The BED turns into a SHOWER?! | Knaus Tourer Van 500 MQ FULL VAN TOUR!

[@MegaRetr]

That bathroom is a great idea)))

[@dasteknoviking]

Cheers guys, lovely to see you review this van. I rented one this past summer and did few weeks of traveling with it in Norway and can give you a honest opinion VS a T6.1 Ocean. The ride - nothing like a California. The van wallows all over the road and the rear springs are too soft in the rear, so the van tends to ride with its headlights pointing to the sky (my rental had the excellent LED lights). Noise - this van is very noisy. The habitation area door is poorly sealed and on acceleration you actually hear the exhaust noise from underneath the van - exhaust terminates about that area. On top anything over 100kmh the door sounds like it's open, I slammed it shut many times and it was closed. Had it been my personal van, I would have added better weatherstripping to the door to seal off the noise. Those "fairings" that join up the rear with the cab - they rattle against the cab and pick up wind at 100+kmh. At one point on the Autobahn going 130 the panels rattled so bad I thought they woule fly off. The bloody bed, omg that bed is so comfortable on the back wall, yet divorce-inducing on the part where the shower is. Somehow whoever designed this van, never slept in that position on this bed. The "roof of the shower" where the cushion lays when the shower is down - has a large piece of wood that basically stabs your back if your head is by the wall of the shower. If you flip around and your head is where the sink is, then your legs can't get a proper rest. Had this been my van I would get my saw out and modify the wooden piece. The step up to the bed is flimsy, it never collapsed on us, but is very poorly designed. The upper bed, with it out you can't get into the bathroom 😂. The ladder goes where the door opens. Forget about using it all together, you also loose all those lovely cabinets on the TV side and the upper window can only be used with the bed down. Thankful it was just two of us using the van plus our dog so the bed was used for putting the dirty laundry up there and storing some other stuff. The skylights are poorly designed and tend to open in windy conditions. We had been battling throu a storm home via Denmark with 70-100kmh winds and at one point that front skylight opened... Driving it at 120kmh on the Autobahn in 25C temps with AC on the van got about 10L/100km which I found great. The Truma diesel heater is fantastic, the water in the shower was boiling hot. Would I buy one still? Hmm I woule need to fix many things on it and for 70k (new prices in Germany atm) I think I rather look at something else based on a Crafter or Sprinter. This van appears to have all the right things, but misses on many. Since you mentioned that you like Transporter based conversions, the best one to look at Karmann Colorado - few years old now, but they are hands down the best and rarely come up for sale. I would love to see you review one, just for your opinion. 🍻

[@ABusAndBeyond]

Thanks so much for your user opinion! I’m sure someone looking at this van would find this very useful when potentially buying one!

[@dasteknoviking]

Forgot to mention those mirrors that you said where good. They are missing the blind spot mirrors! I actually bought some cheap stick on mirrors that I installed on my rental. I took em off when I returned the van. What's pretty mehh is that the mirror control is still on the door for power control, but it doesn't do anything because these mirrors are manual 😂. Since I used this van in the summer, I am not sure if they are heated.

[@ABusAndBeyond]

I think perhaps you might prefer the 500 LT version!

[@dasteknoviking]

@@ABusAndBeyond I have seen both, and there is a pop top version as well from Weisnberg as well - they offer the same versions as Knaus but the little worse quality and lesser price. I must say that I prefer the Knaus Boxdrive on the Crafter, or even better Adria or Affinity. However I am gravitating towards a 6 year old Hymer MLT580 or La Strada Nova M on a Sprinter since price is on par with a almost new Knaus (low 60k € mark) and you get a lot more vehicle for your money.

[@timwright5466]

I have a knaus sun ti platinum and the hinges and catches look just the same ..always coming loose or out of alignment so I could see after a couple of years use on that shower set becoming an issue

[@Wheres_wanda_wandering]

I like how cute it looks. The shower area for me is over engineered and looks like it would be a nightmare to clean and dry. I would also need to take off the bed sheets to take a shower. Look forward to seeing the other one. Take care Gill

[@debdavet-cornwallandbeyond1649]

Great video guys. Interesting concept, especially the shower. We currently have a MWB Man TGE panel van, being converted later in the summer, but are still planning the final layout. The shoilet is our biggest consideration, as we still want a reasonable living area.

[@davidmbell]

Good that the sink and hob lid are independent, allowing for a drainer

[@akeolsson8020]

Vehicle length under 6 metres makes it MUCH cheaper on ferries and toll bridges! Lovely

[@vehicletransmission]

Just been out, had bad bbq food, feel a sudden gurgle in my bowels, rush in. Pooped myself in the time it took to figure the sink out, unbutton myself and now ive got to build the shower to get clean. Stress test over. Other than that lovely van =)

[@ernestoquintero747]

Beautiful exterior paint/decals, very innovative shower, bed area is comfy place.

[@techbloke5970]

That bathroom is a great idea

[@davidmbell]

Very clever use of space! Wish caravan manufacturers would take note.

[@ABusAndBeyond]

That would be cool!

[@Zalley]

Can you move the toilet sink both ways in shower mode, so toilet usable? Best demo of this van of the ones I have seen.👏👏👏👍

[@laurahamilton7202]

Another great video review. Thanks.

[@ABusAndBeyond]

Thanks for watching!

[@duncangibson9235]

I struggle to see the useability of this. I really wanted to like it and we looked closely at it before buying our Knaus 600XL. In the end we went for the 600XL as it offered more practicality overall and easier to use as a second car.

[@MdvK13979]

I'd sacrifice the 'garage', or storage compartment, for a living area to be converted into a bed. Bikes can be mounted on the back if that's supportive enough?

[@ABusAndBeyond]

I think you’ll like the 500 LT in the next video then!

[@jeanettesmart9990]

Amazing

[@adventureswithgnomie6553]

Wish there was a American version of this. I really like the coach.

[@deanissitt3284]

Thats alot of space in a small footprint.

[@toraaugusta6998]

wow

[@robertstevenson3126]

Just wondering how the grandkids watch TV when it's behind them 😮

[@ABusAndBeyond]

They could sit in the captains chairs? 🤪

[@ninatheambulancecamper]

That looks pretty cool

[@grahams3417]

So much space for a t6.1 chassis but that shower looks like it will break in week 1

[@ABusAndBeyond]

It’s hardier than it looks!

[@dasteknoviking]

The doors come flying apart... They dont stay closed.

[@Simon_PieMan]

Good review video guys. I don’t like that shower design - too much of a faff for me for frequent use!

[@ABusAndBeyond]

Fair enough! Thanks for watching 😊

[@dasteknoviking]

That big upper 3 piece folding screen/shower door comes loose when driving. The holder to keep it shut is poorly designed. I basically used my Samsung suction cup phone holder for the duration of the drive with the van - it was stuck to the wall keep it the door closed. The shower is actually not to bad once you figure out how to unfold the bloody doors. One more thing, if you are on any kind of incline the shower is nearly impossible to slide up/down. Even when perfectly level using ramps the shower in my rental unit was extremely tough to move and my wife couldn't move it. I question how it would get on with years of use....

[@darrenjones3681]

Personally if I had the money a Wingham Micro is a better layout

[@californiamicke9527]

🚗🙂🇸🇪👍👋

[@robinkellett-navellou2606]

I applaud the fact that manufacturers like Knaus are trying really hard to be creative. But TBF this bathroom solution seems ill-thought-out at best (and likely to break at worst). What a faff; and worse, it negates the point of going bigger than a Transporter-type camping solution - that everything's already set up and you do minimal config to "camp" or strike camp. Hard pass, I'm afraid but thanks again for another engaging video.

[@ABusAndBeyond]

Thank you very much for watching

[@peromalmstrom7668]

Hopefully will work for some & some will like! Evidence will be sales & that data would be interesting, yet almost impossible to get hold of! Over engineered = plenty to break, lack of space, especially in UK (weather). Not a practical bed or toilet/shower room for retired types, as video stated the opposite. This appears an exercise of futility, stuffing as much in, regardless of practicality. Evidenced example of trying to cover, the sliding grey areas, between van for every day use, to a camper-van, to a motorhome, but fails at all 3. Understand, your requirement, your needs, your usage, your budget, then go for 1 of the 3, that does your requirement well, not as in this example, that does none of them well.