Best winterised models?

[BillW]

Hi. My first post and gathering info for the delicious thought of a purchase leading to much travel. I have had a unit before that suffered frozen pipes. So at the very least we want to find out which manufacturers really paid attention to winterising from first design. Any and all suggestions welcome.

We used to love touring well out of season, when even if you wanted to use a camping site they are all closed. So independence is the watchcry.

Also I am beyond the flush of youth and warmth is valued. Anyone have experience of generators? How quiet and inconspicuous can they be? If wild camping, you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself these days. A generator will permit use of a fan heater or two, perhaps even reverse cycle aircon.

That should do for now but so glad I have found this site.

Bill

 

[Deleted member 207]

Depends on what you're after - a coach built or an integrated van.

Westfalia from Germany do some excellent all weather fitouts for integrated vans - insulated, diesel hot air heating, air con, double glazed, water tank inboard, hot water service, showers, window blinds, etc etc. I'm biased as I have owned three Westfalia James Cooks based on the T1 Merc 207D/309D. Current models based on the Sprinter.

My preference is to try and run everything off the vehicle leisure batteries - most modern alternators chuck out enough power to cope with running a 2kw inverter (via the leisure battery). I still struggle with the economics of buying a genny when the vehicle alternator is there and the engine will recharge the batteries in an hour or two driving the next day. Its different if you intend parking for a few days/weeks then the genny wins hands down over running the engine at fast idle for three hours a day.

Generators - just depends where you are. If there is a house in sight its likely that the hum from the genny will cause some unwanted attention. But that said the really quiet Hondas, Yamahas and others (I cant remember names), all are very quiet and you struggle to hear them beyond about 20m - but wont power every electrical appliance you want to run.

I've a good friend with an onboard Onan genny tucked under an Iveco Winnebago and you can hear and feel that bloody thing even when the aircon unit is running.

Telair make some onboard gennys - all claim to be quiet - but very expensive.

 

[BillW]

Thank you Roger. I was thinking of a coachbuilt or similar - for the internal space. It will be our virtual mobile home for months at a time when very cold spells can be expected. But I will check out the Westfalias.

Bill.

 

[Deleted member 2636]

Generators - just depends where you are. If there is a house in sight its likely that the hum from the Genny will cause some unwanted attention. But that said the really quiet Hondas, Yamahas and others (I cant remember names), QUOTE]

http://http://www.kipor-generators.com/ are another of the "silent" gennies. So much so, that nice Mr Honda took out a court case against them a while back for infringement of something or another . They are a bit more affordable but whether or not they will stand the test of time is anyone's guess.
I have seen some very old Honda gennies that were still giving terrific service some 20 years on - Nomad had a really small Honda Genny fixed inside the engine bay of his Transit

 

[maingate]

Hi Bill and welcome to the wildies.

The European made vans seem to be the best ones for all year round touring. I am no expert on them all, so I will describe my van.

I have a German made Burstner which is winterised. The insulation is good and it has a false floor which contains the fresh water and wastewater tanks.
The heating is the Alde system of central heating radiators and can be run from gas or mains electric. The underfloor radiators prevent the water from freezing and there is even heating in the Thetford compartment (so no frozen poo ).

If motorhomes have underslung fresh and wastewater tanks, then they are not classed as winterised. I believe that it is not easy to find a British made one.

Hope this helps.

 

[lebesset]

if you are serious about insulation look no further than here

The Cabby method - the market's best insulation

of course you pay accordingly , but quality is never cheap

I thought my hymer was pretty good , but no comparison with this

been in a motorhome made like this , can't remember if it was sold under the cabby name


must have been kabe !

http://www.kabe.se/motorhomes/

 

[BillW]

Thanks so far to all.

I have long had a hankering for a Hymer. You have to hope that the cost is rewarded by any resale value. However, not so very many of their models appeal to my preferences but their quality seems to show through.

The British are not known to be such large volume winter holidayers at home but I think this is changing. You have to hope that local manufacturers see virtue in providing and advertising good winterised specs.

 

[BedfordMJ]

Sounds like you need a Bedford.

 

[Deleted member 775]

cheers bedford mj for shouting the prases of our good ole bedfords whats it like up north have you all still got that well thourght out roundabout .i digress .as for winterising vans we have just spent last winter in our 26 year old beddy and may i say we were never cold. did have some probs with the water pipes now and again so a quick trip to b&q and lagged the external pipes job done water tank is next to the exhaust pipe so very little probs there gona bring the external pipes inboard later on in the year ready for next winter but as for the general vans abillity te keep in the heat and keep the cold out no probs at all.

 

[Kontiki]

Having a van with a double floor makes a lot of difference. It used to be just the higher end models but quite a lot of european made vans have the double floor. Has the advantage of keeping all the pipes & tanks inside reducing risks of freezing, also makes the van much warmer. You do have to pay for quality though. Seen a lot of vans having an external sliding blind over the window, also seen insulated panels you can fit on all the windows. The heating on most of the vans are now reasonably efficient, I have heard the diesel heaters can be noisy & use a lot of battery power. I would prefer to fit extra gas tanks & use LPG (propane)
I'm sure I read that there are different classses of vans regarding 'winterising' where to be classed as fully winterised it had to raise the temperature inside the van to a certain value (probably 20 degrees C or above the outside temp) within a certain time & maintain the heat.
Not a fan of generators, even the quietest ones are annoying (especially if there not yours)

 

[Nosha]

Look for those with a double floor, after that our Chauson has all the water tank, pipes and pump inside the van, only the waste is under the floor, so you could run with the waste taps open and catch in a bucket. But some vans even have heated waste tanks!!! But if it's that cold I think I'll stay at home!!

 

[BedfordMJ]

cheers bedford mj for shouting the prases of our good ole bedfords whats it like up north have you all still got that well thourght out roundabout .i digress .as for winterising vans we have just spent last winter in our 26 year old beddy and may i say we were never cold. did have some probs with the water pipes now and again so a quick trip to b&q and lagged the external pipes job done water tank is next to the exhaust pipe so very little probs there gona bring the external pipes inboard later on in the year ready for next winter but as for the general vans abillity te keep in the heat and keep the cold out no probs at all.

I've been around your favourite roundabout on my way to Tesco today, still the same.
Your Bedford is 26? That's not old it's nearly new

 

[Deleted member 9215]

We also have a chausson with the water inside also there is a heater duct that comes from the toilet into a big storage area at the back 4ft / 7ft that can take a motorbike if you have one .

Dunk