If you prefer something compact over a coachbuilt, you’ll probably be more excited by campervans. They offer flexibility and ease of travel, and there’s a huge variety of them on offer. If you’re looking for value, there are some great options that are equipped with everything you need for an enjoyable tour, as our best budget campervan in the UK guide proves.
Those who are looking for the best camper vans at the more budget end of the market will still find options with a good spec and layouts that provide practicality. That’s certainly the case with our pick of the budget campervans at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2026, where our judging panel set the criteria as being under £65,000.
For the 2026 season, we’ve picked out the Carado CV541 Pro as the best budget campervan on the market, as we thought it was impressive to see how a luxury layout has been provided in a campervan with such a small price.
We’re taking a closer look at the Carado here, as well as the other highly commended options at this year’s Awards – plus the models that impressed us in recent years. And, if you decide you’d like to take a look at what more high-end models come with, be sure to check out our guide to the most luxurious campervans.
What is the best budget campervan in the UK?
Shortlisted at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2026
Carado CV541 Pro
Elddis Whirlwind GTV 563
Auto-Trail Expedition 68XL
Our top picks from recent years
Etrusco CV640SB+
Redline Classic SWB
Elddis Autoquest CV60 60th Anniversary Edition
Bodans Holywell
Dethleffs Globetrail 540DR Classic
Vantage Fuze
The best budget campervan:
Carado CV541 Pro
- Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
- Price: £61,490
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 2
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 2912kg
- Payload: 588kg max
- Length: 5.41m
- Width: 2.05m
Reason to buy:
- A luxury layout in a small budget van
Reason to avoid:
- Cab is cut off from the rest of the vehicle
The best budget campervan at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2026
In the past few seasons, we have seen launches of two motorhomes with full staircases instead of ladders leading up to an upstairs bed in a pop-top roof. The Hymer Venture S and Bürstner Lyseo Gallery models (now sadly discontinued but still readily available on the used market) are examples of this. But all of these are luxury motorhomes – and, in the case of the Hymer, costing well into six figures. And they are big beasts too – well over 6m in every case.
Should such luxury, where you can walk calmly upstairs to bed without having to put up with painful ladder rungs, be only available to those who can afford it, and have the necessary parking space?
Carado clearly thinks it should not. Its new CV541 Pro features just such a staircase, yet the van costs just over £60,000 new – and, as its name implies, it is only 5.41m long.
The staircase includes a couple of clever storage units, too. And as the van is just a two-berth, the perfectly comfy lounge downstairs stays just as it is as standard – although you can opt for a third bed here. If you think you might struggle for storage space here, there are plenty of optional storage boxes you can attach to the outside of the barn doors too.
Elddis Whirlwind GTV 563
- Base vehicle: Peugeot Boxer
- Price: £59,690
- Berths: 3 (optional 4)
- Belts: 4 (3 with pop-top roof)
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 3333kg
- Payload: TBC
- Length: 6.36m
- Width: 2.05m
Reason to buy:
- Popular brand, comfortable UK-friendly interior
Reason to avoid:
- Washroom tap doubles up as a shower head
Highly commended at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2026
Erwin Hymer UK may have completely restructured both its motorhome and campervan offerings this season, but the company has clearly been keen to keep prices down.
This 6.36m-long fixed single beds model, with an optional pop-top roof, still comes in at under £60,000.
For that you get 16-inch alloy wheels, a rear view camera, cruise control, Truma Combi 4 gas heating, a gas oven with a two-burner hob, a 90-litre fridge, and a side washroom with a Thetford toilet (although with a basin whose tap doubles up as the shower head).
And while it may be a new name this season, the name Whirlwind has been used by Elddis many times before, and reflects the heritage of over six decades you buy into when you opt for a leisure vehicle from this popular brand.
Auto-Trail Expedition 68XL
- Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
- Price: £57,563
- Berths: 2 (optional 4)
- Belts: 4
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 2950kg
- Payload: 550kg
- Length: 6.36m
- Width: 2.05m
Reason to buy:
- Plenty of room for people of all sizes to sleep
Reason to avoid:
- The washroom is a bit basic
Highly commended at the Practical Motorhome Awards 2026
This campervan with an optional rising roof has been designed so that even the tallest of people can sleep lengthways in the downstairs bed, if they want to, and thus both people sleeping here should have easy access to the toilet at night.
This change has been achieved by removing a wardrobe, although you still get some hanging space under the bed.
The front lounge has also been redesigned so that the table can be folded away, except for a small section with drink holders. This should suit anyone sitting in the travel seats at the back who prefers to stretch their legs on the move, but also makes proper room for a ladder up to the roof bed to be kept in place all night without disturbing anyone.
There is plenty of space for storage under the bed, but as a cost option, you can have up to two slide-out trays fitted that are perfect for holding bicycles. Even with these options, this van is still likely to be less than £65,000. It also comes on a Fiat Ducato, one of the base vehicles, which is in the discussion for the best van for a camper conversion.
Full review: Auto-Trail Expedition 68XL
Etrusco CV640SB+
- Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
- Year: 2025
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 4
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 29884kg
- Payload: 242kg
- Length: 6.36m
- Width: 2.05m
Reason to buy:
- A step up from standard campervan fare, while still at a great price.
Reason to avoid:
- You might find that price going up sharply if you add more extras.
Etrusco’s Plus models are a step up from the Erwin Hymer Group subsidiary’s standard camper van range. They include a number of extras to give you that edge, such as a sun roof, more charging points for your laptop and mobile, additional storage space, a larger cooking area and most of all a washroom with a partition that swings around to reveal a shower. That’s the first time such a “Vario” washroom has been included within an Etrusco van.
You might have thought such extras would also entail a hefty price increase. But actually this 6.36m-long van with fixed single beds comes in with a starting price more than £1,000 short of £60,000. You could probably buy a driveaway awning with the change. Not that you would necessarily want to, because there is oodles of space in here for the two of you.
Redline Classic SWB
- Base vehicle: VW T6.1
- Year: 2025
- Berths: 4
- Belts: 4
- MTPLM: 2800kg
- MIRO: 2301kg
- Payload: 499kg
- Length: 4.90m
- Width: 2.30m
Reason to buy:
- Great value on a VW.
Reason to avoid:
- A heater is a cost option – and there is no hot water at all.
Just as the era of the T6.1 comes to an end, Redline relaunched its entry level model. Even if you for the two-tone exterior paintwork seen on the model in these pictures, that will only set you back a further £3,450. And you might want some heating too – a Webasto diesel heater is a further £1,499. So that should only take the price on the short wheelbase version of this model (there is a long wheelbase too) up to £55,979.
It is a stripped back model, but you still get a RIB bed, a Dometic two-burner gas hob, and a 12V fridge, not to mention Redline’s exclusive pop-top roof. There are two mains sockets, two USB ports, and one-touch dimmable lighting. And there is still room for nice touches such as the removable worktop lid that lets you access every inch of potential storage space in the side kitchen unit.
Elddis Autoquest CV60 60th Anniversary Edition
- Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
- Year: 2025
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: 2846kg
- Payload: 611kg
- Berths: 2
- Belts: 2
- Length: 5.99m
- Width: 2.50m
Reason to buy:
- A great simple-to-use van for two.
Reason to avoid:
- It really is just for two (or even one).
The Elddis Autoquest CV60 was our Motorhome of the Year back in 2020. This year, as Elddis celebrates its 60th anniversary, it has been souped up as a 60th Anniversary Edition, complete with exclusive graphics and a number of extras including alloy wheels, a leather steering wheel, chrome surrounds to the air vents and exclusive upholstery and scatter cushions. Yet it still comes in at just £60,499.
And the reasons why it won Motorhome of the Year back then are still persuasive today. Within its six metre length you effectively get two lounges: one where the two of you can sit in the cab seats and have a meal around the round pedestal table, and a second, a much more relaxing affair at the back of the van where you can sit back on the day bed, admire the view or set up the best campervan projector to watch – there is plenty of space for that on storage unit on the side, along with relevant sockets.
Then come nighttime all you have to do is slide the daybed out and it becomes a French bed. No fiddling with infill cushions or slats. And you still have a decent washroom and kitchen between these two lounges.
Bodans Holywell
- Year: 2024
- Berths: 4
- MTPLM: 3200kg
- MIRO: TBC
- Length: 4.91m
- Width: TBC
Reason to buy:
- The price is still very keen for a campervan that no one else has ever used
Reason to avoid:
- It is possibly a bit more basic than you could be used to
Our winner of the best budget campervan category last year is a VW T6.1-based campervan that was deliberately designed with limited wallets in mind. When it made its first appearance at the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show at the NEC last February, it actually had an OTR price just under £50,000 at £49,995 – something we hadn’t seen for many seasons.
This had been achieved by, among other things, having a rising roof that is built in the UK and dispensing with the oven. (If you have ever actually tried using an oven in a campervan, you might not think that is wholly a bad thing.)
It is still a perfectly serviceable van, too, with a classic “VW style” campervan layout with a side kitchen including a 50-litre fridge and a two seater RIB bench that turns into a bed. (A third seat is an option.)
As standard you also get blackout curtains on the rear window, and a mains and USB sockets – something that can’t always be guaranteed in other conversions.
Unfortunately price increases from both VW and other suppliers has meant that since then the OTR price has had to be raised to where it starts at £52,995. But we are told a special show deal might still be on the cards: Shrewsbury-based Bodans has made regular appearances at NEC shows for some time now.
For VW fans, we’d also recommend looking at our best VW camper van guide.
Dethleffs Globetrail 540DR Classic
- Year: 2024
- Berths: 4
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- MIRO: TBC
- Payload: TBC
- Length: 5.41m
- Width: TBC
Reason to buy:
- German thoroughness make this a safe bet
Reason to avoid:
- Go easy on the extras or this may no longer be budget
If you go for this new 5.41m van conversion from Dethleffs in Classic spec, as opposed to Advantage, you might have to accept a compromise on things like not having flush-fitting windows or alloy wheels, but you could still get a perfectly serviceable quality build German motorhome for significantly less than £60,000. (You might need to watch how much you add as optional extras however: Dethleffs, like many German manufacturers, tends to have a long list of cost options and if you tick too many that price could start rocketing up.)
The Globetrail is actually Dethleffs’ first ever van conversion range to be sold in the UK, and it includes some fairly innovative designs. This model, for example, manages to stick to a 5.41m length yet still have a shower cubicle made up from tambour doors, something which could be a dealbreaker when choosing between a campervan or motorhome.
Vantage Fuze
- Year: 2024
- Berths: 4
- MTPLM: 3190kg
- MIRO: 2602kg
- Payload: 588kg
- Length: 4.97m
- Width: 2.08m
Reason to buy:
- A very comfy conversion that won’t break you
Reason to avoid:
- Cold water only
The Fuze is the cheaper of two new Ford Transit Custom-based brought out by Leeds-based Vantage Motorhomes, a company that hitherto specialised in mainly two-berth Fiat Ducato-based high tops. It is cheaper than its cousin the Luna, which we shortlisted for our best small campervan category last year, primarily through lower space.
There is no oven, for example – although that means you get more dry food and kitchenware storage space – and only cold water. But you still get a well designed conversion with three belted seats in the back. There is also a 100W solar panel on the roof, a two-burner hob, and enough USB ports to satisfy most digital requirements.
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