JandK Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hello everyone, we have decided we want to buy our very first motor home, and we have decided that it's a minefield out there, hours upon hours of surfing the net and just get more confused by the minute, so any advise will be welcome. There is just me, my husband and my 3 cocker spaniel girls, we need an automatic, and a garage would be helpful. I have been told to go for a Mercedes, but so many MH are Fiats and you get so much more choice with a Fiat, but are the Fiats with comformatic gear box any good? We are interested in the benimar mileo, but really not sure, it's a huge amount of money to shell out if they are no good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campfos Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hi and Welcome to the forums. Motorhomes are generally about what will work for you. You need to draw up a list of all the things you want in it ie garage, type of beds , size of van , layout type front or rear lounge and payload. Now on base chassis the Mercedes auto is a better drive, but the Fiat I have now is a better road holder. The comfortmatic gearbox takes a bit of getting used but works ok again these are my observations based on having both types of Motorhomes. Now on the subject of a garage I think this is a very important item for storage to keep the motorhome tidy but again there is a greater choice of European models with this feature. Now I have a Sunlight T 66 comfortmatic with a garage and two single fixed beds which I like as it just on 7 meters long with simple electrics which just fits on my home driveway. I also think the two single is better than the transverse double as you have to climb over each other and climb down a ladder to get to the toilet if you need to go. But one of the best things you can do is to hire a van and go away for a few days to see if it works for you if not try another layout. This may seem a little costly to do but will save you money in the long run. As I read somewhere it takes you three Motorhomes to find the right one. By the way I am on my second van now which as I said I like. I am sure others will have different ideas but theses are mine and we only have one Dandie dinmont dog who has been to Ireland twice now and he loves the van. That the only advice I can give. Campbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hello JandK an welcome. I have a Fiat Comfort-matic with the 2.3l 130 bhp engine. It's a bit slow off the mark in first gear and can get a little confused with gear changes on the up, down and around roads in the Pennines. Gear changes are smooth enough. After 21 months and 17,000 miles, I'd say it does what it is designed to do and seems reliable enough. Occasionally, I will change gear manually but for something like 98% of the time in the UK, I let the Comfort-matic do the gear changes. The Merc would be better but it would cost quite a bit more. The Fiat is a reasonable compromise of spec, price, and reliability. As for Benimar, they have only started exporting to the UK again in the last couple of years. Work out what you want to do in the motorhome, whether there are any size restrictions for wherever you intend parking the van when not in use, and whether you have the C1 entitlement on your licence to drive a vehicle up to 7500kg and not just 3500kg. A sizeable garage usually mean a double bed across the rear of the van rather than two single beds length ways. Let us know and about any other special needs you might have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hi JandK It may be useful to create a spreadsheet of your needs, after viewing a few models. Budget, Size, Payload ( the weight you can put in the van) Features it must have, features that you would like & those you don't. Many of these can be checked on-line. It will enable you to shortlist a few vans to concentrate on & try to view. If possible a trip to the Motorhome Show @ Peterborough (Mid April) will give you an opportunity to view loads of vans. See the SHOWS icon at top right for info. Good luck with your search but be prepared that it may take a while. Don't let the heart rule the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hi JandK It may be useful to create a spreadsheet of your needs, after viewing a few models. Budget, Size, Payload ( the weight you can put in the van) Features it must have, features that you would like & those you don't. Many of these can be checked on-line. It will enable you to shortlist a few vans to concentrate on & try to view. If possible a trip to the Motorhome Show @ Peterborough (Mid April) will give you an opportunity to view loads of vans. See the SHOWS icon at top right for info. Good luck with your search but be prepared that it may take a while. Don't let the heart rule the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Hi JandK It may be useful to create a spreadsheet of your needs, after viewing a few models. Budget, Size, Payload ( the weight you can put in the van) Features it must have, features that you would like & those you don't. Many of these can be checked on-line. It will enable you to shortlist a few vans to concentrate on & try to view. If possible a trip to the Motorhome Show @ Peterborough (Mid April) will give you an opportunity to view loads of vans. See the SHOWS icon at top right for info. Good luck with your search but be prepared that it may take a while. Don't let the heart rule the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Sorry finger trouble - triple post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Sorry finger trouble - triple post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JandK Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Thank you for your reply everyone, we are off to the Peterborough Show in a couple of weeks, so no doubt we will get even more confused, but it's an interesting journey and we learn more every day, and I'm sure we will find the right MH in good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 We'll be down for the show so if you want to spend a little time with a sounding board or a cuppa, feel free to give us a shout. We're on our 6th motorhome in 21 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Welcome to the forum. If you don't find anything suitable at the Show, at least there are a number of local Motorhome Dealers in the North East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I'd suggest first buying this book: http://tinyurl.com/pvxmruf It should guide you through much of the minefield. It contains a wealth of information, and will answer many questions - including a lot you haven't yet thought of! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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