bongo with kids

[lancyman]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, and as a potential bongo owner I have a question. I have two young kids
one 4 and one 7 months, has anyone else camped and used their bongo with children of this age?
If so, what tips can you give us? We are thinking about how we keep the kids safe at night, and other
practical arrangements. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We are off to see our first bongo in the morning, and I am really excited about it. Wish me luck.

cheers,

Lancyman.

[Driver+Passengers]

I believe some folk have removed the gas-lift ceiling and replaced with 'bed boards' that cover 3/4 of the hole up to the roof. This way, the kids sleep upstairs, and you can still pop your head up the gap at the back to check on them.

We have one 3yo, and he's slept upstairs, downstairs, across the front seats in a bed that rests on the door sills (which can be made to drop down into the door pull wells to prevent the front doors from being opened while they're in there. That said, we've yet to have the perfect night away!

Sorry I can't help much more - good luck!

[lancyman]

Thanks Bongolier. Any tips welcome. Just sort of feeling our way through this.

[Driver+Passengers]

You're welcome!

Put your location in your profile (click User Control Panel top right and then Profile), someone local might be able to offer you assistance if you're considering a particular vehicle.

We've got an unconverted vehicle, ie 8 seater. Are you going for a conversion? Without one, you're going to have to get creative with storage and accessibility of stuff. Without, some people turn the middle row of seats round to face the back which makes getting in and out when parked a lot easier, but you lose the ability to carry as much stuff when traveling.

[alan]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum, and as a potential bongo owner I have a question. I have two young kids
one 4 and one 7 months, has anyone else camped and used their bongo with children of this age?
If so, what tips can you give us? We are thinking about how we keep the kids safe at night, and other
practical arrangements. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We are off to see our first bongo in the morning, and I am really excited about it. Wish me luck.

cheers,

Lancyman.

my was older when we got the bongo but there love it and we seen some alot younger camping it the might hlep if you put where you live in your porfile then some one close to you might let you craw around there van

Y ou can get a shorter braods to rerplaced the rooof making it esaer to look in on them http://www.clearcutconversions.co.uk/co ... ation.html

[g8dhe]

Take a look at this thread, you get the best of several ideas here http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 7&start=15

[umbongocat]

Welcome.

We've got 3 little ones between 4 and 9 and two teenage kids. We've camped with all of them since the young one was 4 weeks old. When it's all of us we have to use an extra tent (Quecha base tent). Usually we camp with the little ones only and then we all fit in the bongo. Two of them upstairs and a cab bed along the front. A cab bed for the little one is good and the older one could fit upstairs with you guys downstairs.

We had our inner roof bit adapted so we could have easy access to the kids upstairs as the hatch is a real pain if one of them is fast to sleep on top of it.

Take a look at this link for how we adapted ours. We tried out the bed board thing but found it was a pain and extra weight to carry around. By having the original inner roof cut and re-inforced you're not carrying around extra weight and it's great for kids and adults alike.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 7&start=15

[lancyman]

Hi All,

Thanks for the ideas to date. I am in Lancashire by the way.
What is a cab bed please? Just been to see a bongo, which I think we are going to buy.
Excited now.

[Nogob]

Hi

I'm in Lancs as well - Rawtenstall.

Our youngest was 5 when we got ours and has been all over Europe in it - no problems, in fact, if I pop the roof up when it's on the drive, he and his cousin treat it like a Whacky Warehouse.

Other than the fact that the trap door's a bit lethal I can't think of any specific child safety issues.

What I do know is that he absolutely loves it. He regularly makes me reassure him that we'll never sell it and was once heard replying to a mate who was telling him about his Dad's brand new Audi something or other "If it doesn't have a roof that turns in to a bed room, I'm not interested"

I think the Audi looks good - but I've already promised to keep the Bongo forever!

Enjoy yours.

[Getcarter]

We use one of these for our 4 year old

http://www.vw-beds.com/products/bongo.html

With thermal screens on the windows and the curtains behind the front seats it makes her own bedroom.

We also have a toddler who sleeps with her mum downstairs and me in the roof. I have had the roof converted by 321away like Umbongocat's so the whole back section can be opened on its own so the kids can sleep up there once they get a bit older, thats the theory anyway.

My kids love camping, last year we went 8 times and never really went camping before the Bongo after we had kids

Tim

[umbongocat]

Hi All,

Thanks for the ideas to date. I am in Lancashire by the way.
What is a cab bed please? Just been to see a bongo, which I think we are going to buy.
Excited now.

It's a bed that goes across the front drivers seat and passenger seat.

VW do them but they fit the bongo too

http://www.vw-beds.com/products/cab_bunk.html

[M 80NGO]

Hello and welcome, this is what a cab bed looks like in action in my old vw



Also budget for a tow bar and a 5 x 3 trailer for all ya camping gear and one of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-5-x-2-5m-Gr ... 4cfd5f317a

That way you have an area for shoes towels etc and can use the van for sleeping

Pete.

[winchman]

Space will always be an issue, but just take what you need, all to often we take allkinds of stuff we just dont need, if you are stuck buy a trailer
I would suggest the cab bed for the smaller kids.
Ours are 12 and 15 and almost 6ft, so whilst ours is mainly a day van, if we do camp me and the lad will sleep in a tent, I found a tin top at the right price so had to buy it as our main requirement was seating for 6 adult size people and it was cheap LOL

[mobilecat]

We use one of these for our 4 year old

http://www.vw-beds.com/products/bongo.html

With thermal screens on the windows and the curtains behind the front seats it makes her own bedroom.

We also have a toddler who sleeps with her mum downstairs and me in the roof. I have had the roof converted by 321away like Umbongocat's so the whole back section can be opened on its own so the kids can sleep up there once they get a bit older, thats the theory anyway.

My kids love camping, last year we went 8 times and never really went camping before the Bongo after we had kids

Tim

now this I like.

[cabte]

We been looking for somthing or teona to sleep on.
This looks quite interesting ,
Would be a bit scared case she fell off inbetween the pasinger side though,