Wellhouse Leisure Trento - Practical Motorhome

Wellhouse continues to make the case for Ford-based campervans, with this latest luxury item, the four-berth Trento. Nick Harding gets beyond the bling.

Verdict

PRACTICAL MOTORHOME SAYS….

This is a classy campervan. Ford’s top Transit Custom is a very sophisticated base for an equally impressive conversion, thanks to Wellhouse’s know-how – it’s been making campers for some 16 years now and certainly isn’t afraid to tackle something a bit different. In Trento we trust!

Pros

Base vehicle upgrades cost less than VW equivalents
Clever design touches

Cons

Height prevents access under height barriers

You just never know with Ford. Is it really taking the motorhome market into account? Latest versions of its otherwise all-conquering Transit are superb, to say the least, yet there’s always the slight feeling that it should be paying a little bit more attention to motorhomes.

Timing is everything, of course, and there’s also the small matter of Volkswagen’s near-total dominance of the campervan sector. And yet – you’ve guessed – there’s a but coming here. Actually, a couple of buts: Wellhouse Leisure and the Transit Custom Tourneo, a combination resulting in this, the Wellhouse Trento.

Among a clutch of other qualifications, Wellhouse is one of just two campervan makers to have been granted QVM (Qualified Vehicle Modifier) status with Ford. This is a considerable feather in its cap. Also, thanks to using the Titanium version of the Tourneo, it ‘out-specs’ any equivalent VW (which is still the base vehicle to beat when it comes to campers).

Better still, important upgrades – such as the 170PS engine (£1500) and automatic transmission (£1620) – cost significantly less than VW equivalents.

Wellhouse is one of just two campervan makers to have been granted QVM (Qualified Vehicle Modifier) status with Ford. This is a considerable feather in its cap

Living

Despite the Tourneo’s twin sliding doors, Wellhouse has gone for a classic campervan side-furniture floorplan. That rear seat is configured for up to three passengers. It’s from German firm Schnierle, and has the bonus of being on rails, so you can vary the seat location/rear-storage ratios.

The main furniture unit comes from Italian specialist Tecnoform. There’s a definite state-of-the-art feel here, with its easy-clean white gloss finish and radiused edges, and better-than-usual storage capacity.

There’s lots of floorspace, too, with the rear seat at its farthest setting and both cab seats swivelled. There’s even a second table. Ignore the ladder for the upstairs bed, though – it’s cumbersome, so best left at home.

Kitchen

The kitchen appliances are a standard camper two-ring hob and sink, plus Dometic compressor fridge and good drawer storage. The grill seen here is a £400 option.