Guest pelmetman Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Buy an old Ford and then you can run it on chip fat :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 That was going to be my next suggestion make your own chip fat fuel in the garage.. update on Prius + tent.- Prius + expedition trailer tent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 It's a simple matter of buyer prioritisation... A £32k Ford-based 130PS Hymer Exsis-i will be 2007-ish vintage with a 5-speed gearbox. An equivalent price Relay-based Devon will be significantly younger, will (almost certainly) have a 6-speed gearbox, will have a smaller frontal area, and will probably be lighter than the Hymer. Driven in a similar manner the Devon will have a lower fuel consumption (10% lower?) than the Hymer and, if fuel consumption is (as Nick advises) a "key decider", then just cross the Hymer off the shopping-list. Build quality, comfort, interior space, insulation, ambiance, warranty, depreciation - all of these things can be ignored if the two motorhomes are to be judged primarily on fuel consumption - the Devon is the only logical choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 what I don't get is what is the rush...why 20,000 miles a year. If you.cant afford it do less journeys or buy smaller economical vehicle 1.50 a litre is per gallon is approx £6.75 a gallon 20,000 miles @ 30mpg = £4500 20,000 miles @ 27mpg = £5000 20,000 miles @ 25mpg = £5400 I would think the smaller more recent Hymer would probably be OK and a lot more comfortable. but would have to get a LHD to get one on budget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Personally speaking I would pay the extra £900 a year in fuel costs just to have the extra comfort, insulation, and living and storage space of a larger van - especially when it's cold and wet outside! Unless you are going to use sites all the time, things like extra batteries, water tank capacity, gas capacity, living and storage space, possibly a solar panel should also come into the equation. 20,000 miles is a lot of miles and that suggests a lot of days and nights away from home and, unlike a two week jaunt where you can tolerate cramped or unsuitable living conditions, long term use is very different and any possible van needs to be looked at with that in mind. If you intend to explore of the beaten track a smaller van is obviously easier to handle and it must be said that if you do that sort of exploring sooner or later you will damage the van sides and not only is a panel van is easier and cheaper to repair than a coachbuilt it's steel body is much more damage resistant than the GRP or aluminium and plastic of a coachbuilt. On that basis the longest small engined manual gearbox panel van conversion you can afford to get you the space and load capacity seems most practical, although personally I would still prefer a small coachbuilt - but having had both I am biased! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi nicky - welcome to the mad house! This may be a very daft question, but have you actually tried getting in and out of the Hymer bed? It isn't the easiest thing in the world and with bedding will be more difficult. Also have you considered any other small van/coachbuilts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickyroy Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Mel Yes, and I agree. Headroom and general feel not great compared to the way the Citroen conversion works. I have looked at many and the majority fail on the 6'3" test. Most of the smaller vehicles have the bed sideways across the vehicle and this just doesn't work. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickyroy Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Derek Thanks for your comments. I would expect the Relay to be more like 15% better on fuel; however, wonder how much it loses in the other important factors that you mention. I have been in both vehicles and think that the Devon has a far better bed set up and is comparable on other factors. I am sure it falls down on some, but I am quite new to this and not very au fait with the likes of insulation and water tank size etc. I guess I really need to do comparisons against all those things. That said, half the time that I go away in my Bongo I don't even fill the water tank up; just use bottles. Also, that is not insulated at all and have camped out in minus 5 in that with no problems. I think I should really draw up a table of all the key factors and list them for each vehicle. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickyroy Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks Tracker. All that you say makes a great deal of sense. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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