2014-present AUTO-SLEEPER KINGHAM

Each month we focus on a great secondhand mainstream motorhome. We then tell you which is the best of the bunch, what to pay and which problems to look out for

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Auto-Sleepers is this country’s longest established volume motorcaravan manufacturer, with a pedigree stretching back to the very early 1960s. It has a long association with Peugeot, and before them with Talbot and Commer.

A-S panel van conversions in general – and high-top variants in particular – have sold well, are highly regarded and have strong residuals. Hardly surprising then that Boxer-based examples have many serial purchasers.

In the early 2010s they decided to use the variant featuring OEM factory fitted bonded glass side windows and infill panels for a better integrated, more fluid, automotive, look.

Then 2013 saw another first, when the firm decided to convert the ‘new’ XL version of the LWB van as part of the 2014 model year line-up. Kingham featured an unusual layout for a PVC, with a permanent rear corner double bed. The only other Auto-Sleepers with a similar bed were the Palermo and Cotswold… both bulkier coachbuilts.

Commencing with that bed – it’s an adult-sized double and is very comfortable in sleeping mode. But it’s not just a one trick pony: the head-end rises for comfortable feet-up reading during the day. The whole frame and mattress lifts on gas-assisted struts to reveal a storage area, although this is compromised by the inclusion of the Truma Combi boiler in all but the more recent models, where there’s a switch to Whale underfloor heating units.

Alongside the bed and at the rear is a longitudinal washroom with shower, fixed vanity basin and a swivel-bowl cassette toilet. Although the nearside rear wheel arch intrudes slightly, there is ample manoeuvring space within the compartment. Further forward from the comfort station is a dressing area with a worktop at a sensible height and storage both above and below.