flyboyprowler Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Good morning from still sunny Spain, Having decided that our first motorhome was going to be either a Laika, or a Burstner, we are thrown into confusion, as we have been offered a Le Voyageur, at a very fair price. It's 2 berth, on a Merc chassis, auto, RHD, and well equipped. I believe that there are Voyageur owners on this forum (Peter are you there?) so could I please have your views on the beast, your thoughts would be MUCH appreciated. Many thanks, Ainsley (lol) (?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 If it's got the layout you want, my advice is to buy it while you have the chance, as they are rarer than hens teeth. We've had ours for 2.5 Yrs and we love it. They are top quality vehicles and are usually built to order only with bespoke interiors. We have the 675 LVX 2 berth with the only bed being the electric drop down one with rear bathroom. You won't get any damp problems either, as they are all grp mouldings, with the roof made in one piece and caps the side panels. The is also no wood in the panels for reinforcement as it is all built around an aluminium frame. They usually come fully loaded with solar panel and a lot of other extras. Burstner are also good, but nowhere near as good as LeVoyageur. We've had both so we do know the difference. Go for it. Which one are you interested in, and how old?. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Thank you Peter for the reply, and really good information. This is a 2 berth van 2 years old, one owner. Rear island bed, RHD auto. The price is fair, and the equipment good. I have to say, I do like it, and am having a test drive tomorrow. Will report back on the result. My only niggles, do we need 4 berths, and can we get a 4th travel seat certified, as it only has 3. Prefer LHD, but I think I have been convinced that it is not essential, the auto is nice! Thanks again, Ainsley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Hi Ainsley..You say you are down in Spain, permanently or on holiday? This presumably a UK registered van, just make sure all paperwork legit, and its there's to sell! Plus get a HPI check. From what I understand impossible to register a RHD van in Spain......just a few thoughts :-D I'm down here as well and weather unbelievably good..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 As JudgeMental warns, registering a RHD motorhome in Spain may be a real challenge http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=709944 I'd also be very wary of the 4th-travel-seat idea if the vehicle has originally been homologated with just 3 designated travel seats. While LHD is clearly not essential for driving in countries with 'right-hand traffic', it's certainly an advantage. As we don't motorcaravan in the UK, we have chosen to have a LHD motorhome and I would be extremely reluctant to revert to a RHD one. Driving on the right with LHD means there is no reliance on the passenger when it comes to overtaking decision-making and the passenger is not confronted by oncoming traffic. If you are going to keep the motorhome in Spain, it would make better sense to buy a LHD vehicle that's already registered there and that has sufficient designated travel seats for your requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 All taken on board! Yes, at the moment we are in Spain for around 9 months a year. The intention is to travel Europe in the van, and take it back to UK for occasional visits, and tax and MOT. A friend has also said that there would be problems to register it here if required, but there may be a possibility if the vehicle is made to a euro spec. Weather fab, 26 degrees, but cloudy today, and we actually really need some rain!! B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Thanks Derek, If I could have my wish list, it would start with LHD auto. We have searched high and low, both here in Spain and in UK, but the auto is the stumbling block. If a van has that, then the rest doesn't fit the bill. The only way to get it "perfect" is to buy new, and the budget won't support that! There is a LHD Laika Kreos here in Spain that fits the bill, but is new and manual, but at a good discount, and if this Voyageur falls through, then we may compromise and take a look at it again. I can live with RHD, as this Voyageur is on offer at a good price, and will get us started in motorhoming without losing too much in depreciation. It's a conundrum!! *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 flyboyprowler - 2013-10-23 9:40 AM All taken on board! Yes, at the moment we are in Spain for around 9 months a year. The intention is to travel Europe in the van, and take it back to UK for occasional visits, and tax and MOT. A friend has also said that there would be problems to register it here if required, but there may be a possibility if the vehicle is made to a euro spec. Weather fab, 26 degrees, but cloudy today, and we actually really need some rain!! B-) I would really caution against that hope..... Totally agree with Derek, I would only consider a LHD and best and biggest market for these is Germany. Just have a look on www mobile.de for comparisons.and even UK or German ebay good for LHD vans I'm in Benidorm and its a bit cloudy today..sounds like your nearby :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Yes, Mobile.de was useful, and as you say, there are some vans that fit the spec. We are just back from the test drive of the Voyageur, and I have to say, really impressed with the overall package. The price appears to be a "bargain", and we now have to decide if this is to be our first motorhome. In any event, if we buy this and don't get on with it, then we will not lose much, if any money on the deal! I really appreciate all your input and help, it is invaluable. Of course, only we can make the final decision, and I think that it will be to go ahead. The UK trips will be ok as the tax and future MOT all fall when we are normally in UK. Also the main habitation door is on the RH side, and as it was built in France, I am told that, if required, we can get it matriculated in Spain. But that is in the futuere!! We are in the Mojacar area of Almeria, and pleased to say the weather has cleared up again!! Take care, Ainsley (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigal55 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 All taken on board! Yes, at the moment we are in Spain for around 9 months a year . i think the max u can have a vehicle registered in the uk in another eu country is 6mths, the french & spanish police are hot on this, unlike our own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 well...If it seems to good to be true..It probably is! 8-) I would be contacting selling dealer with a photo and details of seller to confirm he owns it and his to sell....These vans prettyrare so should be easy to get providence...sound like a distressed sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 There was an article in the February 2013 issue of MMM magazine about a couple resident in Spain buying a LHD motorhome in the UK and exporting it to Spain. The article was headed "Buying the right motorhome in the UK was easy, but exporting it to Spain was more difficult than ex-pat Liz Langley expected". Warnings were given about the '6 months rule' bigal55 mentions and that "...it is unlikely that you will be able to register right-hand drive vehicles such as vans and commercial vehicles". Le Voyageur motorhomes are rare in the UK, may well be rare in Spain, but there are plenty in France and I'd expect a fair proportion of those to have an automatic gearbox. For example http://www.paruvendu.fr/a/caravaning-occasion/camping-car/1187462436A1KVCACC000 If you can leave the RHD vehicle registered in the UK and tax, MOT and insure it there, I guess you should be OK legally if you are travelling around Europe the rest of the time. But, if you want to register the vehicle in Spain, I suggest you try to check with the appropriate Spanish authorities whether on not RHD would be a genuine show-stopper. That the Le Voyageur "is made to euro spec" isn't hugely relevant - if anything is going to be problematical regarding Spanish registration it's going to be the RHD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Hi We have a levoyageur 850. Island bed,2 rear travel seats, efoy 1600, pure sine wave inverter, Alde central heating, leather 2 tone seats, 3 ltr engine, manual gearbox for better economy. Inside and out like new,just under 3 years old. Auto dish, sat nav, Spare wheel,refillable gas bottles. Electric awning. I've probably left something out. Coming up for sale soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 26, 2013 Author Share Posted October 26, 2013 Derek Uzzell - 2013-10-24 3:37 PM There was an article in the February 2013 issue of MMM magazine about a couple resident in Spain buying a LHD motorhome in the UK and exporting it to Spain. The article was headed "Buying the right motorhome in the UK was easy, but exporting it to Spain was more difficult than ex-pat Liz Langley expected". Warnings were given about the '6 months rule' bigal55 mentions and that "...it is unlikely that you will be able to register right-hand drive vehicles such as vans and commercial vehicles". Le Voyageur motorhomes are rare in the UK, may well be rare in Spain, but there are plenty in France and I'd expect a fair proportion of those to have an automatic gearbox. For example http://www.paruvendu.fr/a/caravaning-occasion/camping-car/1187462436A1KVCACC000 If you can leave the RHD vehicle registered in the UK and tax, MOT and insure it there, I guess you should be OK legally if you are travelling around Europe the rest of the time. But, if you want to register the vehicle in Spain, I suggest you try to check with the appropriate Spanish authorities whether on not RHD would be a genuine show-stopper. That the Le Voyageur "is made to euro spec" isn't hugely relevant - if anything is going to be problematical regarding Spanish registration it's going to be the RHD. I just heard that a friend, at this time has his RHD Hymer in for Spanish matriculation. It is being handled by a local agent, and seems that as long as the habitation door is on the pavement side, then it should be OK, RHD doesn't seem to matter, as the vehicle is registered as a private comercial. We have decided to keep ours on UK plates, certainly until the guarantee expires, and see how it goes. The 6 month rule is, of course relevant, but we intend to be on the road enough for it not to be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted October 26, 2013 Author Share Posted October 26, 2013 Den - 2013-10-26 5:39 PM Hi We have a levoyageur 850. Island bed,2 rear travel seats, efoy 1600, pure sine wave inverter, Alde central heating, leather 2 tone seats, 3 ltr engine, manual gearbox for better economy. Inside and out like new,just under 3 years old. Auto dish, sat nav, Spare wheel,refillable gas bottles. Electric awning. I've probably left something out. Coming up for sale soon Sounds lovely, but I would want an auto, so good luck with the sale!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 We had a 987M Le Voyageur for 6 years, auto and cruise control, it was fine with the many niggles that were sorted, easy for an engineer. It eventually went due to narrow roads, difficult to keep clean, difficult to shop, congestion traffic in the road where we live, went everywhere done everything, I'm too fussy about nuisance niggles, I want simplicity, we are 2 day campers and not 2 month stayers and had enough of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 I just thought I would update this post, after 2 1/2 years should anyone be interested in buying a Le Voyageur. We bought the van after much deliberation and have been delighted with the experience and love the van. The factory at Angers has been superb, and fixed any minor problems free of charge. So much so, we are now considering another Le V, slightly bigger, but I would encourage anyone looking at a van to consider one made before 2011, as the construction moved to a production line and build quality, although still good, shares a lot of parts with Pilote, and some say, have lost their individual appeal. The factory remains helpful and this is one of the selling points IMHO. RHD has been no problem, and the auto after 25000 miles has returned 24 mpg. Very comfortable, no leaks, and no major problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Our previous van was a 2007 Pilote Explorateur and was perfect when we lived in France. We did a factory visit and they provided us with our own interpreter as we were the only English visitors. We were very impressed with the factory and the staff. We had this van for 4.1/2 years until we came back to live in the UK and we found it too big for what we wanted to do here but I would recommend Pilote/Le Voyager anyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron. Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 One thing you should check is the available payload on that van. Le Voyageurs have always had a good reputation for build quality but some models had very little payload. It was the reason we were put off them some years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 ron. - 2016-04-13 3:32 PM One thing you should check is the available payload on that van. Le Voyageurs have always had a good reputation for build quality but some models had very little payload. It was the reason we were put off them some years ago. Yes, true, and we had ours upgraded by 400 kgs now no problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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