Are motorhomes becoming too complicated? (1 Viewer)

[Geo]

I love mine
I get in turn the key, loose the handbrake, the hydraulic jacks retract and beep when they're done. I start the engine first go, wind down the windows electrically for some air. Select auto and put my foot down and by complete surprise it starts moving like magic and!! it changes gear for me as we go faster

Until it doesn't

1.As your stranded because your jacks wont lift
2.As your going no where because it wont see your key
3.As you glide away in first gear and stay there because it wont change up
4.As you sweat in your cab because the window wont go down
But at least the handbrake was mechanical and that worked
Ps for electronic handbrakes insert "Dont " in front of glide in 3
Its only complicated because it is
try this simple test
Stuck in middle of nowhere and your throttle wont work
would you prefer to be looking for
1.A piece of string
2. A man with a computor and PHD in electwonics
Anyone who thinks today's vehicles are anything at all to do with progress has not got a single automotive or technical brain cell in his/her body
and in the world of Nature is a Sheep not a Shepard

 

[Chris51]

Until it doesn't

1.As your stranded because your jacks wont lift
2.As your going no where because it wont see your key
3.As you glide away in first gear and stay there because it wont change up
4.As you sweat in your cab because the window wont go down
But at least the handbrake was mechanical and that worked
Ps for electronic handbrakes insert "Dont " in front of glide in 3
Its only complicated because it is
try this simple test
Stuck in middle of nowhere and your throttle wont work
would you prefer to be looking for
1.A piece of string
2. A man with a computor and PHD in electwonics
Anyone who thinks today's vehicles are anything at all to do with progress has not got a single automotive or technical brain cell in his/her body
and in the world of Nature is a Sheep not a Shepard

Think the deadline came after the Euro 4-after that everything became too unecissarilly complicated so causing problems.

 

[My Dog Likes Fishing]

Take your 20 year plus vans up in the Alps skiing in -20 degrees off grid and watch them freeze. Come back from a days skiing hang the gear up in the garage and the central heating dries it nicely overnight. No dual floors to stop your tanks freezing and no solar to charge your batteries. Use our van all year and even in this country it makes life easier. Try to make a phone call home but your phones flat due to no inverter. Get a water leak from a seal that's dried out and it becomes a mammoth restoration job as the old insulation methods used retain water and rot away. We all use our vans in different ways and the way i use mine i need and like the modern technology and all the gadgets. I do like to see the old vans on the sites though and quite often admire them close up. They normally start off many a conversation with strangers. Just not for me and my way of touring.

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[Barclaybasher]

Take your 20 year plus vans up in the Alps skiing in -20 degrees off grid and watch them freeze.

How many brand new British vans would not freeze?, my van built 25 years ago by Hymer, (steel-framed) is well insulated and kept me warm in January last year in snowy Central France - but I'm not really into cold weather, or skiing..........

 

[Geo]

Think the deadline came after the Euro 4-after that everything became too unecissarilly complicated so causing problems.

The diesel engine truly became over complicated when it was moved from a Dumper truck to a motor car, they added an electric starter motor, 1st breakdown car wont start, starter packed up meanwhile on the building site across the road Paddy swung his starting handle and was away
Remember you only NEED Diesel and Compression and you have a bang All the rest are wants and refinements every time you take away a cable and add a sensor you invent 5 new reasons for failure

Take your 20 year plus vans up in the Alps skiing in -20 degrees off grid and watch them freeze. Come back from a days skiing hang the gear up in the garage and the central heating dries it nicely overnight. No dual floors to stop your tanks freezing and no solar to charge your batteries. Use our van all year and even in this country it makes life easier. Try to make a phone call home but your phones flat due to no inverter. Get a water leak from a seal that's dried out and it becomes a mammoth restoration job as the old insulation methods used retain water and rot away. We all use our vans in different ways and the way i use mine i need and like the modern technology and all the gadgets. I do like to see the old vans on the sites though and quite often admire them close up. They normally start off many a conversation with strangers. Just not for me and my way of touring.

You have missed the point totally age has little to do with it gadgets have nothing to do with it, we are talking so called progress or as I refrer to it as built in failures
Sensors to tall an engine when its hot or cold, fly by wire instead of a throttle cable, ecu and circuit boards, instead of fuses your older vans proberbly had a cast iron pot belly stove installed 200% more efficient than your modern truma heater and care to place a bet which will fail first.
There is a very fine line between progress and progress for progresses sake, the Manf have simply lost the plot, bet you can't wait for the first driverless Mo Ho, you can then stay at home and send it Skiing on its own

 

[Techno]

... when's your boiler going to fizzle out though Andy, you've got that nice new spare one sitting there gathering dust and your old one will take the huff one day and say "sod ya then, use the other b*gger!" ...

Even the failed boiler will have a residual value for spares or be repairable

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[Bobby22]

How many brand new British vans would not freeze?, my van built 21 years ago by Hymer, (steel-framed) is well insulated and kept me warm in January last year in snowy Central France - but I'm not really into cold weather, or skiing..........

Hey @Barclaybasher, your forgetting something, your 21 year old van, when it was made, was cutting edge. It was made with all the latest technologies and state of the art gadgets.

Are you being a hypocrite???

Hope my new automatic fridge doesn't break though.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Modern appliances, whether in the MH or home have a built in obsolescence

One central heating boiler manufacturer, had millions of pounds of 'old' spares - because the boilers rarely broke down.

They decided to 'skip' the lot and that all their new boilers would have a designed, built life of 7 years so that they could reduce the cost of keeping spares............ and increase the sales of new boilers.........

.........

 

[Barclaybasher]

Hey @Barclaybasher, your forgetting something, your 21 year old van, when it was made, was cutting edge. It was made with all the latest technologies and state of the art gadgets.
Are you being a hypocrite???
Hope my new automatic fridge doesn't break though.

The 25 year old 'bits' on my van are all still working, I bought it when it was 23 years old........ will today's vans and their 'bits' fare so well in 25 years?

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[Techno]

The 25 year old 'bits' on my van are all still working, I bought it when it was 23 years old........ will today's vans and their 'bits' fare so well in 25 years?

A worrying trend is more brand new vans have product recalls almost immediately.

 

[Bobby22]

A worrying trend is more brand new vans have product recalls almost immediately.

What about Rapidos?

 

[Techno]

What about Rapidos?

Will they get complicated? I don't think they have the brains. They can't even get payloads right and con many buyers into vans that shouldn't be on a light chassis.

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[Brakers]

An inventor said to me, “find something which does not need a solution or works perfectly well and then invent something to replace it which does the same job” I said like what, he replied we all had window winders in our cars which worked perfectly well, but someone invented the electric window!
Best Wishes Tony

 

[Techno]

It's not complicated until you can say "left window down 10%" and your van is controlled by app

 

[Deleted member 29692]

It's not complicated until you can say "left window down 10%" and your van is controlled by app

Wasn't @Gromett working on the early stages of controlling parts of his van via a mobile app?

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[Techno]

I control my boiler by Android app

 

[Barclaybasher]

I control my boiler by Android app

only tool needed........on my van

 

[Gromett]

Wasn't @Gromett working on the early stages of controlling parts of his van via a mobile app?

Yes, That project is still in the works. However it is designed not as a replacement for existing stuff that works but as an addition. I have the parts for the first stage sat in a box for when I get time to make a start. Been busy the last 18 months trying to get a new business up and running. Stressful.. But going well now so I should start having time for these "little" side projects again.

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[JJ]

Take your 20 year plus vans up in the Alps skiing

Anyone who goes skiing deserves to freeze...

... not that I would in my 29 year old Hymer 660S with it's super (simple) gas fired heater with the option to blow the hot air around the van to seven manually controlled outlets if one wants.


JJ

 

[Barclaybasher]

Take your 20 year plus vans up in the Alps skiing in -20 degrees off grid and watch them freeze.

Most Motorhomers are heading South in the Winter for +20 degrees

 

[jockaneezer]

I remember having to make replacement cills for my Mk 11 Escort in the tin basher's shop on nightshift. Weekends previously spent de-coking my FS1E were replaced with dwell meters, points and condensors and re routing crappy HT leads that shorted everytime it rained and the delight of watching combustion via a Gunson's Autotune ! I watched the Hairy Bikers pootling around St Petersburg on a Ural sidecar outfit yesterday and hankered after a simpler time. Don't get me wrong, I like the reliability of modern vehicles but get so frustrated when things are too complicated for the average Joe to fix.

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[Techno]

Essentials on my van.
disc brakes
power steering
mains on or off hookup
fridge
freezer
TV
Satellite
oven
hob
microwave
wifi
shower
toilet
hot water
heating
cooling
solar power
battery to battery
alarm
bed
lounge
3 litres
self levelling
tons of payload
etc


Not complicated just less compromise

 

[Barclaybasher]

Essentials on my van.
disc brakes
power steering mains on or off hookup
fridge freezer TV Satellite oven hob microwave wifi shower toilet hot water heating
cooling solar power battery to battery alarm bed lounge 3 litres self levelling
tons of payload
etc
Not complicated just less compromise

Certainly no need to compromise...................

 

[Techno]

Spot the skip

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[Minxy]

Spot the skip

Forget the skip ... spot the body!

 

[Bart]

Forget the skip ... spot the body!

Yar just seen that Mel ,, lmfao

 

[Minxy]

Could make the image into a good game ... how many items can you identify/find ...

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[nekarsulm]

Our 2000 RollerTeam has the bare minimun of electric refinements. Electric Windows!
It's got the 2.8 turbo/intercooler diesel engine, and the most luxurious item on it is the electrical cut off on the (fully mechinacial) injector pump.
The continous search for more power from smaller engines, and the associated sensors and actuators, combined with emission control gear, are currently the problem areas of the modern diesel.

 

[MillieMoocher]

Our 2000 RollerTeam has the bare minimun of electric refinements. Electric Windows!
It's got the 2.8 turbo/intercooler diesel engine, and the most luxurious item on it is the electrical cut off on the (fully mechinacial) injector pump.
The continous search for more power from smaller engines, and the associated sensors and actuators, combined with emission control gear, are currently the problem aress of the modern diesel.

Believe it or not, fell foul of our one electric window in France in May.

At peage, dropped window (I'm in the passenger seat), and it wouldn't go up.

A few km to a service area, pulled all the fuses and no change.

So 100k with window full open, wondering what the hell we would do that night (would have probably put silver screens on). But what about the next 2 weeks of holiday and leaving van and so on. All the gas would get out (!)

Eventually on site, using internet a fellow traveller found that there's a fuse box under the drivers seat (RHD) where fuse 11 controls windows. Ridiculous design as there is no door on RH side of cab on Hymer a-class and the gap between the seat and wall is ridiculously small. Whoever designed that should be sacked or provide a free dwarf with every MH.

So even the simplest things can be debilitating for the MH when instruction books provided are in fact next to useless..

Never envisaged being completely kippered by a fuse!

 

[Reallyretired]

My Dethleffs (MH before this) had an electric window die while away, luckily it died closed. This particular MH didn't have aircon though, so a manually opening window which worked would have been a plus.

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