Bilbo's Komba SE - Practical Motorhome

Check out Practical Motorhome's review of the Bilbo's Design Komba SE, a classy VW campervan conversion from this well known firm

Verdict

Classy little camper from this long established official VW converter. It’s perfect for a couple on tour for anything up to a week. You’ll need to add options to get the kit level up, but watch out because these do inflate the price substantially.

Pros

A great daily driver, with lots of clever interior space saving designs
Beautifully designed and constructed

Cons

Watch out for the cost of the options – these soon inflate the base price
If you do select lots of extras, consider plumping for the better-specified, regular Komba model over the SE.

Living

The layout is typical of VW campers, with a comfortable, forward-facing rock-and-roll bench seat at the back, and swivel cab seats up front, although the driver’s site is somewhat restricted by the kitchen unit. The rear seat bench is fixed – ie, it’s not designed to slide on floor runners. The table design is flexible, in that it can be mounted in two locations, either clipped to the kitchenette nearest the seat bench, or clipped to the kitchenette above the fridge for access from the swivel cab seats. As such, it’s not really designed for four to eat from the table at the same time. When not in use, it stashes behind the driver’s seat.

Kitchen

This might be a small ’van, but its cleverly designed interior makes maximum use of the space available. Particularly innovative is the single gas hob ring, which, when not in use, is covered with a small stainless-steel draining board. The dining table can also be mounted at two points (behind the cab seats  or in front of the sofa) to allow flexibility in food preparation or dining. There’s also a standard fit, 50-litre compressor fridge.

Washroom

There’s no washroom, but an optional Porta-Potti fits neatly beneath the sofa. It’s discretely done, and safe and secure in transit thank to the positive locking door. On a SWB Volkswagen T5 base, Bilbo’s concludes there simply isn’t space to do a washroom justice.

Beds

The rear seat bench flips to create a spacious double bed. It’s the work of seconds, although you’ll have to first remove one of the passenger headrests. Also, our ’van was fitted with an optional roof bed (£495); it’s not huge, but does have a 30-stone limit. The roof – which is supported on gas struts – is easy to pull down weight-wise, but the addition of the roof bed makes it slightly awkward to get hold of.

Storage

Storage space throughout is excellent. For example, a sliding door gives access to the rear of the ‘van from the front: ideal if you need to retrieve something from the back on a rainy night and avoid exiting the vehicle. There’s also a shelved cupboard, which should easily hold the clothes of a couple on tour. Importantly, all the storage units feel solid and sturdy.