Compactline driving position Flawed design?

[JP1889]

Hi I had a look at the compactline and really liked/loved it apart from to me a very fundamental flaw.
When I adjusted the drivers seat the window column partially obscured the view on the right edge of the door mirror.
This caused a nasty potentially blind spot.
I was a bit astounded by this, as I;ve driven all sorts of commercial vehicles and never encountered anything so bad.
I am 6ft tall with quite long arms. I wondered if I am unique in spotting this? Does anyone else have this problem ?
Or does anyone have a left hand drive one that I might do me a big favour and let me sit in it to see if it is exactly the same on the LHD as the RHD?

Thoughts welcome.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Compactline is an A class... Googled it ?

 

[DP+JAY]

I have the same problem with all Ducato based vans because the mirror arms are not adjustable.
DP

 

[Manic]

Hi I had a look at the compactline and really liked/loved it apart from to me a very fundamental flaw.
When I adjusted the drivers seat the window column partially obscured the view on the right edge of the door mirror.
This caused a nasty potentially blind spot.
I was a bit astounded by this, as I;ve driven all sorts of commercial vehicles and never encountered anything so bad.
I am 6ft tall with quite long arms. I wondered if I am unique in spotting this? Does anyone else have this problem ?
Or does anyone have a left hand drive one that I might do me a big favour and let me sit in it to see if it is exactly the same on the LHD as the RHD?

Thoughts welcome.

Just sit in the passenger seat and pretend

 

[Lenny HB]

Compactline is an A class... Googled it ?

Cleaver boy.
Well perhaps not anyone else would have known that.

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[Lenny HB]

If the one you looked at is close to you why not check the length of the front side windows to see if the left hand side is longer therfore giving better visability.

 

[Pausim]

I find the nice big mirror itself can obscure the view on roundabouts. Not a problem now I know, I just have to shift my head a little and make sure I have clear view. I am a short person so a different issue than the op. Perhaps both issues have something to do with being right hand drive and sitting on the doorless side of the cockpit.

 

[stevewagner]

I have a RHD compactline and am just under 6ft with long arms and don't have any problems with the driving position. In fact I would say it's the most comfortable motorhome I've ever driven and I've had 18!

 

[Vipar]

As said in a previous post. Sit in passenger seat hold a dinner plate in your hands an go brooooom brooooom.?

 

[Pausim]

I have a RHD compactline and am just under 6ft with long arms and don't have any problems with the driving position. In fact I would say it's the most comfortable motorhome I've ever driven and I've had 18!

I agree about the driving comfort, very happy with it and the mirror and roundabouts thing is just a matter of me getting used to a new vehicle. Moving your head to look around is part of normal driving.

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[JP1889]

If the one you looked at is close to you why not check the length of the front side windows to see if the left hand side is longer therfore giving better visability.

Thanks Lenny good idea, only flaw might be if the LHD is actually configurred in the same angle/ distance/position as a RHD from the door.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks Lenny good idea, only flaw might be if the LHD is actually configurred in the same angle/ distance/position as a RHD from the door.

The seat base and dash should be a mirror of RHD as those bits are standard Ducato.

 

[JP1889]

The seat base and dash should be a mirror of RHD as those bits are standard Ducato.

The point being one is a door and one isn't!

 

[Lenny HB]

The point being one is a door and one isn't!

Sorry can't see what you are getting at.

 

[JP1889]

Some good points on the thread so thanks everyone for their input.
I have driven lots of different makes of commercial vehicles HGVs, vans etc but not any coaches.
Part of the problem is the lack of mirror adjustment on a MoHo.
Commercial vehicles are usually the Cinderallas of road safety. Not seen any with advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning systems etc etc, so no surprise that MoHo are the same .
How many of us would trade in the Coffee machine for a collision avoidance system?

The roundabout issues and mirrors is a well know issue with trucks as the mirrors are massive and can obscure a huge area. Indeed driving an artic I nearly wiped out a teenage cyclist who was cycling around a roundabout at 4am without any lights carrying a rucksack he literally passed underneath the windscreen out of sight. I try not to judge people but I might well have inadvertently repatriated some stolen goods that night.
I did read a superb advanced drivers blog on how WW2 pilots combated not seeing enemy aircraft flying out of the sun by moving their heads very quickly from side to side.

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[Vipar]

Sit in the driving seat. Take a picture of the offending pillar

 

[Leltel]

Hi I had a look at the compactline and really liked/loved it apart from to me a very fundamental flaw.
When I adjusted the drivers seat the window column partially obscured the view on the right edge of the door mirror.
This caused a nasty potentially blind spot.
I was a bit astounded by this, as I;ve driven all sorts of commercial vehicles and never encountered anything so bad.
I am 6ft tall with quite long arms. I wondered if I am unique in spotting this? Does anyone else have this problem ?
Or does anyone have a left hand drive one that I might do me a big favour and let me sit in it to see if it is exactly the same on the LHD as the RHD?

Thoughts welcome.

We had the same with our Ctourer Sport, no longer have it now. We changed it for a Le Voyageur on a ducato base and don't have any problem with it

 

[Minxy]

We have a RHD Compactline with no door on the right hand side (driver) however there's a door on the left hand side (passenger). The front triangular windows are exactly the same on both sides. The LHS pillar is approximately the same width as the RHS pillar and in the same relative position so both RHD and LHD would give you the same issue IMV.

I think this may be to do with it being a narrow A-class however as I've not sat in a wider Carthago I can't say whether it would be the same or have other 'issues'. It may also occur in other makes of A-class which have a 2-part side window set-up; some cars also have a similar issue (a Vauxhall car we used to have was extremely bad). You learn to live with it and hubby just moves his head to account for it.

As for the mirrors, they are large and do block some front corner vision but again so long as you are aware and make sure you check properly for anything that might be in the blind spot it's not a problem.

Oh, one thing, if you sit in a RHD one again and have a play with adjusting the mirrors don't go twiddling the mirror knob on the LHS door ... it doesn't work! We thought ours was bust but apparently its not meant to work as it's just a dummy in place of what would be the control for LHD ones!

 

[JP1889]

Thanks everyone for your help, especially Minxy girl.
Next time I am in Europe I'll check out the LHD compactline and report book .
I haven't had any issues in the wider Cathargo's. Guess part of the problem was when they designed the compactline they then didn't want to have extending out very maneuverable mirrors/big ears (for perfectly good obvious reasons)


Mind the tool booths!

 

[Minxy]

Thanks everyone for your help, especially Minxy girl.
Next time I am in Europe I'll check out the LHD compactline and report book .
I haven't had any issues in the wider Cathargo's. Guess part of the problem was when they designed the compactline they then didn't want to have extending out very maneuverable mirrors/big ears (for perfectly good obvious reasons)


Mind the tool booths!

I believe the mirrors on both the compact and standard width ones are the same so won't stick out any further from the bodywork on either, it's probably down to the seat on the standard one being further away form the side which maybe is what makes the difference. As for checking out a LHD Compactline, the seat placement is the same as is the door so just do as suggested previously and sit in the seat going 'brum, brum .... bruuuuuummmmm'.

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[Compactliner]

i have the same van as Mel above, and can echo her comments...any bus mirror is going to cause an issue to a lesser/greater degree based on driver build etc...
it is a small problem at roundabouts....in the UK for the RHD vehicles...we dont notice it when 'away'...
i just know i have to adjust myself slightly to give my viewpoint a different angle, it is second nature after a few miles.
i also agree that the width of the vehicle can make a difference... woth a panel van or chassis-cab version, the drivers door is pretty close to the driver and creating a viewing angle for tricky junctions is easy...
at the opposite end, a full width A class puts the side window a lomg way from the driver and makes this much more difficult.
the slim A class Compactline is somewhere in the middle, with the window reasonably close to the driver, yet not as close as a PVC, so the issue isnt a huge one.
personally, i find the i138 a doddle to drive...slim width is easy to place, short wheelbase spins round mini roundabouts yet its roomy enough indside to spend months on tour...
now there is a new 9-spd torque converter box, ive tried it (al eit in a Liner for Two and its pretty good.

 

[Jenka]

Some good points on the thread so thanks everyone for their input.
I have driven lots of different makes of commercial vehicles HGVs, vans etc but not any coaches.
Part of the problem is the lack of mirror adjustment on a MoHo.
Commercial vehicles are usually the Cinderallas of road safety. Not seen any with advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning systems etc etc, so no surprise that MoHo are the same .
How many of us would trade in the Coffee machine for a collision avoidance system?

The roundabout issues and mirrors is a well know issue with trucks as the mirrors are massive and can obscure a huge area. Indeed driving an artic I nearly wiped out a teenage cyclist who was cycling around a roundabout at 4am without any lights carrying a rucksack he literally passed underneath the windscreen out of sight. I try not to judge people but I might well have inadvertently repatriated some stolen goods that night.
I did read a superb advanced drivers blog on how WW2 pilots combated not seeing enemy aircraft flying out of the sun by moving their heads very quickly from side to side.

Some good points on the thread so thanks everyone for their input.
I have driven lots of different makes of commercial vehicles HGVs, vans etc but not any coaches.
Part of the problem is the lack of mirror adjustment on a MoHo.
Commercial vehicles are usually the Cinderallas of road safety. Not seen any with advanced driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning systems etc etc, so no surprise that MoHo are the same .
How many of us would trade in the Coffee machine for a collision avoidance system?

The roundabout issues and mirrors is a well know issue with trucks as the mirrors are massive and can obscure a huge area. Indeed driving an artic I nearly wiped out a teenage cyclist who was cycling around a roundabout at 4am without any lights carrying a rucksack he literally passed underneath the windscreen out of sight. I try not to judge people but I might well have inadvertently repatriated some stolen goods that night.
I did read a superb advanced drivers blog on how WW2 pilots combated not seeing enemy aircraft flying out of the sun by moving their heads very quickly from side to side.

I was running trucks with ESP,lane departure ,ACC ,blind spot warning aids etc in 2004 so I guess it's a long time since you drove Trucks ! Most of the above is in new build legislation and trucks today are far more safer than some vans . I think the trouble with MH manufacturers is they don't invest in testing and technology to the degree of cars/truck manufacturers.

 

[JP1889]

Mystery is solved. Went to see a LHD 2015 carthorgo compact . Perfect visibility.
For me Carthargo messed up with the redesign when the mount change away from below window to above the roof line 'elephant ears'.

 

[Compactliner]

i remember a comment from my dealer that said customers went nuts when they fitted the lower mirrors in 2015 and Carthago reinstated the Bus Mirrors the following season.

 

[Minxy]

The mirror location is subjective: the higher mounted ones give a much better view below the mirror for obstacles, pedestrians etc but restricts the side view a bit for junctions etc, having them lower obstructs the lower view from the window but obviously you can see a bit more on a side view at the top of the window.

Neither position is ideal however the higher mounted ones are less likely to get thwacked by white-van-man/woman.

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[Lenny HB]

In our last Hymer we had lower mounted mirrors, in the current one Bus type. The bus ones give far better rear visibility and are out of the way of white van man's mirrors but on target for HGV mirrors.
Having had both on an A Class, bus ones win.

 

[Wellington]

I too have a love hate relationship with my bus mirrors. Love the rear visibility (saved my bacon when we got lost in Rome!) hate the way it’s exactly where I need to look at a roundabout in the UK. Maybe I’ll get a LHD instead....

 

[Manxcat]

Due to lockdown I have done very few miles since collecting my c tourer 138 in February. I find the mirrors very good, but I certainly cant get the hang of looking at the rearview tv screen thing.

 

[Wellington]

I flipping did in Rome!

 

[Lenny HB]

Due to lockdown I have done very few miles since collecting my c tourer 138 in February. I find the mirrors very good, but I certainly cant get the hang of looking at the rearview tv screen thing.

I've always thought where they put that screen a bit odd, I suppose there is some logic you can glance up at the left mirror then straight down to the screen.

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