She's a looker...
but very practical.
She makes friends with other Bongos, even if they don't look quite as cool!
Like most Mazda Bongo Friendees, Betsy is a 4WD MPV with 2.5 litre diesel engine and automatic transmission. Japanese imports are usually in very good condition because of the traffic and vehicle rules in Japan... and the fact that they don't salt the roads in winter! So although she was born in 1996 and has done 90,000 miles, she has a lot of life left in her. The two key words to confirm that are "Japanese" and "diesel".
Most Bongos have grey plastic top and bottom but we loved the paintwork on the Auto Free Top roof and tinted widows that had been added by the professional converter, Ian Taylor of Stafford. The alloy wheels look great (Mazda RX8) with low-profile tyres and chrome mirrors.
This picture shows the electric hook-up point and external waste water tank. The folding step is handy for nipping in and out of the back. The awning unclips from Betsy's gutter for a quick getaway; our campsite space is reserved by the tent.
The base vehicle is an MPV with 3 rows of seats; 2 in the front, a bench seat of 3 in the middle and this version has 2 rear seats which form a second wide bench at the back or fold up neatly to the side. One has been removed and lives at the back of the garage... to make room for a kitchen.
The base vehicle is designed for sleeping; all seats fold down flat and windows have electric blinds or curtains. Here's a japanese brochure pic to illustrate.
Though the kitchen only takes the space of one rear seat, we have pumped water in the sink and 2-burner gas hob over the fridge/cooler. Smoked glass lids cover the Smev units to create a large work surface.
Cupboard space under the sink also houses the consumer unit for the electrics, gas bottle and a water tank for the sink. Under the hob sits the 2-way fridge; running on mains electricity when hooked up, or the 12v leisure battery when not. The battery charges from the mains hook-up or the primary vehicle battery (when travelling) through a split relay and trickle charger.
The Royal Traveller Annexe "awning" is a freestanding tent in it's own right. Tall enough to stand in, wide enough to fit a double-bed inner tent and still leave room for table and chairs if it rains at mealtimes. The zipped mosquito net as well as the door to the inner tent was a feature we appreciated when we camped by a lake.
There's room to swing a cat. We wouldn't want to do that though. In fact we don't even have a cat!
2 adults, their bikes, large tent and comfy camping gear... Betsy says "bring it on"!
Living 10 minutes drive from Newhaven, you have to cross the channel from time to time! French campsites are good and wild camping is catered for; here is a useful overnight spot round the back of the ferry terminal in Dieppe.
Qu'est que c'est?! Bongue eau? Bon-"go"?
Here we are in the Massif Central. One good thing about this conversion is that it can be anything you want. When paying ferry fares and autoroute tolls, she's still an MPV/car. There's just enough camper conversion to be allowed onto Caravan Club sites as a "motorhome".
Ah, yes, the Auto Freetop. Press a button and up she goes. Waterproof fabric keeps wind and rain at bay. By day you have plenty of headroom to stand and move around inside, by night you can sleep 2 tall adults in the roof bed.
There are various options to increase the air flow in the roof. Here the sides are rolled up but the mosquitos are kept out. Don't ask about the pot plant; a french man dressed as a clown drove round the campsite giving them away!
Betsy in the Alps; Altitude with attitude!
We bought some chocks for this overnight roadside stop in the Alps...
...to watch the Tour de France come by in the UK's best performace in the event to date; this stage clearly favours climbers rather than sprinters; so Bradley Wiggins was up at the front but Mark Cavendish was hanging on near the back. Note the option of the open roof for a brilliant view!
- "Isn't it cheating to ride the Tour de France on a motorbike?" - "Yes. That was a gendarme."
With the bench seat rolled forward and the rearmost seat folded up to the side, there is lots of storage space left next to the kitchen unit. We can fit 2 adult bikes in the back or they can sit on a carrier on the tailgate. The kitchen can be fairly easily unbolted and all the service cables, pipes etc. disconnect to allow fitting the original seat if we need Betsy to be a bus. We always found 6 seats enough!
A tandem is too long to fit in the back unless you remove the bench seat from it's runners. We hired this one for the day on the coast south of Bordeaux. There are fixing points for roofbars but you'd have to unload before raising the AFT.
Unless you have seen a Bongo up close, it's hard to imagine how it all works, so the following are some pictures of Betsy's various configurations.
The AFT roof is up but the ceiling is down. Note how the trapdoor matches up with the skylight to let light in or slide the skylight cover shut, whether AFT is up or down.
The ceiling pushes up on hydraulic struts to give you lots of headroom .
In fact headroom and a storage platform above the front seats. The blue cushion is the memory foam mattress.
View from the "platform", with ceiling up, daytime mode.
And with seats down flat to sleep.
When I say "flat", the sculpted seats are more comfy with a camping mattress laid on top. The nearside bed has a flat section of 5ft and a slightly angled section becuse the back of the front passenger seat rests on the front edge of the kitchen.
But the offside bed runs flat from dashboard to tailgate.
It's flattest at the back end.
Up in the roof, with the ceiling lowered, looking down through the trapdoor. The hatch is folded away under the mattress.
Trapdoor in closed position.
Mattress folded down; over 7 ft long!
Lying on the mattress, looking up at the sky...
...or not! Note the courtesy light for reading in bed! Japanese attention to detail.
As well as stuff under the bonnet, the gutsy bit of the engine sits under the soundproofed front seats; surprisingly easy to get to.
