Sweet dreams

As sure as night follows day, a continental campervan in the six-metre class will have a fixed bed at the rear. But, with so many makers offering ostensibly similar models, it can be down to the details to make all the difference. Whether that’s Knaus’ rear seat that extends sideways, Malibu’s porthole windows, Pilote’s slide-away cassette toilet, or Laika’s folding table, there are multiple differences there to help you pick one over another.

Of course, Dreamer hopes its new D51, from its more premium Select range, is the one you’ll, err, select but, as if to emphasise the sheer variety in this sector, that means the Gallic maker now has six models in this 5.99m length of Fiat panel van (plus two 5.41m offerings and a further half-a-dozen 6.36m ’vans). At least this Rapido Group company – and campervan specialist – has a history of innovation in the sector, but neither the on-paper first impressions of the floorplan, nor the physical sight of the D51 emerging from Wokingham Motorhomes’ storage building got my pulse racing.

Of course, this is the very first time I’ve seen this new model, with Covid having prevented our attendance at the launch in Mayenne in northern France, as well as sounding the death knell for last October’s NEC show.

Now, in the