First van. Autotrail Cherokee (1 Viewer)

MET

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Hello,

We're still looking for our first van.

We've seen one we like the layout of, autotrail Cherokee 1997 with a mid lounge, one L shaped bench and one straight bench, mid kitchen and rear bathroom.


Anyone got one, had experience of them?

All advice greatly received :thumb:
 

deanotic

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The layout is so important in a motorhome , don't pick a van because it looks nice , think about how the layout will work for you . Its good to have a rear lounge as well as a front dinette so if someone is cooking there is still somewhere where you can sit and be out of the way .
Our van is 19 years old but on a recent visit to Brownhills at Newark we only saw one van that offered a layout that we considered as better for us and that was £70,000 so we'll be staying with our old Hymer for many years to come .:winky:

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MET

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Layouts

We realy liked the lounge at the front seemed to make thes van feel much more spacious as the cab becomes part of the lounge too.

I thought I'd like the U shaped loung as it looked more comfy for relaxing in (I could see us both sprawled out on the bench seats wait a good book!) but when we sat in one it seemed a much smaller space, I guess because it's enclosed by the toilet and wardrobe. Also it seemed to make the kitchen work surface smaller.

The Cherokee seemed to have a spacious lounge as with an L seat and a bench seat it was almost a U shape, and a big kitchen area and a good sized bathroom with a space in the middle where we could hang our kit ::bigsmile: it also had the advantage of having two 3point seat belts on the L of the L shaped bench seat. Seemed to suit us all round.

Problem is I can't find any for sale!!!
 
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MET

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Cherokee

Thanks for the link :)

Two problems.....

One, it's in Cornwall and I live in Manchester!!! (not in surmountable)
Two, it doesn't have the second bench seat, it got the captains chair. :Sad:


Thanks for the link though :thumb:

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MET

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Cherokee

:Sad:

Unfortunately our budgets more like £10-15k so that rules out the one on caravan selecta :cry:

We've been to see the one at northwest caravans as they are near to where we live. That's where we first saw the Cherokee and thought it was a good layout. But the one they had was pretty worn out inside with lots of broken bits. It also had all the inside covering off the bit above the cab which made me think it had had some damp. Distinctly overpriced I think. I was a bit put off buying from them anyway when I went into one motorhome on the forecourt that smelt like it had had 10 Tom cats living in it!!! :whatthe: although the lady was very nice and quite helpful.

The search continues........!

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Scout

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:Sad:

Unfortunately our budgets more like £10-15k so that rules out the one on caravan selecta :cry:

We've been to see the one at northwest caravans as they are near to where we live. That's where we first saw the Cherokee and thought it was a good layout. But the one they had was pretty worn out inside with lots of broken bits. It also had all the inside covering off the bit above the cab which made me think it had had some damp. Distinctly overpriced I think. I was a bit put off buying from them anyway when I went into one motorhome on the forecourt that smelt like it had had 10 Tom cats living in it!!! :whatthe: although the lady was very nice and quite helpful.

The search continues........!

10k >15K means private sale, take your time you will get one, one thats been loved and npt maked up by 30/40 % by a dealer at that price


dealesr need profit nothing wrong with that, but you dont need to pay it
 
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MET

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Cherokee

Will see if I can find it on the web.

I'm down in Oxford at the moment!! :RollEyes:

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niggle

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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: you missed rapidio and pilot both french as you will see the english try hard to copy them as they are more m/h freindly in france,,,, but if you go for auto trail after having 3,,,, 2 new ,, and one nearly new ,,,here are a few probs you will find but others will say they aint had

1 elecrtic low grade wire used on charge system
2 if you need a part from a/t under warrnty it takes 1/4 weeks if at all
3 common thing,, new ones ,,floor delamanation or ply striping from underneath ?
4 the lights are on some still halogen inside

i know sounds negative but the m/h 's from france are brill had mine for 7 months and not had any probs at all where as my auto trails had spent more time back at hull with them rather than with me and i had a cheiftan,and apachie and tracker
 
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Well that`s our 13th year & still loving it.
cheyenne

We used to have a 634 Cheyenne fantastic motorhome loads of space as it was just one big room, Wardrobe behind the passenger seat and toilet/washroom behind the drivers seat.
A curtain immeadiately behind the drivers/passengers seat and then the toilet/washroom wall/door can swing out to seal off against the wardrobe, making it all snug and cosy in the large "U" shaped rear lounge.
We don`t like the front lounge idea as we feel after spending time in the cab driving to wherever we want to get away from the dashboard.

Take your time inside the motorhome when looking and you will know the one that feels right for you.

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MET

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:Smile:

Hi Niggle,

We looked at some older A class Pilotes on the web, they have a very similar layout to the Cherokee we saw at northwest caravans, they looked like they might be a more streamlined shape and matbe more fuel efficient? but we weren't sure about the bed over the cab......

Would they be good for 4 seasons?

We fully intend to be out in it all year round ::bigsmile:
 
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MET

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:Smile:

We'd kinda like to stay under 20 ft if we can as it's our first van and also we'll have the bikes on the back.

We are likely to try going to some out of the way places in pursuit of good walks and mountain biking places and so were thinking that a smaller van would be more 'access all areas'.

We hired a 19ft one a few years ago and went all round the highlands and sky and never had any problems but it might be more difficult in Wales or the lakes where there are more Walls and trees lining the roads?
 
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hilldweller

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Our van is 19 years old but on a recent visit to Brownhills at Newark we only saw one van that offered a layout that we considered as better

Progress is a funny thing. We are in an age where beds collapse but the drinks cupboard holds two cut glass decanters.

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hilldweller

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We'd kinda like to stay under 20 ft if we can as it's our first van and also we'll have the bikes on the back.

We are likely to try going to some out of the way places in pursuit of good walks and mountain biking places and so were thinking that a smaller van would be more 'access all areas'.

You are describing our old Burstner A530 perfectly.
 
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