Keithl Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I've just seen an article on the Caravanning News website saying that Auto-Trail are to launch 4 new models at the NEC show in February on the new Mark 6 and 7 Transit Motorhome chassis under a new brand name of 'Tribute'. Has anybody else heard about these models? At last there seems to be some competition for F**t! Keith. Edit. I've just found a link to the new Tribute website and yes, they are manufactured by Auto-Trail! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 At last they have got the message!. Originally Autotrail built on Mercedes chassis and marketted a quality product. In more recent times they had changed their aim and were marketting a range of commodity products on the far cheaper Fiat chassis. But the message must have got trrough with increasing numbers of motorhomers wanting a bit more reliability and not wanting the Fiat for a raft of reasons. So the Tranny it is then! Hope it works for them. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 We looked at transitbased models at Birmingham but found that the maximum train weight or whatever it's called was only 4500kg. This cut out any possibility of towing a car so we haad to give it a miss. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Stuart, What models did you look at on Ford chassis as the press release says these Tributes are the first on the new Ford motorhome chassis? Do all Fords have a towing limit of 1,000 kg? The Tribute release says that all models will have a GVW of 3,500 kg but has no mention of GTW (Gross Train Weight) or towing figures. For info the current models on Fiat chassis have towing limits of 2,000 kg. It will be interesting to see the figures for the Fords. Keith. Edit. Just re-read Stuarts post and corrected my misunderstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 Must be front wheel drive on small wheels. The smaller wheels may have insufficient brake ventilation to tow anything heavier. My son's RWD Transit tows 2500 kgs. Seems AutoTrail are using low spec Transits to keep the cost down. Might as well as used Fiats which have a growing reputation in the fleet market and are catching up the good old Tranny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Autotrail have suspended the building and release of these models because of the "credit crunch" and according to the press release in the Autotrail Owners Club Magazine have withdrawn them from the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I've just emailed 'Tribute' to ask them if they'll be there or not ... I'll report back when I hear from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 This is an earlier thread about this: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18066&posts=13 Just for the record... Tribute uses the terms "new 6 and 7 Series" for their Ford-based designs. This has no relationship to Ford's Transit model-numbering system. The Auto-Trail/Tribute motorhomes are (would be?) all built on Mark 7 Transit chassis. The maximum Gross Train Mass (GTM) of any current FWD Transit is 4500kg, equating to a maximum 'trailer weight' of 1000kg. RWD Transits (depending on model/specification) can have a GTM of 6000kg and a maximum trailer-weight of 2500kg. The wheel-size and "low spec" assumptions are misplaced. Even when FWD and RWD models have an identical 'heavy duty' wheels/tyres specification (ie. 16" wheels with 215/75 R16C tyres) the FWD drive versions are still restricted to a GTM of 4500kg. Essentially, if you want a Transit for serious towing duties, you need to pick a RWD model as this will have had it's mechanical specification (particularly its gearing) optimised for that purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Having just received February 2010's MMM, I notice that, although a 2.4 litre engine (and, hence, a RWD chassis) is mentioned in the "Brand-New Tributes" piece on Page 41 (also referred to in the original Tribute press release and in the advert still downloadable from the Tribute website), the full-page advert on MMM's Page 33 is subtly altered and the "2.4L" reference has been removed. This almost certainly indicates that all of these vehicles are FWD, probably using wider rear-track versions of the platform-cab chassis that Continental motorhome manufacturers have been employing since the Transit Mk 7 was introduced a few years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 NONE of these vehicles will be badged as Auto Trail. They are from the parent company of Auto Trail and that is Trigano. The Trigano "family" consists of Auto Trail, Ci, Tribute, Roller Team, Chausson, Euro Mobil, Benimar, to name a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Tomo3090 - 2010-01-24 3:59 PM Autotrail have suspended the building and release of these models because of the "credit crunch" and according to the press release in the Autotrail Owners Club Magazine have withdrawn them from the show. Which issue was that in then?? I believe they did consider marketing another brand of motor home to run alongside Auto Trail and Excel models. They were not going to be branded Autotrail either IIRC. The credit crunch may have stopped that one from proceeding. That was nearly a year ago. I would be interested where you got your info from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 MMM adverts say that the new Ford based Tributes will be 'Launched' at the NEC show in Feb. Are they Wrong ?? Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 DJP If you re-read the earlier postings (and refer to the previous forum-thread I mentioned) I believe you'll appreciate that there was never any question that the motorhomes being discussed here would be marketed under the brand-name "Auto-Trail". However, Tribute Motorhomes's press releases and glossy adverts do give every indication that the new Tribute 6 and 7 Series Transit-based ranges are to be constructed at the Auto-Trail premises in North-East Lincolnshire (presumably alongside existing "Auto-Trail" and "Excel" branded conversions). The burning issue currently up for grabs is Tomo3090's statement that "Autotrail have suspended the building and release of these models because of the "credit crunch" and according to the press release in the Autotrail Owners Club Magazine have withdrawn them from the show." Now, it has to be admitted that, with the NEC Show imminent and so much current advertising fanfare, it would be surprising if Tribute 6 and 7 Series were not to be exhibited at the Show and/or that their production at the Auto-Trail has been put on hold. But that doesn't make Tomo's statement wrong. A reply to Mel B's e-mail may help to clarify matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I've just spoken to an Auto-Trail representative at Grimsby who told me that prototypes of Ford-based Tribute 6 and 7 Series models will be exhibited at February's NEC Show, but production at the Auto-Trail factory of 'customer' Tribute 6/7s will not commence until June/July 2010. I was informed that this delay relates to Ford's production schedule for the latest wide-track versions of the Transit chassis used for these motorhomes. Happy with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hi Derek I was posting comments about this post only and the comments in particular were "I've just seen an article on the Caravanning News website saying that Auto-Trail are to launch 4 new models at the NEC show in February on the new Mark 6 and 7 Transit Motorhome chassis under a new brand name of 'Tribute'." This implied that Autotrail were launching 4 new models. This is not correct. It is Trigano who are launching the models, which just happen to be made at thier Autotrail factory in Grimsby. Secondly "Autotrail have suspended the building and release of these models because of the "credit crunch" and according to the press release in the Autotrail Owners Club Magazine have withdrawn them from the show." This post was simply just not accurate, as you have since confirmed. All I asked was where this inaccurate info came from. "A reply to Mel B's e-mail may help to clarify matters." To TRIBUTE!" BTW Nice to be made welcome on my 1st post :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hi DJP - welcome to the mad house! :-D If ever I actually GET a response from Tribute I'll let you all know, I'm still waiting ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 DJP Keith's original posting innocently summarised the Caravanning News website report that begins "Auto-Trail are launching a range of new Transit-based coachbuilt motorhomes under their new Tribute brand at the Boat and Caravan Show, Birmingham NEC 23rd – 28th February." Besides the "Trigano" group name, there is also a "Trigano" brand-name used specifically for the range of panel-van conversions (PVCs) that has, for several years, been marketed outside the UK under a model-range name of "Eurocamp" and, within the UK alone, of "Tribute". It would seem that (at least for the UK) these PVCs will now be marketed under a "Tribute" brand-name (dropping the Trigano moniker) with a numeric model designator (eg. Tribute 550, 650 and 665), which makes some sense as otherwise they'd be Tribute Tributes! I presume that the new Ford-based designs will be referred to as Tribute T-620, Tribute T-625, etc. I can't comment usefully on Tomo3090's posting as I've no access to the source of his information. Nor do I know whether or not what the Auto-Trail representative told me was correct (though it seems plausible enough to me). I'm sure there are plenty of forum members hungry to apply the thumb-screws to the sales staff manning the NEC Auto-Trail stand regarding fine detail of Tribute branding and, hopefully, prepared to grovel under the prototype 6/7 Series Tributes to ascertain technical details of the "brand new Ford Transit, low frame, wide track chassis, specially designed for Motorhome use", that, even after much GOOGLE-research, I've discovered zilch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Tomo3090 - 2010-01-24 3:59 PM Autotrail have suspended the building and release of these models because of the "credit crunch" and according to the press release in the Autotrail Owners Club Magazine have withdrawn them from the show. Which issue was that in then?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 My Mummy told me that it's rude to stick out your tongue. So there. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 My Mummy told me that too, but I later discovered that it didn't apply to naughty ladies. DJP's is a fair question and one that Tomo3090 should be be able to answer. (DJP: I assume the tongue-y photo isn't of you. Hopefully you aren't another incarnation of Frank Wilkinson.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Spoke to someone in the motorhome trade recently and mentioned the Ford Transit chassis used for the Tribute 6/7 Series range. Apparently the information in MMM's Tribute advert is completely accurate. The chassis is NOT a revision of the platform-cab design employed by many Continental motorhome converters since 2004 for FWD coachbuilt models, but is a 'ladder-frame type' chassis (normally termed a "chassis-cab") similar conceptually to SEVEL's special X/250 'camping-car' chassis. All Tribute 6/7 Series vehicles (and all other motorhomes using this new chassis) will be FWD. I was also told that Transit will get a minor face-lift later this year, with a altered 'look' to its front, and that a brand spanking new Transit Mk 8 will be released sometime in 2011, with Ford concentrating initially on the commercial market and motorhomes based on the new Transit not likely to become available until 2012. Evidently the Mk 8 will offer the option of automatic transmission for FWD (a Transit 'first') and RWD chassis and the system used will include a torque-converter. (No good asking for more information about this from me - that's everything I know!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Sorry peeps, not ignoring you! I;ve been away from things for a few days and lost track of where I posted. I'll be back at home tomorrow and dig out the nmag. But it was the latest issue from the Autotrail Owners Club magazine. it was attributed to someone from autotrail, but I can;t remember who at present. I haven't meant to misinform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Hi Tomo, I've read and re-read the latest (Winter 2009) ATOC mag and the only reference to anything like is on page 20 under section 11 of the AGM Minutes 2009. I quote an extract "There was a comment in the Motorcaravan magazine stating that the Exel range would be rebranded as Conquest. Stuart Turpin (from AT) said that Conquest was created as a twin brand to Exel... Due to the lack of dealers taking on new ranges, the Conquest is on the 'back burner' at the moment...' Was this the article? I see from the Tribute website that they are still launching the Ford base at the NEC. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yes that was it! Looks like I've mixed up the two products. Sorry to anyone who has been confused. I'll read things twice in future before I start writing. I'll get me coat! :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Just idle curiosity, but were the Ford-based Tribute motorhomes exhibited at the NEC Show? If so, and if any forum member took a look at the 'special' Ford chassis the vehicles were said to be built on, I'd be interested in their observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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