IH or Timberland?

[AnnPaul]

:-S :-S

 

Hi we are thinking of buying an IH or Timberland panel van. Any owners out there who could offer us the do's and dont's of them both. What sort of pay load have they and are they winterised, MPG etc etc.

 

Any help suggestions would be welcome .

 

:-D :-D

[michele]

Have look on the Chatterbox section Don owns a Timberlnd nd he hs done a good write up about it .

 

Good Luck

[Tony Jones]

There's a Timberland DVD in the latest MMM which may help.

 

Before you make a final choice, take a look at the Cavarno as well if you haven't already. It's on SWB Transit, so slightly smaller than the others, which may mean it's not quite what you want, but it manages to fit in a full set of domestic kit, and 4 belted travel seats.

http://www.roywoodtransits.co.uk/motorhomes/index.html

 

But whatever you buy, make sure you have a great time with it!!

 

Tony

[Guest JudgeMental]

Try looking at Karman & EiraMobil as well. leading European mmanafacturers offering better value and finish IMO.

 

Karman Davis:

http://www.karmann-mobil.de/frameset_start_g.htm

 

EuraMobil Quixta:

http://www.euramobil.de/_produkte2009/quixta_start.html

[malc d]

AnnPaul - 2008-09-25 3:59 PM

 

:-S :-S

 

Hi we are thinking of buying an IH or Timberland panel van. Any owners out there who could offer us the do's and dont's of them both. What sort of pay load have they and are they winterised, MPG etc etc.

 

Any help suggestions would be welcome .

 

:-D :-D

 

 

...and the Murvi Morello is built down your way. Ivybridge ?

 

Good luck with the search anyway.

 

;-)

[rowley]

I think that Timberland have missed out on a great opportunity with the DVD. Instead of showing people swigging wine why didn't they give better views on the various layouts?

[Don Madge]

Our Timberland Freedom 11 was five years old on the 1st June 2008.

 

We have had no major problems with the base vehicle or on habitation side.

Minor faults were fixed at the factory as we live just over the Humber.

 

Base vehicle.

 

Fiat Ducato LWB 2.8 jtd.

Only one problem, front off side wheel bearing had to be replaced at 44,600 miles.

 

New tyres fitted at 47,000 miles. Brake pads have still plenty of life left

in them.

 

Cam belt, tensioners and alternator belt replaced at 47,500 miles

Other than that it was just routine servicing. No oil used between services.

We had a Van Aaken Smart Box fitted that increased the BHP from 128 to 147.

 

Van Bitz Battery Master this allows the solar panel to charge engine &

leisure batteries.

 

We had the van up rated from 3300kg to 3500kg. This was a paper exercise carried out by SV Tech. It cost us £200 for the certification, no mods were needed on the vehicle. We did not change the axle weights as they were adequate for our needs but when fully loaded for our long winter trips we were very close to the 3300kg limit. It was done really for peace of mind.

 

Habitation Side.

Timberland Freedom 11 Twin bedded version.

 

No major problems but a minor inconvenience is the fridge has to be removed to be serviced as there is no lower fridge vent due to the fridge fitting over the wheel arch.

 

The waste pipe from the tip up basin split and had to be replaced.

Facia on the control unit had to be replaced as we were unable to read the

symbols.

The shower compartment tray had to be replaced due to too much flexing in the floor.

 

We removed the swinging arm table system, for us it was as about as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. Just our opinion of course. We use a tripod and pedestal leg (two sizes) and we use the bed board as a table and we also have a small circular table for drinks etc. The system can be used inside and out. We don't carry any other table tops at all. The bed board/table is secured in the shower compartment against the gas locker wall.

 

We had to make a trap door in the bottom of the wardrobe so we could get the gas bottle (13kg) into the gas locker.

 

Extras added after purchase.

Remis cab blinds.

Silver Screens Solar View.

Sun Blocker side & front for use with roller blind/awning.

Full length aluminium back box.

60 watt solar panel

Refillable gas bottle with an external filling point.

Two 100 AH Elecsol batteries replacing the 85 AH batteries fitted.

 

The other problem was self inflicted where we used tensioners over the sink unit to hold towels. This caused the sealant to come away in places. We have now done a couple of mods and the factory resealed the compartment for us.

 

All in all we are very pleased with the van, we did not have too many

problems downsizing from a Liaka A Class Ecovip 400i at 4200kgs.

 

Don

 

[Guest peter]

Have a look at Maess. Very good! and the dealer is at Tattershall in Linc's. Very nice Vans and very nice dealer they are made in Belgium. :D

[AnnPaul]

:-D

 

Peter

 

Could you give more details of the Maess or the dealer in Tatershall.

 

Regards

 

(lol)

[david lloyd]

Hi AnnPaul

 

After several vans with fixed (longitudinal) beds we were looking for a replacement van conversion this time with a fixed bed - the likely contenders being Adria Twin (latest version rather than the predescessor), Autocruise Pace and maybe one of the latest continental offerings fron Burstner et al.

 

Following the debacle over the X250 chassis (water ingress and reversing judder) we ruled out buying on that chassis until several years down the line when the faults have been rectified so looked at late model vans on the previous chassis.

 

In the end we chose a 2005 IH Savannah Tio R (2.8jtd) which, although not a fixed bed, has a 'U' rear lounge that is simplicity itself to make up into a bed. Some years ago we had a similar IH van - the Savannah Irmao - but this Tio is much improved having a redesigned front end that gives front lounging/dining and, of course, the all in one piece rear panel that replaces the rear barn doors. This, I believe, makes the van much warmer than the Irmao and has allowed the 'U' shape seating with large storage beneath.

 

MPG is steady at around 30 at the moment with 25,000 miles on the clock but, of course, this is very much dependent upon driving style, loading etc. The payload, at over 600kg, is nearly twice that of our previous Knaus Sun Ti coachbuilt.

 

All in all it is a much more compact, manouvreable and economic van with excellent road holding qualities. Build quality is very good but I have a couple of rattles (probably window blinds) that I have to trace and eliminate and the full leather upholstery option gives it a luxury feel. Once used to the limitations in space the van gives a comfortable, cosy and luxurious homely feel.

 

Good luck with the search.

 

Regards, David

[Garf]

malc d - 2008-09-25 5:15 PM

 

AnnPaul - 2008-09-25 3:59 PM

 

:-S :-S

 

Hi we are thinking of buying an IH or Timberland panel van. Any owners out there who could offer us the do's and dont's of them both. What sort of pay load have they and are they winterised, MPG etc etc.

 

Any help suggestions would be welcome .

 

:-D :-D

 

 

...and the Murvi Morello is built down your way. Ivybridge ?

 

Good luck with the search anyway.

 

;-)

 

We looked at both a IH and Timberland 'van at numerous shows and dealers.

 

We picked a Murvi Morello...

 

Horses and courses.

[colin]

AnnPaul - 2008-09-26 9:23 AM

 

:-D

 

Peter

 

Could you give more details of the Maess or the dealer in Tatershall.

 

Regards

 

(lol)

http://www.maesss.be/cms/site_template_advanced_1/home.asp?p_id=302&p_naam=Standaard%20Project&tsectie=3&offset=0&m_id=187

 

Don't bother with email, ring him.

Not a bad van, but not IMO in same leuge as IH or Timberland, but as a work mate used to say 'if you tell enough people enough times how good you are someone will believe you'

[Derek Uzzell]

AnnPaul:

 

As you don't appear to have finally firmed up on exactly which motorhome manufacturers might possibly provide your next 'van, the best thing could be to browse through the Buyers Guide towards the end of each MMM magazine, list every converter that offers a model that might meet your requirements and then obtain information about these vehicles. Once you've done that, you'll be able to whittle the list down to the strongest contenders.

 

Lots of UK or Continental motorhome builders, large or small, are marketing panel-van designs with various different layouts and at various different prices. Regarding quality of conversion, I'd personally place I.H.Motorcampers and Murvi right at the top of the pile, with Timberland not too far below. But there are so many other players in this field now, plenty of which have a good reputation for quality (eg. Knaus and Hymer).

 

You inquired about 'winterisation'. It really depends what you mean by this as, if you planned to use a motorhome for extended periods in extremely cold weather, then all the services would need to be frost-proofed, which essentially would demand a heatable double-floored design that won't be practical for panel-van conversions. The latter motorhomes, by their very nature, will be difficult to insulate to the same standard as coachbuilt designs, but, provided that the fresh-water tank is housed inside the vehicle, all-year round camping should be a reasonable proposition. You'd need to check carefully with dealers and/or manufacturers about this. MMM's October 2008 issue compares Auto-Sleepers' latest Symbol with a Murvi Piccolo: roughly similar base vehicles but the Symbol's external water-tank and single-glazed habitation-area windows would make it a poor choice if skiing trips are envisaged.