Swift Suntor/payload

[dutchwoman]

Hi.

 

I am considering the purchase of a used Swift Suntor 590RS. I cannot find weight/payload information but I believe the Suntor is basically a limited edition Sundance. The Sundance 590RS has a payload of 388kg. Any comments on Suntor or 388 kg payload welcome.

I would particularly welcome the following

 

a. Confirmation of Suntor payload.

b. Comments on Suntor generally and speciifically seating layout/beds.

c. Comments on a payload of 388kg generally. We would probably travel with max. 2 adults and 2 small children. Is 388kg enough for 2 adult + 2 bike month abroad?

 

Thanks

[Mel B]

dutchwoman - 2012-09-30 2:24 PM

 

I would particularly welcome the following

 

a. Confirmation of Suntor payload.

b. Comments on Suntor generally and speciifically seating layout/beds.

c. Comments on a payload of 388kg generally. We would probably travel with max. 2 adults and 2 small children. Is 388kg enough for 2 adult + 2 bike month abroad?

 

Thanks

Yes it will be the same as the Sundance 590RS but is a Brownhills 'dealer special' so they usually have different graphics and furnishings and often extra equipment from the 'standard' Sundance.

 

a. Difficult to confirm the payload as the Sundance was produced for a fair while on different Fiat bases so without knowing exactly which year (and which Fiat base) it is on, so can't check.

 

b. We actually had a Swift Suntor 590RS! Bought it new in 2001 from Brownhills - it was a nice van however we found the heating to be abysmal with all of the produced heat going up into the roof/ceiling from the convector heater and us freezing down below! The layout is a popular one for families with a good amount of space for lounging around, I can't remember the width of the dinette bed as for ease we used to just have 2 singles (me on the sofa and hubby on the dinette bed) but I don't think its that wide so you need to check, anything under 4ft is too small IMV. The seating/beds were very comfy from what I can recall ... it was a long time ago!

 

c. In my view a payload of 388kg isn't enough ... 2 x adults about 150kg fully clothed, 2 small kids say 40kg, that's 190kg, leaving only 198kg for everything else ... bikes along could take another 38kg of that, so then you're down to 160kg.

 

Just something to check - there have been a lot of Swift vans produced with 'faulty' floors - they get damp in and it is a major problem to get them sorted ... make sure you get a proper inspection done and a damp check of the floor (it's not normally checked) of any Swift van you're after.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Dear oh dear..Please take nothing for granted. Have a look at trackers thread where his van was 5% over so an unusable payload. Insist on a visit to weighbridge as part of deal and walk away if they refuse, plenty of vans out there *-)

 

I have found German vans offer better payloads so do my shopping there

[Tracker]

And don't forget to allow for such as extra battery, satellite system, roll out awning, microwave, and any other bits and bobs added over the years as these extras eat into the payload with a vengeance!

 

Personally I find the newer Sundances flimsy, poorly made with rattly interiors - I don't know if the older ones were better made?

[dutchwoman]

This one is 2011. Low mileage too

[Guest JudgeMental]

So what.....dont be seduced by eye candy. weigh the thing

[DuxDeluxe]

Put another way, don't be tempted to let the heart rule the head............. There are a lot of good vans out there, especially in the price range of this one. I did look at a Swift bolero but was put off by the lack of payload. Every thing you chuck in the van seems to actually weigh more than you think. Back to the thread - sub 400kg payload isn't a lot at all as said above. Then you have to insider the rear axle load as well. As above, Weighbridge before the deal, if the dealer is really wanting to sell it.

[rupert123]

dutchwoman - 2012-09-30 3:51 PM

 

This one is 2011. Low mileage too

We bought a new Sundance in 2008, had it nearly four years and covered 32,000 miles. It had none of the things Tracker listed as problems and did not miss a beat with no problems at all during this time. Swift backup best around and would not hesitate to buy another. Swift payload quotes are good, ours actually had a little more payload than advertised. If you are carefull would see no problem with this payload, some carry so much stuff around they will always struggle, and the van can in any case be upgraded if you wished. They are very well equiped for the price and the damp floor problem is 'old news' only the older models.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Did I read that this was intended for a family of 4? *-)

[dwaviation]

Weigh it - Especially the back end. 388kgs is not enough for 2+2

[Derek Uzzell]

dutchwoman - 2012-09-30 2:24 PM

 

Hi.

 

I am considering the purchase of a used Swift Suntor 590RS. I cannot find weight/payload information but I believe the Suntor is basically a limited edition Sundance. The Sundance 590RS has a payload of 388kg. Any comments on Suntor or 388 kg payload welcome.

I would particularly welcome the following

 

a. Confirmation of Suntor payload.

b. Comments on Suntor generally and speciifically seating layout/beds.

c. Comments on a payload of 388kg generally. We would probably travel with max. 2 adults and 2 small children. Is 388kg enough for 2 adult + 2 bike month abroad?

 

Thanks

 

Swift's current website is more than a mite ambiguous when it comes to defining weight-related terminology, but a Sundance 590RS's Mass In Runnimg Order (MIRO) is described as follows:

 

"The Mass in Running Order is the mass of the unladen vehicle including a 75kg allowance for the driver plus engine coolants and 90% of the fuel tank / water tank & gas capacity."

 

(This is pretty much the standard motorhome MIRO formula nowadays.)

 

The first question is whether the 388kg brochure payload of a current Sundance 590S is less or more than the brochure payload of a 2011 Suntor 590RS. However, assuming that the Suntor matches the quoted MIRO of a Sundance 590RS, the 388kg payload figure would initially increase/decrease unless the vehicle's driver weighed exactly 75kg. Any accessories (eg. an awning) fitted as standard to a Suntor 590RS, but not to a Sundance 590RS, would erode the 388kg payload.

 

Then you'd need to subtract the weight of the passengers you planned to carry and allow for "personal effects". A rule of thumb for the latter is to allow 10kg per person (2 adults + 2 children = 40kg) and 10kg per metre (or part metre) in relation to the motorhome's length (between 6 and 7 metres length = 70kg). You'd then need to allow for accessories you chose yourself (eg. a bike-rack and bikes).

 

You could increase the motorhome's payload a fair bit by travelling with the fresh-water tank nearly empty, and less significantly by using lightweight gas canisters, but that can be an optimistic ploy and not one I'd be happy with myself.

 

As has already been warned, motorhome MIRO weights can vary (normally upwards) from brochure data, and even a relatively minor increase in the actual MIRO can cause a disproportional impact on the motorhome's usability if the payload is small to begin with.

 

I don't know which manufacturers can be relied on for accurate brochure MIRO figures. Auto-Trail has been said more than once on this forum to build 'heavy' and an article in a French motorhome magazine comparing brochue and MIRO weights of a sample of coachbuilt models found the actual MIRO of two of them (both German-built) to be way beyond the brochure data. It's definitely something to beware of.

 

I echo Mel B's view that a 388kg payload may be inadequate but, if one could be certain the vehicle you are interested in actually has that payload, it may be enough for your stated requirements. As JudgeMental advises, as you are (rightly) concerned about this, insisting that the vehicle be weighed before committing to purchasing it would be sensible.

 

I'm wary of the payload quoted for many motorhomes marketed on a 3500kg, particularly the larger ones. Even if a motorhome's quoted payload seems plenty adequate, it may be worth having it confirmed (via a weighbridge) before buying it.

 

While it may be technically practicable to increase a 3500kg motorhome's payload by 'uprating' (as Tracker is doing), it's a damage-limitation exercise as far as I'm concerned unless the buyer's intention was always to uprate. A motorhome deliberately built to the 3500kg limit, and bought with no intention to uprate, will normally be an uncomfortable compromise. Additionally, UK driving-licence regulations are increasingly restricting drivers to a 3500kg vehicle weight-maximum, so the secondhand-market attractiveness of a 3500kg motorhome uprated beyond that threshold should be expected to decrease as time passes. There's also the risk that unpredicted medical circumstances may cause a driver's licence entitlement to be restricted to 3500kg-or-below vehicles.