Truma Combi 4 or 4E

[1ten]

I am trying to work out what options we will probably specify when we order our van, Globecar Campscout Revolution.

The one I am a bit stuck on is whether it is worth paying the extra to have the Truma Combi E over the gas only version. We stay on a mixture of places and probably have hook up more than not.

Is there any great benefit of having the gas and electric version over the gas only. is it worth an extra £573!

[colin]

I can never get my head around the pricing of this on Globecars.

We are more often not on EHU so choose the non electric version.

Even if we had the 4e and used EHU I'm not sure it would pay it's way, if on a site i'd rather use their showers than steam up the van, and if doing any amount of washing up site facilities are usualy much bigger than a vans sink which in most cases doesn't have a proper drainer, this just leaves heating, and in winter when we are more likely to use EHU we carry a electric heater.

[Robinhood]

I like having the 'E' option, as with hook-up, once up to temperature the 1.8KW output is enough to keep our Campscout toasty in the coldest of weather without resorting to gas.

 

In the very coldest of weather, I also prefer it to gas when turning the thermostat down and leaving it on overnight to avoid "freezing up". (Sometimes, simply leaving the water heating on high overnight is enough to hold jack frost at bay).

 

It *is* difficult to justify on a purely financial basis, but it will reduce gas consumption significantly in colder climes, which may be of advantage overseas (unless you choose to fit refillables, in which case it becomes less of an issue).

 

Only you can judge how much use you will make of heating, and thus balance the convenience and cost.

[Robbo]

If you mainly stay on sites where EHU is included in the site fee, then the electric model may be desirable.

 

The power output on electric is less than on gas but you can combine gas/electric, if necessary.

 

You can purchase a lot of gas for the extra £573 required for the gas/electric model.

 

Suggest you look at the whole life cost, purchase to resale. Future purchases may be put off by a gas only system, especially if they intend to use mainly in UK.

 

If touring within Euro land, you should be able to use electric water heating but it might be more difficult to use space heating, bearing in mind the lower amperage available.

 

 

[dragonflyer]

We have the electric heating function, in spite of the high initial cost.

 

We mainly use commercial sites in the winter and EHU. Thus we use the campsite power and conserve our gas supply. It has been troublesome at times getting hold of the lightweight Calor cylinders.

 

We spend considerable time in the summer at festivals where there is no EHU but rarely need the heating.

 

Finally, it depends on how long you plan to keep your new van.

 

Joyce

 

[Gerry McG]

I imported a globecar from Germany in January i only got the 4 - the 4e was extra - but the 4e was standard on the UK models with the “UK pack” - i decided that i could pit a regular 240v heater into the van if i was going to be on H/U for a fair bit less than the 4e upgrade cost

[Derek Uzzell]

colin - 2017-09-11 8:40 PM

 

I can never get my head around the pricing of this on Globecars...

 

 

Globecar are far from unusual in askiing £500+ for opting for the “E” variant of a Truma Combi heater instead of a (standard) non-E version, and this can easily be confirmed by looking at other motorhome manufacturers’ price-lists.

 

Besides the premium demanded by Truma for Combi E appliances, the need to provide the heater with a 230V power-supply needs to be taken into account. The latter may be very straightforward or - if the heater and mains ‘distribution box’ are nowhere near each other - much trickier, but either way there wiil be an extra cost that will be passed on to the buyer.

[colin]

In the case of a Campscout the Consumer Unit and Truma are approx 4" apart, being in adjacent compartments, the mains lead would either go straight throu the panel the consumer unit is fixed too, or more likely the cable would follow the route of the the cable to the Electrobloc which passes the Truma compartment with a large access hole.

[Derek Uzzell]

That would be much the same for my Rapido 640F, but opting for a Truma Combi 6E (instead of the standard Combi 4) was still priced at £470 in 2015.

 

A Combi 6E was part of the Rapido UK ‘pack’, together with a gas oven, split-top table and carpets. I would have liked a Combi 6 (not the 6E), but did not want the gas oven and wasn’t concerned about the table or carpets, so I chose to not have the complete ‘pack’.

 

When on EHU I use a 230V fan heater for air heating, just as I did with my Hobby motorhome that had a Truma C-6002EH heater.

[Brian Kirby]

1ten - 2017-09-11 8:00 PM

 

I am trying to work out what options we will probably specify when we order our van, Globecar Campscout Revolution.

The one I am a bit stuck on is whether it is worth paying the extra to have the Truma Combi E over the gas only version. We stay on a mixture of places and probably have hook up more than not.

Is there any great benefit of having the gas and electric version over the gas only. is it worth an extra £573!

Depends how long you'll keep it, how much time you spend motorhoming in cold weather, and how long you spend away each year. Assuming a 13kg propane is in the region of £30, you can buy about 19 cylinders for £573.

 

We started motorhoming in spring 2005. Since then we have spent about 165 weeks in three coachbuilt vans, spring and autumn, mostly on the southern continent, almost exclusively on sites. We have never had an E version of a Combi, all being gas only. We have used 14, 13kg cylinders, in that time, so we have 5 to go before we will have spent £573 on gas! :-D