Rear kitchen campervan
Finally available from your Ford dealer in right-hand drive
A more unusual camper layout
Here, we’re still looking at smaller campervans, often with a pop-top rather than a high roof, and not the larger Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer size of van conversions. And, if a side kitchen layout isn’t for you, this is the key alternative in VW T6 vans, Ford Transit Customs or similar.
There are various reasons why you might prefer this style of layout to the side kitchen design. Firstly, and perhaps the key reason to choose it, is the availability of single beds rather than a double. But, secondly, you can have a little more independence from campsite facilities, something that’s become more important in the past year because of Covid. Instead of a Porta Potti kept in a cupboard, these models often have a built-in cassette toilet at the rear. There may be a screen or curtain to give some privacy for its use, too – so it’s more than
A flap covers the cassette loo when not in use in this Bilbo’s Nexa+
just an emergency-only toilet.
There’s still plenty of choice of these layouts, with most of the major VW converters offering a version. If you’re buying used, though, choice will be less because these campers sell in much smaller numbers than side kitchen layouts. It’s worth noting, too, that rear kitchen models are more likely to be based on a long-wheelbase van, as it’s a struggle to get this design into a sub-5m camper (although some firms have managed it).
More often than not, there are two forwardfacing seats behind the cab seats (both of which should swivel). At the back of the camper, there are normally kitchen/storage units on either side. Often a fixed cassette toilet is hidden away, disguised as part of the galley furniture.
The seats should make into twin single beds, but check bed lengths (especially on the driver’s
side, where the steering wheel may restrict space) and how flat these beds are. Sometimes the singles can be adapted into a double bed but this is likely to be quite a compromised arrangement. If you want a rear kitchen layout with a double bed, it’s better to look to models that were designed with that intention, such as Ford’s Nugget.
Look carefully at storage space in these layouts as it tends to be much less in comparison to side kitchen models. Losing that rear boot means that you may struggle to find somewhere to keep outdoor chairs and the like. Consider where you’ll store bedding, too.
The slightly more spacious Ford Transit Custom is worth considering as an alternative to the VW here. Dreamer and WildAx offer Fordbased rear kitchen models and Devon’s Firefly (SWB or LWB) seems perennially popular.
It’s been a long wait but the Nugget is now officially available in the UK through Ford’s own dealer network. That means it goes head-tohead with the VW California and Mercedes Marco Polo, the other OEM campervans. Except that it doesn’t, because the Nugget eschews their side kitchen layout for something unique.
This Ford campervan – built by Westfalia – isn’t even like other rear kitchen campers, such as the Hillside Cromford below. For a start, it has a bench seat in the rear, then backing onto that is an unusual L-shaped kitchen. As a result of the seating format, the downstairs bed is a double. And the differences continue because right-hand drive Nuggets come with twin sliding doors – a real boon when you’re using this camper as your daily wheels, dropping kids off at school, etc.
The standard Nugget also packs a lot into its SWB body, although a longer Nugget Plus (5.34m long, from £62,310) with fitted cassette loo is coming. Both versions have a front-hinged pop-top roof with a generously sized upstairs bed, with a mattress mounted on Froli springs.
The cook in the family will like the rear kitchen, where they can work undisturbed and the 12V/230V hot water system is a surprise bonus. A chemical loo can be stored in a cupboard under the wardrobe, in the offside rear corner, but locker space falls short of some rivals. The largest space is the area under the bench.
At over £60k with a few options, the Nugget doesn’t look cheap but it is well equipped and finished to a very high standard.