Please Can People Explain To Me...

[cbrookson]

We have looked at new and recent motor homes at shows and found nothing that matched ours, and make us want to change:

9 000 pounds to buy, ABS, power steering,5 speed manual gear box, cruise control, all the luxuries you could want. OK, the Mercedes diesel does just over 22 mpg, and we can't drive into low emission zones .... if I won the lottery I might be tempted, but I doubt it! Don't feel to guilty either about having it on the drive when we are not using it, as the road tax and insurance are so low.

Cheers

 

[hilldweller]

My experience is the older the motorhome the better the build quality, what a sad thing to have to say

Almost.

If your experience was wider you see 1950s engineering that lasted tens of thousands of miles not very reliably then something like the 80s with modern machine tools and methods 100,000 200,000 being achieved and much less rust.

Then the EU and college grads come along. Cut emissions, add electronics to do this, add more electronics because we can and it's cool. These grads have no experience of The Real World so they don't know or care about a 10 year old vehicle let alone a 20 year old one.

In the 80s they would have laughed at the absurdity of replacing cam belts every 5 years when they knew a chain was just about for life.

So my guess it there was a peak somewhere in the 80s of vehicles "built to last".

 

[dickieo]

Back home in Spain now , Our 1995 Hymer B 534 completed 3636 miles , from here to UK and back , no problems . I would not change her for anything else , best buy i have ever made .

 

[Snowbird]

You could always look at it this way.. Say you buy a quality MH new costing upwards of 80K, you drive it to the nearest campsite and its then worth 60K. You keep it for 3 or 4 years its then worth 25K on a good day.
Joe Punter comes along and pays 25K for it and runs it for 10 years and its still worth 15K when he sells it. I only ever bought one new vehicle in my life and that was on my accountants advice. He obviously earned his money a lot easier than I earned mine. I lost 8K the first year.
Having said that, I am very happy that some people do buy quality motorhomes new, am happier still that its not me that's taking the hit :thumb:.

 

[hilldweller]

Interesting point of view and one that I have nearly always subscribed to. I used to run old Land Rovers and an old Triumph motorcycle. They broke down regularly,

Both ancient Brit engineering. Crude. But fixable. Before the Japs taught the world Quality.

One day, I bought a new Honda m/c to replace my Triumph.

Honda destroyed Triumph on quality and innovation. This was the start of the revolution, as I see it, caused by WW2. Both the Germans and the Japs retooled because we destroyed their old kit. They were re-born with quality. We, the victors, carried on with our old tools and attitudes.

Best piece of engineering I've ever owned was a Honda VFR750. The last carburettor and no computer model. I got rid only because it no longer suited my old body, it should run forever.

We had a new Beetle for 5 years and 86000 miles and 4 services later, It never missed a beat

Same experience with a Golf. 100K and it was a better vehiclel at that mileage than the Rover I replaced it with. Got rid of that at 55K. Last of the old Brit rubbish.

if the do break down in the middle of somewhere remote, your stuck.

And worse, the fault maybe a software fault ( common ) and the makers can charge you what they want for a new computer and there's little you can do about it. This I know from an honest guy who works in the service dept of a major German manufacturer.

It means that today's vehicles are going to have a much shorter life due to financial constraints. Daughter had an Astra. The computers fail on them and a computer costs more than the car was worth.

Anyway, the choice between an old or new van was easy to make.
Mrs A wanted a van with a toilet nobody had ever used...

Had to be done, because she's worth it.

Allan

See red.

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[GJH]

See red.

Why? Nothing to anger anyone in what you said is there?

 

[hilldweller]

Why? Nothing to anger anyone in what you said is there?

 

[Emmenay]

a motorhome is essentially a base vehicle with a habitation space. A vehicle becomes more unreliable and unsafe with age and wear, it is safer and much less hassle to replace a base vehicle once over a certain number of years. I wouldn't drive anything older than 8 years because by that time unseen rust will be an issue (as will various other component's) and the only time you will find that out is in an accident when its to late.oh:

Spoken like a true motorhome salesperson or a very gullible buyer.....or could it be somebody that just neglects their home on wheels

 

[Snowbird]

My old RMB is now 23 years old with 170000 on the clock. I have had a few issues with it like having to replace the original radiator and fan clutch, two tyres and the original TV .

We have just replaced the original carpet with vinyl flooring, not because it was worn out but it makes life easier for the cleaning staff. At the same time we had the upholstery recovered, not because that was worn out, but because the cleaning staff fancied leather.

All the cupboard doors still have original hinges and locks and work as they did when they left the factory. It has every modern amenity that a new van has, except an on-board computer fitted by the factory. I don't need an on board computer, I have a perfectly good laptop.

I must admit its not the fastest thing on the road, but it does weigh 6.5 tons with the trailer on and fuel consumption is not that good, but I do know that it will get me anywhere I want to go and back again, as will be proved again over the next couple of weeks as we are off to Germany on Sunday,again.

 

[Chris]

I buy new because they smell nice:thumb:

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[GJH]

I buy new because they smell nice:thumb:

I knew there had to be some reason for making the mistake of replacing a Burstner

 

[Larby]

I buy new because they smell nice:thumb:

Here's a cheaper method.

 

[Chris]

I knew there had to be some reason for making the mistake of replacing a Burstner

Yes. It had lost its new smell so it had to go

 

[rainbow chasers]

To be honest, a well maintained vehicle of some years old is often a little better than what it new at present. On the reliability stakes, some of ther older engined ones are commercial based, and though a little noisey and maybe slower will go on forever if maintained well. You can add your own comforts without worrying about resale value - as when they hit a certain age, they don't really depreciate very much at all.

I think people go for newer vehicles for the following reasons;

A little 'better than the neighbours'
Fear of Damp
Fear of Reliability /finding replacement parts (usually ancillaries).
Creature comforts, all built in and shiny
Modern interior design.

Benefits of older vans;

They do the same thing as a 50k one - if you have spent 5k then you have many trips ahead of you.
Interiors can be fitted out on a DIY basis with no fear of resale losses - it will only gain appeal if done well.
Engines are basic, cheap clutches, cheap service parts, basic oil and no electronics.
Build quality is subtantially better - even if a little aged. But you can sort that out.


I am actually quite taken with the idea of the next one being an oldie........we have more fun in our old caravan we rebuilt from ground up, than our nice new motorhomes.:thumb:

 

[DP+JAY]

I keep wanting to change my 16 year old Autotrail Scout.
I can afford to if I want to, but the problem is--

Spend my savings on a vehicle that will devalue my money or keep what I use most weekends now and in Europe sometimes and is well built and keep my money.

I can run @60mph all day and do what a 2010 MH can do.

All it needs is some repairs from time to time but no more than any other later ones.

I could keep my MH running for the next 10 years if I keep it in it`s indoor storage and do what needs doing:thumb:

And keep HWMBO indoors from keeping on about a bigger fridge

I know the feeling, the big fridge is the holy grail.
We are on our second van, after being tuggers for 20+ years.
The first was a 1993 Frankia which was bought as a "trial" to see if we liked camper vanning.
This one was bought as it was the nearest we could find to the ideal van(for us) without spending "ridiculous" money, and have been looking for a van ever since that ticks all our boxes including the BIG fridge.
Lincoln will be our last attempt & if we can't find it there then it may have to be another modification, or two, to re-vamp the washroom( its just badly laid out) & fit a BIG fridge.

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[Snowbird]

I know the feeling, the big fridge is the holy grail.
We are on our second van, after being tuggers for 20+ years.
The first was a 1993 Frankia which was bought as a "trial" to see if we liked camper vanning.
This one was bought as it was the nearest we could find to the ideal van(for us) without spending "ridiculous" money, and have been looking for a van ever since that ticks all our boxes including the BIG fridge.
Lincoln will be our last attempt & if we can't find it there then it may have to be another modification, or two, to re-vamp the washroom( its just badly laid out) & fit a BIG fridge.

Having ran a couple of American RVs in the past, the big fridge was one of the things I missed most in a Euro van. I got round this problem by spending £60 on ebay for a second hand 3 way fridge freezer that fits in the garage/locker. This system keeps the inside staff happy as there fridge is not cluttered up with important stuff like beer and the outside staff happy as there beer is always cold.

 

[Terry]

To sum all this up then ?back to OP (JJ) own words -self build rools :thumb:
Change what suites when the fancy takes Plus done well you may make a little money instead of losing £1000, s done badly you still only loose a little
Terry

 

[daisy mae]

Mine is 11 years old, I know not old to many of them, I want a larger model I want to stay with the VW Auto sleeper route, can I get one no, pps are holding on to them, the model I want they haven`t made for years, I have seen older vans and they are very comfortable and have everything that you could wish for, or maybe not if you like the high tech stuff, to me that takes something away from the "camping " bit, maybe that is just me, Had more fun in my first car decades ago than I think you can get in a more modern one, also I don`t think the new MHs look homely, certainly not as well made with real wood etc. just my opinion, I will stick with the older van just need to find the one I want. :Sad:

 

[Fireman Sam]

When we were thinking of acquiring a Motorhome we considered our needs and realised that they were quite specific. My wife has limited mobility without a wheelchair, so we wanted something with a reasonable amount of room, decent kitchen and a large toilet/shower compartment. We initially thought that we could get something suitable for about £10k, but most of those we looked at in that price range only had two travelling seats (we wanted four) and unsuitable toilet compartments. We also wanted a low mileage vehicle.

We thought we were stumped until I saw an Ebay ad' for a 1997 Ducato/Kon-tiki 650 with a huge rear toilet/shower room for £15K.
I checked it out, it was unmarked, had only 36k miles on the clock, and it ticked all our boxes. The seller accepted £14,500 and we went away happy. Since then I have spent about a further £2K on it and it now suits us pretty well.

Would I have bought new? I don’t think so. To get what we wanted we would have had to spend mega bucks and would not be much better off in terms of comfort and reliability. I don’t think we would enjoy our Motorhome travels, as much as we do, if we had taken a big hit on depreciation and our savings. As it is we can do just about everything y owners of new MHs can do, at a third of the potential outlay. I guess we were just lucky that the right MH became available at the right time.

 

[MR. FUSION]

Also remember the guy who posted about a non euro compliant vehicle and the nightmare of navigating Euro LZ's. Personally I like to stay in the nearest campsite to the city centre I am visting You just cant do that in older vehicles.

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[DP+JAY]

Having ran a couple of American RVs in the past, the big fridge was one of the things I missed most in a Euro van. I got round this problem by spending £60 on ebay for a second hand 3 way fridge freezer that fits in the garage/locker. This system keeps the inside staff happy as there fridge is not cluttered up with important stuff like beer and the outside staff happy as there beer is always cold.

Yes we have done the extra fridge in the "garage" (waeco combicool 3 way) & it works well when travelling or on hook up but more of a problem on aires etc.
Thought about plumbing it in but it would have to be a permanant fixture & I'm reluctant to give up the locker space.

 

[Snowbird]

Yes we have done the extra fridge in the "garage" (waeco combicool 3 way) & it works well when travelling or on hook up but more of a problem on aires etc.
Thought about plumbing it in but it would have to be a permanant fixture & I'm reluctant to give up the locker space.

I have mine with a 12 volt socket in the garage, also a 220volt socket in the garage and a spare gas bottle strapped in there that runs the garage oven and fridge on gas. Covered for all eventualities. The fridge sits behind the oven in the photo.

 

[DP+JAY]

I have mine with a 12 volt socket in the garage, also a 220volt socket in the garage and a spare gas bottle strapped in there that runs the garage oven and fridge on gas. Covered for all eventualities. The fridge sits behind the oven in the photo.

Likewise (apart from the gas bottle & oven) but what about the fumes?
I have run mine from the gas BBQ poin, during the day with the door open, but have to turn it off at night because of the heat & risk from the exhaust.

 

[Snowbird]

Likewise (apart from the gas bottle & oven) but what about the fumes?
I have run mine from the gas BBQ poin, during the day with the door open, but have to turn it off at night because of the heat & risk from the exhaust.

I just leave the garage door open during the day when parked up and switch it off at night. It wont warm up much during the night as long as you dont open the door. I run it on 12 volt whilst on the move and on mains when we have hookup. Its switched on mains at the moment chilling down ready for a trip to Germany tomorrow. It will then be plugged into the 12 volt socket in the garage until we stop, everything will be well chilled by then. I did think about fitting flexipipe to the exhaust similar to what's on the Eberspacher exhaust and a fridge gas outlet in the side of the van, but its hardly worth it.

 

[DP+JAY]

I just leave the garage door open during the day when parked up and switch it off at night. It wont warm up much during the night as long as you dont open the door. I run it on 12 volt whilst on the move and on mains when we have hookup. Its switched on mains at the moment chilling down ready for a trip to Germany tomorrow. It will then be plugged into the 12 volt socket in the garage until we stop, everything will be well chilled by then. I did think about fitting flexipipe to the exhaust similar to what's on the Eberspacher exhaust and a fridge gas outlet in the side of the van, but its hardly worth it.

Yes thats the same, but as I say I need the garage space as we usually travel with 2 dogs &/or children.

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[jhorsf]

Perhaps you should start a new forum called motorhome snobs. Then you could all look down on us peasants in our second hand vehicles and second hand awnings and have a good laugh. I would think there are enough of you out there for a new forum.

The peasant bit was a bit of banter for someone who often calls himself a Prince for fun maybe he will get "his people" to explain it

it was a bit of fun an answer most took as a joke so if it did really wind you up it was not meant to Teepee.

 

[Teepee]

The peasant bit was a bit of banter for someone who often calls himself a Prince for fun maybe he will get "his people" to explain it

it was a bit of fun an answer most took as a joke so if it did really wind you up it was not meant to Teepee.

Thanks for reply,I know it was banter hence the silly reply. No offence taken, and I hope my reply didn't offend you,

 

[artona]

Its a British thing to stack up the economy by buying fast depreciating assets

 

[DP+JAY]

The peasant bit was a bit of banter for someone who often calls himself a Prince for fun maybe he will get "his people" to explain it

it was a bit of fun an answer most took as a joke so if it did really wind you up it was not meant to Teepee.

Dissapointed, nay, gutted. I was with you.

 

[Wildbill]

I don't think he was being serious

maybe he was

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