes or kit, the Adria Twin 640 SGX instead.

What is the best campervan for solo trips?

VW T6 or T6.1 conversion. Small enough to park anywhere and go where you like, cheap enough to leave standing between trips, and it doubles as your everyday vehicle. A 6.4-metre panel van conversion is a lot of vehicle for one person.

What is the best campervan for everyday use?

Volkswagen California. At 1.99m tall it clears most height barriers, which no high-top conversion does. That single dimension is the difference between a van you use and a van you store.

What is the best campervan for long touring?

Adria Twin Supreme 640 SGX. Proper washroom, real storage, four belted seats and a build quality that stands up to months of use. The Auto-Trail V-Line 635 is a strong British alternative if you prefer a rear lounge.

What is the best campervan on a budget?

A used VW T6 conversion or an older Auto-Trail V-Line. Both sit around the £35,000 to £42,000 mark used, and both are proven. Buying a five-year-old van from a proven range beats buying a new one from an unproven converter. If you’re unsure about going second-hand, read is a used campervan worth it, and use our motorhome finance page to see what it costs per month.

What is the best campervan for off-grid use?

A VW conversion from a good converter, specified properly. Off-grid capability comes from the electrical system rather than the model — lithium batteries, decent solar and diesel heating. Aftermarket conversions are often better equipped here than factory campers, because the converter fits what buyers ask for.

What is the best campervan for tall people?

Any high-top panel van conversion — the Bailey Endeavour, Auto-Trail V-Line or Adria Twin. These give you around 1.95m of internal standing height. Pop-top vans like the California and Nugget only give full height with the roof raised, which you can’t do in every car park or overnight stop.

Which one would I pick?

If someone handed me the money and told me to choose, I’d take the Adria Twin 640 SGX. It’s the most complete campervan on this list — the build quality justifies the price, the layout works for touring and for gear, and it holds its value better than most.

But that’s my travel pattern, not yours. If I had children at home I’d take the Bailey. If I still commuted, the California, without much hesitation.

Work out how you’ll actually travel first. Then come back to this list, because the right van will be fairly obvious once you have.

Oaktree Motorhomes is a used motorhome and campervan dealer in Nottinghamshire with over twenty years in the trade. We currently have several of the vans on this list on the forecourt, including Adria Twins, Auto-Sleeper Kinghams, Auto-Trail V-Lines and a good number of VW conversions.

See our campervans for sale. Every van is unlocked, so have a proper look round at your own pace. If you want someone to talk you through the payload plate on a specific van — ours or one you’ve found elsewhere — give the team a call.