manna777 Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 We are thinking of taking the plunge and moving from caravan to motorhome. We started of tenting, then trailer tent, then caravans - we have had 2 new ones, so have some idea of what we need. We are looking at fixed high bed models 4 berth with a large doored garage. We are looking to spend up to approx £30k as we wont need caravan, 4 x 4 and other bits. My question is, we think for this money we will be looking at a 2008/9 model. Approx how much will the motorhome go down in value in 3 years and 5 years? Also which makes seem to hold the value? If it was a caravan I would have some idea, this is a different kettle of fish. Thanks in advance. Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 Welcome to the forum, Wow, how long is a piece of string, and where do you start. From my personal point of view, I would go for a "luxury" european van, and if you have to go older, the depreciation will tend to be less. Feel free to ask on the forum, there are a lot of very informed people on here. Good luck, Ainsley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerThat Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 I've only been motorhoming for ten months and I'm finding motorhomes don't tend to depreciate at anywhere near the levels a car does! However, with a bit of time on the old interweb you can work out the depreciation of your desired vehicle :) Both Autotrader and eBay allow you to filter your searches by vehicle age, so pick a make / model and try a few searches, playing with the age on each. Granted this isn't an exact science as every model will be slightly different but it'll certainly give you a pretty good rough idea :-D That said, I'm sure you'll have no regrets, the amount of fun you'll have with a motorhome will far outweigh a deprecation. Life's too short, go enjoy it B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 manna777 - 2016-06-07 7:38 PM We are thinking of taking the plunge and moving from caravan to motorhome. We started of tenting, then trailer tent, then caravans - we have had 2 new ones, so have some idea of what we need. We are looking at fixed high bed models 4 berth with a large doored garage. We are looking to spend up to approx £30k as we wont need caravan, 4 x 4 and other bits. My question is, we think for this money we will be looking at a 2008/9 model. Approx how much will the motorhome go down in value in 3 years and 5 years? Also which makes seem to hold the value? If it was a caravan I would have some idea, this is a different kettle of fish. Thanks in advance. Sam Hi Sam and welcome to the forum. Your estimates and expectations may be about right although I think for a well looked after, low mileage Hymer or similar the prices may be a little higher than £30k. After some years with panel van conversions we moved last year to a coachbuilt Chausson Welcome 717GA for the extra space it offered plus fixed beds and Gagarin for the bikes instead of being in a bike rack. No regrets on that score as our first trip was 3 months in Spain over winter and it has everything we wanted. However (and you may have considered this in your research so far) one issue we had not taken sufficient account of was payload - especially with a rear garage model. As most of the weight (dependent on layout) may be already at the rear we found our Motorhome was not only 3850kgs fully loade (only plated at 3500kgs) but, worse, the rear axle was at 2240kgs instead of within the plated limit of 2000kgs. Fortunately, we are able to retrieve the situation as we love the large garage and fixed beds etc so didn't want to. Hangs the van again. SVTech have advised that we can replace it to 3850 but I have had to fit two new tyres on the rear with a higher load index and am off today to have air assisted suspension fitted to the rear axle. Then SVTech will do all the paperwork to submit to DVLA to replTe the Motorhome at the higher MTPLM. So, please take account of not just the gross weight but also the rear axle weight you may need when making your choice of vehicke. Good luck with the search. David PS the overall cost of the work will be about £1100 but it will be worth it for us even if it could have been avoided in the first place! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 david lloyd - 2016-06-08 8:09 AM manna777 - 2016-06-07 7:38 PM We are thinking of taking the plunge and moving from caravan to motorhome. We started of tenting, then trailer tent, then caravans - we have had 2 new ones, so have some idea of what we need. We are looking at fixed high bed models 4 berth with a large doored garage. We are looking to spend up to approx £30k as we wont need caravan, 4 x 4 and other bits. My question is, we think for this money we will be looking at a 2008/9 model. Approx how much will the motorhome go down in value in 3 years and 5 years? Also which makes seem to hold the value? If it was a caravan I would have some idea, this is a different kettle of fish. Thanks in advance. Sam Hi Sam and welcome to the forum. Your estimates and expectations may be about right although I think for a well looked after, low mileage Hymer or similar the prices may be a little higher than £30k. After some years with panel van conversions we moved last year to a coachbuilt Chausson Welcome 717GA for the extra space it offered plus fixed beds and Gagarin for the bikes instead of being in a bike rack. No regrets on that score as our first trip was 3 months in Spain over winter and it has everything we wanted. However (and you may have considered this in your research so far) one issue we had not taken sufficient account of was payload - especially with a rear garage model. As most of the weight (dependent on layout) may be already at the rear we found our Motorhome was not only 3850kgs fully loade (only plated at 3500kgs) but, worse, the rear axle was at 2240kgs instead of within the plated limit of 2000kgs. Fortunately, we are able to retrieve the situation as we love the large garage and fixed beds etc so didn't want to. Hangs the van again. SVTech have advised that we can replace it to 3850 but I have had to fit two new tyres on the rear with a higher load index and am off today to have air assisted suspension fitted to the rear axle. Then SVTech will do all the paperwork to submit to DVLA to replTe the Motorhome at the higher MTPLM. So, please take account of not just the gross weight but also the rear axle weight you may need when making your choice of vehicke. Good luck with the search. David PS the overall cost of the work will be about £1100 but it will be worth it for us even if it could have been avoided in the first place! Absolutely the best advice!!! Our Le Voyageur had the same problem, being overweight and with very little payload! I didn't have to change tyres, but SV Tech upgraded us from 3850kgs to 4100 which has significantly helped the problem. Our friends have recently ordered a new van in Spain, and had the manufacturer upgrade the max payload to 3850 from 3500, and they still only just have enough for the essentials! The basic problem is that "young" drivers are restricted to 3500kgs max, on their licence, hence makers are trying to keep vans below this weight (loaded) but this is really hard. So do check the payload available on whichever motorhome you are looking at, because it is very important, and also quite an emotive subject!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 The basic problem is that "young" drivers are restricted to 3500kgs max, on their licence, hence makers are trying to keep vans below this weight (loaded) but this is really hard. So do check the payload available on whichever motorhome you are looking at, because it is very important, and also quite an emotive subject!! Not only young drivers!! Over 70 restrictions as well. Don;t forget to look at UK vans also. Most on here recommend German/French vans. As Caravaners you are probably aware of Uk vans anyway. Pay load can be a problem, especially with 4 persons on board. You do not have the convenience of a car to put gear into, so you will probably have to pare down what you consider necessary, and what you can carry Good luck on your search. There are some disadvantages of a Mh, compared to a Caravan, but if you can ride a bike , then that helps for getting about, as some sites are a bit of the beaten track PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 Hi Sam and welcome to the forum, In light of the previous posts on GVW and specifically rear axle loading and the fact you say you want a large garage then may I suggest you look at Rear Wheel Drive vehicles as they typically have a higher rear axle load limit compared to a Front Wheel Drive model. For example, our 2004 Auto Trail is on a Mercedes Sprinter Chassis plated at 3,800 kg GVW and has a very respectable Rear axle limit of 2,240 kg. The same model on a FWD Fiat chassis had only a 3,400 kg GVW and rear axle limit of 1,900 kg. Some models (inc Garage models) where built on an upgraded 'Maxi' chassis with 3,850 kg GVW and 2,120 kg rear axle limit or this could be ordered as a 'Cost' option on others. Neither as good on the rear as the Merc! I rest my case :-) Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 When we took the decision to move from PVC back to a coachbuilt last year we wanted to buy a British van but there are very few that have the features that we (and the OP) wanted - high fixed bed(s) with a large garage beneath, preferably with large doors to accommodate bikes etc. There are one or two about but it seems to be a very continental layout and the one or two we did see just didn't have other requirements such as a large fridge freezer that are fairly commonplace on continental models. So we didn't really set out to buy a French built Motorhome but when it came up for sale it just so happened to tick most of the boxes for us - well, apart from the weight limits!, but that will be rectified shortly. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Hi Autotrail do a fixed bed 4 berth with a large garage but not a large fridge freezer, I think you may get a 2011 model Motorhome for that price.. We store 2 folding electric bikes in our garage, there is a choice of garage door sizes also.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manna777 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Right taking on board all thi advice, we havebeen out and viewed lots and lots of motorhomes today ?? We have found a couple we like but not enough to do a deal! We are going to look at an Adria vision 2010 i707sg, what do people think of these? I have seen mixed reviews! The garage is important, not for carrying but want to use it as a kennel for the dog when on site ?? This model seems to be 3900, and we pack light. Thank you for advice came in handy today ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globebuster Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 The earlier Visions were notorious for having a poor payload in standard 3500 guise. If the van has been uprated, check the exact figure - payload includes other aspects, not just your personal belongings. Adria's are well built in my opinion - but then I would say that! If you're after a decent garage there are plenty of other Adria models that would tick the box [other brands are available!] - unless you really want an A class of course. If your serious, get the dealer to provide a weighbridge cert, and check individual axle loads - this applies to any prospective purchase. Also be clear on what the van was laden with when weighed - how much fuel, water gas etc. Any dealer can make a van appear to have an adequate payload with a bit of 'jiggery-pokery' I'd love an Adria Sonic - but not sure I'd change my existing van for a Vision though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Globe buster is putting you on the right track. The overall weight can look ok but, if the Motorhome started out life with just (say) just 200 kgs of usable payload at 3500kgs then simply taking it up to 3900kgs may still not be enough. I note your comment about not needing the garage for too much stuff (mainly a dog kennel) but with our Motorhome the rear axle was already at its limit of 2000kgs without anything in the garage - simply because most of the heavy fitted items were toward the rear of the vehicke so it was due tontgis particular type of layout. As he advises, try to get a weighbridge certificate and note what has or has not been weighed with it. In particular liquids such as fresh water are very heavy so, again depending on where the water rank is located, it's important to factor such things in when making your final decision on whether it is suitable - not just for now but perhaps in the future if your needs change. You may one day wish to carry bikes in the garage, or and invalid buggy perhaps. We all hope not but its best to be prepared for various situations. The main thing is, if you do have a garage model it should be capable of carrying a good bit of weight - and that will be determined as much by the rear axle weight limit as the MTPLM. Best of luck with the search David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 manna777 - 2016-06-11 10:29 PM Right taking on board all thi advice, we havebeen out and viewed lots and lots of motorhomes today ?? We have found a couple we like but not enough to do a deal! We are going to look at an Adria vision 2010 i707sg, what do people think of these? I have seen mixed reviews! The garage is important, not for carrying but want to use it as a kennel for the dog when on site ?? This model seems to be 3900, and we pack light. Thank you for advice came in handy today ???? I have a "fold away" dog kennel which came with our van. Brand new and never used, although we opened it to see how it works. If you do want to keep your garage intact while on site, it could help you out. P.M. me if you want any more info, we have some photos of it, if need be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manna777 Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 Righ we have purchased an Adria Vision i707 sg. It has the odd problem and hubby has been sorting it all out. It looks like it had a bodger owner for a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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