Motorhomes

[former member]

While there could be a time we need a bigger van, what totally puts me off is the tiny engines they all have and the FWD.

Does anyone (except the huge Yanks barges) makes a RWD or 4wd motorhome with an engine that can actually pull them up a hill?

Many seem to be 130bhp yet weigh around 3-5 tonnes!!

 

[former member]

Own question answered...

Hymer M-LT 580 4x4 Motorhome For Sale - Travelworld Motorhomes

 

[mhill]

My parents are selling this beast, 2009 Stunning Hymer C 682 CL 7 Berth Motorhome Ford Transit Zephyr Very Low Mileage | in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex | Gumtree 2.2 RWD it s not fast but a comfy cruiser though not my cup of tea.

I think I would get a nice LWB Sprinter 4x4 and convert it my self. I can't stand the chassis cab conversions most if not all just look like oversized ice cream vans.

 

[former member]

Pretty cool.

I saw a van in Galicia a bit similar to that Sprinter; raised, 4x4, snorkel, etc and nicely decked out. About four years old. Could be something like that one day but needs to be 4 berth.

Anyway, very happy with ours for now and it actually embarrasses some cars, especially uo hills!

 

[CRD]

My parents have a new Bailey motorhome, is around 7.5 metres long, weighs 4.5T and is powered by a Peugeot 2.2 litre 130hp engine.
It was only 2 days old when I 'borrowed' it for a long weekend visit to Glencoe back in May. Needless to say, I managed to get it stuck in the soft grass surrounding the hard standing pitch I'd booked as we were late arriving (as usual) and it was pitch black by that time. Needed the help of around 10 fellow campers and a load of wooden planks to get it dug out. Had to hide the damage to the grass with strategically positioned camping furniture....
To be fair, on the road, ok you are not going to win any races, but it barrels along happily enough at 70 on the motorway so not too bad.

 

[chriscroft]

We don't stay over in our vw vel van, because we have too much stuff, and the mrs likes her luxuries.
We have had exactly the same dilemma.
Nearly all motorhomes are on either fiat or iveco chassis. The Peugeot 2.2 engines are very week, compared to the fiat 2.3. You can re-map a fiat a lot further as well.
There are some rear wheel drive transit twin axels such as roller teams, but if i am honest they are poor quality, and coming from a VW, you will not be impressed.
Depends what you want to spend, but we stuck to £60k and went for an Autotrail Mohawk now called an Autotrail Sorrano (2017), 7.5m long, 180bhp fiat with a garage, and total luxury. it is frontwd but has a skid control/ electric front diff lock, and if you fit Cooper st max 225/65/16 tyres on the front axel, it will a long way off road, a lot further than you would think, and it pulls really well. We love it. We drive at 75mph all day long, but we do have extra VB air bags fitted to the rear suspension to improve things, and it will go up hills no problem at all at 75mph as well. There are virtually no vw crafter based motorhomes, and the merc sprinters/ iveco daily cost £100k ish.

 

[Sackmycook]

MH chat moved to this thread to help keep the advert readable for potential buyers. Ads_Essex 08/06/24

We're selling our Bamboo Green camper as we're up-sizing. The van is in good condition and has been looked after well - it has had VW warranties from new and currently has the VW all-in extended warranty/VW Assist/Service Plan that can be transferred to the new owner.

Base van is a Highline Spec with tailgate so has:

• DAB Radio
• VW Nav
• Bluetooth
• Multifunction steering wheel
• Reversing sensors
• Heated windscreen
• Rain Sensitive Wipers
• Automatic Headlights
• Cruise control

It was a JOBL conversion from new in 2019 with:

• 2 captains chairs with arm rests and swivel function
• SCA pop up roof with roof bed
• 120cm RIB bed
• DOMETIC 2 burner+sink unit with glass top
• 49L Webasto cruise fridge/freezer
• 60L freshwater tank
• 30L waste tank
• Hot and cold water (hot when on hook up)
• 2KW Eberspacher diesel interior heater
• 240V RCD with sockets
• 12V fused power distribution with USB sockets
• 85Ah Leisure battery
• Factory VW 12V battery charging control
• Complete thermal insulation
• Rear speakers
• LED lighting system
• Full black out curtains
• Removable table (table top brand new)

Extras to the standard VW/JOBL spec:

• Apple CarPlay/Android Auto
• Evo Motion Over Sink Cupboards
• Duvalay custom pop top mattress
• Fiamma F45S Awning
• Thule Wanderway 2 Bike Rack
• Campervanparts movable & removable Roof Bars

Great high spec conversion with Full Service History. The cambelt was changed in Mar '23. It has had a couple of things replaced under warranty - heater resistor in '23 and a new Discovery Media Unit last week - other than that it hasn't missed a beat. It has an Mot until March '25. Full set of Michelin Agilis Cross Climate All Season Tyres with plenty of tread.

It's only real issue is a scratch to the sliding door - not through the paint but can be seen. We have the official VW two part paint set to touch it up.

Based Bedale North Yorks

What are you up sizing to ?

If I was going back to T6, this would be perfect for us. But I'm not...no, definitely not, no,no,no.....

 

[Tigger7]

Are you sure you don't want to go back - it's an easy step to make

Falling for the draw of a fixed bed and a shower - but nothing bigger than 5.5m. Will definitely miss the T6 tho - if funds allowed we'd have both!

 

[Sackmycook]

My MH has the fixed bed, shower and the bonus of a humongous garage.....and it's around 5.5m

 

[Tigger7]

The humongous garage would be the holy grail, but we're looking at a van conversion rather than a full MH - one requirement is it has to fit in a standard parking space and not look too out of place in a car park at work!

 

[Bav]

My MH has the fixed bed, shower and the bonus of a humongous garage.....and it's around 5.5m

Swap?

 

[moomin-j]

If I was going back to T6, this would be perfect for us. But I'm not...no, definitely not, no,no,no.....

As an added bonus @Sackmycook - it's also in the best colour...

You know you really want to come back to the T6 Forum family

 

[Sackmycook]

I was anticipating that input John

 

[Andyf]

@Sackmycook which Motorhome did you go for

 

[Sackmycook]

A Bailey Approach Compact 520, 2014 vintage. 2 berth but 4 seats, supposedly aimed at the day tripper/ upmarket surfer folk. Their words not mine

 

[Andyf]

We had an Elddis Evolution 135 but the build quality wasn’t great
We have had swifts before that, I think they spoiled us build wise