First Van

unitedgirl

Guest
Hello!

I am new to this site and so far found it very useful (and amusing!!)

Anyway after a recent holiday in a hired van in Spain, we are now looking to purchase. We would want LHD as we live in Spain and are finding ourselves drawn to the Hymer older models. With a budget of around 10k sterling does anyone have any advice on a good first van, there are only 2 of us (plus dog) so dont need anything too big. We like the layout of the Hymers, in particular the rear kitchen models. Another point is we live at the top of a steep rough track so would need to be able to drive up there without problems.

Thanks in advance!
:)
 
Hi and welcome are you British living in Spain or Spanish. There are some full timers I think living in Spain.

On buying a van my advise is look at as many vans as you can as conditions vary and do a tick box on what you really want out of your van

fixed bed
rear kitchen

The list can go on as you probably already now:D

All the best.
 
Hi

We are Brits and have lived in Spain many years but just venturing into motorhoming!

thanks for the advice, good idea, I think we have an idea of our priorities of what our van should have, it's just such a minefield trying to find the "perfect one".
 
hi and welcome we are very amusing at times :D and help all we can. my advice is look check then look again buy the one you feel comfortable with, if a hymer mercs are a very reliable base vehicle
 
www.mobile.de is a German website that has a very large motorhomes for sale section. I'd be looking through that site and short listing what you see as the best set of options for your lifestyle, then look around in Spain or further afield. There is an English language option and you can translate most vehicle descriptions using Google Language Tools. After the interior layout is decided upon its really the same precautions you would take when buying any other used vehicle.

The fitout is important - what you need to make life comfortable for wild camping. Its no good needing a 240V/15Amp power supply to run all the goodies inside the van as soon as you turn off the engine.

Standing height is really important if you are tall - nothing worse than having to stoop or bend the neck to move around inside the van.

I have to admit to not being a fan of the coachbuilt style motorhome, availability of parts on used/older models is sometimes difficult - the makers did not have production runs of thousands of vehicles so cannot afford to keep body panels, windscreens and the likes. But you will get plenty of opposing opinions on that. The plus side is that they use common suppliers of things like windows and vents.

A lot of coachbuilts are just on the width limit, which can limit access to some really great places - we came across plenty of 2m width limits in Norway and France last year, some villages had signs specifically barring access to motorhomes.

The other thing to watch out for with coachbuilts is the chassis they are based on - is the manufacturer still in business and will they still provide parts support. That great bargain maybe a real dud if you cant buy brake pads, or an oil filter change means dismantling the floor to get at the filter. Mercedes are one of the best - they support all their vehicles worldwide.
 
the merc is one of the best base vehicles to buy on, but as for spares the majority vehicles are catered for nowadays even back to the early 60s you can buy parts for an old commer as easy as a brand new peugeot
 
Hi I live in Spain and purchased a Hymer from Germany 18 months ago.make sure it has aircon and ideally habitation aircon.
Check out the import side of things as I think the laws have changed.not sure if the following is true but i have heard that you cannot import RHD or anything over 3500 kg.Add approx € 2000 for import charges and expect it to take up to 2 months.

Good luck

ps if you are costa Blanca area pm me and i can give you the details of a very good importer near Gandia.
 
Hi right hand drive appears to be possible under certain circumstances there are a few around. Am in the process of importing mine (LHD) into spain, it's painfull. Try and find one here or go to an importer it will be a lot easier possibly not a lot more money either when you take into account the 14.75% import fee (based on the time value). Where are you in spain? I know of one place in antas that imports to order and will also help you (for a charge of course) to import one.
Regards Tony
 
Thanks for the info everyone!

We are definitely leaning towards a Hymer, eith Merc or Fiat. I like the rear kitchen layout and we are both shorties so headroom no problem! We do like the look of the Hymer, they seem almost ageless and the older ones quite "retro".

The info on importing is very useful and we need to look into that. We have seen a few in Germany that look interesting and 1 in the UK which is LHD which is essential.

Tony, we are in Mojacar so not too far from Antas! Have seen one at El Real but way out of our price range!

Hogan I will PM you for the info of the guy in Gandia as its not too far away.

This site is very useful as there is so much to take into account, some things you dont even think of, so appreciate all your advice.
 
unitedgirl said:
Thanks for the info everyone!

We are definitely leaning towards a Hymer, eith Merc or Fiat. I like the rear kitchen layout and we are both shorties so headroom no problem! We do like the look of the Hymer, they seem almost ageless and the older ones quite "retro".

The info on importing is very useful and we need to look into that. We have seen a few in Germany that look interesting and 1 in the UK which is LHD which is essential.

Tony, we are in Mojacar so not too far from Antas! Have seen one at El Real but way out of our price range!

Hogan I will PM you for the info of the guy in Gandia as its not too far away.

This site is very useful as there is so much to take into account, some things you dont even think of, so appreciate all your advice.
Click to expand...
Taller daydo at el real, thats prob where you have seen one but if you go into the office he has more available to import, not sure you would get a bargain though, keep your eyes open there will be other places.
 
There is also another place near Turre can't remember the name but if you head toward the A7 to Almeria-Murcia from Turre you will pass it he has several there and some older ones so may fit your price range better.
Regards Tony
 
Also re importing, after you have lived in spain more than 30 days it gets expensive to import a vehicle and more difficult. You will need to make sure your purchase has type approval and other stuff. If you were to move to spain and take one with you it is easier as they are then classed as 'moving goods' basically you would be taking your property with you. But you only get 30 days to import the vehicle before the import tax and other rules apply. If you already live there it's not easy definitely no rhd and age will play a part as anything pre 1999 won't have the appropriate approval numbers stamped on the chassis.
Good Luck regards Tony
btw am residing not far from you we are currently between Sorbas and Tabernas.
 
Thanks for the info Tony.

We are considering important from Germany now, the legal chap we share our office with is looking into the importation for us.

BTW. The weather is much better this week, thank goodness! May take the dog to Macenas beach later and watch the wild campers down their enviously!!!:)
 
unitedgirl said:
Hi

We are Brits and have lived in Spain many years but just venturing into motorhoming!

thanks for the advice, good idea, I think we have an idea of our priorities of what our van should have, it's just such a minefield trying to find the "perfect one".
Click to expand...

I don't think you will find the PERFECT van there will always be
something that is not quite right :D the things that aren't quite right
then improvise or except, we do:eek:

However what is important to you then get that right and then you
now you have done the best you can to get near PERFECT:D
 
i dont think you ever find the perfect m/home, thats unless you have pots of cash and have one built. then i think you will miss something out.
 
unitedgirl said:
Thanks for the info Tony.

We are considering important from Germany now, the legal chap we share our office with is looking into the importation for us.

BTW. The weather is much better this week, thank goodness! May take the dog to Macenas beach later and watch the wild campers down their enviously!!!:)
Click to expand...
Yes the weather was beginning to look like uk summer lol. hope you had a nice day at macenas.
regards tony
 
An intimate question

Hi chaps

We recently had our first trip in a van, rented for 10 days travelling round southern Spain and loved it. However, we have a question mark over the whole issue of the cassette toilet and, to put it bluntly, number 2's. We travelled around and stayed on caravan sites down and around Tarifa and up to cadiz etc so we always had facilities to use. As we get more experienced and buy our van, which we are looking into at mo, we shall no doubt travel more as we live in Spain, and are very keen to wild camp as there are some great places around where we live.

However, our one fear is that we shall then have to use the van toilet for both 1's and 2's, and we have a few fears:

1. Even tho there are chemicals, will it begin to smell etc
2. Do most wild campers use just in emergencies or do they use as and when.
3. How often do you need to clean out the cassette if you do use for both 1's and 2's
4. When we drove around Spain we didnt see many places where you could empty the cassette unless you stayed on a site - so if you do wild camp do you then have to look to stay on a site to use the clean up facilities when things need emptying or are there other places that we do not know about ??

I know this all sounds very childish but it is a 100% genuine query and seems a bit of a taboo subject and not easy to bring up in conversation, but having joined up in recent weeks and enjoyed many threads and good advise, I have plucked up courage to ask the forum and just see what advice comes back. Any tips etc would be greatly appreciated.
 
well to be honest , i tryed out the chemicals you can buy now and belive me they do work no smells at all. we have an old porta potty :D and i did what you do in one :eek::eek::D and left it for a week :eek: not in the van but in the shed and went back to it . no niffs and when i emptied it down the sewer all there was was liquid :D:D so go ahead and enjoy your loo in the van ps dont forget the air freshener :D:D.
 
Hi Mandrake

You mention porta potty's. We are looking at all options in our hunt for our 1st MH and are now looking at Hobby 600's. They look good, reasonably priced at around 10,000 euros for a newer MH than you would get if you were buying say a Hymer on that budget {which we have been looking at and are still interested} and space wise for us they seem ideal. However they all seem to have porta potties. How do these compare with Thetfords ? Just as easy to dispose of but simply internal to the MH rather than external ?

Also once MH is purchased, is it easy enough to buy a new potty and fit it or is it something you need professionaly done ? ie could a complete amatuer do it under instructions or do you need to know more etc.

Finally, have you or anyone else got any thoughts on the Hobby 600 re: reliability, parts, things we should look out for etc

There are just 2 of us and a dog and we want something to potter round Spain where we live rather than a round Europe expediation {save that for the next MH !}.

Thanks for any help you can be.
 
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