New van choice, Brands?

chablais

Guest
Hi Folks

We are new to the forum and also new to motor homes! Just returned from the NEC show, which has thrown up more questions than answers. After a day of listening to hyperactive salespeople I thought I would ask the real world of owners and users. Please point me in the right direction if my questions are answered elsewhere.

Brands is there a list showing the heirachy of brands, IE it seems Chausson, Benimar offer good value for money, but are their methods of construction and overall quality good enough to last 4-5 years of 4-6 months use per year inc winter in ski resorts? It would appear most people hold Hymer up as the optimum brand for overall quality of construction and build. Is this actually true in real life?

We need a large garage to carry bikes(split down) and skis, decent seperate shower, pull down bed, so we can have a reasonable cooking and seating area. However it would seem that most manufactures concentrate of shoe horning in the max number of beds at the cost of almost everything else. Needs to be properly winterised to be OK in Euro ski resorts. We also have to come in at 6.50m or less as that is the space we have to park it.

We liked the Chausson 610 and 630, but unsure of quality. We also liked the Wingamm with monocoque design and large garage option, but never heard of the brand before, and worried about service and resale value.

Would consider a small A class and would be happy to use the drop down bed as the only bed, but this layout does not seem to exist. We went with a budget of 45-65k.

We liked:-

Burstner Ixeo 680G
Chausson 610+630
Benimar Tressoro 486
Wingamm Oasi 610 G
Wingamm Brownie 5.8
Wingamm Citysuite
Adria Compact with slide out rear

So are the 'lesser' brands worth it and do you 'invest' in a Hymer

thanks in advance

Andy
 
Have a look at price and build quality of Mobiviletta

We've just decided the Adria we bought earlier this year is almost what we want - however when we looked at the Mobiviletta K Yacht we really fell in love with it and all the extras etc it came with we couldn't resist. We had one ear marked before we saw it and it didn't disappoint. The price for an A class was the clincher being five grand cheaper than the new Adria which wasn't an A class and roughly ten less than other A Classes. It was a brand that we saw in Belgium last year but thought it was going to be beyond our budget. They have been making MHs and Yatchs for many years and although new again to U.K. they are not an unknown brand in Europe. I reckon the price will go up like a rocket in the next couple of years as compared to other MHs of the quality they are underpriced.
 
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I've been to many shows over the past few years and have generally been very disappointed by the quality of vans on offer. However the Wingamms do seem very well made and the Brownie 5.8 Grand Garage seems to fit your requirements if you stretch your budget a bit.
Compact Motorhome Brownie 5.8 gl model - Wingamm
 
Space !

Given your usage I suggest at least a 6.5 m vehicle with fixed bed.

Depending on your expected no of years usage suggest you invest sensibly
Maybe a good 2nd hand unit.

We bought ours 6 years ago already 4 years old but minimal mileage and have "lived in it" for the last 3 summers (6 months a time).
We have a good sized shower as part of the bathroom but with a door to contain the spray.

Ours is not suitable for winter use..
In particular you need to consider waste water arrangements (freezing ?)
 
jennyp19 said:
We've just decided the Adria we bought earlier this year is almost what we want - however when we looked at the Mobiviletta K Yacht we really fell in love with it and all the extras etc it came with we couldn't resist. We had one ear marked before we saw it and it didn't disappoint. The price for an A class was the clincher being five grand cheaper than the new Adria which wasn't an A class and roughly ten less than other A Classes. It was a brand that we saw in Belgium last year but thought it was going to be beyond our budget. They have been making MHs and Yatchs for many years and although new again to U.K. they are not an unknown brand in Europe. I reckon the price will go up like a rocket in the next couple of years as compared to other MHs of the quality they are underpriced.
Click to expand...

This van was recently tested by one of the magazines and there main comment was that there was a lot of noise while on the move like vans of yesteryear.
 
jennyp19 said:
We've just decided the Adria we bought earlier this year is almost what we want - however when we looked at the Mobiviletta K Yacht we really fell in love with it and all the extras etc it came with we couldn't resist. We had one ear marked before we saw it and it didn't disappoint. The price for an A class was the clincher being five grand cheaper than the new Adria which wasn't an A class and roughly ten less than other A Classes. It was a brand that we saw in Belgium last year but thought it was going to be beyond our budget. They have been making MHs and Yatchs for many years and although new again to U.K. they are not an unknown brand in Europe. I reckon the price will go up like a rocket in the next couple of years as compared to other MHs of the quality they are underpriced.
Click to expand...

Hi Jenny/John.

The Mobivletta's are certainly great quality. Jim (Helmit) had a Land Yacht until fairly recently, and what a quality build it was.

Looking forward to seeing your new one.
 
Don't believe salesman or brochures re ski use, it's very unforgiving in those temperatures day after day. We ski from our van for around 4 weeks a year.

To ski from a van you have two options-
1. Buy a double floor van with all tanks and all pipes/valves inside the heated double floor.
2. Buy a non double floor van and don't use water in the van (ie use site facilities).

You could try leaving waste valve open and draining to a bucket, but you may still get frozen fresh water supply depending on the temp and van design.

You could easily get a used double floor van for that budget but new will be tight.

When talking about skiing don't take advice from people who have not done it. -5 in Scotland is like chalk and cheese. Don't take my word have a look at motorhome ski.com you may decide skiing from a van is not for you.
 
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We love skiing, we love our motorhome and doing both together is as good as it gets, but you need the right van. I am not trying to put you off, I just suggesting to ski from your van and enjoy it at any temp you need the right van.

If you drop the ski idea your requirements are very different. If like me you want to ski from your home from home read the website I suggested and go from there. To ski I would suggest any double floor van as double floor vans tend only to be produced by the better brands.
 
Re. the skiing - I agree with phillybarbour. We spent 4 weeks skiing in Austria last year (it was our first ski trip, but not our first winter trip) and used the campsites at Solden and Mayrhofen together with a couple of overnights at subzero temps.
At Solden it was -20 deg C when we arrived but warmed up to -10ish. Our grey waste pipe froze but this wasn't a problem as we had plenty of capacity and were using the campsite showers. Everything else was fine.

Our Hymer 562 coped admirably with the low temperatures. It's a low-profile van so to cut down on heat loss we use a heavy duty thermal curtain that drapes behind the swivelled front seats.

Our MH is 6.57m long and it's just slightly too small to be properly comfortable for us for the length of time we want to use it skiing (6 weeks, this year). This is in part because we take our two dogs so spend more time in the evenings in it than perhaps others do. The sleeping arrangements are fine (2 fixed singles over the garage) but we feel a larger lounge area would be better.
Having said that, whilst we will eventually upgrade (first choice is a Hymer 580 MLI, second choice Hymer Dynamic Line 588) we aren't rushing to do so, and will wait to pick up an "off new" one, if we can.
 
Hi Phillyharbour
Thanks for your info. Still keen to ski from the van, as it opens up so much choice, and also can move to better snow conditions if required. We are used to backpacking and cycle touring, so being organised in a small space and the cold do not put us off. It is more off putting spending 60-80k and not getting the right vehicle. Where we live that can still buy a house!! There is way too much choice, and yet hardly any layouts that seem to suit a couple into the outdoors. We feel we do not need huge lounges and multiple beds at the expense of poor worktop space in kitchen areas and combo toilet showers.

The Chausson 630 with drop down bed is a great layout for us, but now looks like the winterisation is not good enough, same in the Burstner Ixeo 680G. The Wingamms look suited to winter use, but I am putt off by the lack of brand awareness, which could impact re-sale values. Also not much info on their electrical systems, and I cannot find much feedback from owners.

So does it really only leave us with Hymer?

Their small A class all have double floors and all water tanks inboard, if we can stretch to it the Duomobil looks Ok, although the enormous lounge will be lost on us. At 6.99M it is the max length we can fit on our parking area.
Do we need to be looking at the Alde wet heating system? This is what Hymer include in their 'Arctic pack' along with insulation mats and outside screen cover.

What van do you use?

Thanks again for your help

Andy
 
In terms of size and layout (drop-down bed over the cab and a large rear lounge) does the Hymer B634 fit the bill?
 

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Live life to the full, buy a Murvi Morello on the latest Fiat Ducato van.

Dezi :cheers:
 
What camper van?

Chablis..........someone above has mentioned an Adria Twin on fiat ducato. but only if you want to throw away £10.000 on a new one, as the identical but slightly less appointed trigano. Tributes on fiat ducato are £10.000 cheaper approx. The Adria interiors are made to be admired as far as I can see, not used. I do not see you made clear whether you want a pvc or coach-built, and sorry, most of these new ones only return somewhere about 30 mpg diesel, whereas an older trigano tribute carefully driven gives well over 43 mpg diesel, and I have logged 57 mpg out of mine, even though some on here refuse to believe it.........steve bristol
 
If I could find something as good to replace it with, I would sell you our Euramobil Ti 560 LB, 6m long 2 berth A class, double floor, 150 litres and 100 litre of fresh and grey water tanks, full size fridge and rear bathroom. As regards skiing, we use ours albeit for 7-10 days each January due to work, but extra heating on the move can be a bonus, either by using your gas heating if it has the crash protection, or like ours with a supplementary heater using engine heat. Also, the better insulated the van, the cooler it tends to be inside in summer not just warmer in winter. Dont just go off the standard for winterisation which simply means if the heater is powerfull enough to negate the need for any insulation. What i mean is, some vans claim to be winterised, when really all they have is a dual fuel heater thats powerfull enough to warm the van from cold.

Anyway, as i started, give Euramobil a look, there now being imported into the uk again.

Stu
 
I agree that for your requirements a fixed bed over a garage would be suitable.Hymer do make an A class with 2 longitudinal singles over the garage and a smallish lounge.

hymer b568 - Google Search

It is just less than 7 metres long so would fit the OP requirements.A new one is a bit beyond the OP budget but a s/hand one could fit the bill.
 
them mercs are fine ,until you try and draw the 5th. heater plug!if its stuck the garage will not accept responsibility unless you agree to pay for all repairs ,eg remove the cyl.head ! fix and replace =£lotts & lotts&lotts . I now have a fiat ducato hopefully its not as expensive!!
:drive:
 
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