full timing aboard in a Autotrail chieftain tag axel

[markymo]

Hi me and the missus are selling up and going full timing permanently ' now I have full timed before for 2 years in total but only in the uk which I found easy with no issues and always wild camped I had a Hymer 644 this was ok for me on my own but it would have felt cramped with 2 people ' so we have been looking at motorhomes and came to the conclusion that a Autotrail chieftain G fits the bill with a big garage for scooter and lots of living space ' has anyone got or had a tag axel Autotrail??? any advice would be great

 

[Wooie1958]

My first concern would be that the Autotrail Chieftain G is not fully winterised were as the Hymer 644 would have been.

 

[Deleted member 12539]

My first concern would be that the Autotrail Chieftain G is not fully winterised were as the Hymer 644 would have been.

Ditto that... go german A Class, more room.

 

[markymo]

My first concern would be that the Autotrail Chieftain G is not fully winterised were as the Hymer 644 would have been.

Hi we have looked at both the hobby 750 and the Hymer 694 and 754 and to be honest we have found both to small ' the winter problem had crossed my mind as well but the only problem I for see is the fresh water tank under the van can you think of any others ???

 

[Touringtheworld]

Hi we have looked at both the hobby 750 and the Hymer 694 and 754 and to be honest we have found both to small ' the winter problem had crossed my mind as well but the only problem I for see is the fresh water tank under the van can you think of any others ???

Insulation - unseen

It can be damn cold in a poorly insulated MH.

No disrespect to Autotrial but they just put a bigger heater in to cover the lack of winter insulation.

 

[markymo]

Ditto that... go german A Class, more room.

We have looked at lots of vans mostly German and the kitchen areas are nearly always lacking ' the hobby 750 and Hymer 754 being very good ' but then they have no garage for a scooter so that's how we have came to the Autotrail

 

[markymo]

Insulation - unseen

It can be damn cold in a poorly insulated MH.

No disrespect to Autotrial but they just put a bigger heater in to cover the lack of winter insulation.[/QUOTE
I must admit I hadn't noticed any difference between winter in the hymer and winter in the Autotrail 584 that I have now other than the water tank on the Autotrail freezing easier than the hymer which has frozen as well ' the hymer was bigger but so was the heater ' I do love the German older stuff the hymer 690 is a work of art in my
Opinion is the best motorhome ever made but the missus dosent like the layout

 

[4x4man]

chieftain

Hi me and the missus are selling up and going full timing permanently ' now I have full timed before for 2 years in total but only in the uk which I found easy with no issues and always wild camped I had a Hymer 644 this was ok for me on my own but it would have felt cramped with 2 people ' so we have been looking at motorhomes and came to the conclusion that a Autotrail chieftain G fits the bill with a big garage for scooter and lots of living space ' has anyone got or had a tag axel Autotrail??? any advice would be great

Hi
I have a chieftain se, I cant think of any advice to give just yet but I would say, we bought ours to travel in comfort and have found it to be the best van I could ever have got. I t fits all our needs and some. I hope you enjoy yours half as much as we do ours.

 

[maingate]

If you get a European van with a double floor, everything is insulated.

Fit a Scooter rack on the back and you can use all that lovely storage for other things.

 

[vwalan]

just go to warmer climates in winter . 1 inch polystyrene is enough in the right country and you wont need to put your heater on .
winsum .........starts in november finish,s in april . winter summer.
save your money dont buy one of then german crap conversions just smile be happy and wave good bye to the rest.

 

[barryd]

Same with swift they only pass the tests because they are running heating at full bore
Our laika was fully winterised unlike British junk
Strange thing is the British vans hold their money ?

Rubbish. Most of them are Grade 3 insulated just like most motorhomes, British or German. Our Kontiki is Grade 3 and designed to hold an internal temperature of 20c when its -20 outside. It does, Ive tested it. Ours has internal fresh tanks anyway but you can get heaters for external ones. If I was going abroad full timing I personally would be somewhere warm in the winter anyway. Where is the OP intending to overwinter?

I wouldnt let internal or external tanks put you off.

 

[vwalan]

Having owned one and seen how it is built and insulated I stand by my comments , as for tank heaters that are electrically powered ok on sites but about as much use as a chocolate firegaurd when wikding .
The laika even had small ducting directing blown air heating to insulated covers on the tank dump valves .
Anyone who has taken an English van skiing soon learns and either sells of carries out many modifications all well documented on motorhome forums .

just go somewhere warm . in the last twenty years only had 2 winters in uk. far nicer to be in spain or morocco.
do need the catalytic heater on if high up in the atlas mountains at -17c but then next day get down into the desert or back by the coast . think i have only used it about twice in the past 8 years . its nicer in the warmth.
if you like i,m sure barry and me can keep repeating ourselves .
go to the warmer countries in winter . its called winsum ..
winter summer.

 

[sigma]

Chieftain

I've got one that I'm thinking of selling, it's got all the toys including a generator, pm me if you're interested.

 

[2cv]

I use my British van all year round with no problem. Toasty warm inside at -15 outside with plenty of heating capacity to spare, and never yet had a frozen pipe.

 

[maingate]

You could always do what Alan does and buy an old henhouse, nail it on to a trailer and tow it down to Morocco. Then you spend 3 months living in a Wadi until the warm weather returns to Blighty.

 

[markymo]

English vans

Well I've started something here ' in my experience the old German vans (20 years old ) were better than the same age English van' but from 2005 I think the English vans are better than the German Vans and far cheaper new .
We are planning spending are winters in hot climates so water tanks won't really be a problem

 

[vwalan]

Well I've started something here ' in my experience the old German vans (20 years old ) were better than the same age English van' but from 2005 I think the English vans are better than the German Vans and far cheaper new .
We are planning spending are winters in hot climates so water tanks won't really be a problem

you will have no problems . spain and portugal are both ok but inland spain is very cold as its so high up. snow can be thick on the ground . and yes 3 months -90days in morocco mid december till mid march soon makes it very warm . but again cold in the mountains . havnt done maroc for 4 years got a bit fed up going . my mates are still going every year.
but have fun might catch you on the road one day.
self build is the way though ,you build just what you need ,want to suit your lifestyle .
i find truck conversions are best. dont use prison-campsites dont need them .
get loads of solar on the roof and you can be sorted for power , never been cheaper than it is at moment .
45,000 m,homes visit morocco in the winter so i think they all cant be wrong ,plus spain /portugal is full as well.

 

[Byronic]

Winsum, makes me wince some, I think I prefer something winsome.

Don't know that any mainstream manufacturer (OK perhaps Concorde, or Clou) makes a van really suitable for fulltiming, or at least one conforming to my definition of such a van. They leave that niche market to the custom builders or self builders. Nearly all build to suit weekend use with the annual 4 week holiday in mind, which probably covers 95% of their customer requirements, the main variation in any range being the number of berths, or a tweak in the layout. Italian vans often seem to be prime examples, with specs. typically comprising 6 berths, a kitchen comprising a sink bowl and a 2 burner ring all on a 3.2 tonne Fiat.

The allowable payload is the giveaway, even something like the Chieftain (MAM 4.5 tonnes?) only has 1 tonne? By the time you load a scooter, water, gas, chairs the wife, most of that's gone. So at best you're continually running at or near maximum capacity for brakes, tyres, suspension, not good in my book, and at worst possibly overweight on axle or overall.
If you're going over 3.5 tonnes then you might as well get as near as possible to 7.5 tonnes.

 

[Touringtheworld]

just go to warmer climates in winter . 1 inch polystyrene is enough in the right country and you wont need to put your heater on .
winsum .........starts in november finish,s in april . winter summer.
save your money dont buy one of then german crap conversions just smile be happy and wave good bye to the rest.

Is that all the German manufacturers?

 

[vwalan]

Is that all the German manufacturers?

well some are better than others but really self build is far better .
you then know where every thing is and works and can have a few bits to fix minor things that happen .
i must say i was into vw,s but the devon conversions or even the j,p white conversions done in the uk far excelled the german conversions even in the 60,s .
today get a good truck or library vehicle . or prison truck and go for it . much less expensive and the money saved can be used to use it .
in german conversions they only use the same products as uk built ones , mind cooking facilities are poor compared to uk ones . you just pay alot for them as the germans get higher wages . its not hard to work out .
mind soon the chinese campers will be over here and the chinese rv,s then we might get quality at a good price .
untill then go on do it yourself .