Decision making!! (5 Viewers)

[JanGar]

Very nice, what model Hobby?

 

[Anthea M]

Thanks it's the Van T 500 we've had it for 2 years ,previously 2 Italian vans which had a nice spec but had water ingress problems and we wanted a winterised van so we can use it all winter!
It does Sometimes seem like its like a mind field while looking as there is so many variables and sometimes it's compromise ,( husband has to crawl over me to get into bed!!)

 

[JanGar]

I'll have look at it.

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[Lenny HB]

Size really depends on your usage, if planning on trips longer than 3 weeks I think you would find a bit bigger van a bit more comfortable. I would give the Brevio a wide birth Hymer dropped the Compact due to quality problems, the same van build in the same factory. The design does not do a lot for the ridgity of the shell.

As you are looking at German vans have a look at Link Removedself-importing is easy and you will save a packet.

 

[JanGar]

Thanks for the information Lenny, I will have a look at that website.

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Drive checked and ok. I want to buy asap its driving me nuts looking, it has consumed me for the last 4 weeks!
I am swithering between a few, a 2007 Hymer Van 572 model, Hymer Van 562 2010 model and Burnster Travel Van 2008, 570G.

They are all nice vans & part of the 'Hymer' group.

Great to see you've joined us, welcome to Motorhome'fun'

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[2spritelyislanders]

Besides having a test drive, have a test sit and lie down Some layouts look comfy but in reality they often aren't. Take your time and have a good sit/lie down in the van you choose and imagine it:
a) on a nice sunny day
b) on a cold miserable day

and ask yourself
a)will I be nice and comfy, relaxed, snuggly warm/chilled
b) will I be able to rustle up a tasty meal and eat it in comfort
c) can I see myself enjoying a beverage or two in comfort
d) will I be able to use the bathroom facilities in comfort
e) will I have a good night's sleep in this bed (and will I have to climb over the other half to get in and out )
and so on .........

by this time you'll be on a roll and your imagination will run riot you'll be well on your way to making the final decision and off in your new motorhome enjoying a wonderful lifestyle

Good luck and happy travels

 

[JanGar]

Great points, I will put these into practice when I next have a look, thank you.

 

[JanGar]

They are all nice vans & part of the 'Hymer' group.

Great to see you've joined us, welcome to Motorhome'fun'

Thank you, hopefully we will get something soon.

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[Techno]

we wanted a winterised van so we can use it all winter!

plus English Summer. Not a lot of difference I think its on a Wednesday this year

 

[Hils and Glenns]

Welcome! I am a fairly new member on here too.
We bought our van Hymer 542 in total ignorance with very little research. I think we've been fortunate in our accidental choice. We also wanted a 6m max van but the one we found 6.5 because it had a rear single bed that we thought was superfluous. How glad we've been that we went for that one. Having a rear bed gives us a garage and I wouldn't be without it now. Bikes, chairs, table, wet clothes, toilet blue, water carrier, silverscreen wet clothes, tools, crate for our bottles of beer and wine, and walking boots etc, etc. Also when we come back to the van we chuck our coats etc on the single bed. We're not very tidy.
We didn't think about the drop down bed being comfortable but luckily it is and I sleep better in it than I do at home. One draw back to the drop down bed is there's no where to put a drink of water if you get thirsty in the night and one of you has to sleep on the inside (me cause I don't get up in the night)
I like our hob which is larger than a most. I don't know how some fit even a couple of pans on. I like that the kitchen area has drawers rather than cupboard. Also like the large fridge and freezer. The compromise is the very small oven and a small sitting area with a big table.
I like that its winterised so its comfortable in the winter. The warm air heating even blows into the outside lockers.
The bathroom has lots of cupboards and mirrors.
If you go for an A class check that your drive is wide enough as well as for length. I'm a 67 year old woman and drive the van no problem and think I would be ok with a 7m van too. I think its more expensive to take a 7m on ferries though and you would have more problem parking it in supermarkets for example.
Sorry this is a ramble. Hope you get the right van for you. We've had ours a year now and are really into it. It is a steep learning curve though so make sure the person you buy from is prepared to spend a bit of time with you going through all the stuff.

 

[hilldweller]

Payload, not considered too much to be honest

The most important single consideration. Some vans would be overweight with just four bodies in them.

Length. 6m is "go anywhere, park anywhere". Bigger and bigger and the options get less and less.

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[maison]

I echo the suggestion that you try sitting down in the lounge area of the m/h for a reasonable period.

We found that, although the layouts looked comfortable at first glance, the seat backs in some dinettes were so vertical that they quickly became uncomfortable. No lower back support, and I have a back problem.

Try sitting there while looking through the owner's manual. It gives you an excuse and will introduce you to things you didn't know about. By the time you have read a bit you should get an idea of comfort, or otherwise.

Good luck.

 

[Lenny HB]

If you go for an A class check that your drive is wide enough as well as for length.

No width difference with an A Class quite a few (like mine) are narrower, one point worth mentioning A Class vans are easier to drive, the flat sides make getting through tight spots & reversing easier.

 

[2spritelyislanders]

Just another thing to consider If like us you take the grandchildren with you, beds and sitting space. Our baby A class Rapido (6.59 m) has a fixed semi island bed and an overcab bed. The granddaughters share overcab bed (without squabbling, cos it's huge) and when they go to bed we can still sit in front lounge. We can all sit comfortably in the dinette as the seats aren't too upright. Compromise on our van is small transverse kitchen but we manage very well with it. Have bought an electric hotplate and a small halogen oven which we use when on hook-up and have our trusty double skillet when on gas and really don't miss a bigger kitchen space at all.

Should also mention, this is our 5th van in nearly as many years one Auoquest, one Autocruise, two Boleros and now a baby A Class, which is definitely our forever van, honestly really truly it is

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[kcy]

Payload, not considered too much to be honest, I know its important but just thought 2 adults 2 kids, couple of bikes, some food and water, and we should be ok with that. Happy to take some advice though.

Don't be to blasé about the payload, some of us have had wake up calls on that one. You need clothes for four, toiletries,shoes,bike helmets, games, DVDs, iPads books or kindles. The list goes on. We ended up not taking our bikes. We're even having a gas tank fitted underneath to loose the weight of cylinders
Oh and Nice to meet you

 

[JanGar]

Welcome! I am a fairly new member on here too.
We bought our van Hymer 542 in total ignorance with very little research. I think we've been fortunate in our accidental choice. We also wanted a 6m max van but the one we found 6.5 because it had a rear single bed that we thought was superfluous. How glad we've been that we went for that one. Having a rear bed gives us a garage and I wouldn't be without it now. Bikes, chairs, table, wet clothes, toilet blue, water carrier, silverscreen wet clothes, tools, crate for our bottles of beer and wine, and walking boots etc, etc. Also when we come back to the van we chuck our coats etc on the single bed. We're not very tidy.
We didn't think about the drop down bed being comfortable but luckily it is and I sleep better in it than I do at home. One draw back to the drop down bed is there's no where to put a drink of water if you get thirsty in the night and one of you has to sleep on the inside (me cause I don't get up in the night)
I like our hob which is larger than a most. I don't know how some fit even a couple of pans on. I like that the kitchen area has drawers rather than cupboard. Also like the large fridge and freezer. The compromise is the very small oven and a small sitting area with a big table.
I like that its winterised so its comfortable in the winter. The warm air heating even blows into the outside lockers.
The bathroom has lots of cupboards and mirrors.
If you go for an A class check that your drive is wide enough as well as for length. I'm a 67 year old woman and drive the van no problem and think I would be ok with a 7m van too. I think its more expensive to take a 7m on ferries though and you would have more problem parking it in supermarkets for example.
Sorry this is a ramble. Hope you get the right van for you. We've had ours a year now and are really into it. It is a steep learning curve though so make sure the person you buy from is prepared to spend a bit of time with you going through all the stuff.

Great information, thank you for taking the time to write it.

 

[JanGar]

Don't be to blasé about the payload, some of us have had wake up calls on that one. You need clothes for four, toiletries,shoes,bike helmets, games, DVDs, iPads books or kindles. The list goes on. We ended up not taking our bikes. We're even having a gas tank fitted underneath to loose the weight of cylinders
Oh and Nice to meet you

Didn't know I knew how to be blasé, but try anything once. Your right though, everyone is saying the same thing, so I have to do more research, thank you.

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[JanGar]

Just another thing to consider If like us you take the grandchildren with you, beds and sitting space. Our baby A class Rapido (6.59 m) has a fixed semi island bed and an overcab bed. The granddaughters share overcab bed (without squabbling, cos it's huge) and when they go to bed we can still sit in front lounge. We can all sit comfortably in the dinette as the seats aren't too upright. Compromise on our van is small transverse kitchen but we manage very well with it. Have bought an electric hotplate and a small halogen oven which we use when on hook-up and have our trusty double skillet when on gas and really don't miss a bigger kitchen space at all.

Should also mention, this is our 5th van in nearly as many years one Auoquest, one Autocruise, two Boleros and now a baby A Class, which is definitely our forever van, honestly really truly it is

Happy for you finding the one you love, good tips on cooking - I was thinking the 3 gas burners are more like one split in three, thank you

 

[Lenny HB]

Hymer Vans on the Ford chassis have good payloads most are over 900kg.

 

[JanGar]

Thanks for that

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[Spidey]

We bought our first motorhome 2 years ago. We were nervous about the length and despite everyone saying not to worry too much about it we bought a compact 6 m. We loved the van but the storage was limited and everyone had to goto bed and getup at the same time. This was due to the bed being a drop down. We got lots right with that van plenty of living space and nice end bathroom. If it was the two of us and no kids it would probably be fine. We ended up with a back box to store chairs which meant no bikes.

We have just changed ours to a 7m van and everyone was right the length makes no difference in driving. We have kept the big lounge but also have a fixed bed. Lots of storage under the bed. We uprated it to give us more payload, which is very important. Hopefully we have it right now

 

[JanGar]

I think you have helped us make our final decision, we have just agree we need a bit of storage, looking at the Hymer 562, with back garage. Thanks for your help.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Didn't know I knew how to be blasé, but try anything once. Your right though, everyone is saying the same thing, so I have to do more research, thank you.

There's a limit to the amount of payload research you can do as almost all dealers and manufacturers will lie through their teeth about it.

All you can do is when you find a van that you think might work insist that the dealer or seller takes it to a weigh bridge.

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[Spidey]

Hymers are lovely vans we bought a CL 554 which has the french bed layout.

Good luck with your search, are you thinking of one like this ?

?

 

[Petest]

We were governed by length.
We went with a over cab coach built. Upper bed has chairs, table, bedding and some other bits stored in while travelling. Lower area has a comfy lounge which converts to a double.
One of our main considerations was can we see the tv and still lounge around in comfort

 

[JanGar]

No, looking at the 562

We were governed by length.
We went with a over cab coach built. Upper bed has chairs, table, bedding and some other bits stored in while travelling. Lower area has a comfy lounge which converts to a double.
One of our main considerations was can we see the tv and still lounge around in comfort

What model did you go for?

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[Lot lover]

Our choice was based on layout and price or price and layout. On reflection it was the former. There are only 2 of us and we did not want a fixed bed but we did want a bathroom with space for the fuller, non-contortionist figure and we could have upped the spend a bit if necessary.

The greatest shock came when we visited the dealer and found a vast number of nearly-new MH all way above the paltry amount we were prepared to spend. Surely that many owners cannot have been divorced or died within months of spending a fortune, can they?

You will have to live with your choice so don't be rushed into a quick decision. The rest of us have chosen on the basis of our wants and needs that may have little relevance to yours.

BTW we were looking for a Hymer until we chose our Le Voyageur.

 

[JanGar]

I have found a MH, just one niggle I'm not sure about. It is a H Travel Van 562, looking at the front bonet, it has a ford badge and not the HYMER logo written in to it. I'm maybe just a bit suspicious but I can't see any other bonnets that have this, they all seem to have the HYMER, possible from end damage repair? Or do you get bonnets without the HYMER logo?

 

[bellabee]

Yes, you get them without the Hymer logo.

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