What should I do, Sell it or drop off all the Goodies??????

Wully said:
Can a 3.5 ton motorhome tow a wee trailer up to a certain wait or is the 3.5 ton the total wait with a trailer ?
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what kind of trailer ?
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Many of us have thought about what we will do when the time comes that we can't do what we currently do. My thoughts are that I love driving round Europe free as a bird so while I still can, I will do so. I have often thought about what to do when my ability decreases. I would prefer to have a panel van than no van and not go round the countryside. I would even prefer to stay in the UK than give it up altogether and go to Warners for holidays.
I have already given up one motorcycle - I still have another, small one but sometimes when I go out on it I feel less confident and wonder how long it will be before I have to stop. But it will come . .
There are some very well made (mostly german) panel van conversions and I would choose one of those. I might have one now if the new ones weren't so complex and I don't think any manufacturer ever made an automatic with a torque converter and no CAN bus.
As for the cost I know for a fact that just to take your current camper to a dealer and swap it for an indentical one with different suffix to the model, same year, same make, same size, same dealer - it would have cost me £15,000 to change for the same model with a different interior layout. I won't be darkening their doors again.
I will soon want to sell my Bourton that I paid £70,000 for one year ago. I hope to get £55,000 but I'll have to wait a bit till anyone offers me that much. I could have taken my wife on a world cruise for the drop in value.
 
There are a few PVCs with a 8-9 speed auto with a proper auto, Malibu for one, I think I did a thread on two I had liked.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
There are a few PVCs with a 8-9 speed auto with a proper auto, Malibu for one, I think I did a thread on two I had liked.
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My Malibu Van has the 9 speed torque converter auto and the new 2.2 litre engine. It is a great combination.
 
gasgas said:
Many of us have thought about what we will do when the time comes that we can't do what we currently do. My thoughts are that I love driving round Europe free as a bird so while I still can, I will do so. I have often thought about what to do when my ability decreases. I would prefer to have a panel van than no van and not go round the countryside. I would even prefer to stay in the UK than give it up altogether and go to Warners for holidays.
I have already given up one motorcycle - I still have another, small one but sometimes when I go out on it I feel less confident and wonder how long it will be before I have to stop. But it will come . .
There are some very well made (mostly german) panel van conversions and I would choose one of those. I might have one now if the new ones weren't so complex and I don't think any manufacturer ever made an automatic with a torque converter and no CAN bus.
As for the cost I know for a fact that just to take your current camper to a dealer and swap it for an indentical one with different suffix to the model, same year, same make, same size, same dealer - it would have cost me £15,000 to change for the same model with a different interior layout. I won't be darkening their doors again.
I will soon want to sell my Bourton that I paid £70,000 for one year ago. I hope to get £55,000 but I'll have to wait a bit till anyone offers me that much. I could have taken my wife on a world cruise for the drop in value.
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I have had auto’s in cars since 1978, mainly with torque converters. My van is a Sprinter that has the Sprintshift, electro /hydraulic manual gearbox. It is smoother than any torque converter version I have had.
 
Some first-hand knowledge from me. I had a bypass done in May 2022, so 30 months ago. I went to renew my C1E and started mid-June which is 3 months before it was due to expire. I knew it would take a while. I made my application and got D4Drivers to do my initial medical, that was swift, cheap and easy.

DVLA then wrote back to me to tell me that I would need to have a further examination of my heart by way of Echo test and Treadmill. First of all they sent the details to the wrong hospital - I already knew they would, they always do, as I had a contact at Nuffield Heart who told me they would. She wasn’t wrong, she also contacted the other hospital, not for the first time, and sorted it all out.

The slight delay meant I missed the next nearest echo test slot and had to wait 2 weeks longer. Echo test done quickly, painlessly and easily.

Then the treadmill test had to be done, and again I missed the next available slot. This was all eating into my 3 months headstart.

Then I had my treadmill test done, once again at the Nuffield. No charge to me as the DVLA pay for it all. Then those results had to be reviewed by the consultant, this gave another 2 week wait as he was away all that time and no bugger else could do it!

Finally he reviewed the results and wrote to DVLA saying all was OK. There was a further delay at DVLA to get my results into their system in order that they be further reviewed by their health specialists.

Finally my licence was renewed well over 3 months after my first application, and also 2 weeks after my licence had expired. Section 88 allows one to continue to drive until you get told not to, so those 2 weeks weren’t illegal. I’m now safe until 28th Sept 2027 - will I want to go through it all again? Probably not as the treadmill test, the Bruce Protocol, is a brute.
 
Okta said:
My Malibu Van has the 9 speed torque converter auto and the new 2.2 litre engine. It is a great combination.
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I like the Malibu PVCs except for the toilets seats on the sides, not sure if it would stop me buying if I had the dosh though.

Which one do you have?
 
Nabsim said:
I have had auto’s in cars since 1978, mainly with torque converters. My van is a Sprinter that has the Sprintshift, electro /hydraulic manual gearbox. It is smoother than any torque converter version I have had.
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There are certainly some very good automatics that don’t have torque converters, my wife had an Audi A1 with DSG which was a brilliant automatic. I am now enjoying driving her Honda Jazz hybrid which is even better. Basically the Jazz now has electric drive with a big petrol generator under the bonnet, there is also a modest battery that acts as a buffer. It has a single gear that gives direct drive to the wheels but only engages at motorway cruising speeds.
 
We had an Audi A6 with the cone type gearbox but it was on it's way out so swapped it for Honda Accord saloon, lovely car, then the heating packed up so we got the Fiesta.

We now have the 2024 MG3 Hybrid+ Trophy, nice enough car but spoiled badly by seriously crap nanny software.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I like the Malibu PVCs except for the toilets seats on the sides, not sure if it would stop me buying if I had the dosh though.

Which one do you have?
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We have a 640 LE K with the charming trim. We decided against the top of the range LE RB because the kitchen arrangement with a higher than usual worktop did not suit us. We quickly got used to the toilet swinging under the bed to make room for showering. Quite a good shower space and it really is no bother. The only disadvantage of the moveable toilet is that it makes fitting a SOG difficult.

We really like our Malibu Van and no regrets about downsizing. Currently it is in for a Roamer 230Ah under seat battery to be fitted, I am no longer up to removing the heavy seats or shifting 2 enormously heavy gel batteries.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
We had an Audi A6 with the cone type gearbox but it was on it's way out so swapped it for Honda Accord saloon, lovely car, then the heating packed up so we got the Fiesta.

We now have the 2024 MG3 Hybrid+ Trophy, nice enough car but spoiled badly by seriously crap nanny software.
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That would be the Van Dorne (sp) gearbox then I presume. Two cones and belts originally on the Daf cars that just had stop and go. Volvo got it and think it may have been them that developed to chains rather than belts then For bought out Volvo. Somewhere along the line it became known as the constantly variable transmission (CVT). I only ever had one of these, a Ford Fiesta 1.4 I think in the 80’s.

Put me off the CVT for life. Was wonderful for town driving but on a motorway it took a while to build speed up and if you had to brake took ages again to get back up to speed. Don’t know if they still do but back then they used to say the car would go as quick in reverse as it would in forwards. I tried on Southport beach once but chickened out at a little over 40, it’s not natural trying to keep going straight backwards lol
 
Oh yes, those seats are mega heavy, I had mine in and out so many times doing the self-build, I had two pleasure batteries under it, there is a knack I discovered the last time I did it.

Don't ask.
 
mark61 said:
Here's an old T1 with auto. The old bonneted Transit was also available with auto, got a feeling the Bedford CF was too. Good luck in finding decent ones though.

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/details.html?id=399774065&fr=1980:1996&isSearchRequest=true&ms=17200;;;t1&od=down&ref=srp&refId=45c22a97-34b9-f539-2ce9-4d0f2d635a06&s=Truck&sb=doc&searchId=45c22a97-34b9-f539-2ce9-4d0f2d635a06&tr=AUTOMATIC_GEAR&vc=VanUpTo7500
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One of the couriers ex forces, one leg, had an auto smiley front transit, I think it was a special order.
 
Where is the best place to sell my van, it is a Hymer MLI580 with just about every extra they had along with self levelling and air assist on the rear axle.
The Sprinter is really good base and has a long life if cared for. The new model is now about £130000.
I looked at EBay and there was a smaller MLI 540 on there being sold by Motorhome Depot for £79999.
So it should be worth that as it much the same.
 
Bear in mind they are asking prices plus £3k ish commission you need to search sold prices to get a truer idea of what it's worth.

I just looked on the MD website, as your model didn't come up on a ebay search, why do I need to sign in to search? I don't need to be badgered by sales people, how many people would that put off.

£30 for 30 days on Ebay, take your own pictures and write your own description, or edit someone elses.
 
Some years back we had a Hymer S820 and I recall the towing weight was lower in an auto version which is why I had a manual and towed a Ka on a frame, later towed a Smart on a trailer both within legal limits, not sure if GTW is still different on MB chassis auto v manual.
 
guerdeval said:
Some years back we had a Hymer S820 and I recall the towing weight was lower in an auto version which is why I had a manual and towed a Ka on a frame, later towed a Smart on a trailer both within legal limits, not sure if GTW is still different on MB chassis auto v manual.
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Interesting. What van was the Hymer S820, Sprinter 616CDI? That I guess would have used the SprintShift?
Back then towing weights were often only expressed in terms of GVW v GTW. These days a separate towing weight is nearly always given too. Obviously most are = to GTV - GVW, but not always.

Current and previous Sprinter models have same GTW regardless of transmission, the high GTW option being available for both auto and manual too.
 
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