Who makes the best Motorhomes?

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A lot of manufacturers use very similar parts and there's a lot of groups, takeovers and branding that goes on. It's very easy to be loyal to brand X, because you had a good experience, only to find that brand Y is almost exactly the same because of parent group and supplier links.

If I hasn't done a self-build I would have got a Hobby. I had a good look round all the shows for three years maybe to buy, and also to get ideas should I do a self build. The Hobby always stood out for me in terms of design, build quality, and great touches like interior lighting or drinks cabinets.
 
As others have said it all depends on your requirements....

I bought an Elddis Autoquest 130, 5 years ago, and have no complaints whatsoever.
The layout suits us perfectly, there have been no problems at all and it has not spent any time off road due to faults etc.
Fuel consumption is great and it has been abroad twice (France, Belgium, Holland and Germany) and performed admirably.
I know it doesn't match to your MH Hobby finishes but hey everything works ok.
 
well having been brought up on campers and motorhomes most of my life .and owning lots of vw, i reckon mini artics or 5ers are far more usefull. .yes some of the converters of newish m,homes are using poor quality bits .
you do have to be carefull with the older ones ,even merc and hymers are suffering from chassis rot . the newer sprinters specially .
but there is so much choice , as others have said what when why do you want to use it for .all makes a difference .
i think most here look towards the german conversions as we do tend to think they are better .i personally dont .
on a vw you cant beat a nice devon conversion .
even devons new conversions are ideal if small is the way. i also like rs motorhomes or sc sporthomes .
keep looking .try them all .lie down in the beds does it feel a happy place .can you imagine the fun . some you just cant. try it
 
OK, it's good for a bit of discussion, but the question asked is only half a question;

"Which Motorhome is the best" - for what??????? ****.

We have people on here who use their motorhomes as homes 24/7/365, we have people who have a few days away each year in the UK, people who roam Europe & beyond for months at a time, people who want stealth camping, people who want their very own design, people who want huge, or tiny. People who need to get them on a driveway or leave them in a field. People with almost unlimited funds, or living on a shoestring, people who like night-time angling, go walking or tow a dinghy. Some people want to be (or are) alone, others have extended families (our requirement was for a 5-berth - not many of them around). Others need to carry several passengers in safety - or perhaps only ever travel solo. Maybe there is a need for a garage, or the ability to be wild for weeks at a time. Any of these requirements can narrow your choices significantly.

If you want a campervan or motorhome, first decide how you will use it & what features you must have & what would be nice to have, & what you must avoid or prefer to avoid. Finally, set your budget & consider if you want new or used. Only then can you start to look at what is available & THEN you can pic the BEST for you. And understand that it probably won't suit that many others either.
 
From my experience of looking at motorhomes when we were looking to buy a new one, expensive definitely doesn't mean best. We looked at many vans, some below £30k, others over £80k. The designers of most motorhomes have absolutely no idea of what is needed, being mostly caravan designers. I looked at one really expensive van and it had a couple of mild steel angle irons coming down behind the driver and passenger seats - this was for the drop-down bed. Such an ugly and cheap solution. I certainly wouldn't have paid the price they were asking. Another couple of vans had particularly ridiculous layouts: one had the sink on the far side of the cooker, so it was necessary to reach over the cooker to get water for instance - not the best idea! In another van, to access the toilet cassette, you had to lean in through an exterior storage area (to the full length of my body!). There was also a drop down of about 10cm, so after emptying out all the stuff from the storage, it was necessary to fully support the cassette as it was pulled out!!!

I spoke to one woman at a show and, on asking her what her role was, she replied that she was a designer. I asked her if had ever spent any time in a motorhome, to which she replied "No". I suggested she borrow a motorhome and live in it for a month, after which her designs might improve!

It took us 3 years of searching before we found our current van. It suits us perfectly, because there are just the two of us and we wanted a fixed bed and then a loo where you don't have to walk through the shower to get at it. It was also essential that the front seats fully rotated and allowed plenty of room for my long legs, after all, they are generally the best seats in the van. Others may have a different view. I know some people don't like fixed beds and many of those who have moved from a caravan to motorhome seem stuck on the 'U' or 'L' shaped lounges that are usual with caravans and which to me are most uncomfortable, with no support for head and neck.

So, what's the best make? It's the one that has all the design features that you require at a price that is within your budget. It seems to me that there a LOT of vans out there that are grossly over-priced - Timberland is an example. I don't know why some manufacturers are so expensive when their vans have no better facilities than their competitors.
 
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As posted in various replies earlier, you need to make a list out of whats important to you and your needs. We looked at loads and had already had 2 British built coachbuilts, when we started looking at the European brands it was obvious they have a different take on whats important and needed.

Some of the criteria and prefered features we wanted were;

Fully winterised, both insulation and inboard fresh and waste tanks.
Large capacity tanks, 150l fresh and 100 grey
No timber used in external framework
Seperate shower cubicle, and a bathroom thats more plastic than wood, having to dry round the sink after every use becomes a chore
2 swivel front seats with room for your legs when turned
Plenty of headroom, I'm 6'3"
A large bed, we just manage to stretch a king size fitted sheet over our matress
Drop down or fixed bed

We also found our current motor to have other features we didn't expect;
Aluminium lower frames to the lockers
inserted rubber seals to stop rattles
auxillary heating for use on the move
2 x 13 kg gas locker
metal drawer inners like you have at home

And which brand gave us this?

Eura Mobil of coarse, I cant recommend them highly enough, the styling may not be to everyone taste, and they may not have all the bling of some of the other brands, but I would take a look at one if you get chance.

Stu
 
I would think that my answer would be a self builder.

As long as he does not skimp on quality parts and fittings, he finishes up with exactly what he wants on his budget.

I am still planning my 6 metre, 6 berth, fully winterised, drop down bed, huge garage motorhome based on a Mini Cooper.

I am getting there ........ slowly.
 
I'm a long-term Romahome devotee for their first rate build quality, practical designs and very low depreciation of around just 25% over 10 years.

With their Island Plastics boat-building ancestry and MD active on motorhome forums, the Romahome design team know how to make the best possible use of a limited space and what works in a motorhome. They also welcome and act upon customer feedback
 
Motorhome

I f you are asking a question about motorhomes or campers. Motorhomes has got to be Hymer,we are full timers and most of our friends have Hymers who live in them full time. When we are wild camping abroad if you had 50 motorhomes in one place 40 would be Hymers of various ages.
 
Some one has mentioned the build quality on the older Hymers as being superior to the more recent offerings. It was this that I had in mind when I made my original post.
My own impression is that the German motorhomes appear to be of a better finish than some others.
I have usually built my own motorhomes but went over to an "off the shelf" vehicle about two years ago. I went up to Simpsons in Great Yarmouth as they seemed to have a pretty good range of vehicles. I went into some 50 or 60 different vehicles that day and was surprised at the very poor layouts and/or build quality of a lot of the vehicles.
I realise that vehicles are built to a price; self building has taught me that
I ended up with a Laika as it did have what I wanted.
Would I buy another Laika? Probably is my qualified answer although Hobby would also be very high on my "possibles" list. The only thing that I don't care for, and this comment applies to a lot of the vehicles, is that I wish there was more choice of base vehicle used other than the ubiquitous Fiat.
 
Motorhomes are getting bigger, with a higher level of equipment. Especially in Europe, it is crucial to keep the vehicle below 3.5 tons and still retain a bit of payload. You cannot get a quart into a pint pot and something has to give. The push to save weight is hitting quality (as you would expect).

If I change vans, I expect it will be a selfbuild.
 
Good point about the Fiat. I'm not knocking it, I have driven them a bit and they are OK.

But I think the Master and Sprinter are better engines. Espec the Master, the gear box is a dream and the fuel economy brilliant, having driven one for nearly 3 years now.

Fiat got into bed with the motorhome manufacturers offering them level a level cab/accommodation floor and double back to back cab variants for chassis builders and fair play to them they have captured a lot of the market.

If you haven't seen a back to back Fiat, check out my video:

Fiat Double Chassis Cab - YouTube
 
I am surprised that nobody, other than Firefox & VWAlan, has referred to the base vehicle. For an essentially mobile pastime/fulltime surely this is the most important item ?. Is it reliable ?, cost & availability of spares ?, fuel consumption ?, rugged eneough for more remote areas ?, etc; etc.
 
hi firefox i think better to go for a renault mascot .then you get rear wheel drive .also they go higher in the gvw.
staying at 3500kg is a bind .the master mascot and the iveco daily share motors . in some of the vehicles anyway.
but self build is the way .
becarefull if going for a sprinter chassis rot is common and there is a problem with some of the engines very costly to replace .merc dont do recon only new full motors .
i went mitsubishi as its very common in europe. built in portugal and morroco . both countries i frequent . but the quality is good and i know where they can go.
mine was portugese built .
 
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ozbird

well for me the new motorhomes just don't do it because they DON'T HAVE A BIG SLIDING DOOR! I love the modern sleek beautifully lit interiors
 
Bought and sold several models over the years.
Self builds, fivers, Rapido, Winnebago etc...
Depends...
Do you want fashionable? Practical? Comfortable? Reliable? Head-turner? Fun to drive? Babe-magnet? Quality?
No contest... Hobby 750
 
basildog said:
The one thing that I see is that no matter how much money you spend they all seem to use the same poor quality cheap and nasty fittings ?
I guess it is a limited market and also to keep the weight down ?
I have had 3 different motorhomes and several caravans before and they all a pile of rubbish really when you start looking at how they are put together .
Click to expand...

Not mine, it's beautifully made. Perhaps in future you'll examine them more closely before you buy and not make the same mistake again? I'd have thought that you'd have learned a lesson after the first one.
 
m30 said:
As posted in various replies earlier, you need to make a list out of whats important to you and your needs. We looked at loads and had already had 2 British built coachbuilts, when we started looking at the European brands it was obvious they have a different take on whats important and needed.

Some of the criteria and prefered features we wanted were;

Fully winterised, both insulation and inboard fresh and waste tanks.
Large capacity tanks, 150l fresh and 100 grey
No timber used in external framework
Seperate shower cubicle, and a bathroom thats more plastic than wood, having to dry round the sink after every use becomes a chore
2 swivel front seats with room for your legs when turned
Plenty of headroom, I'm 6'3"
A large bed, we just manage to stretch a king size fitted sheet over our matress
Drop down or fixed bed

We also found our current motor to have other features we didn't expect;
Aluminium lower frames to the lockers
inserted rubber seals to stop rattles
auxillary heating for use on the move
2 x 13 kg gas locker
metal drawer inners like you have at home

And which brand gave us this?

Eura Mobil of coarse, I cant recommend them highly enough, the styling may not be to everyone taste, and they may not have all the bling of some of the other brands, but I would take a look at one if you get chance.

Stu
Click to expand...

My Hymer is very well built and a great van for long trips, even full timing , it stands up well to day to day knocks etc .I had a Eura Mobil previous to my Hymer and thought it equally as good and for a lot less money, most of the fittings in the E M are the same as Hymer, we changed the EM because we wanted an A class and the EM was coach built. I recently looked at a Chaussen and was tempted to change again but didn't. The Chaussen did not have a spare wheel, some clap trap about getting some sealant to squirt in the tyre if I got a puncture, great if the trye gets ripped , I told the Salesman that I would not take a van off a forecourt without a spare wheel and he promptly offered to give me one in the deal, I realise that the spare is not included because of weight but I would not take a van on the road without one.
 
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