How did you name your rig?
The short answer is that as a family we riffed on the name Pilote Galaxy and ended up naming our rig after a Grateful Dead song that links galaxy and cosmos called “Cosmic Charlie”. It’s turned out to be a very versatile nickname as Charlie becomes Charlemagne while in France, Carlos in Spain, Karl in Germany, Karel in the Netherlands, and Charles in the UK.
What features tipped you to choosing Charlie over other rigs?
Firstly, Charlie’s Fiat Ducato Maxi chassis has an excellent reputation for durability (many commercial rigs in Europe run on Fiat Ducato) and parts are widespread. Practically speaking, berthing 4-5 people was paramount in our decision. Having a fixed bed, sizable garage, and 3-burner stove all played a role in choosing Charlie. We did a lot of visualizing of what would it look like to live in our motorhome in different situations.
How did you find Charlie?
Lots and lots of research on-line led us to find Donna Turner’s company out of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Check out the Procuring Your Rig resource.