Wysiwyg70 Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Hi there. My first post. I was hoping to find some similar threads on here but I guess everyones wish list will differ. I have a VW T5 which of course is super easy as an everyday vehicle and tend to use it as a day van. Time for something a little more civilised! Budget is ideally £25k. “Sod it” budget £30k. Lost the plot budget mid £30’s. 8-) My ideal is an A class, 3+ berth on a Mercedes chassis with a good service History. 2007 onwards for the year. Just for me and my young daughter so need something reliable and v good quality. Must haves are a good size garage for bikes, windsurfing kit, although up on the roof I guess the boards will have to go. One or two single bunks at the rear would be great in case she brings a friend + over-cab or pull down bed in front. Good sized shower for hanging wet gear. Doesn’t need to be compact. I have driven 7.5tonne horseboxes so size not an issue but storage might be as I don’t have the simple luxury of a driveway. I would love to hear of any personal recommendations who might have first hand experience and could point me in the right direction. Any brands to completely avoid other than the recent built British mh’s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasnt Me Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Hi welcome to the forum. With your budget you should be able to get a decent quality, fairly modern motorhome. Your preference for bunks, in my experience is perfect. We have kids and they love sleeping on them. The lower bunk folds up to allow for storage of bikes etc. My recommendation is to consider a European van as you should get more for your money. Brands like Hymer, Pilote and Dethleffs seem to hold their price well and are considered to be high quality, from what I know. It might be worth looking at Coachbuilts also as they are probably more fuel efficient. But I don't think they are built on Merc platforms. They are generally Fiat, which I chose to avoid and went for a Transit based option. I shall do that again when ready to change, as it suits me better. Good luck my advice is make list of what is important and put in order of how important it is. Many say most get it wrong first time, but we didn't. Oh and don't spend months/years choosing. Life is too short. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phalange Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 this is a link to a brochure that gives all the layouts of Hymers, if it helps. https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Emailing%20Hymer%20Layouts-1.pdf?token=AWyL-LyLY__tWXyzs6QOcTcarwyT-hzQOdArsFpzCy0tN1JtmWipTFIda-ATCfcB9n7no95dTgJQn8GLXUNrkkwv-seZ7dnEWDSeluJV8dmDorPFVIbVQ_Tz4iI0rfGaT86O5YZOGgSzeEZv_Ict4ypt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasnt Me Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Hi your link doesn't seem to work, it takes you to Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phalange Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 ah ok, sorry, i have it on a pdf doc but it's too big to let me post on here. If you pm me your e mail address i'll send it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Autosleeper have a range of Mercedes based coachbuilt motorhomes in their range, so worth a look at their website to see if they produce a layout suitable for your requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wysiwyg70 Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 Thank you very much for replies received, much appreciated. I’ll take a look at the auto-sleeper but I think I may have an unfound suspicion they are poorly built? I think I’m hankering after a Euro built van. Would you say Burstners are equivalent in build quality to the Hymers and such like? Wise words about just getting on and doing it. I’m getting paralysis of analysis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deffheads Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Hi, We researched for about 18 months before buying our MH, and looked at many Hymers and other German A class, not wanting to make a mistake that our friends made by buying one that wasn't winterized and then went skiing [ and froze all water pipes and tanks. I bought a 2006 Dethleffs Esprit 7870 A class tag axle running a 2.8 Fiat engine with 28k on the clock and now 2 years later it has been fantastic, only problems being a front wheel bearing that went because of lack of use and an Alde circulation pump for the same reason. Good luck with hunting one down but definitely buy a German built!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wysiwyg70 Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 Deffheads, now there’s a thing, I have taken a shine to the Dethleffs. Well online that is. Yet to have a poke of one in the flesh but they look very nice quality. Do you have the twin axle? May I ask what additional costs you have to bear when taking it for a MOT because of the twin axle? I’ve got the classification on my licence so I could go large if necessary but wasn’t sure about costs when it comes to getting them up on the ramp, etc. Years ago when I had horseboxes I would have to go down to the HGV place, and they aren’t so plentiful of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deffheads Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Hi, My Dethleffs is tag axle so needs Class 7 sized MOT station, that's just a longer ramp. The cost is £58.60 but by shopping around can be found cheaper Ours has the 2.8 Ducato engine which is a solid reliable lump, but the cambelt needs to be changed every 4 years or 70k miles. Beware if going for low mileage one that the belt has been done, many I looked at had not because the owners thought that because of the low mileage it was ok . P.S Fully loaded it only does 20/22 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Deffheads - 2018-07-19 7:12 AM Hi, My Dethleffs is tag axle so needs Class 7 sized MOT station, that's just a longer ramp. The cost is £58.60 but by shopping around can be found cheaper Ours has the 2.8 Ducato engine which is a solid reliable lump, but the cambelt needs to be changed every 4 years or 70k miles. Beware if going for low mileage one that the belt has been done, many I looked at had not because the owners thought that because of the low mileage it was ok . P.S Fully loaded it only does 20/22 mpg. Just to clarify what DH has posted above. All vehicles correctly registered as ‘Motor Caravan’ require a Class FOUR MOT test (the same as a car) but a lot of testing stations will not be able to test large MH’s hence having to go to a station capable of testing Class seven. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I don't know where the OP has got the idea that Autosleepers are not well built. They are very well built in my view but can be a tad old fashioned in appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Wysiwyg70 - 2018-07-16 11:16 PM ...Budget is ideally £25k. “Sod it” budget £30k. Lost the plot budget mid £30’s. 8-) My ideal is an A class, 3+ berth on a Mercedes chassis with a good service History. 2007 onwards for the year. Just for me and my young daughter so need something reliable and v good quality... If you really want a Mercedes-based A-class design, I’m doubtful that you’ll find one “2007 onwards” within your mid-£30Ks budget. There won’t be any UK-built motorhomes that qualify (ie. no A-class models, never mind Mersedes-based ones). Continental-European manufacturers building A-class motorhomes on a Mercedes base for the 2006 model-year were: Carthago Esterel Eura Mobil Frankia Hymer Le Voyageur LMC Notin Pilote Rapido Some of these won’t have been marketed in the UK in RHD format, though there might be examples in LHD that have been personally imported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-07-19 9:17 AM Wysiwyg70 - 2018-07-16 11:16 PM ...Budget is ideally £25k. “Sod it” budget £30k. Lost the plot budget mid £30’s. 8-) There won’t be any UK-built motorhomes that qualify (ie. no A-class models, never mind Mersedes-based ones). There is actually one that I know of, the AutoTrail Grande Frontier of 2006 - 2007. It was built on the five tonne twin rear wheel Sprinter chassis. They occasionally come up for sale at around thirty thousand. It was the only A Class that AT ever built. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I hadn’t appreciated that the “Grande Frontier” model was produced that late. Review here https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/userfiles/file/MMM%20historic%20road%20tests/Auto-Trail%20Grande%20Frontier%20A-7300.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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