Carthago Malibu 540 v Hymercar Free 540 v Hymercar Ayers Rock

[Mark and Mindy]

Does anybody own one of the above, or know anything about them?

Thinking of changing our van - I'm just not getting on with it, too many niggling things which means it isn't working for me and I've identified the three above as being possible replacements.

We can't have anything longer than 5.4m as it won't fit on the drive, or it might fit but it would be tight and then we'd never be able to open the rear doors.

We like the size of the van we have but the layout is the problem.

 

[CazPaul]

All decent makes, all on a Fiat base though which will put some off
Are you talking new or used?

 

[Lenny HB]

They all look quite well built I was impressed with the Free when looking around one in dealers showroom.
The Malibu is better quality but you pay a lot more for it. Hymer you can get decent discounts if you buy abroad, I certainly wouldn't pay UK prices for Hymer's.

 

[GPW]

We looked at 5.4m for exactly the same reasons, ended up ordering a 6m.

The 5.4m seem slightly neglected by the converters because they don't sell as well, probably because they are slightly neglected. All the new features appear in the 5.4m models last.

We looked at the 5.4m models from Weinsberg/Knaus, Burstner and Globecar. I thought Hymer and Malibu were too expensive.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

All decent makes, all on a Fiat base though which will put some off
Are you talking new or used?

Probably new although we could go for a used if it was right in terms of age/mileage etc.

We looked at 5.4m for exactly the same reasons, ended up ordering a 6m.

The 5.4m seem slightly neglected by the converters because they don't sell as well, probably because they are slightly neglected. All the new features appear in the 5.4m models last.

We looked at the 5.4m models from Weinsberg/Knaus, Burstner and Globecar. I thought Hymer and Malibu were too expensive.

Having a 6m isn't possible due to the drive length.

I like the bathroom in the Malibu, but wonder where the water is going when the toilet is pushed back into the dinette underseat.

Planning to check out some vans this weekend, but haven't made up our minds yet.

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[Onemanandhisdog]

Having a 6m isn't possible due to the drive length.

Be cheaper to take a couple of foot off the front of the house than change vans!

 

[Minxy]

Chockswahay has just sold his Hymer Ayres Rock so can advise on that one.

As for not being able to open the rear doors, can you not just move the camper forward for the times you need to do so? This would allow you to go for a 6m one where there is a lot more choice, and availability.

 

[Blue Knight]

A few more 5.4m options for you albeit the Roadscout R can be had for circa £48K with the right cheeky offer:

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Chockswahay has just sold his Hymer Ayres Rock so can advise on that one.

As for not being able to open the rear doors, can you not just move the camper forward for the times you need to do so? This would allow you to go for a 6m one where there is a lot more choice, and availability.

If we open the rear doors of the Colorado the outward swing is on the limit of the drive, a 6m van would be so tight to the end of the drive that it would impede access for the car that sits alongside it, plus we already have a car sitting on the road.

There are cars parked all down the road, and if its full then we can just get the van off the drive with a bit of backwards/forwards and we have to take the car next to it off the drive. The same in reverse when putting it back, we wouldn't have the room to get a 6m van on or off.

So, its the length of the drive, the turning circle of the van, the road being a narrow one with parked cars - the Colorado is ok but a bigger van wouldn't work out.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

A few more 5.4m options for you albeit the Roadscout R can be had for circa £48K with the right cheeky offer:

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We only want a 2 berth, so don't need extra sleeping spaces in the roof and like the traditional van shape.

We weren't keen on walking over the shower tray every time we wanted to go to the end of the van which is a feature of the Globecars.

That's a nice price on that Boxstar even if it is 558 miles away, we were up in Scotland the week before last. The Malibu we're going to look at is only £2k more and has lots of extras. I did find that Boxstar and had it been closer to home then I would have been very interested, but if there are any problems then its too far away.

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[Lenny HB]

By comparison buy a Hymer Free 540 in Belgium or Germany it will cost you £32,000 after discount at current exchange rates. You will probably need to add £2.5k of options and £500 to import & get on the road so a total of £35K.
If exchange rates improve after the current political crap is over it will probably only cost £32-£33k.

 

[Blue Knight]

That's a nice price on that Boxstar even if it is 558 miles away, we were up in Scotland the week before last. The Malibu we're going to look at is only £2k more and has lots of extras. I did find that Boxstar and had it been closer to home then I would have been very interested, but if there are any problems then its too far away.

I'm a big Globecar fan but I much prefer the Knaus on this occassion.

That said, I've just read Lenny's Lenny HB post below and you can't kick those figures out of Bed for the Hymer.

 

[GPW]

I looked at the Knaus Boxstart Platinum, didn't understand the shower pod because to use just the toilet you had to block the passageway, whereas the Globescout has enough room in there still leaving the passageway free IIRC.
I.e. in the morning in the Knaus you'd be stuck in bed if your companion was in the toilet.
They do make a non pod variant but not in the platinum, and the extras from the platinum upgrade were not specified by the Knaus website, which is lacking information and challenging to use.

The Malibu has a fantastic swing toilet system married to a totally incomprehensible origami shower door system designed to weed out budding Nikola Teslas rather than ordinary people just wanting a shower.

What I was looking for in the cramped shower room of a 5.4m was a shower I could a) fit into and b) use the curtain in a reasonable amount of time.
The Adria Twins are starting to install the swing showers like in the Globecar Summit 600 which eliminate the problem but have not filtered down to the neglected 5.4m size yet, so one way of getting one is to wait long enough.

Many continental 6m vans have an extra cupboard on the toilet/dinette side that help use up the extra 0.6m they have so the bathroom is occasionally a little bigger, in the end the 6m Globescout we went for didn't have that cupboard, but instead made both bathroom and dinette bigger which I felt make it seem a bit more luxurious. The continental 'bed across the back' layout have huge garages anyway so it's not as if storage is lacking.

You may find a Wildax that fits, they often seem to have very practical tambour door wetroom bathrooms which eliminate the faffing with curtains etc.

The regular Knaus and Weinsberg have an inflatable hoop on the shower curtains to stop it sticking which I thought was a good idea but it's still not the Ritz.

 

[GPW]

BTW the Hymer 540 is I think the same design bathroom as the Burstner, a nice tambour door and partial curtain, the sink varies between fixed and tip-up, fixed IMO is more useful as you can leave stuff in there, soak stuff and is easy to clean.

 

[CazPaul]

I always like things fixed in vans probably because we always buy used
The Malibu concept would worry me a bit after 5 years or so when on the second or third owner.

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[Mark and Mindy]

I looked at the Knaus Boxstart Platinum, didn't understand the shower pod because to use just the toilet you had to block the passageway, whereas the Globescout has enough room in there still leaving the passageway free IIRC.
I.e. in the morning in the Knaus you'd be stuck in bed if your companion was in the toilet.
They do make a non pod variant but not in the platinum, and the extras from the platinum upgrade were not specified by the Knaus website, which is lacking information and challenging to use.

The Malibu has a fantastic swing toilet system married to a totally incomprehensible origami shower door system designed to weed out budding Nikola Teslas rather than ordinary people just wanting a shower.

What I was looking for in the cramped shower room of a 5.4m was a shower I could a) fit into and b) use the curtain in a reasonable amount of time.
The Adria Twins are starting to install the swing showers like in the Globecar Summit 600 which eliminate the problem but have not filtered down to the neglected 5.4m size yet, so one way of getting one is to wait long enough.

Many continental 6m vans have an extra cupboard on the toilet/dinette side that help use up the extra 0.6m they have so the bathroom is occasionally a little bigger, in the end the 6m Globescout we went for didn't have that cupboard, but instead made both bathroom and dinette bigger which I felt make it seem a bit more luxurious. The continental 'bed across the back' layout have huge garages anyway so it's not as if storage is lacking.

You may find a Wildax that fits, they often seem to have very practical tambour door wetroom bathrooms which eliminate the faffing with curtains etc.

The regular Knaus and Weinsberg have an inflatable hoop on the shower curtains to stop it sticking which I thought was a good idea but it's still not the Ritz.

There are definitely compromises to be made with a 5.4m van - when we got the Colorado it really did seem, on paper, as if it would meet our needs; however having had several 1 and 2 nights and a week away it hasn't worked that way.

So far we've done every other night on a campsite with facilities and have managed to get by with the bathroom on the wilding night, the shower is small and the curtain is a total PITA but in a choice between a bigger bathroom or more living space then living space wins hands down.

Although storage in the Colorado is plenty big enough for our needs its very difficult in the kitchen, put the side piece down which goes from the bathroom wall to edge of the sink to gain extra worktop space and it seems good; but as soon as I put it down and move things onto it I find I need to get something out of a kitchen cupboard, but the cupboards under the extra worktop are impossible to get into unless kneeling on the floor and in order to access the ones on the other side I need to be standing right where the extra worktop is!!! It turns something very simple into an absolute nightmare.

 

[GPW]

Always very difficult to decide on layout. The Murvi Morello and 5.4m one looks rather usable but I decided to go for the traditional European layout as it seems very popular and I liked the big garage it gives. Also I'd be too lazy to keep making the bed, nice to have it ready.

I'd like a lounge very much, but it was either that or a fixed bed + garage and the fixed bed won. I suspect the Europeans use them more for touring than spending a week in a rainy field so that layout is more practical. The lounge seems to be a more british trait. Hopefully I'll lounge around outside under a parasol..

There are some 5m vans with drop-down beds that looked ok, but the market seems very small. I think Alan Heath did a youtube about quite a nice one IIRC.

Another option is a poptop for bed, but they are expensive, heavy and the opposite to stealth. Some of the micro A class have a dropdown bed over the cab that's pretty good but most are at least 6m+.

 

[Rob Hammond]

By comparison buy a Hymer Free 540 in Belgium or Germany it will cost you £32,000 after discount at current exchange rates. You will probably need to add £2.5k of options and £500 to import & get on the road so a total of £35K.
If exchange rates improve after the current political crap is over it will probably only cost £32-£33k.

Lenny would that be with all relavent taxes paid ?

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny would that be with all relavent taxes paid ?

I worked on a 15% discount & exchange rate of 1.12, didn't bother with taxes but in reality will be slightly cheaper as Belgium VAT is 21%.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Always very difficult to decide on layout. The Murvi Morello and 5.4m one looks rather usable but I decided to go for the traditional European layout as it seems very popular and I liked the big garage it gives. Also I'd be too lazy to keep making the bed, nice to have it ready.

I'd like a lounge very much, but it was either that or a fixed bed + garage and the fixed bed won. I suspect the Europeans use them more for touring than spending a week in a rainy field so that layout is more practical. The lounge seems to be a more british trait. Hopefully I'll lounge around outside under a parasol..

There are some 5m vans with drop-down beds that looked ok, but the market seems very small. I think Alan Heath did a youtube about quite a nice one IIRC.

Another option is a poptop for bed, but they are expensive, heavy and the opposite to stealth. Some of the micro A class have a dropdown bed over the cab that's pretty good but most are at least 6m+.

We decided that a lounge would be a good idea as it would give plenty of lounging about room, but we didn't like the rear lounge as it would have to be lengthwise sitting with our backs up against the closed rear doors. In our looking and checking phase we did try some different rear lounges but in a 5.4m van it means transverse sleeping, not a problem as such but the leg room between the individual settees meant we kept clashing legs, add 2 dogs to the mix and a rear lounge didn't seem right.

On paper the front lounge should have been good, the settee base could be moved forward to make the back an angle to make reclining good, but with the single seat opposite it meant that only one person got plenty of leg room when using the settee and the other would either have to sit in a captains chair or the straight 90deg angle of the 3rd belted seat. The settee was hard, too hard for comfortable lounging.

We're now planning to go for the fixed bed and garage as it would work for us, I also want to have a bed which we can leave made up, I ignored the people who said that making the bed every night became a pain and have learnt the hard way!!! I don't like bed making at the best of times but struggling to do it in a tiny van with 1 extra adult and 2 dogs underfoot and it becomes more than I want on a nightly basis.

I looked at the Wingamm briefly, that has a drop down bed, but in the dropped down position it isn't low enough to get into directly from the floor so I guess its either a short ladder or climb onto the visible end of the settee; plus it comes down over the lounge area and front seats, so then its either be in bed or not, and if one wants to go to bed earlier than the other the only accessible seat is the toilet

I don't fancy a pop top and I noticed that the shorter vans which have them lose the ceiling windows (skylights?)

We're checking out a van this weekend and hopefully it turns out to be right.

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[SpeedyDux]

Now into our 3rd year with the Rapido V43. Difficult to imagine sharing any 5.4m PVC with 2 dogs!

The point about the better turning circle compared with a 5.99m Fiat PVC is a valid one especially if you have restricted room to park it at home.

Mark and Mindy - hope you find the right van soon.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

Now into our 3rd year with the Rapido V43. Difficult to imagine sharing any 5.4m PVC with 2 dogs!

The point about the better turning circle compared with a 5.99m Fiat PVC is a valid one especially if you have restricted room to park it at home.

Mark and Mindy - hope you find the right van soon.

Thank you

My sister has a 5.4m van as well and her dog is a rottweiler/labrador cross, she did have 2 originally, but the current one spends the daytime on the bed when they're in the van and nights in the footwell (her preferred place)!

At least ours are only small(ish) - Border Terrier and a Schnoodle.

 

[GPW]

With the continental layout the space inside a 5.4 as opposed to a 6m van is only 0.6m of length (kitchen cupboard space and dinette space). The 5.4m vans are lighter, a better drive and look better as well as being easier to park. Our only problem was finding one with the latest stuff they put into the 6m vans at a decent price.

Our 6m van we ended up ordering is still quite a bit cheaper than any 5.4m we found. As the above-cab skylight (as in some Malibu and Adria Twins), the swing bathrooms (Globecar summit, Adria) and the bargain Peugeot base trickles down to the 5.4m vans they'll become a lot more attractive. In a way it may be wise to plan for a 2 year stop-gap van if you want the ultimate 5.4m van! Thats my view anyway..

 

[Cheshirecat57]

ADRIA TWIN PLUS 540 SP

 

[Mark and Mindy]

With the continental layout the space inside a 5.4 as opposed to a 6m van is only 0.6m of length (kitchen cupboard space and dinette space). The 5.4m vans are lighter, a better drive and look better as well as being easier to park. Our only problem was finding one with the latest stuff they put into the 6m vans at a decent price.

Our 6m van we ended up ordering is still quite a bit cheaper than any 5.4m we found. As the above-cab skylight (as in some Malibu and Adria Twins), the swing bathrooms (Globecar summit, Adria) and the bargain Peugeot base trickles down to the 5.4m vans they'll become a lot more attractive. In a way it may be wise to plan for a 2 year stop-gap van if you want the ultimate 5.4m van! Thats my view anyway..

For us it really is a 5.4m or nothing due to the drive, our retirement plans including moving elsewhere and maybe at that point we'd have a bigger van but we're happy with the length of the one we have now, just not the layout.

I'd swap out the dinette with the extra belted seats for a larger bathroom and wardrobe. As long as there is a table for the passenger and driver's seats when turned then the dinette is largely superfluous for us.

In theory we could spend a lot more time looking, but I'm getting to hate the van we have and its taking all the pleasure out of having it.

ADRIA TWIN PLUS 540 SP

My sister has one of these.

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[DBK]

We only want a 2 berth, so don't need extra sleeping spaces in the roof and like the traditional van shape.

We weren't keen on walking over the shower tray every time we wanted to go to the end of the van which is a feature of the Globecars.

That's a nice price on that Boxstar even if it is 558 miles away, we were up in Scotland the week before last. The Malibu we're going to look at is only £2k more and has lots of extras. I did find that Boxstar and had it been closer to home then I would have been very interested, but if there are any problems then its too far away.

If you're in Scotland have a look at East Neuk Campervans. Their Touring M model is 5.4m and they do an even shorter one. My brother in Fort William has one and the build quality is superb.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

If you're in Scotland have a look at East Neuk Campervans. Their Touring M model is 5.4m and they do an even shorter one. My brother in Fort William has one and the build quality is superb.

We went up to see the 6m van last year when we were still thinking that we'd have a 6m van.

We sat in the Touring M as we were open to all lengths. The downside, for us, to the Touring M is the layout because the front seats can't swivel, all cooking is done at a very small unit right behind the passenger seat, the gap between the cooking unit and bathroom is exceptionally small which would mean having to go out of the van and back in through the sliding door - which is annoying in bad weather.

The driver seat felt a bit claustrophic with the bathroom right up behind it as well - if we had been able to fit a 6m van in the drive then their Touring L was seriously in the running. The only drawback was that they're a long long way away from us.

 

[Blue Knight]

There's always that 5.4m Knuas - I like it

 

[Whitebirdyman]

For us it really is a 5.4m or nothing due to the drive, our retirement plans including moving elsewhere and maybe at that point we'd have a bigger van but we're happy with the length of the one we have now, just not the layout.

I can't really visualise your van, nor the problem, but I wondered if you could get what you want in a more cost-effective manner but going to a converter who could modify what you already have?

 

[Mark and Mindy]

W

I can't really visualise your van, nor the problem, but I wondered if you could get what you want in a more cost-effective manner but going to a converter who could modify what you already have?

What I have is a Devon Colorado, to convert would probably mean spending more than I will if we change to the one we're considering plus we can get that one very quickly, oh and we're booked to go to France in September so we need a 5.4m van with the right number plate.

Just goes to show that all the research in the world may not be enough as has happened to us - we saw the van at shows, we sat in it and tried it out as if it was ours; we really thought it was "the one" but the reality is that for the odd night its fine but more than that it isn't.

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