An honest review of caddy maxi campers

In 2021, I bought a caddy maxi to self convert. I wrote a blog all about the buying process here and wrote a detailed blog on creating a specialist bed for van conversions here. My little camper was called Bonnie.

One of the stunning little overnight spots allowed by a tiny camper

So, post conversion, after using (and parting ways with) precious little Bonnie, I wanted to write something about my honest thoughts on caddy maxi campers. Would I do it all again? I think sometimes avid caddy maxi-ers (or any of the self conversioners) can sell the idea of caddy maxi campers hard. They are niche groups with fierce supporters. And so hopefully, this can help you decide if this is the route you want to take too.

Here are some thoughts on pros and cons on a caddy maxi camper, that you might want to bare in mind before a purchase and or conversion. Although there are more negatives, my overall opinion is I love caddy maxi campers. Some of the cons might be irrelevant to you anyway, they are just there to guide and support. It will also hugely depend on how you convert your camper. My little camper was insulated, had a small built in cupboard, no wired electrics, no toilet facilities, a small camping shower, a built in bed that extended to a double and specialist curtains, made by me. So there is a little context to help you gather an idea of how I have developed this pros and cons.

Pros	Cons
Small space, less to heat. This makes it easier to camp in different seasons. Bonnie was lined with insulation, which was essential for temp regulation.	Small space, tricky to manage this space in wet conditions, with more than one person or when getting changed
Fuel efficient	Less capacity to take passengers
Doesn't look like a camper, so can be used as a stealth camper if needed	Toilet facilities require planning
Comfortable and easy to drive, great for day to day use.	Electric can be tricky and facililites for cooking is unlikely
Many Caddy maxi's have back windows as standard which is handy for driving and light inside.	Back windows can be a security risk if used as a van otherwise
Freedom! A tiny camper means the world is your oyster, you can go more places than large campers, you are agile.	Can be higher than some car parks, so check your van height and make sure you fit into multistories.
Fits in usual car spaces and can come with parking sensors but beware of height (see cons)	Difficult to get things once in bed as a double
	Bed in or out conundrum (I did one trip with the bed out the entire time, which made the bed sandy/ dirty on a beach trip, but saved lots of time getting the bed in and out and allowed storage underneath all day.
	You need to be very organised. You will probably have to shuffle things to access something when the double bed is out.

The chatty part, my overall thoughts.

The self conversation part... I personally really enjoyed this aspect, the research, the DIY, although some aspects I couldn't do and I had someone else doing the more manual aspects. It's great fun being innovative and trying different solutions and finding what works for you. It is a bit of a relationship tester, so be aware. There is so much online to help with your conversion, I would recommend doing lots of research before starting, to make sure you're doing certain aspects the right way. Have lots of cups of tea and try to enjoy the process. Once your main conversion is done, I recommend trying lots of ways to innovate on space, storage and making it your own little home on wheels.

The reality of a tiny camping space... clutter! Unless your regimented and organised, when on road trips you will likely have clutter!

Thoughts on caddy maxi campers overall...

I loved my time having a little caddy maxi camper. They are a fantastic starter camper, or if you’re looking for somewhere to climb in at the end of a long day outdoors, whilst still having a vehicle you can easily use day to day. They can be taken to places that might be limited for full sized campers, they're subtle too. If you don't need much, they are freedom in a little microcamper.

However, because they are so small, space to stretch out is limited, especially head height and when there are two people sharing the van. This is particularly tricky on a rainy day. There are plenty of work arounds to this, including getting a pop up living room for campsites. This set up isn't super useful for road trips, it can be difficult accessing storage/ everyday essentials when the bed is out. If you're tired after a busy day and trying to set up for camp with cooking etc, take a few deep breaths! If you need the loo a lot in the night, you'll either find yourself booking into sites with toilet facilities near by, or trying to work around a camping toilet inside the van. This will require some serious innovation if camping as two, but if you're single occupancy this could work. Basically, for road trips with lots of little overnight stops, you will need to do lots of unpacking, repacking and organising. If this works for you for the bonus of being able to stop more places than larger vans and being more discrete, you'll be great.

If you do buy and convert a caddy maxi camper, I really hope you enjoy it. I loved my time with little Bonnie!