Best 2 Berth Motorhome

[Toffeecat]

Hi all. My Autoquest Suntor 120 has served me well in the last year. Sadly my "better" half has decided that as we now love motorhomes so much we should sell the 120, get a decent price and buy something new/nearly new. The reasoning being that we buy a new one, keep it forever and do massive miles until we pop our clogs or are to old to travel around. I have discussed with her that ours is really nice and works fine and will last many years but shes still adamant on a newish one. As ive never been to trade shows and the like I ask if anyone out there has a two birth that they would recommend. Ive had a look around local showrooms and really liked the Accordo 120 from Elddis but its just a new version of ours, better engine, more modern interior/exterior, few bells and whistles but pretty much like ours only newer. Nice size and layout, slimish to get round country lanes etc. I really dont know anything of other brands and dont know any dealers that are around other than our local ones so if anyone knows a good dealer. Maybe its better to sell private. I did notice how much they offered in trade in and know they will put it back for sale around£5000 more than they offered us. Or I could just ignore the missus and enjoy my....sorry......our current motorhome and save lots of £££'s but life would become a tad more....difficult. LOL!

Mick

 

[Pauljenny]

If you are happy with your present van, why go to the expense and hassle of buying a new one
.. VAT, ,getting rid of the old, dealing with dealers... Nah.

It might be easier and cheaper to change your wife.?:scared:

 

[2cv]

I agree with Paul, when you've found what you like stick with it. People seem to have loads of trouble with new vans sometimes, why walk into such grief? Dealers are not there for charity, so why not use what you'd be handing over to them to keep your current van in tip top shape.

 

[Silver sprinter]

Grow a pair,and tell your better half, you always have the Motorhome to move into:rulez::goodluck:

 

[barge1914]

New van

For three years we tried to find something better than our 2013/4 Bessacarr E412. It had taken the first three years to iron out all the “teething problems”, with a few still rattling on. However having looked at all the available similar sized vans we came to the conclusion that most of the so-called improvements in the later models were in fact a step back in functionality and design compared with what we already had, and that build quality was worse, or at least no better as manufacturers continually chip away at their specifications to beat each other on price. Also as they try to dazzle the unwary with more ‘features’, and make their loading data ever more obscure, real payloads get less rather than more. Sadly we found this to be equally the case with the so called more up-market models as well.

It’s also worth noting that Euro 6d engines will be along in a year or two. The next generation will have emissions verified by testing under real road conditions as opposed to the currently discredited testing regime and as such should be more ‘future proof’ than this years offerings as far as future emission zones are concerned.

We ended up staying with the devil we know, since as yet there is nowhere we can’t go that we would want to and layout wise it suits us just fine. Ok maintainance is getting a bit more expensive, but nothing compared with the annual depreciation on a new one.

 

[Asterix]

I find new vehicles are now so complex that there's far more scope for things to go wrong,and they seem to. Personally if I was cashed up,I'd go for an older MH and throw a wedge of cash at updating, modernising and personalising it to my specs,and end up with something simpler,more reliable and usually a lot cheaper for repairs,servicing etc.

 

[witzend]

Difficult to make a suggestion with out a bit of a clue as to what your preference is. So I'd suggest visiting a few dealers yards until you both get a idea, That's what we did when looking to buy if you don't think your present vans layout can be improved your part way there. Made up bed, large storage space, Good payload, large water tank, ability to carry 2 x 13kg gas bottles, Habitation door on RHS

 

[Deleted member 59094]

Stick to the road you know, a brand new van admittedly looks great but I don’t think the build quality is as good , I love our van it’s an 05 , a neighbor of ours has just bought a new Burstner £98,000 and believe me or believe me not I would not swap him, maybe because this is my first van I don’t know , it’s an original Autocruise before swift took them over and the build quality is superb no rattles on any cupboards and never had anything go wrong (tempted fate there I know) . New vans look beautiful but the reality is sometimes different.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

I agree with all the posts to date and the advice is spot on.

If you're not looking for a BIGGER van per se , and the one you've got does everything you need and you're happy with it, why does your wife even want to get a new one?

Apart from the fact that you immediately lose several thousand £££s of hard earned cash the minute you drive it off the forecourt at the dealers, the idea of buying a 'van for life' doesn't necessarily mean the latest model straight off the production line.

There's nothing wrong with doing that if you really want to, but unless you've got money burning a hole in your pocket then as far as your current camper is concerned why fix it if it ain't broke, if you get what I mean

You could always go the second hand route and still get a lovely van that's maybe a couple of years old, had little use, and is a heck of a lot cheaper than brand new if you still think this fits the 'van for life' theory.

I think you need to ask your wife why she REALLY wants a new camper if your old one already ticks all the boxes?

PS. I bet it's cos she wants all the glittery new interior & fixtures and fittings - it's a woman thing - well, some women anyway :lol-053:

 

[molly 2]

Everyone perfect motor home choice is very different. have recently purchased an auto sleeper nuevo ek my reasons for choosing it was firstly , short enough to fit on my drive ,2 good seize single beds ,very important to us , good seize shower, very roomy for a small van ,down side is you have to rotate the front seats to make up the bed length ,not much of a problem as the seat would be rotated for day time use , a permanent or drop down bed was not an option us .good hunting .

 

[Toffeecat]

Thanks for all the replies (sorry if the spelling gets iffy im watching the match with beer in my hand) and yes I agree with you all. I own a skoda because its oldish, basic and works. The more tech you get, the less reliable it is. I was also a diesel mechanic on big ships and like what is a pretty basic 2.2 ltr diesel in the van, easy to maintain. The new motorhome has more modern gear but exactly the same gear as mine. Ours doesn't leak, has only done 32,000 miles which for what is basically a van is barly ran in. It will last 500,000 miles if well maintained. The fella along the street has an old fiat motorhome with180,000 on the clock and it runs perfect. I want to upgrade bits like LPG conversion, maybe new cloth interior and sat tv and do big miles. It flew through its MOT. So yes, I want to keep it, tweek it and run it for years. Now to persuade her!

 

[clf86ha]

I have a pre swift autocruise starspirit and love it. small enough to park and manoeuvre easily, yet big enough to holiday extended in it.
I've looked at many a newer model and felt swayed by the modern furnishings, but not enough to feel like swapping my current van, as the build quality is superb.

 

[QFour]

Depends what you are aiming to do and what sort of parking you have available. We have found if we are away for 6 - 8 weeks its nice to have beds that are already made rather than having to put them together. Everyones idea of a perfect MH is different. Your wife evidently has differing views to you and would rather have something a bit newer with less mileage. We put up with a Swift for 3 years and found all the bits we didn't like including taking a took kit out every time we went anywhere. Pilote worked very well but we could not live with the front electric bed and the never knowing if you would have a bed to sleep in. Not really what you want miles from home.

Then we found our Laika. Ok its not perfect but you do adapt. Its nice in hot weather as it has two double beds. One in the back and one pulldown at the front. Plenty of room in the garage for bikes etc. Decent payload but you need a C1 licence. Not got a full size oven but then abroad its to hot to cook inside anyway.

Dealers who trade in MH's do have to make a profit sometimes. They also have to give a warranty on used vehicles. Do all the little repairs that need doing and pay VAT on the sale. THey also have to provide premises.

 

[Deleted member 11999]

I have an 04 Autocruise Stargazer. The layout suits me fine with a settee each side which very quickly and easily become beds. In fact now that is just me and the dog I leave my bed made up just stowing the duvet during the day and covering my side with a dog friendly throw. Not that it worries her very much as she is quite content to stretch out on her own side. Rear kitchen, loo and shower are fine. Ample stowage when there were two of us plus dog and now more than enough for me - I can now take more than a pair of shorts and a T shirt!!

 

[barge1914]

Nuevo EK

Everyone perfect motor home choice is very different. have recently purchased an auto sleeper nuevo ek my reasons for choosing it was firstly , short enough to fit on my drive ,2 good seize single beds ,very important to us , good seize shower, very roomy for a small van ,down side is you have to rotate the front seats to make up the bed length ,not much of a problem as the seat would be rotated for day time use , a permanent or drop down bed was not an option us .good hunting .

How are you getting on with it? That’s what we were looking at for the same reasons. However we were put of by a number of things lacking that we have on the Bessacarr...(and which are also missing on the new Bessacarr).
Older Nuevos had higher roof with taller cupboards with room for a shelf and more high level storage in the kitchen.
They’ve pulled the roof back to the cab so no more room for big cupboard over the cab, hence nowhere for bulky bedding or space to put heavy things up front away from the rear axle.
No room underneath to accommodate a duplicate or larger gas tank...the 20 litre tank is too small for long trips in winter off grid.
Bench seats too low to accommodate our generator underneath.
Also although we liked the quality of fitout there seemed to be a lot of silly design shortcomings that could easily have been avoided...like an external drain pipe that runs uphill and will trap ice, no obvious place to fix a tv out of the way, underbench arrangement of heating pipes wastes precious storage space.

We were also deterred by Autosleeper’s apparently deliberate avoidance to provide info on actual ex-factory axle loads, and reluctance to answer technical queries...since they couldn’t be bothered, we couldn’t be bothered to buy one! We had even contemplated an ES version to use the overcab for storage, but there still were too many compromises. So it’s still the devil we know.

 

[Fazerloz]

Get yourself to one of the big motorhome shows where its easier to compare vans, only you two know what you require out of a van. If your better half wants a newer van and you can afford it, get it. Life will be much sweeter and you only pass by this way once.