Will it all fit in?

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The test... Would the van hold our gear?



Having bought and taken delivery of the van, we were still yet to determine, for sure, that our Honda VFR 800 would actually fit in the garage... An expensive mistake if not! The dimensions suggested it would... We drove the van home and attached the ramp with some degree of nervousness. This proved to be unfounded - although we found that we had to remove the top box frame.



Now for the acid test. Would the top box (containing helmets) and panniers (essential for food shopping when away), alongside our leathers fit into the internal cupboard I had earmarked for them (the largest of the 'wardrobes' under the bed and accessed via both a lifting lid and large door). The answer was yes! Result!



So here we have it, bike in garage and panniers, top box and leathers successfully and neatly stowed 😊.



Next challenge - the porta bote... And yes, successfully loaded onto roof rack, with bench seats, wheels etc stowed in garage, alongside our folding table and chairs, awning, fishing gear, shoes, BBQ and the other essential camping kit - such as gas bottles, water carrier, hose pipe, tool kit, picnic bag / rug etc... Not forgetting the unfitted spare wheel! And all with space remaining inside for pots and pans, food, electronics, toiletries and clothes storage. Amazing.



Finally, our bicycles were loaded onto the cycle rack.



The biggest test was then to check that we were within our weight limit. We had fastidiously calculated the weight of all the additions to ensure we would have sufficient payload... And we did it!



So, following our holiday, our question to ourselves will be "what can we take off the van, that wasn't used", as opposed to "what do we need to take off due to space / weight restrictions". And, despite Fugly being just that... And a Mercedes powered Hymer to boot, we can honestly way we made the right decision 😊.

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