Brands that are better made

[Guest pelmetman]

goldi - 2019-11-07 4:57 PM

 

Geeco - 2019-11-07 3:36 AM

 

HymerVan - 2019-11-06 10:07 AMi think it is quite difficult to  ore modern vans have more toys e.g. microwaves or whatever and in order to keep weight below the 3500 kg limited this has lead to lighter forms of construction. Looking at a brand new (European as it happens) van recently I felt that the construction was vey light and therefore wondered about longevity.

 

With the max weight of 3500kg to drive on a  standard UK car licence I wonder if this has caused manufacturers to sometimes go right to the limit on the weight vs strength equation? A good example of my point is recently I needed to replace the bathroom toilet vertical door jam as the screws from the bottom hinge has caused the jam to split. It is a very light item that was made from what looks like MDF. The replacement item was an aluminium extrusion a little heaver however I am sure much stronger. The split was probably caused by our rough country roads that make short work of light weight products. Another item is the little grey locking tab on the flyscreen/blind system. I have replaced all at least once as they split across the middle. If made of aluminium not plastic I am sure they would not break. Maybe a move to a 4500kg upper mass limit on a standard drivers license would change the weight/strength dynamic. cheers,

 

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,

 

 

Dead right Geeco, For decades I have thought that 3500kg has been an overstressed chassis.

 

 

Eh? :-S ........

 

As far as I'm aware the up rating of vehicles built this century is just a paper exercise? :-| ........

 

ie........No physical changes except possibly of the tyres? ;-) ......

 

 

[Clive_Adams]

IMHO where European/German vans scored over British vans was in space utilisation, how long did it take uk manufactures to incorporate the cab seats into the design?

My first motorhome was British, a Bessacarr, a well known and respected marque of a quality low volume product, in 1995 they were taken over by the Swift groups, so in 2000 when I bought mine the quality had already began to drop, the design was still fixed cab seats no armrests, and when I eventually threw mine in after a year I bought a Burstner T605, the difference in build quality and space efficiency, proper seats and fixed bed and also ambiance, and the faultless build quality, nothing rattled and nothing fell off, it wasn’t draughty.

The drive ability and all else were miles apart, hence the preference for the European vans ever since.

I would only say to the OP after sifting through all the options, drive train to layout, etc. etc.you will eventually come to price point, Look at the best of British v the best of European at your budget, I know where my money would go.

Just as an aside, does anyone know of a motorhome sales person who actually owns or used a motorhome, mind the same question could be asked about some of the designers.

[Guest pelmetman]

Clive_Adams - 2019-11-07 5:36 PM

 

IMHO where European/German vans scored over British vans was in space utilisation, how long did it take uk manufactures to incorporate the cab seats into the design?

 

1990 ;-) ......our passenger seat is on a swivel :D ..........

 

Plus we get to go upstairs to a ready made bed......Just need to flip over a section and place the ladder.......We also have more kitchen worktop space than vans that cost 200+k 8-) ......

 

I doubt we could live full time in a new van........too much bling and not enough functionality based on my umpteen years experience :D .........

 

BTW our van is well under 6 mtrs which means we are still tour'able B-) ..........

 

 

[Clive_Adams]

Very similar front end design to my Bessacarr, I did the same with the passenger seat, got a swivel installed. The drivers seat was a no go as it backed on to the dinette which doubled as the second front double bed after the usual jigsaw puzzle routine of moving bits around. Recall it was that draughty driving from the two cab door storage bins we had to put the pillows in them, happy days

[jumpstart]

You could consider having one built . For example Devon Motorhomes will build one on a 2nd hand van. I was quite impressed with their build quality.

[Nicepix]

Regards Clive Adams post above; Our last van was a 1986 Le Voyageur based on a Citroen C25 chassis that we sold on only two years ago.

 

It was 5.25 metres long yet had a swivel passenger seat, cantilever double bed above the cab, three burner stove, blown warm air heating, a larger wardrobe than we now have in a 7 metre more modern van, toilet / shower room with a large waste tank for the toilet and a LPG tank that only needed around €7 of gas a year. The cupboards and Draylon upholstery were almost like new when we sold it. There were no draughtsand there were less squeaks and rattles than in our friend's almost new Pilote which was so draughty they had to dress like skiers when travelling in winter. Everything in that vehicle was solid. That is what I looked for in the replacement.

[Les W]

We've owned our fifteen year old Autosleeper Inca for three and a half years and covered 16,000 miles in it.

 

Everything works as it should, nothing has fallen off, not had any reason to go back to a dealer, it's a delight to drive too.

 

Also worth mentioning is that it seems a lot lighter than more modern stuff, fully loaded with two bicycles, full tanks etc,it tipped the scales at 3100kg, that didn't include the wife and me, (about 150kg), or food in the fridge.

 

See no reason to change it, though emission controls may become an issue at some time.