t5topcat Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Greetings one and all. I am looking at getting back inti MHing after a long absence. I am going to look at a Benimar 6000 Anthus on a Ducatto base.Any advice on things to look out for would be welcome. It is all a bit different from my old Talbot Highwayman!! Cheers TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 welcome to the mad house. Cannot advise re motorhome but if you wait someone will have the answer. What I have found is that this forum has an expert on just about everything. Good luck and happy camping Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Arthur Brown - 2012-05-17 6:53 PM welcome to the mad house. Cannot advise re motorhome but if you wait someone will have the answer. What I have found is that this forum has an expert on just about everything. Good luck and happy camping Art Allegedly >:-) >:-) Welcome to the forum Topcat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 t5topcat - 2012-05-17 9:10 AM Greetings one and all. I am looking at getting back inti MHing after a long absence. I am going to look at a Benimar 6000 Anthus on a Ducatto base.Any advice on things to look out for would be welcome. It is all a bit different from my old Talbot Highwayman!! Cheers TCHave a look at this thread on motorhome facts. http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-87108-0-days0-orderasc-brownhills.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 Thanks for your help. I've read so many reports and looked at so many vehicles over the last couple of weeks my eyes now bleed on a regular basis. Having gradually narrowed it down we are looking at 5/6 berth with a rear lounge and this one seems to fit the bill. Going to look at the weekend so wish me luck. Having made the decision we just want to get on and do it!! Mind you all the grandchildren are queing up to go away with Nan&Grandad! they dont know we are buying it to get away from the little s**** :-D Will keep you informed. TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 t5topcat - 2012-05-17 9:06 PM Mind you all the grandchildren are queing up to go away with Nan&Grandad! TC Colin, If you are planning to take the little darlings away at any time then make sure your prospective purchase has adequate officially designated travel seats. The law changed in October 2007 and after that date passengers can ONLY be transported in designated seats and NO other! It is also not advisable to carry passengers in side facing seats or only wearing lap belts, so be very careful in your choice. There are also mixed views on carrying passengers in the rear lounge of a MH, what would happen in the event of a rear end shunt? HTH, Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Whilst in agreement with Keith's post. To clarify - the seatbelt law is retrospective, but I still wouldn't carry ANY unbelted passengers. (maybe not PC, but just give um a belt round t'ear, if they moan >:-) >:-) >:-) as me dad use to say) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yes Flicka, Sorry, I wrote my reply in a hurry and now re-reading it maybe it isn't totally clear. What I meant to say is that for any vehicle REGISTERED after October 2007 you can ONLY use designated seats (usually symbolised by a sticker showing a passenger wearing a seatbelt). For vehicles registered before that date you do not have to obey the rule but common sense is to always use a seatbelt and NOT sit in a side facing seat. Now isn't that a better explanation! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 That is one thing that has caused a lot of grief. Where do you find a MH with NO rear seat belts!!!! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oor Wullie Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Unfortunately there are a lot of motorhomes out there pretending to be 3/4 or more berths but with NO rear seat belts! Unbelievably, they still sell??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christina Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 our van was reg in auguest 2007 and we are traveling to france our daughter was thinking of flying out to meet us with are grand children does any one know what the regulations are for seat belts in france. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Our 22 year old 4 berth camper has seat belts for four........admitedly the two in the back are only lap belts but at least they're forward facing....but we have some......and if we emptied out the van and drained the tanks we'd be within payload aswell (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 19, 2012 Author Share Posted May 19, 2012 I was thinking of getting one with no rear belts as an excuse not to take them!! Seriously, there is no way any one will travel in the back without a belt let alone one of my grandkids. I am now looking at a kontiki 640 with 4 three point belts in the back. Looks nice in the pictures but will have to see it in the flesh to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Well, here we go.Taken the plunge and just bought a CI Riviera 181 with 6 belted seats. Picking it up in a couple of days. Looking forward to getting to know it. Any advice welcome. TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 No advice, just a caveat... I think CI Riviera 181s marketed in the UK normally had a 3850kg maximum overall weight to allow them to have a realistic payload when travelling with a full complement of passengers. The over-3500kg weight has UK driving-licence implications and there is always the possibility that the vehicle may have been 'down-plated' to 3500kg because of this. A 3500kg Riviera 181 is likely to be pretty tight on payload. No idea is this has relevance in your case, but it's worth mentioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 thanks for that I will check. I can drive it anyway but I will need to know the payload. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 After a weekend washing,scrubbing and polishing ( the van that is) we are starting to feel it is ours! Looking forward to our first venture. Need a new leisure battery but all else seems fine. Regards TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Good luck with your new toy Colin. May I suggest that if you intend to camp away from ehu for a day or two or more maybe fitting a second leisure battery is worthy of consideration? Buying two new 'uns together means that they should in theory be identical which is what the experts always recommend - and you might even get a discount for buying two? Did you sort out the payload issue - as being caught overloaded by a roadside checkpoint can be pretty inconvenient and expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Its plated at 3850 so shouldn't be a problem. I've sourced the battery locally so can get another if need be. Where I would put it I've no idea! Maybe have to modify the box under the passenger seat. I've ordered the biggest they had which is 115ah so will see how we go.I don't suppose we will be "going wild" for too long to start with. As an afterthought I have a power pack from my classic car days so if kept charged in a locker could always hook it up in an emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 The best place for a second battery is as close to the first as possible so that any voltage drop on the leads is kept to a minimum. Hooking a power pack up to a system with a flat battery will not help much unless you isolate the flat battery - but it is better than nowt!! See how it goes but a good fully charged 115 ah battery should last several days. It pays to fully charge the leisure battery on mains before leaving home as they take forever to charge via the alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Thanks for the advice. On another note. Calor or Flo Gas. I have one of each. Is the national network good with both? Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 You can get Calor pretty much anywhere in the UK - garages, sites, some garden centres whereas unless you have mobile internet or a list of, every Flogas retailer in the areas you are likely to need one - or have a spare full bottle you might be in for a long drive or a long hunt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 I guessed as much. I've now got an 11kg calor and a 6kg flo gas and hopefully a 6kg calor on its way so should be ok. Thanks for all the advice. Regards Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 TC Are you sure your Calor bottle is 11kg capacity? It's not a normal, readily-available UK size (see following link) https://secure.calor.co.uk/OrderCalorCylinders/default.asp?PageType=propane though 11kg Calor canisters are marketed in the Republic of Ireland. It's just that - if your Calor bottle is a 'funny' - you might have trouble exchanging it at a Calor agency. Calor has a cylinder exchange policy (see below) https://secure.calor.co.uk/OrderCalorCylinders/SuitableCylinderExchange.asp but this can alter and Calor agents are under no particular pressure to conform to Calor's exchange rules, nor to conform to Calor's suggested pricing. As you are probably aware, Calor agents will only exchange Calor bottles and Flogas agents will only exchange Flogas bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t5topcat Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have a friendly Calor agent ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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