Dethleffs on Ford Chassis (1 Viewer)

[williat1]

Hi.
I've recently taken delivery of my fourth motorhome which is a Dethleffs Fortero which is based on the new Ford Tansit chassis. It is rear wheel drive with a twin wheel axle. Without any doubt it is much better than my previous Hymer, Bessacarr and KonTiki which were all based on the Fiat chassis. The build quality is superb and the ride I find better than the Fiat.
I had considered a motorhome based on the new Fiat unit but the various problems besetting the new models as highlighted on various forums put me off a bit.
The rear wheel drive has proved to be excellent...the front wheel drive Fiat had a problem getting traction on steep hills and wet ground. The Ford however came into it's own during the recent wet weather. I'd booked onto a site near Morpeth just before the floods and when I arrived found it to resemble a tank training ground with ruts and mud everywhere, with caravans having to be towed onto and off their pitches by a tractor. I had to stay due to a wedding the following day. The Ford drove effortesly across the mire and pulled off just as well in the morning. The on board computer indicated 30mpg on my first trip representing motorway driving at 60mph in 6th gear. I don't think my Fiat would come anywhere near this. also the spec of the Dethleffs includes twin airbags, cab aircon and cruise control, ABS, ASR and Hill Assist as standard.

happy motorhoming

Williat1

 

[jonandshell]

We have a Chausson Welcome 35 on a RWD twin wheel transit.
Recently, in the snow and ice, we visited Sandringham CC site for a night out. Upon arrival, we opted to use the furthest end of the site, up the hill as there were no other vans there and we like the idea of a quiet night in the woods.
The drove the icy uncleared road up the hill to our chosen pitch and had a lovely quiet night.
The following morning, reason for the lack of outfits in the pitches became apparent as, following the one-way system, a ducato-based swift got stuck after only climbing one third of the hill!
We packed up and off-pitched and ascended the remainder of the hill to leave the site without a hiccup.
We have had similar experiences on wet rally fields and Cls. The traction from the transit is superb and she drives like a dream, with all the bells and whistles.
All coachbuilts should be on one!
We get about 23-24 mpg out of ours, although it has a large body with the aerodynamics of a London bus!
As a footnote, we actually got stuck on dry cobbles in the summer, in Spain in our previous 'van, a 2006 Boxer-based Elddis Autocirrus! It took four attempts at increasing speeds to get up that slope!
We'll never change our 'van for a FWD model, you don't know the benefits until you need them!