Old v New

[redhand]

Have owned a W reg hymer for ten years it's been faultless but recently have toyed with the idea of getting a modern van.
Went to see a 5 year old autotrail recently and was astounded at the difference in quality.
Fixtures and fittings flimsy seating soft and not ergonomic. Totally unimpressed, is this the norm or the difference in german/brit standards.

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Hi ya,
Yeah have to say, I’ve only ever had older vehicles, Mainly because I can’t afford newer ones.
But the advantage of getting a van for converting is that you can choose the fixtures & fittings to complement your budget.
Mainstream suppliers of Vans & Motorhomes obviously buy in bulk & reel them out often allowing quality to suffer over return profit margins

 

[rugbyken]

i have a 2013 hymer i’m afraid you will still see a build quality difference even within brand our own fault i’m afraid if we want all singing all dancing interiors the weight has to be saved somewhere & im afraid it is in the strength of fittings , ie my cupboard catches went as a temporary measure i fitted a small bolt from the drawer to the valance above which is hoew i fount that aforesaid valance instead of being the ply i expected is only curved cardboard with a wood veneer !?

 

[Canalsman]

Because there are fewer and fewer drivers with licences to drive 'vans over 3500Kg the manufacturers are having to achieve drastic weight reductions. Hence everything is less substantial be it fixtures and fittings or the materials to which they are attached.

It's not good news.

 

[wildebus]

Have owned a W reg hymer for ten years it's been faultless but recently have toyed with the idea of getting a modern van.
Went to see a 5 year old autotrail recently and was astounded at the difference in quality.
Fixtures and fittings flimsy seating soft and not ergonomic. Totally unimpressed, is this the norm or the difference in german/brit standards.

I don't think it is anything to do with being an Autotrail rather than a Hymer, but all to do with being a much newer motorhome.
My own Autotrail will be 17 years old in February and the motorhome side of it is very solid indeed. While updating the electrics to add sockets and that kind of thing, sometimes I have had to drill through over 50mm worth of plywood boards!
I have modified lots of other vans from many manufacturers and of a wide range of ages and it is very apparent how the newer vans have notably different materials used, the most obvious change being the use of polystyrene within two very thin sheets of ply rather than a traditional plywood sheet on internal fittings on many vans. This will be a great weight-saver but not the best to mount fittings to. From my own experience as a installer as opposed to an owner, the older the van, the more solid it seems to be regardless of make and model.

 

[barryd]

My friend in our village had one of those older Hymers for years. Never went anywhere in it but it was built like a tank. I remember over the years of searching for our new van about ten years ago looking at new Bailey and a New Hymer side by side and to my eye and feel the Bailey seemed better quality and half the price so Im not so sure there is much in it now. Our 2015 new to us Swift Esprit seems leagues better quality wise than our old Kontiki was from the last century but its also on a 4250kg chassis. The old one was sub 3500kg and the internal doors etc and hab door for example looked like they were made out of cardboard in comparison. So maybe Brit vans got better and German quality went the other way or they maybe are not as far apart as they once were.

Hab stuff is just hab stuff though. The main considerations to me have always been payload and keeping out the damp. Anything else can easily be replaced or fixed.

 

[Glynno]

I had a 2005 Peugeot Autosleeper. Sold as I wanted more space. I now have a 2019 Peugeot Autosleeper. Quality build, Quality equipment, Quality design. Same engine but turbo addition feels like its twice the size. The wife and I are very pleased although.her specification was “ it must have a microwave and fit into a supermarket parking space. Well at 6 meters I do need to be a bit choosy with the parking space.

 

[JQB]

I don't think it is anything to do with being an Autotrail rather than a Hymer, but all to do with being a much newer motorhome.
My own Autotrail will be 17 years old in February and the motorhome side of it is very solid indeed. While updating the electrics to add sockets and that kind of thing, sometimes I have had to drill through over 50mm worth of plywood boards!
I have modified lots of other vans from many manufacturers and of a wide range of ages and it is very apparent how the newer vans have notably different materials used, the most obvious change being the use of polystyrene within two very thin sheets of ply rather than a traditional plywood sheet on internal fittings on many vans. This will be a great weight-saver but not the best to mount fittings to. From my own experience as a installer as opposed to an owner, the older the van, the more solid it seems to be regardless of make and model.

In the 70's we had a small caravan, a Eurocamper, the table was a layer of very very thin decorative ply on each side with a layer of either polystyrene or maybe it was eggbox cardboard inside, the framework a balsa-like lightweight no grain timber, very light but plenty strong enough. The interior locker lids in quarter in plain ply. It all worked just fine.