# who has what motorhome



## jafeica7 (Jan 16, 2005)

hi there i have just found this website.. who has what motorhome. what are your likes and dislikes about your camper? we have mobilvetta topdriver 70d based on a iveco 35 c 13 2001 model. we are currently modifying the rear seating/bed into a fixed bed with and dog bed below i will put some pics on here as we make progress. are there any other mobilvetta owners on here if i would like to chat with you ..


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## roifromnwales (Jan 16, 2005)

this is a good idea. Let us all introduce ourselves on here and mention a bit about ourselves and our vans. 
I suppose i will start.
we are Roi and Michelle from North Wales somewhere near sunny Rhyl. I am 52 and suffer from osteo arthritis too bad to work but not bad enough to be disabled. I used to be a tenter but can't anymore hence the van. 
I am ex army 10 years and then into sales and telemarketing. Michelle is only 36 and is 6'2". we have Kirsty [daughter age 12 already growing like mad and almost as tall as me, takes same size shoes as me] and jaydee the dog traveling with us. and have 7 daughters in total. 
We have a bedford cf 2 ex anbulance lwb with a Holden engine. we think it is a "mountain".
she is called Blod and we have done 40k+ miles in her since we got her 5 years ago with only 30k on the clock [true]. she has been to France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and all over Britain. we like to spend our summers in Scotland tho and tour for 6 weeks every year ending up with the final weekend at the Cowal games in dunoon before a mad dash back for school.
my interests include music, photography, motorbikes, Rugby union [not sure whether that comes under religion], celtic history and freedom.
Michelle likes Rugby union and needle point [strange pair of interests]
I didn't have a holiday from the age of 17 to 46 so I'm making up for it now.
likes and dislikes about Blod well; she's thirsty but 25mpg isnt too bad. we put a lot of thought into her before we built her and still have things to do.
we built her and we love her and wouldn't swap


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## vitor (Jan 16, 2005)

I've got a challenger 103 based on Fiat 2.8JTD.
Going to change into a van also Fiat, only modified inside


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## carman (Jan 17, 2005)

Hi,
     mine,s a stoneage renault trafic 1800 petol  28 mpg , but still gets me where i want to go pretty quickly if need be, Would like a nice big diesel but limited to body width,

                                                     mick


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## windancer (Jan 22, 2005)

Hi we are Peter and Sheila, we have owned a Volkswagen Trooper pop top since May 2004.
As we live in Scotland, we spend most weekends away, cept when its cold, lol. I am 60 travelled around a bit, but love it up here.
This year our plans are to tour the Western Isles and the North West of Scotland, Wild Camping most of the time.
Pete


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## roifromnwales (Jan 22, 2005)

I'll try and get all the sites posted before then for you. 
I am trying to sort out 4 docs with lists at the mo and trying to make sure I don't miss any or duplicate any. 
we were up on skye in '03 and had several nites at the picnic spot near Duntulm which we found while looking for the one at Flodigarry which was mentioned on here. we had some lovely quiet days and the views were fabulous with sunsets over the western isles.
and carman if yours is stoneage I hate to think what our Blodwen is


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## kendo (Jan 24, 2005)

Hi,Kenny & Jean here,just found this web site.We have a v/w.Trooper, which we find is great for touring & everyday use,we are in our mid 50s,live in Glasgow so we do most of our touring in Scotland,also been to the Lake District & Penrith which we enjoyed very much.Planing to tour France this year.Any tips about France would be great as we have never been abroad with the Trooper before.all replies welcome.


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## roifromnwales (Jan 24, 2005)

croeso to the site all newbies


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## jafeica7 (Jan 25, 2005)

we had our motorhome the end of may 04. our first trip was to holland up the west coast as far as den elder. dropped back into amsterdam.. roughly 1000 miles( mon to fri ) holland is worthy of anyones time its fantasic. then 3 weeks in july/august crossing france and ending up at sitges,just south of barcelona. and we topped of the year with 3 weeks at christmas starting of at bilbao travling south to cadiz then followed the coast to alicante.... then back to bilbao... only staying on sites 6 nights out of 17... christmas day on a beach side carpark with 17 other campers in place called alamar. just south of almeria


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## Hayjay (Jan 28, 2005)

Me and my hubby live in south glos with our two boys, one dog, two cats and one pony! We go away most weekends with our boys and the dog.  Our eldest son is in a wheelchair and the freedom the motorhome gives him is fantastic.  We changed from a caravan 18months ago and would never go back.  We do a bit of wild camping but mostly certified locations. We have just changed our Autotrail Apache 700 for an Autotrail Cheyenne 696G.  It is a 6 berth with a fixed bed at the back and a "garage" underneath.  Much more practical for the wheelchair and all the kids stuff - dingies, wetsuits, toys etc, etc.  We do devon, cornwall and dorset a lot.  Did scotland for two weeks last July - never been before - it was fantastic.  Plan to go again soon.  Would also like to go abroad at some time.


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## Averywildwildcamper (Jan 31, 2005)

Hi Guys,

I'm based on the Gloucestershire / Herefordshire boarders. 

As for my vehicle, I've got a Pug Boxer self build camper/motorhome with some individual conversion ideas.

My van website = http://tinyurl.co.uk/lpak


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## wander (Feb 1, 2005)

Hi
This topic is proving interesting.
We have a Autohome Wanderer based on a Peugeot Boxer. the 1.9 td engine is ok for our needs. It is our first motorhome, and are looking forward in travelling far!
There have been some surprises in driving this van. The suspension is v hard. So much so that you  don't want to go over a hump above 10mph. The new leisure battery does not receive sufficient charge from the engine battery. Why can't we have a second alternator fitted to the vehicle for the sole use of the leisure battery??
It  seems quite comfortable to stay away for lengthy periods...but only time will tell.  I am slowly trying to eliminate as many of the rattles as I can......the dog doesn't like too much noise...it seems that the oven is the noisiest item..together with rattling doors.

Other peoples experience will be interesting to hear
Gerald


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## Twodogs (Feb 1, 2005)

hello all Twodogs would like to say hello.
we use a 1995 Hymer S670  for our motorhome fix its on the road most weekends.
a bit of wild camping when possable .
looking at Scotland again this year loads of fantastic wild camping spots
see you on the road
Twodogs


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## Averywildwildcamper (Feb 1, 2005)

> _Originally posted by wander+Feb 1 2005, 08:33 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>*QUOTE* (wander @ Feb 1 2005, 08:33 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>The suspension is v hard. [/b]_


_
I'm going to be selling a rear end air suspension kit for these soon, everyone who has had one fitted says they can't beleive the difference.





Originally posted by wander@
*The new leisure battery does not receive sufficient charge from the engine battery. Why can't we have a second alternator fitted to the vehicle for the sole use of the leisure battery??*

Click to expand...

First of all there is not space to fit a second alternator. The best way is to fit a smart charging system which monitors the leisure battery voltage and alters the exsisting alternators output to suit, or you can fit a battery to battery charger which leaves the exsisting starter battery and alternator alone, but modifies the voltage from the starter battery to the leisure battery to increase the voltage. Both these are made by Sterling, again I can supply cheaper than they will sell to you.

<!--QuoteBegin--wander_
*the dog doesn't like too much noise...it seems that the oven is the noisiest item..together with rattling doors. *[/quote]
On mine, I fitted a 'Noise Killer' sound deadening pack, it made a considerable difference. With regard to the oven etc. we shove a load of tea towels wrapped around the kettle in there to stop the rattles.

My van site is at http://tinyurl.co.uk


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## Averywildwildcamper (Feb 1, 2005)

Sorry, tried to edit the above post, which I can do, but there's then no button to submit the edited post, plus all the editable text is for the 'whole' page rather than just the post!!

Anyway...

My van website link should be http://tinyurl.co.uk/lpak


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## jann (Feb 4, 2005)

Hi everyone
We've had our present motorcaravan for nearly 12 months now.  It is a self build LDV Convoy. This is the 4th van we've had in 22 years.We spend aprox 100 nights a year in the van.Our main holidays are in Scotland or France. Weekends we go to steam rallies in summer,wherever we end up in winter. Work gets in the way of us doing more!!


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## wander (Feb 5, 2005)

Thanks for all the useful advice, Steve


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## cas (Feb 7, 2005)

Hi all,

I have a Yellow Merc 407 called "Big Bertha" I have tried to add a picture to the gallery but not managed to do it.


Cas


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## jafeica7 (Feb 8, 2005)

i too have tried to add a photo of bertie but failed does anyone know how its done ?


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## roifromnwales (Feb 8, 2005)

i failed too. i'll drop an e to admin and tell him we're having problems.


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## teensvan (Feb 11, 2005)

Hi All

 Just joined.  We have just bought our first motorhome late last month.   We have never owned one before and have spent the last 9 months going to shows before buying a Burstner 748-2. one year old.

 This van is more complicated than a plane but have 14 months to get used to it before we go fulltimming. Making my motorbike ramp at the moment cant do without 2 wheels for easy parking and shopping.

 steve&ann===teensvan


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## clarkpeacock (Feb 15, 2005)

Hi all

Our van is a 2002 model Hobby 750FML which is our third van now.  This is the 6 wheel one with the Alko chassis, fixed bed and lots of comfort - our dream for many years and now reality! We learnt what we wanted in this van from owning the two previous ones, so think we have got it pretty much right now.  It is a bit non standard being all upholstured in leather and I have added 2 additional leisure batteries, gas tanks, solar panel, inverter, scooter rack (and scooter!) plus many other little modifications to make longer term independance that bit easier.

We downsized home and jobs over 2 years ago now and spent all of 2003 travelling Southern Europe, 5 months of that in Greece.  2004 has been spent rebuilding funds a little, but the ferry is booked for the 6th May this year to start another 4 month trip - this time around the Balkans.  Hopefully we will now be able to do 3 or 4 months every year.

Our home is definately where we park it!!


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## fattimmy (Feb 15, 2005)

hi name tim and jayne known by kids as fattimmy the thing is i aint fat we got a herald squire ck .one dog a small rotty and she loves the motorhome . last year was a warden on camp site in scotland 4 days on 3 days off toured each weekend and wild camped got lots of sits on west coast just got to get them on web. only had a motorhome since 2003 and we love it.it was so good to find this site .well dun and thankyou  to   the one that set it up.   yours   tim,   jayne, tara [the dog]


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## cjt_racing (Feb 18, 2005)

> *Hi everyone
> We've had our present motorcaravan for nearly 12 months now. It is a self build LDV Convoy.*



Snap,







 I am just starting a build on an LDV convoy

My exploits are here, for all to see

My Webpage


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## Kontiki (Mar 2, 2005)

I have a homebuilt 1992 Renault Trafic 2.1 diesel. I used to have a Swift Kontiki for about 5 years but sold it when the kids grew up, we did without for a year & decided as a short term measure to convert a van into a camper (that was in 1998) Intending to definitely buy a Hymer A class or similar the end of the year or early in 2006 ready for when I retire in March 2006.


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## metromary (Mar 3, 2005)

Hello from Dublin. Hubby and I are in our mid fifties and changed from caravan to campervan in November. We were very adventurous and flew to Germany, bought a lovely year 2000 ,Knaus Suntraveller, 6 berth, much cheaper than at home and drove to Cherbourg to sail home. Great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the van. Wild camped all the way! We're booked back to Europe for month of June, hoping to get as far as Lake Garda, where family members may fly in and join us.  Any tips or info gratefully received.  With luck we also plan to visit Britain in the autumn. I'm trying to get my head around the power supply and we've ordered a 1000 watt inverter. I thought this would allow us to use George Foreman Grill and even microwave, but reading some of the comments it seems not! Ah well. Look forward to further chats and when we find a few good wild camping spots here in Ireland, I'll post them. Slán
Metromary


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## briansamazing (Mar 6, 2005)

Hello folks!
I bought a new Trigano Tribute 2.3l Fiat Ducato 15 in October 04 and I'm really pleased with it. My first van. It has enough space for 1/2 people and is small enough to go anywhere, stop anywhere! I've only done a few 3-5 day trips from home in South Devon so far (Cornwall, North Devon, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Warwickshire, Norfolk, Malverns and New Forest) but have had no problem with freezing temperatures! I seem to end up on campsites mostly so far but want to wildcamp more. I think its a confidence thing. But why pay around £10 per night to park on grass when I don't want or need the facilities? Doh!
Having recently taken early retirement at the age of 51 I'm planning to do some longer trips and have booked ferry crossings to Ireland and across the Channel.
See you on the road or at that cosy sleeping spot!
Brian


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## roifromnwales (Mar 7, 2005)

just want to say a quick "CROESO"  to the nebies posting. Glad to have you with us on the site. Hope you enjoy it and get loads of ideas from it. please don't forget to share with us too.
roi


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