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What to look for, seek to add.


Skipper43

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Hi everyone, I’m a total Newbie and I am seeking your sage advice in order to realise our dream.

 

We are giving up boating (motor cruiser) so don’t have the limitations that going on the road has. It took us four boats until we got the right one and that ‘costa packet’, which we hope to avoid this time.

 

We have been looking at the Hymer B Class (704) but would probably prefer the 708 (island bed). So taking your basic M/Home, what extras should I go for? Happy to consider all recommendations.

 

Thank you,

Skipper

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David, depending where you plan to use the MH could determine what you need as extras. If you plan on warm areas (eg Med coast) you should have an awning with anti flap kit & tiedown ropes. A BBQ with lightweight table to connect to the external gas connection. We purchased a Webber Baby Q BBQ and it does the job nicely. We also installed an external water hose connection so we can connect to town water when available. We had a rear ladder intstalled to enable easy access to the roof for cleaning. Two lightweight fold up chairs for predinner drinks in the outdoors also come in handy. The Hymer looks like a nice piece of kit sadly not available here due to the hab door on the wrong side.
Cheers,
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Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, David.

 

THe Hymer B704 and B708 models are pretty long (7.8 metres) and heavy (4500kg) with the latter datum meaning that to drive either a UK C1 driving-licence entitlement would be required. And, of course, neither will be cheap to purchase.

 

You might consider obtaining this publication

 

https://pocketmags.com/buying-your-first-motorhome-magazine

 

though there is plenty of on-line advice on the subject (example here)

 

https://www.wandering-bird.com/buying-a-motorhome-for-the-first-time/

 

It’s often suggested that hiring a motorhome helps to decide whether the pastime will be enjoyed and will provide a ‘feel’ for this type of vehicle if a person has no background experience.

 

It’s important to decide how you intend to use the motorhome, as that will (or should) define the characteristics of the vehicle you buy. Failure to match usage requirements to a motorhome’s characteristics invites disappointment and - as you found out with boats - it’s easy to lose money by buying a motorhome that proves to unsuitable for what you were planning to use it for (wrong type, too large, too small, too little storage, you name it). As Gary has said, your plans will determine what extras you might want to add to a motorhome’s basic specification.

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As others have said it depends on what you plan doing. We also moved from boats to a motorhome (well I say we, Mrs D never used the boat much, it was just full of my beer buddies. Damn I miss it (lol) )

 

We tour for long periods of time usually on the continent where we seldom use campsites as motorhomes offer so much freedom over there with many places laid on for overnight parking and of course wild camping so the one thing thats essential for us is solar power. We also carry a scooter as secondary transport so the van can remain static in one spot for up to a week so another good reason for the solar which in spring summer and some of Autumn means we can stay indefinitely in one spot.

 

So maybe also consider what kind of secondary transport you might want. Scooter? push bikes? Electric bikes? Even a small car. Two things are very important. Choosing the layout that is right for you and the all important user payload. This is how much weight you can legally add to the van for all your stuff before it becomes illegally overweight and many vans offer a pitiful payload and not many at all have enough to allow you to mount a scooter for instance.

 

Those are just two of my suggestions that I couldnt live without but the best advice is to add as little as possible and work out what you need rather than mess on buying everything under the sun only to find out you dont need it and it just gets in the way and eats into your payload.

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Thanks all.

We had already identified the need for alternative transport such as a scooter, hence the large garage on the Hymer being a plus point. The payload is 1100kg and a small scooter will take around 160kg of those (so less beer and wine :-D).

 

I have a C1 Licence so the Gross Weight is not an issue for now. We do hope to tour abroad, as we did with our boat.

 

If we buy new I was going to see if we could get one with an Alde wet heating system, rather than blown air, as that seems to be the recommendation from another thread.

 

Please keep your thoughts coming.

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Skipper43 - 2019-04-06 8:36 AM

 

Thanks all.

We had already identified the need for alternative transport such as a scooter, hence the large garage on the Hymer being a plus point. The payload is 1100kg and a small scooter will take around 160kg of those (so less beer and wine :-D).

 

I have a C1 Licence so the Gross Weight is not an issue for now. We do hope to tour abroad, as we did with our boat.

 

If we buy new I was going to see if we could get one with an Alde wet heating system, rather than blown air, as that seems to be the recommendation from another thread.

 

Please keep your thoughts coming.

 

Thats actually a quite heavy scooter unless you have been clever enough to already factor in the fact that the further back it is from the rear axle the more weight it adds. Sounds like you should be fine though with that payload. Its huge.

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A couple of other points, first your Unladen Weight' will almost certainly be over 3,050 kg (no typo, 1 imperial ton) so your speed limits in the UK will be restricted on single and dual carriageway roads...

 

https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

 

And for a MH weighing 4,500 kg and around 7.5 m in length I would only ever consider rear wheel drive, hence ruling out Fiat Ducato's! Until you get in a situation where traction is limited you may not appreciate this comment but when you do you will most definitely appreciate the decision.

 

Keith.

 

 

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Skipper,

 

Have a look at this:

 

http://www.southdownsmotorhomecentre.co.uk/2018-laika-ecovip-712-dolce-vita-special-edition-fiat-150-automatic-a-class-motorhome-n100955.html

 

Laika is part of the Hymer Group. We had a new Hymer before buying this, and in my opinion the Laika is better. It comes with Alde heating, is the size you are looking for, and has the island bed (and no, I'm not connected to any dealers!). We are delighted with our Laika, and for the record after 12 months we had recorded one minor issue, which was resolved quickly.

 

Just a thought. Regards,

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and I thought I had a plan! Oh well thanks to everyone’s helpful comments, I realise a bit more research is required. Loved reading the wandering-bird blogs. Have taken on board the comments re rear wheel drive advantages and the discussions re tag axles. Also the introduction to the Laika, which I hadn’t heard of. I have made a bit of progress, the scooter I was going to look at is too high for the garage so have identified one which has a wet weight of 130kg (Honda PCX125) and it will fit. We’re off to the Peterborough show at the end of the month so I would like to think we can find a way through the maze of choices.

 

PS: Does anyone know of a Mercedes rear wheel drive A Class, with twin wheels, large garage, good payload and an Island bed (I realise I’m not asking for much :-D :-D ).

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