New to Motorhomes

[Chris Rock]

Hi all ,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and need some guidance... Having owned  caravans now for some 14 years, we've now decided to take the plunge into the world of Motorhomes.

I've a drive that can take a max of 6m in length and looking for a 2 Berth Van conversion or coach built motorhome. But can't decide on either. Layout isn't an issue but my concerns lay with damp. I've been told stick to van conversions as they are all steel where as coach built will retain a ply floor etc.

Of course as it's our first venture in this world my budget would be around 40k for a used one...

Any pointers on make, models and ones to stay clear of ?

Many Thanks All

Chris

[Labby]

Hello Chris , My 2015 Autocruise Rhythm is a 6 meter van conversion and it is Peugeot Boxer based with plenty of windows that can be opened (except the one behind the sliding door, unlike some) , It is two berth only and it suits us well and would be worth a look at (the later ones are sold as a Swift Select 122).

[Derek Uzzell]

Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Chris.

A GOOGLE-search on buying first motorhome will retrieve an abundance of guidance and there's also a booklet  that you might find helpful.

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/motorhomes/store/reader-offers/

It's certainly true that, where damp is concerned, a steel bodied 'campervan' should present less risk and, to stay (just) within your 6-metres length limit and maximise the internal space, a campervan built on a Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer/Citroen Relay base with a 5.99m length would be the obvious choice.

Campervans have never held any attraction for me, so I'm not in an unbiased position to advise on good or bad makes/models.

You might find this link useful 

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/for-sale/campervans

[breakaleg]

We have a 5.7 meter Auto Sleeper Nuevo.

Works great for us, we have over forty years two Panel van conversions and four coachbuilt vans, the only time we had water ingress was on a five year old Elddis auto quest 115.

Pete

[GandJP]

I have to say that I have owned six coach built motorhomes and yes one had a leaking roof vent that had to be replaced (Swift) but only one ever had any damp issues and that was an Autocruise Stardream that had some damp in the floor right at the rear end. Yes you do need to be careful whan you do buy one but certainly dont let that stop you getting a coachbuilt over a van conversion which really is not the same thing at all as they are a campervan and not a motorhome. Yes I know you can do exactly the same thing in either but the size difference for me means I only ever have a motorhome, far too big and old for a van.

 

Edited August 29 by GandJP

[Derek Uzzell]

While there's no doubt that the internal volume of a sub-6m-long coachbuilt model will be greater than that of a same-length PVC, there's equally no doubt that a coachbuilt model will be more vulnerable to damp problems than a panel-van conversion.

I've owned three coachbuilt motorhomes - a secondhand 1996-built Herald, a new 2005 Hobby and a new 2015 Rapido. The Herald was damp-free during my ownership (1999-2004): the Hobby had massive condensation in the overcab area (a design fault) and a leak through the transverse seam over the cab (both faults corrected by me): immediately after taking delivery of the Rapido and parking it nose-high, rainwater cascaded through the badly-sealed roof into the rear garage (again corrected by me).

There are plenty of online entries about the pros and cons of 'coachbuilt' motorhomes versus panel-van conversions - GOOGLE-search on coachbuilt versus panel van conversion