Japanese Motorhomes (1 Viewer)

[jezport]

Why dont Japanese manufacturers target the motorhome market. We know that they make good reliable vehicles. There has to be a gap in the market for a company that makes reliable vans and gives good customer service like Mazda, Isuzu, Toyota, Misubishi etc.

We buy vans for tens of thousands of pounds that judder and break down and accept the manufacturer telling us that it is normal and acceptable yet we still buy their vans. If there was more competition from the East things would have to change!

I have contacted Isuzu and Swift. The reasons why I chose these two companies.

Isuzu because as a company it is one of their top priorities to offer unequalled customer service. If you check their website Link Removed you will see the personal phone number to contact Nikki King their MD! They also sell a broad range of chassis covering all the weights that would be required to build a range of motorhomes on.

Swift, because it is one of the largest UK manufacturers of motorhomes and sells a wide range of layouts. So surely one can be adapted to fit an Isuzu.


Isuzu MD Nikki King replied to my email within 24 hours and Bob Morris from Isuzu phoned me in person for a chat on the subject.

I am not an expert on Japanese chassis but Bob Morris informed me that Winnebago have used the Isuzu chassis on their RVs but they were badged as GMC.

I am still waiting for Swift to reply

What views do members here have on motorhomes being available on Japanese chassis?

 

[Snowbird]

The Japs do make motorhomes and secondhand ones have started to filter into the UK.

 

[jezport]

The Japs do make motorhomes and secondhand ones have started to filter into the UK.

I have seen them, and externally they look great but the interiors really do not suit the mainstream UK market. New Zealand seems to have a larger number of Japanese motorhomes, mainly Isuzu and Mitsubishi.

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[Snowbird]

New Zealand and Australia have been the main dumping ground for used Jap motorhomes for some time. The reason behind this is that Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the UK all have right hand drive. The Japs are just spreading there wings into the UK market as they did with the 4X4s a few years ago. Have you noticed that there are no 4X4s coming in now?. Because of the UK road tax system no one wants them now. The next thing to flood the market here will be second hand top spec Jap motorhomes.

 

[jezport]

New Zealand and Australia have been the main dumping ground for used Jap motorhomes for some time. The reason behind this is that Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the UK all have right hand drive. The Japs are just spreading there wings into the UK market as they did with the 4X4s a few years ago. Have you noticed that there are no 4X4s coming in now?. Because of the UK road tax system no one wants them now. The next thing to flood the market here will be second hand top spec Jap motorhomes.

In New Zealand Isuzu and Mitsubishi are sold as new motorhomes.

Re 4x4s and Road tax, most manufacturers large 4x4s tend to be in higher roadtax bands due to the CO figures and although I don't know a great deal about all all models I can tell you that the latest Mitsubushi Shogun 3.2 diesel falls into the tax band K £260 PA which is good for a heavy weight 197BHP on an auto transmission. Alll manufacturers selling cars in the UK are now having to tailor their emissions to fit in to our tax bands. The older Shogun was 163BHP and would be in tax band M £460 PA so I presume that one of the main reasons why the engine was changed was due to the UK tax bands system.

 

[Terry]

I spotted one today on ebay,but it has disappeared oh:
terry

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[mikkidee]

This is one by the Japs, it's called the Kamikaze Winni

Link Removed.

 

[jezport]

Found another thread on here that is on a similar topic Broken Link Removed

I spent Christmas in New Zealand this year and I saw a lot of M/Homes that were built on Isuzu base vehicles,mainly luton type conversions.Its a pity that none of the UK converters use these as I would prefer one instead of the Peugeot,Citroen ,Fiat that are commonly use here.
Does anyone know wether Im correct ,and or any comments.

 

[vwalan]

hi. google mitsubishi canter 4x4 campers or isuzu campers . i have been aware of them for years . now its time for the chinese vans trucks and campers . they are out there.

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[pappajohn]

when will the Indians start importing motorhomes to our shores ?.......


Tata Motors 'A' class.

.


this one.....no idea what it is.

Broken Link Removed

 

[jonandshell]

Why dont Japanese manufacturers target the motorhome market. We know that they make good reliable vehicles. There has to be a gap in the market for a company that makes reliable vans and gives good customer service like Mazda, Isuzu, Toyota, Misubishi etc.

We buy vans for tens of thousands of pounds that judder and break down and accept the manufacturer telling us that it is normal and acceptable yet we still buy their vans. If there was more competition from the East things would have to change!

I have contacted Isuzu and Swift. The reasons why I chose these two companies.

Isuzu because as a company it is one of their top priorities to offer unequalled customer service. If you check their website Link Removed you will see the personal phone number to contact Nikki King their MD! They also sell a broad range of chassis covering all the weights that would be required to build a range of motorhomes on.

Swift, because it is one of the largest UK manufacturers of motorhomes and sells a wide range of layouts. So surely one can be adapted to fit an Isuzu.


Isuzu MD Nikki King replied to my email within 24 hours and Bob Morris from Isuzu phoned me in person for a chat on the subject.

I am not an expert on Japanese chassis but Bob Morris informed me that Winnebago have used the Isuzu chassis on their RVs but they were badged as GMC.

I am still waiting for Swift to reply

What views do members here have on motorhomes being available on Japanese chassis?

One suggestion- TRANSIT!:thumb:

 

[jezport]

One suggestion- TRANSIT!:thumb:

Transits will not take the weight that a lot of us want. Also Transits do not drive as well as other vans. I have had a number of transits and although in my opinion they are more reliable than certain other chassis they still have a very common issue of fuel injector failure. My first choice would still be a Transit if I could get one on the layout and payload I want but I cant.

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[vwalan]

i take it you do know transits can go up to 4,600kg now from the factory.they have almost 2.5ton payload on the chassis cab. and with the 3.2 motor must fly.5cyl .200ps . gotta be good i would think. been looking at the new ones as the 3,500kg as a good train weight of 6,500kg . on certain models.
do think the iveco daily beats it though .
but mitsubishi /isuzu are coming . you only have to look at the small truck market . getting very common on our roads now.

 

[jezport]

i take it you do know transits can go up to 4,600kg now from the factory.they have almost 2.5ton payload on the chassis cab. and with the 3.2 motor must fly.5cyl .200ps . gotta be good i would think. been looking at the new ones as the 3,500kg as a good train weight of 6,500kg . on certain models.
do think the iveco daily beats it though .
but mitsubishi /isuzu are coming . you only have to look at the small truck market . getting very common on our roads now.

I know that but once again they are not available as a motorhome. I would certainly prefer one over all the current chassis available on motorhomes, But I would really like to see a C class or A class on a Japanese chassis.

 

[Terry]

What you have to understand is it all depends on price :thumb:What converters pay and what we have to pay for a van are miles apart The larger trannys are in the same price range as the Mercs What would you buy ? a Merc or a tranny for the same money? I do not know if the tranny is a better van to do a conversion on but the perceived quality of the Merc would win my vote :thumb:
As I said in another post the only drawback from using Iszuzu etc, is climbing over the engine to get into the rear and japs do not discount much on price.
terry

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[vwalan]

i,m sure if you want a transit then someone will make you one.
there are some built on the mitsubishi .i think rs motor homes did them. but converters can build on whatever you want.
when i built my unit i had never seen one built on this chassis . it seems now there are a few in the uk. mitsubushi uk know where most of them are so they tell me.
could be a project for you to have one built.
must say it isnt that hard to get over the lump of the engine. if you are able bodied .
this is the beauty of an cabover makes for a shorter vehicle . the truck trade find it a god send.all good food for thought might be a new niche market for someone.
if i was younger think it might have been me. find the jap stuff really good and now there is importers that just concentrate on new jap spares . good prices .

 

[Terry]

The big makers whole idea is to appeal to the mass market rather than one offs Mass market wants to stand up and walk into the back rather than crawl over an engine.Yes the idea of sitting on the engine is great :thumb: and has a lot going for it IE shorter vehicle,cutting 3/5 ft off the length of a van :thumb: but it is like you have said OK when younger You may well see a few more Japs around but until they shift the engine from under your backside allowing you to sit up rather than lay down driving position I cannot see them making much way into this leisure market. When they click onto the idea to change there vans for a conventional European type watch them take off :thumb:The only one like that at the moment I can think of is a Nissan-re badged Renault.The trouble is all the jap vans at the moment are too good at doing what they do as a van
terry

 

[vwalan]

hi, definately a sit up in a canter . seats jut like a vw t2. have a sit in one .but then there is still the motor . not for you. cant see them changing the design though. even their narrownessis because of their streets etc, but all interesting . makes the world go round .

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[Terry]

Hi Alan don't get me wrong they are just my thoughts :thumb:My mate has a Canter and I know you sit up in it but you are not as upright as a normal van.I have had a few vehicles with the engine up your bum,starting with a old Morris Ju 2 going onto a Datsun E 20 an old bull nosed merc oh:and a Toyota Dyna.:thumb: Brill bit of kit I just wish they would make a proper euro style van.All the jap cars and vans I have had have been ultra reliable and generally go about doing what they are supposed to They may not always be the fastest or most entertaining things to drive but they are far from being the slowest either :thumb: and boy when they make them both fast and entertaining they do a excellent job of that too.:thumb:
I am not aware of any jap vans that are both wide and high which are what you basically want for a m/h conversion.
terry

 

[vwalan]

thats why you need a chassis cab and a box. i reckon 7ft6ins wide is ideal .7ft high in box and minimum of 16 ft long. idealfor 2 but can sleep two more with the dinette. germany is getting heavily into it now well as been for awhile. but again walk through would be a problem for you. cant have it all. still say daily suits you. dont like sprinters chassis corrosion is bad . and engines on some.

 

[jezport]

All the larger race trucks and horse boxes are on Merc and Iveco forward control chassis, also motorhomes such as Concorde etc, so there is obviously a market for this type of chassis cab.

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[jezport]

Take a look here Link Removed

 

[vwalan]

nice one some interesting ones on there . lets hope a converter is looking.
you should look at the 4x4 canter and isuzu googles . sorry i cant put a link .
they are brill.

 

[jezport]

nice one some interesting ones on there . lets hope a converter is looking.
you should look at the 4x4 canter and isuzu googles . sorry i cant put a link .
they are brill.

Thanks,

I have looked and there are some amazing vehicles.

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[vwalan]

i often think about changing my canter for a 4x4 unit . but as the trailer is getting on a bit think i might totally wreck it. the 4x2 canter goes all sorts of places . i load the neck of the trailer to give maximum traction . its amazing . my vw lt did a good job but the extra 40bhp is grand with the mitzy.

 

[jezport]

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[jezport]

I know I have only posted some photos of large motorhomes on Japanese chassis. There are even more small to medium motorhomes built on them. The reason I wanted to show the larger trucks is because I dont think many people on here know that these types of vehicle are in existence. I certainly didn't until I looked.

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[vwalan]

mitsubishi make more trucks than any other truck manufacturer in the world.
google chinese trucks and buses .you may have a further shock. they already have factories in morocco . making trucks .
another one is google lifan mini .
i have been watching the chinese car and truck industry for the last twenty years .its growing fast but the parent companies are western .soon they will close most of the eu factories mark my word .

 

[slobadoberbob]

They also use the chassis on the TREK RV's

They also used the chassis on the earlier Trek maid by safari .. before monaco took them over... bit under powered.

I first owned a 4 x 4 made by them many years back .. they also did a car.

Bob

 

[slobadoberbob]

the good thing is it was a rid

Link RemovedLink RemovedLink Removed

The good thing is it is a RHD but the issue is the manual box.. part of driving a large RV is it is not a truck.

Bob

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