Any advice before we buy (1 Viewer)

[Sucoz]

Hello Everyone,
We are about to buy our first motorhome, we travelled the length of the country on Friday to look at a Dethleffs globe 4. (Listed as globebus T4 by dealer, but I think that is in error) Slightly over budget but the dealers do not negotiate . Anyway we feel it is generally what we are looking for to full-time in.
It is just over 7 metres (7.08 on the dethleffs site) mtplm is 3850. I can see the advantages to both of these but are the disadvantages such as ferry fares and tolls cause for concern?
There is a solar panel of 150 w I believe, trauma heating and a large garage with internal bike rack.
Any advice or points of view welcome

 

[BreweryDave]

Nice van, but my only concern would be payload if you are full timing. We have fulltimed since 2011 and never had a van under 5000kg, you’ll be surprised how much all your stuff weighs and how much storage you need if Full timing. But good luck with it, plenty of advice available on here, just search the full timing threads.

 

[tonka]

We were at OMC / Oaktree yesterday and bought a Burstner

Only on very select ferries will you find the length giving you extra costs.. If you plan to use the likes of Dover - France or even the Eurotunnel it really makes no difference.. Mine is 7.5mtr and prices always seem the same. Eurotunnel count everything as a "campervan" its its a VW or a large RV...

As Dave has said, looks a bit small to me for fulltime BUT people do manage it. All depends on your requirements. The internal bike rack sound good.. UNTIL you realise how much of the garage space a bike will take up !!
As well as the solar I would suggest you need at least 2 batteries and make sure you can get 2 large gas bottles in the locker..

I know someone with a nice Autotrail 700 for sale

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[138go]

We meet a couple in France and they were just starting out living full time. They had a Tag Axle MH and it was packed with boxes. Don't forget you need clothes for winter and summer. Bikes are better inside IMHO having seen what can happen to them on the back they can get rusty and are always on show.

 

[Tanya_and_Mick]

We were at OMC / Oaktree yesterday and bought a Burstner

Any pictures mate

 

[tonka]

Any pictures mate

Have a look under this thread .
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/autotrail-apache-700.195062/

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[M-J]

Slightly over budget but the dealers do not negotiate

Really?

How do you know?

 

[Lenny HB]

the dealers do not negotiate

All dealers negotiate you just have to call their bluff. Have you thought about importing you will probably get a new van for the price of a S/H over here, we have never bought in the UK.

As said 3850kg won't have nowhere near enough payload for full timing, even if you can make do with the payload you will be over on the rear axle as it will be on the light chassis.
You need to be looking at vans with a minium of 1000 kg payload preferably a lot more.

 

[Sucoz]

Thanks for the replies, perhaps we would be considered as long termers since we are renting to my sister and keeping winter clothes etc in the loft. {Ihave to come back to cook Christmas dinner, part of the deal)
We asked about negotiating he said definitely no, that was 3 days ago and we have been mulling it over since.
The locker will fit two 11 kg bottles which we plan to change to gas-it or something similar. We will also have 2 leisure batteries, I’m not sure/can’t remember what it has atm
Have considered importing but the exchange rate is not good and am I correct in thinking that it’s diificult to insure whilst on the ferry?

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[M-J]

All dealers will try to hint that there are no negotiations and the price is already fair blah blah blah.

Don’t ask, don’t get!

If you have decided it is the MH for you then make an offer.

Be prepared to walk away. Stand your ground. If they counter offer then either stick to your guns or make another offer in your favour.

 

[CazPaul]

No room for negotiating he said, I would not like that, all vans from that dealer are priced with room for negotiation surely?
Also bear in mind its only the 130bhp version so when full of gear might be a bit underpowered.
You need to ask for it to be taken to a weighbridge and get total weight and axle weights before you decide, especially for fulltiming.

When we were fulltiming our van was well over 8 metres and 6400kg and still not enough.

 

[Lenny HB]

The locker will fit two 11 kg bottles which we plan to change to gas-it or something similar. We will also have 2 leisure batteries, I’m not sure/can’t remember what it has atm

Even better if you can get 2 x 14 kg Alugas bottles in the locker.
Batteries are probably AGM it it were me I would insist dealer swaps them for Gel batteries.

Have considered importing but the exchange rate is not good and am I correct in thinking that it’s diificult to insure whilst on the ferry?

Our dealer drives the van to the port only risk we take is on the ferry/tunnel, Safeguard will insure from the foreign port.

If you do go for it you may need to allow for rear airBroken Link Removedsuspension & larger tyres to get the rear axle load uprated about £2½k.

With a payload of only around 400 kg not really workable for normal use. As you have to deduct from the payload any extras fitted e.g. awning, extra battery drivers/comfort pack etc, normally adds up to 150 - 200 kg.
I always reckon you need 700 kg payload, 200 for extras, 500 for stuff & the misses, that is for normal use, full timing needs a lot more.

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[obanvanman]

Tooooo small. We have been away for 3 years. It was supposed to be 6 months but who gives a poo.
Anyhoo, we are 8 mtrs 5.5 tonnes and are just about getting away with it.
We also have well over 1T payload. (most of that is for her wine, ofcourse).

 

[Sucoz]

Well I thought it would be much easier!!! We have never owned a motorhome and driving a 7 metre is very daunting (husband found the test drive ok) let alone anything bigger - up rating the axle and payload is something I will have to look into - do I have to sort it out or would the dealer do it?
Back to the drawing board I think.

 

[suavecarve]

Well I thought it would be much easier!!! We have never owned a motorhome and driving a 7 metre is very daunting (husband found the test drive ok) let alone anything bigger - up rating the axle and payload is something I will have to look into - do I have to sort it out or would the dealer do it?
Back to the drawing board I think.

If youre happy with left hand drive and saving a few bob then Germany is the place to go.
Its all an interpretation but if you think Bre xit wont occur the general feeling is the pound will go up quite quickly to +1.30 so it might be worth keeping an eye on that in order to get a really good deal. It may go down as well, but slowly (very slowly) rising recently.
Plenty threads on how to import

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[Minxy]

Hi Sucoz, welcome to the house of fun.

I concur with what's been said above, payload is no-where near enough for full-timing, it's questionable even for those who have longish holidays.

If you haven't already done so, download and read Jim's Buyer's guide which will give you info on what to look for, as someone who's never had a MH before this is vital reading, also his Security one too (both free to subscribers ).

Don't rush to buy, do your research and make notes on what you MUST have and also what would make life easier, that way you won't forget anything important. Accessories can be added so don't restrict yourself to MHs that have them already.

Also make sure you have checked out the cost of insurance as living full-time in a MH comes at a price, although if you intend to spend some time back at your sister's you may be able to negate some of this ... others can probably advise better on how they achieve this.

 

[Minxy]

I've just checked the MOT history ... it's gonna need new tyres all round, including the spare (if it has one) so that will cost a bit and I doubt the dealer will do it based on what you've said!

 

[Graham of Madrid]

Don't mind me asking but do you really need to sleep 4 and do you really need the double bed over the garage ? it takes a lot of space. If you need the capacity to sleep four maybe a bunkbed above the garage could be a space-saving option.

Trying to get my head round what it would be like to live in permanent ! I stayed in a studio apartment with a sofabed and it's not a million miles different. What I hated most was the bed in the middle of the room which had to be folded up before I could do anything. That's why I wouldn't want a permanent bed in the middle of my motorhome.

I'm happy with the bed above the cab but climbing up there is not for everyone but it does get the bed out of the way and you can chuck stuff up there during the day.

Sorry I missed where you said you'd be staying but if it's a cooler climate then I'd guess you'd e spending more time inside and if it's a warmer climate then you'd spend more time outside with the bbq.

Over here in Spain we don't have ovens. Nobody roasts food here or spends that much time inside cooking.

A double garage to store two bikes is great but you can get good quality foldable bikes which will liberate your storage options

I think you may need to rethink your layout.

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[Sucoz]

HI Graham, re the double beds, yes it’s the biggest priority, I realise others won’t see that but I want a good nights sleep. The original plan would be to stay France / Spain / Portugal, but we currently have a sick relative so will be closer to home for a.while
Minxy girl ,I have downloaded the buyers guide and went with all the plans of how to get a deal- maybe experience will help.
The tyres would be replaced, there is 3 years RAC warranty, but I think we are re- thinking it anyway.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Looks a tad pricey for a 9 year old van IMHO
But what do I know

 

[Lenny HB]

Well I thought it would be much easier!!! We have never owned a motorhome and driving a 7 metre is very daunting (husband found the test drive ok) let alone anything bigger - up rating the axle and payload is something I will have to look into - do I have to sort it out or would the dealer do it?
Back to the drawing board I think.

Best to do if yourself, dealer bound to cock it up and probably rip you off.

The tyres would be replaced, there is 3 years RAC warranty, but I think we are re- thinking it anyway.

Need to make sure the fit tyres suitable for the load rating if you are going to uprate.

Looks a tad pricey for a 9 year old van IMHO

That model appears to hold it's price similar to German prices.

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[Lenny HB]

For full timing you would be much better with an A Class van, more room better insulation etc.

 

[138go]

Yes certainly an A Class far better insulation in the cab area. Ours has heating all round the front screen and a blower under the seat. You notice the cold in a normal MH in the evening. Lot of MH manufacturers don't put any insulation in the cab area so it's just cold metal. Good insulation works both ways it helps keep the heat out and also the heat in. Most of the UK ones are supposed to be insulated but the Swift we had was somewhat lacking in that area around the front roof. Having very little insulation did let the condensation out usually on top of the passenger.

 

[Sucoz]

Heading off today to look at a couple of A classes in Somerset and Devon, although the dealer said that we may not be able to test drive it as he didn’t know where it was stored ( as in how easy to get to it) and probably doesn’t have an mot!
Anyway we have never driven an A class so will test drive something to see how my husband ( main driver) feels about it.

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[Innkeeper]

Will be waiting to hear how you got on. We are pretty much in the same boat as your selves. After our first moho. And plan to semi full time. Say about 8 or 9 months a year. We will spend the worse of the winter months in an apartment in Spain. But would still like an A Class. We did start off saying we wanted a double island bed but after look dont think it's that important. Where you say the dealer may not be able to sort a test drive I would not even go there. Also I would like to be there when it was started from cold. Just like a car. But then I know nothing LOL