Stand in a campervan showroom for long enough and you will see it happen. Someone steps inside, straightens up, and you can almost hear the mental arithmetic. They are not thinking about upholstery fabric or whether the hob has three burners. They are thinking: can I live in here without constantly shrinking myself?
Internal height is one of those boring sounding specs that becomes deeply personal the moment you are the wrong side of average. If you are tall, or even just tallish with a stiff back, ceiling height is not a nice to have. It is the difference between a relaxing weekend away and two days of ducking, hunching, and moving like you are sneaking through your own holiday.
Even if you are not especially tall, internal height still matters because it affects everything around you. Storage choices, insulation, lighting, how the bed is positioned, whether the shower is usable, and how the space feels on a rainy afternoon when you are stuck inside. This is the bit of campervan and motorhome shopping that tends to get skipped because brochures love external length and flashy layouts. Internal height does not photograph well. Your neck will notice it anyway.
This is a practical guide to internal height, with the real world stuff that brochures rarely explain. The differences between base vehicles. Why a pop top does not magically fix the problem in most bigger campervans and motorhomes. How flooring choices steal or save headroom. Whether level flooring is genuinely important. And what dual layer flooring is actually doing for you, beyond adding another line to the spec sheet.
When people say internal height, they usually mean standing headroom in the main living area. In practice, that is not one measurement.
There is standing height where you naturally stand, which might be near the kitchen. There is height under rooflights, which can be less generous than you expect because rooflight frames and blinds drop down into the space. There is height in the bathroom, where shower trays, raised floors, and ceiling mouldings can steal the crucial centimetres. There is height by the bed, where overhead lockers can make the space feel low even if the roof is technically high.
Then there is the simple reality that humans do not stand like a broom handle. You wear shoes. You stretch. You put on a coat. You step up from outside into the living area and straighten your spine. Your hair exists. If you are tall, the difference between “I fit if I stand exactly here” and “I can move normally” is the difference between tolerable and genuinely comfortable.
So when you are comparing vans, treat internal height as a lived experience rather than a brochure number. Go and stand where you would actually spend time, then walk from the sliding door to the kitchen, to the lounge, to the bathroom, and back again. If you can do that without thinking about your neck, you are already ahead.
If you are around six foot or above, you probably already know you duck through doorways in old cottages and you have learned not to stand up too quickly under a loft bed. What catches people out with campervans and motorhomes is that the compromises keep stacking up.
You might fit in the middle of the living space, but then you move to the sink and the rooflight is right above your head. Or the floor is thicker because of insulation and tanks, so your standing height drops. Or the bathroom ceiling curves down. Or the designer has added a chunky blind cassette that knocks off a couple of inches exactly where you would normally stand to cook.
Taller people also tend to have longer reach and different comfort needs. If you are permanently stooped, your shoulders creep forward, your lower back tightens, and suddenly a weekend feels like a workout you did not ask for. You will also be more aware of whether the layout forces you to stand in the same low spot repeatedly. One low point you can avoid is manageable. A low point at the kitchen sink is a daily irritation.
The surprising thing is that internal height can matter even more in a motorhome than you expect. You might assume a motorhome is always taller and therefore fine. Many are, but not all. Coachbuilt motorhomes have their own compromises, especially when there is a double floor or a raised rear bed. Some coachbuilts give you huge lounge height and then a bathroom that feels like it was built for someone on tiptoes.
Most campervans start with a base vehicle and a roof choice. Motorhomes might be built on a chassis and then given a coachbuilt body. Either way, the “starting point” matters.
There are lots of reasons to choose one base vehicle over another. Driving position, engine, servicing, gearbox, overall width, and so on. For tall buyers, the base vehicle matters because roof shapes and available roof heights vary, and converters make different design decisions on top of that.
Here is the simple, lived in version of what people tend to notice.
Fiat based campervans have a reputation for feeling that bit taller inside, and many tall buyers do find they get a touch more headroom in Ducato conversions compared with some rivals. It is not a rule that overrides everything else, but if you step into a few similar layouts across different bases, you may well feel the Fiat gives you a fraction more breathing space.
Part of this is how common the Ducato is in the campervan world. Because so many converters work with it, there are more variants and roof solutions. There is also a lot of experience in packaging bathrooms, lockers, and furniture in a way that works with the available height.
If you are tall, the Ducato is often a strong starting point, not because it is magically huge, but because it tends to be friendly to practical interior design. You will still need to check the specific conversion, especially the bathroom and kitchen areas. A raised floor or thick insulation can quickly cancel out a small height advantage.
The Sprinter is a favourite for many reasons and it can be a very comfortable touring vehicle. In terms of standing height, it is usually not the absolute tallest option once you compare like for like high roof conversions, but for most people it is still perfectly workable.
For taller buyers, the question with Sprinter conversions is often about where the tight spots are rather than whether you fit at all. You might have good height down the main aisle, then a slightly lower area near the kitchen because of a rooflight position. Or the bathroom might be more compromised depending on layout. The Sprinter can be absolutely fine for tall users, but it rewards careful checking rather than assumption.
Another consideration is that some Sprinter conversions prioritise a sleek, insulated, high quality feel, which sometimes means thicker ceiling panels and more substantial linings. That can nibble away at height in a way you might not spot in photos.
The Crafter often comes up as the tallest feeling option in the big panel van world. If you are tall and you step into a well executed Crafter conversion, the first impression can be a sense of proper vertical space. Not just fitting, but being able to stand and move naturally.
That feeling is not only about the raw roof height. It is also how the interior can be built without constantly stealing height back. If the converter has managed insulation, lighting, and overhead storage intelligently, the Crafter can feel genuinely roomy in a way that makes daily life calmer.
For very tall people, the Crafter is often worth prioritising when you are shortlisting, particularly if you know you want a fixed shower, a decent lounge, and the ability to stand up without picking your spots.
You will see terms like high roof and extra high roof thrown around. They are useful, but they do not guarantee a certain internal height because the conversion eats into it.
Think of the van as a sandwich. The metal roof is just the top slice. Underneath, you have insulation, structural battens, wiring channels, ceiling panels, and often rooflight frames and blind units. Those layers vary enormously between converters. Two vans with the same base vehicle and roof height can feel very different.
The same goes for the floor. Many conversions add insulation, plywood, sometimes underfloor heating, and sometimes a raised structure to accommodate tanks and pipes. Your feet might end up several centimetres higher than the base van floor. That is lovely for warmth and practicality, but it is also headroom spent.
When you are comparing vans, ask two questions:
Pop tops have a special place in campervan culture because they can transform a compact campervan. In something like a VW California style of campervan, a pop top can change how the van lives. You get stand up space where you previously had none. You get airflow. You get an upstairs bed. It makes a small campervan feel twice as usable.
In larger campervans and many motorhomes, pop tops do not work in the same way. They can still be useful, but they do not usually solve the core internal height issue for tall people.
Here is why.
On many bigger conversions, the pop top opening is positioned over the lounge or a specific area. That means you get extra headroom in one rectangle of floor space. If your problem is hunching at the kitchen sink or in the bathroom, a pop top does not help. You might have a lovely tall lounge and then still have to duck to wash up.
A pop top is not just a hole and a tent. There is a frame, reinforcement, and often a bed board or mechanism. Even when the roof is down, that structure can slightly reduce standing height underneath it. In a small campervan where you previously had almost no standing height, that trade can be worth it. In a bigger campervan where you already have decent height, the trade can feel less appealing if you are already pushing your headroom limit.
If you are shopping in motorhome territory, a coachbuilt body can give you generous height without complicated mechanisms. A pop top can still add sleeping capacity, but it is rarely the best answer to “I am tall and I want to stand comfortably”.
Pop tops are fantastic in good weather. They are less fun in wind, heavy rain, and winter touring. If your plan is year round UK use, your daily comfort will come more from solid headroom and good heating than from an extra tented space. Pop tops have their place, but tall buyers should treat them as a bonus rather than the solution.
If internal height is the thing above your head, the floor is the thing beneath your feet that quietly changes it. Flooring is one of the most underrated parts of campervan and motorhome design, and it has a very direct effect on tall people.
There are three main questions:
Each has comfort benefits and each has trade offs, including headroom.
A basic conversion might have a relatively thin insulated layer and a plywood top. A more heavily insulated build might add thicker insulation, a more substantial subfloor, and additional layers for wiring and heating. Motorhomes sometimes have a raised floor to fit tanks and services.
Every layer added to the floor reduces internal height. Sometimes that is worth it. Warm feet and good insulation can make winter touring genuinely enjoyable. But if you are already close to the ceiling, an extra couple of centimetres can be the difference between comfortable and constantly aware.
A practical way to think about it is this. If you want to be comfortable standing, you do not just need to fit. You need a margin. A van that gives you a small margin in summer shoes might become annoying in boots and a thick jumper. And if you ever need to stretch, or you are cooking for an hour, that margin matters.
If you are tall, ask about the floor build up. Many dealers will not have a ready answer, but converters often do. Even if you cannot get a number, you can compare how “high” the floor feels relative to the step in.
Level flooring sounds like a luxury, the sort of thing you only care about if you are comparing premium motorhomes. In reality, it affects day to day ease more than people expect, but it is not always essential.
A level floor is exactly what it sounds like. No step up into the lounge. No raised platform before the bathroom. No little ridge where the furniture starts. You can walk from front to back without changing your stride.
Why it is nice:
Why it is not always a deal breaker:
For taller people, the headroom link is interesting. A step down in one area can effectively create more headroom where you stand most. Some converters drop the floor slightly in the aisle or kitchen area, which can be a clever way to help tall users. A fully level floor might look tidy, but it might also mean the tall person loses the one section that gave them extra headroom.
So the benefit of level flooring depends on the layout and your priorities. If you value effortless movement, or you are touring with kids, or you know you are clumsy when tired, level flooring can be a quiet joy. If you are tall and you need maximum headroom where you cook and stand, a well placed lowered aisle might matter more than perfect level.
A good test is to walk through a van as if it is night time and you are half asleep. If you immediately spot a trip hazard, that is a mark against it. If the steps are obvious, well lit, and feel natural, you might not care.
Dual layer flooring, often called double floor in motorhome circles, is where there are effectively two floors. The structural floor sits lower, and then a second raised floor creates a space between them. This void can be used for insulation, routing services, and storage. In some motorhomes it is a full double floor that runs throughout. In others it is partial.
Why people like it:
The trade off is simple. A double floor eats headroom. Even if the motorhome body is taller overall, some of that height is being spent on a void you cannot stand in.
For tall buyers, a double floor can be a blessing or a curse depending on the overall design. If the motorhome is tall enough to begin with, you get warmth and comfort with no pain. If the motorhome is only just tall enough, you might find your shower height is compromised, or you are brushing roof vents in the aisle.
It is worth thinking about how you actually tour. If you love winter trips, or you are often parked up in cold, damp conditions, the comfort of a properly insulated floor is hard to overstate. Cold feet make everything feel more miserable. On the other hand, if most of your touring is spring to autumn and you prioritise ease of movement and standing comfort, you might prefer a simpler floor build that keeps your headroom generous.
Many tall buyers step into the main living area, breathe a sigh of relief, and then open the bathroom door. This is where internal height gets real.
Shower trays are often raised. Ceiling mouldings curve. Rooflights and vents sit directly above the shower. If the bathroom is a wet room, the ceiling can be lower because of how the structure is framed. If it is a separate shower cubicle, it might be tall enough but narrow in a way that makes tall shoulders feel trapped.
If a shower matters to you, do not accept vague reassurance. Step in. Close the door. Stand straight. Lift your arms as if you are washing your hair. If you cannot do that without contorting, you are not going to enjoy it after a muddy walk in the rain.
One useful trick is to bring a tape measure, but also trust your body. Numbers help, but the feeling of whether you can move normally is the thing that will decide whether you love the van.
The kitchen is another spot that often catches tall people out, because converters like to place rooflights above the kitchen for ventilation and light. That is sensible, but rooflight frames and blind units can drop into the living space. If you are tall, that can put a hard edge right where your head naturally sits when you lean slightly forward to use the sink.
Overhead lockers above the kitchen can do the same. They are useful storage, but they lower the perceived ceiling height and can make you feel boxed in.
When you are viewing, stand at the kitchen and do a few normal movements. Wash your hands. Pretend to chop vegetables. Lean forward slightly as if you are doing washing up. If you find yourself instinctively bending your neck, pay attention. It is easy to ignore in the excitement of a viewing, but it will become a daily annoyance.
Internal height is not only about standing. It also affects sleep comfort, especially in fixed beds and pop top beds.
If the bed is positioned under overhead lockers, you might not be able to sit up comfortably. If the ceiling curves down near the rear doors, you can feel cramped even if the bed is long enough. If you are tall, you are more likely to notice this because your torso sits higher when you prop yourself up.
In pop top beds, tall people should pay attention to the fabric sides and headroom above the mattress. It can be cosy, which is lovely, but it can also feel tight if you are broad shouldered or you like to sit up with a book.
Here is a practical approach that keeps you sane.
If you are very tall, you might have a clear line: you must be able to stand comfortably in the living area and you must be able to use the bathroom without crouching. That is fine. Set it early. It saves you from falling in love with layouts that will annoy you.
If you are six foot two in socks, you are taller in shoes. If you have thick hair, you are taller again. If you like wearing boots on trips, you are taller again. That might sound silly, but it is exactly why people end up disappointed.
Do not just stand by the door. Stand at the kitchen. Stand in the aisle where you would walk. Stand in the bathroom. Then walk through the van naturally. The best vans for tall people are the ones where you stop thinking about it.
If internal height is a priority, it is worth stepping into a Fiat based conversion, a Sprinter based one, and a Crafter based one, even if you think you already know your favourite. Differences you cannot see on paper become obvious in person.
As a general sense of what many people report and feel when viewing, Fiat based campervans often feel slightly taller inside, the Crafter can feel like the tallest of the common panel van bases, and the Sprinter is not usually the tallest but works well for most people. The key is to treat that as a starting hunch, not a rule. Converters and floor builds can change everything.
If you are buying a larger campervan or a motorhome because you want space and comfort, do not assume a pop top solves standing height. It might give you a tall lounge area, but it will not change the kitchen or bathroom. Consider it if you want extra sleeping capacity or extra ventilation, but do not buy it expecting it to turn a low van into a tall one in the way it can with small campervans.
If you tour year round, you will appreciate warm feet and good insulation. Dual layer flooring can be a genuine comfort upgrade, and it can make a motorhome feel more solid and refined. But if you are tall and you are already near the ceiling, prioritise headroom where you stand and wash.
Level flooring is lovely, but it is not always the most important feature. A single step can be fine if it is obvious and well designed. On the flip side, a level floor can make the whole interior feel calmer and more spacious. The trick is to judge it by walking the space the way you would at midnight, not by admiring it in daylight.
It helps to picture a few common scenarios.
You are away Friday to Sunday, often in the shoulder seasons, and you cook most meals inside. For you, kitchen headroom is critical because you will stand there for long stretches. A van that has decent height at the door but a low rooflight over the sink will annoy you fast.
In this case, look for a layout where the rooflight is slightly forward or back from the main standing position, or where the converter has kept ceiling build up slim. Flooring matters too, because a thick floor build can steal headroom exactly where you need it.
You walk, cycle, get rained on, and you want a proper shower. This is where bathroom height becomes the deciding factor. You might accept slightly less living area height if the shower works. A coachbuilt motorhome can be a strong option here, but you still need to check because some bathrooms are compromised by vents and mouldings.
Double floor can be brilliant if you are touring in winter, but check it does not turn the shower into a crouch zone.
If you have kids, or you are touring with someone who is less steady on their feet, level flooring can feel like a real quality of life upgrade. It reduces the number of times you say “mind the step” and it makes moving around the van feel more like being at home.
For tall parents, the headroom compromise might be worth it if the overall interior height is generous enough. If it is borderline, you might choose a layout with a small step but more standing space where you need it.
Two vans can have similar numbers and feel different. A few things change perception:
None of these are deal breakers on their own. They just explain why you should always step inside rather than trusting spec sheets.
Homes have tall ceilings, and even when they do not, you do not spend the whole day moving around in a narrow corridor with overhead cupboards. Campervans and motorhomes compress daily life into a few square metres. That makes small discomforts more noticeable.
You also move differently inside a van. You lean forward more. You twist more. You change direction in tight spaces. If your head is close to the ceiling, your posture adapts without you noticing until your shoulders ache.
That is why internal height is not just about being able to stand still. It is about being able to live.
If you are tall, it is easy to get stuck in a loop of measuring everything and worrying you will buy the wrong thing. The aim is not to find perfection. The aim is to find a van that feels natural.
The best sign is simple. You step inside, you stand up, and you forget about your head. You start looking at the view out the window. You start imagining making a brew. You stop bracing yourself.
If you get that feeling in a van, pay attention. If you do not, do not talk yourself into it because the upholstery is nice.
Internal height is not glamorous, but it is one of the most honest measures of whether a campervan or motorhome will suit you. Taller people feel the consequences quickly. It shapes posture, comfort, and the everyday rhythm of moving around a small space.
As a broad guide, many buyers find Fiat based campervans feel slightly taller inside, the Crafter often feels like the tallest of the common panel van bases, and the Sprinter is not usually the tallest but is still a solid fit for most people. But none of that matters as much as the specific conversion, because flooring build up, rooflights, lockers, and bathroom design can take away the precious centimetres.
Pop tops are wonderful in small campervans because they add usable standing space where there was little or none. In larger campervans and motorhomes, they often add height only in a limited zone and do not fix kitchen or bathroom headroom. Treat them as a feature, not a cure.
Flooring deserves more attention than it gets. Level floors can make a van feel calmer and safer, especially at night, but steps are not automatically bad if they are well designed and they unlock storage or better bathroom packaging. Dual layer flooring can bring genuine warmth and refinement, but it can also reduce headroom, so tall buyers should check the shower and main standing areas carefully.
The simple advice is to stand where you would live. Walk the route you would take on a wet evening. Use the bathroom as if it is actually Tuesday, not a sunny showroom visit. If your body relaxes, you have found something worth taking seriously. If you start shrinking yourself the moment you step inside, keep looking. Your neck will thank you every mile.
