Older Motorhome possible issues

[barryd]

Check the damp reports. No report .. walk away.

Check the Euro rating (don't take owners word) and the implications on your planned use.

Think about MGW and current / future C1 limitations.

Check date marking on tyres. Many MoHos have tyres with lots of thread but many many years old.

Make a list of what accessories you want (solar / towbar / sun canopy / LPG / etc.). Can be expensive for you to add later or you could be paying for stuff you don't want.

Yep! Good call that one. Never gave it a second thought when we bought our 2015 Swift Esprit last summer. Got to MOT this year and they "Advised" they were all changed as original tyres, all nearing ten years old and starting to crack etc. Cost neck end of £1000. Would have been a good bargaining point at the sale but to be fair I had already screwed the seller on price anyway.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

2024 MOT advised on the tyres, I put new on the front as they do all the work, but the rears have done 10k since then.

 

[jaybeeonline]

There is lots to consider to make an informed choice, and you need to be really clear about what layout you need, as we have bought motorhomes with just about every layout imaginable and it only took us 10 years to find the perfect set up of twin single beds to allow us to have a good sized, rear width toilet/shower as I paddleboard and have always found the standard sized rooms limiting. This layout also futureproofs us, as we are not as agile as we once were and not having ladders for bedtimes is fantastic, and not climbing over one another to go to the loo during the night is bliss.

Other factors and observations we have gleaned over the last 10 years:

* The Renault Master based chassis, ideally with the Al-Ko rear are a million times better than the Sevel offerings for reliability, comfort and drivability. Mercedes are very good, but generally more expensive. I would avoid the Sevel vans like the plague.
* Look at higher perceived brands such as Hymer, Burstner, etc. We have the latter now (2007 year), and it is the second best built we have ever had after a very old 1988 Eriba Bali that was just bulletproof, as was our Devon Monte Carlo. We had a CI Carioca and a McLouis, which whilst both were decent enough, the quality was not great and I had major water ingress issues with the CI that was eye wateringly expensive to fix.
* Give consideration to buying a van from France, Spain or Germany if you can put up with left hand drive, as they generally don’t have rusting issues and in most cases are in far better condition. Our Burstner came from France, and I have previously imported VW Westfalias from Germany for those reasons. EU vans are also better specced, with cab AC, habitation fans/AC sometimes, solar, satellite dishes etc.
* Check the appliances makes/models, as some heaters are now obsolete and parts are impossible to get. This also applies to Omnistor awnings, safari rooms and steps (as I have recently found out).
* Buy thinking about best value and not the cheapest cost, as that is not always the best option in our experience.

Good luck in your search and hope you find a coachbuilt that suits your needs and gives you exactly what you are after with not a lot of compromises.

 

[Mick67]

That's older?

Fair comment everything is relative

 

[GeoffL]

If it's any help, we have a 2001 Autotrail with an Alko chassis attached to a Fiat cab. The only corrosion of note has been where the chassis and cab join, but the van still passed MOT. I had that rust arrested and waxoiled in 2018 and no issues since.

 

[Robmac]

Is there not a 5th gear problem to consider with some Fiats?

I have vague memories of posts about it but may be something to look out for?

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Is there not a 5th gear problem to consider with some Fiats?

I have vague memories of posts about it but may be something to look out for?

Just on the 2.8's Rob, even then only on the higher mileage, it's just a spur gear in a separate cover hanging off the gearbox, easy fix if you can get the parts from the EU.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I should add, ours went pulling onto the M6 on day one of out 5 week holiday in the 2.8jtd Laika, I went to a garage, they said, jsut drive it the ratios only really affects the mpg, so we did Scotland in 4th and it was just fine, I got it repaired in Wakefield, £180 he used used parts, and it was fine.

1st gear: 2.97:1,
2nd gear: 2.07:1,
3rd gear: 1.43:1,
4th gear: 1.00:1,
5th gear: 0.79:1.

 

[Canalsman]

To avoid rust the Sevel based vans from 2007 are galvanised fully and my 2007 Ducato has no rust anywhere.

It's true that the AlKo chassis, which I have, is galvanised and thus free from rust issues.

However it is notorious for issues with wear in the swinging arm bearings due to poorly designed greasing points. It makes no difference whether they are greased load on or off. The grease supply is poorly directed and the bearings will fail ultimately.

See here for a complete explanation:

AL-KO Axle Repair and reconditioning

Fully remanufactured and reconditioned AL-KO rear axle as fitted to Hymer, Ducatto, Swift, etc

fraserbrowneng.co.uk

My axle has been overhauled for precisely this reason and it's not cheap.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Yup, no rust on my 07 either, not the old selfbuild.

 

[Thistle]

It’s a misconception that the galvanised bodies of sevel vans don’t rust, it’s just a thin coating and it’s very vulnerable to damage.

Once that happens they can rust just like any other van, we see a heck of a lot of rust on ex Ambulances especially in panel seams and the sills, however this is primarily made worse because cosmetic bodywork damage is never ever repaired in the NHS trusts workshops so it’s allowed to go from a scratch to a scab then a perforation etc.

As an aside the extra high roof Sevels also suffer metal fatigue in some rear doors radiating from and just above the top hinge.

It odd how differing makes have differing problems Sprinter and Crafters suffer excess door scabs and step rust, masters rot from the inside out behind the plastic side mouldings, Iveco Dailies just rust everywhere but especially the floor and rear arches

Back to the OPs post if considering a transit get an insurance quote as certain postcode have a huge risk and markup, the transit is afaik the most stolen van out there and a certain element of society loves a low mileage transit chassis cab, hence why they tend to go for motor caravans plus they get the added bonus of lots of extra bits to fence on eBay and Marketplace place who seem to compete as probably the biggest source of stolen and fake goods on the planet!

 

[Pudsey Bear]

If you want a trouble-free van spend a lot and get a bulletproof written guarantee with it, and have a good lawyer in the family.

We still need the preferred layout and budget before suggesting any vans.

 

[Nabsim]

If you want a trouble-free van spend a lot and get a bulletproof written guarantee with it, and have a good lawyer in the family.

We still need the preferred layout and budget before suggesting any vans.

Still luck of the draw, brand new vans can have loads of problems

 

[Pudsey Bear]

But they have to sort them

 

[trevskoda]

It’s a misconception that the galvanised bodies of sevel vans don’t rust, it’s just a thin coating and it’s very vulnerable to damage.

Once that happens they can rust just like any other van, we see a heck of a lot of rust on ex Ambulances especially in panel seams and the sills, however this is primarily made worse because cosmetic bodywork damage is never ever repaired in the NHS trusts workshops so it’s allowed to go from a scratch to a scab then a perforation etc.

As an aside the extra high roof Sevels also suffer metal fatigue in some rear doors radiating from and just above the top hinge.

It odd how differing makes have differing problems Sprinter and Crafters suffer excess door scabs and step rust, masters rot from the inside out behind the plastic side mouldings, Iveco Dailies just rust everywhere but especially the floor and rear arches

Back to the OPs post if considering a transit get an insurance quote as certain postcode have a huge risk and markup, the transit is afaik the most stolen van out there and a certain element of society loves a low mileage transit chassis cab, hence why they tend to go for motor caravans plus they get the added bonus of lots of extra bits to fence on eBay and Marketplace place who seem to compete as probably the biggest source of stolen and fake goods on the planet!

Thats because its not hot dip galv after shotblasting, its a electrificaton plating job on non descaled steel.