Not every family has the budget for a full-blown Type A, B or C motorhome for weekend and holiday use. One of the options we've seen a lot of lately is the Type B that can effectively double as an everyday people or cargo hauler. The Volksleisure and Horizon Multi Concept Vehicle are two such dual purpose-built vans, and now the folks at WildAx Motorhomes have their own idea on how to give the van a split personality. With their Pulsar, they've added a kitchen and bathroom to the back of a Citroën Relay, leaving a roomy, uncluttered four-person cabin for everyday driving.
The camper vans that we've covered in depth or peeked inside of at the likes of the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon or Overland Expo tend to have a kitchen unit mounted along one of the rear cabin walls. So, if you plan to use the van for any type of everyday driving, you have a useless kitchen taking up cabin space. Even the aforementioned Volksleisure and Horizon MCV vans are set up this way.
With the Pulsar, UK-based WildAx reshuffles the deck, placing all the overnighting equipment in the back while keeping the cabin simple and streamlined. In place of the typical rear bench, the Pulsar has independently mounted left and right seats, opening up a central aisle to the kitchen and bathroom in back. Outside of its lack of extra seats, the rear cabin looks as roomy and comfortable for everyday driving as any standard van, with no unnecessary sinks, refrigerators or dual-burner stoves taking up leg or elbow room.
While the Pulsar is all business up front, it's full-blown recreation in back. We wouldn't necessarily expect to find anything more than a portable toilet or tailgate-mounted shower in a compact camper/everyday van, but WildAx manages to squeeze a full bathroom into the rear corner. That enclosed space includes a cassette toilet, shower and sink, as well as a mirror and storage. In the opposite corner, the Pulsar has a well-equipped kitchen with a three-burner stove, oven, sink, 50-L (13.2 US gal) fridge/freezer, food preparation space and storage drawers.
The Pulsar sleeps up to four by way of the folding rear double bed and available pop-top roof double bed. It includes an insulated cabin, fully winterized 80-L (21.1 US gal) fresh and waste water tanks, a 20-L (5.2 US gal) refillable propane tank, a Truma Combi 4E gas/electric water/air heater, a 100 Ah battery, LED cabin lighting, and 230 V, 12 V and USB outlets. It also has a digital TV antenna and screens for the sliding doors. Options include solar panels, a TV package and a dual-bike rack.
WildAx's layout does a good job of combining a comfortable everyday MPV cabin for the family of four with the amenities of a well-equipped motorhome, but the space has to come from somewhere. By choosing to place all the camper equipment in back, instead of having some or all of it up farther in the cabin, WildAx cuts the cargo capacity significantly. It looks like you could store a fair amount of gear in the pass-through center aisle, but you're still losing a significant amount of everyday hauling capacity and versatility. Don't expect to use this van to haul some of the furniture and large equipment you might fit in a standard van. And with only four seats, you can forget about using it for the soccer practice carpool.
The base Citroën Relay van is powered by a 130-bhp engine and six-speed manual gearbox. It measures 16.4 x 6.7 x 8 ft (5 x 2.05 x 2.43 m/L x W x H), and comes standard with DAB radio with USB/aux ports, satellite navigation, cab air conditioning and electronic stability control. Available options include cruise control, LED running lights and reverse camera system.
The Pulsar camper van starts at £42,995 (US$68,000), and options are priced individually.
Source: WildAx Motorhomes
