Van life furever: the best campervans for dog owners     

No more searching for dog sitters or anxiously hunting for canine-friendly hotels. Here’s our top campervan picks to enjoy a stress-free road trip with your favourite four-legged friends.

The van life movement is here to stay, and for many of us, pets are our lives — until we go on holiday. That’s when the complications of arranging dog friendly travel, accommodation, and activities create a few bumps in the road. 

The solution? Rather than stressing over finding a suitable sitter or limiting holiday plans to avoid complications, guilt, and doggy discomfort, why not treat them (and yourself) to a canine campervan road trip.

Here are our top campervan picks for bringing the ultimate furry home comfort along for the ride.

Ford Transit Custom Nugget: comfort is key

Whether you’re taking a campervan abroad, or staycationing during a rare UK heatwave, keeping a camper cool is a serious challenge. This is a safety-first situation, as even travelling with the windows down and pitching-up in a shady spot may not be enough to keep dogs comfortable and safe. 

Campervan converters often install hefty rooftop air conditioners and insulation to combat this issue, but Ford also offer an off-the-shelf solution: the contemporary Transit Custom Nugget. Offering dual zone automatic air-con for both the front cabin and passenger areas, as well as a solid heating system should the temperature drop, the Nugget is the perfect climate-controlled environment to look after any pups.

As a bonus, you can use the side awning to bring the shade with you for some outdoor temperature regulation when the weather permits. There’s even a shower setup under the boot-lid, should any muddy dogs (or humans) need a relaxing cool off after a day of adventures. 

Fiat Ducato Camper: room for activities

Just like bringing an extra person along, a pooch will require additional space for both themselves and their gear. From Chihuahuas to Great Danes, a Fiat Ducato camper should have room for any size of tail-wagging companion.

The award-winning Ducato campervan base has landed its accolades largely as a result of its expansive interior, and the flexibility this provides — so there’s ample space for dog beds, leads, towels, leak proof water containers, spill-proof water bowls, and any other equipment required for canine road trip.

Now, while in a standard van you may get a mesh bulkhead or strap your dog into the front seat with a doggy-seatbelt for safe travels, this makes less sense in a camper with rotating seats and open access to the rear living area. Here the Ducato’s versatile interior provides plenty of alternative options to better fit a campervan layout, with many offering room for dog crate partitions or floor mounted travel harnesses and hammocks to look after any mischievous four-legged travelers. A side effect of this separation is less chewed camping gear, which we reckon is a good thing too.

Volkswagen California: cleanliness is next to dogliness godliness

Dog hair. It really does get everywhere — and let’s not even get started on muddy paw prints. Both pretty unavoidable, but we’d opt for the innovative Volkswagen California as our choice to make the required cleanup as painless as possible.

By swapping out the old bench setup for individual seats in the rear, the new California allows for these units to removed entirely. This creates an ideal area for dogs to travel, rest, and sleep, while owners can catch their shuteye in the hair-free pop-up roof bed compartment.

Campers can either put an easily removable wipe-down floor mat in the lower pup-zone, or rely on the easy to clean, dog hair resistant characteristics of the hard finished floor and dark-coloured interior architecture. Even better, as the first California to leave the VW factory with dual sliding doors as standard, cleaning can be tackled from all angles. Like the Nugget, there is also a rear shower attachment — should the situation require a serious hose down.

What camper would you pick for a camping road trip with your loyal companion? Are there any other dog-friendly features you’d like to see in a campervan?

Whatever your camper of choice is, Michelin Agilis Camping tyres can help to ensure a smooth journey for you and your four-legged friends — offering the comfort of premium ride quality, sure footed stability, and low road noise.

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