The long wheel base sprinter/crafter seem to be the go, with a shed at the back with the bed above, and the living area to the front half

Thinking about an electric Kombi. Free travel costs ??

Much appreciated! Thank you for the comments. Love the Pinterest site, particularly the USA Winnebago Revel bed that drops down. One further query. Is a van 4x4 (say sprinter or iveco 4x4) necessary or helpful to access windsurfing spots in WA?

Sprinter all the way. I have a 2003 3500 T1N set up as a RV. The sofa bed is in front, just behind the driver's seat. (Most converters put the beds in the back. ) With mine in the front I can put windsurfing gear in the back and stop to camp or sleep without having to empty out the back of the van. Since it is a standard 3500 (no camper box on the chassis) I can park it anywhere a big pickup would fit.

Even at 8,000 lb empty weight, I can eke 22 mpg out of it. No, it's not a Porsche, but the acceleration and power is plenty.

Why do you need the beds east-west? with a Sprinter wouldn't you have heaps of room to run the beds length ways and still be able to boards underneath?

Wide vans are a pain. Parking is difficult, but I guess if you are talking of Sprinters, then parking is not your main concern.

regal1 said..
What I'm looking at is a 2nd hand winnebago/avida escape. The double bed is electric and stays in the ceiling when not in use. The area below will be have windsurfing gear. The area in front of the bed/storage (looking forward) has cooking on the left, shower & toilet on the right. This format works best when the bed is east/west rather than north south. The xlwb sprinter is longer but not by much.

I think you are mistaken about the Sprinter - my fit-out holds 9 boards, 12 sails, etc. There is room for a king-size bed, a full kitchen and a couch which folds out as a 7ft single bed.




You could - with effort - even add an internal wet-area for a shower/toilet.

When I was looking for a touring vehicle I had a similar problem. It is really hard to combine all the requirements into a single practical vehicle. I was looking for a comfortable motorhome with full kitchen, table, lounge, toilet, shower etc suitable for long trips away. I needed enough space to carry a reasonable pile of windsurfing gear, a SUP and a couple of mountain bikes as well. I also wanted 4WD as this vehicle also had to be suitable for outback travel. No manufacturer in Australia makes anything even close to this, unless you go down the custom path. There is an interesting range of caravans www.jayco.com.au/promo/toy-haulers if you are prepared to tow.
I ended up with a secondhand home made truck conversion. It is a FUSO FG84 4*4 dual cab. I had to do a small amount of rework to install racks for bikes and sail boards. At 6 tonne when fully loaded it is a bit of beast. It is not cheap to run, it is slow and uncomfortable to drive. But I have no regrets I have spent more than 200 days in it in the last three years.
Here it is at LG in Feb 2019

It does 19 litres per 100k. Most people seem to be surprised by this. Some that it is high, others that it is low. We looked at loads of similar 4WD truck based vehicles. They typically ranged in price from $60,000 to $100,000. You can obviously spend a lot more, but if you want a truck less than 10 years old with something on the back it is hard to spend much less.