Hello, and first visit coming up to the MH show in Birmingham

[Maloflora]

Hi all,

Hello! First post and all that.

I recently started taking solo motorhome holidays - two in the last two years - and really loved it. I'm looking to semi-retire in a couple of years and am beginning to think about buying a campervan at that moment. So I thought I'd go to the NEC and have a look around, so I can work out what to hire next to test out various things before I press the big button.

So far, I've worked out that I need the following things:

• Automatic gearbox
• 190cm bed minimum as I'm about 6'2
• Good shower as I like to use it in the morning even at campsites
• Enough garage / storage for an ebike (could be under movable rear beds of course)
• Solar panel

Things I think I like:

• Overcab panoramic window rather than storage
• Not making a bed up every day - is it doable to have a rear lounge where you can relax on one watching TV and sleep on the other bed? Or better to stick to front dinette with TV, and rear bed?

Things I don't understand yet but have plenty of time to work out:

• Combi heating system - better off diesel or not?
• Weather proofing?
• Oven - necessary or not?

I'm planning my visit and have got various ideas about models to look at. Things like: Adria Twin Supreme 640; Malibu Comfort DB Charming Skyview GT 600 / 640; Dreamer Select D51, D55 or D62 Select; Globecar Summit Prime 640, Campscout (640) or GlobeScout R (600); Hymer Grand Canyon S; Compass Avantgarde CV60; Wildax Aurora or Aurora XL; Westfalia James Cook or Columbus 601/641. Plus interesting smaller makers like Vantage, IH motorhomes or RP motorhomes.

Does that all make sense? Any other manufacturers I should look at? Sorry it's a lot to dump in one post. Please ask anything.

M

 

[Richard n Ann]

You definitely want an oven good for potatoes and heats the van up too

 

[carolyn]

Sounds like a trip to the NEC is a great idea, you may feel overwhelmed but it’s a great start.

We’re on our second IH630RD and love them, we just changed from a manual to an Automatic. We are short arses but I know Riverbankannie and her husband John are tall and have the same van. They leave it as 2 singles whereas we make up the big bed (TMI) The big U shaped lounge is great especially in less than good weather and gives a huge amount of boot space. They store Bromptons in theirs. We have normal electric bikes on a towbar mounted bike rack. The over cab storage space is like a tardis and has a neat tidy door. Its not dark. Consort, Vantage and S&L do similar vans. Consort and S&L don't do trade ins. They all have proper ovens which we like.

IH are nice people to do business with, we had teething problems with our last van which were a bit of a pain as we live in Dorset and it was Covid but John who took over from Carol was excellent. It’s how things are dealt with when things go wrong that is the test of a good company.

 

[Jo662]

 

[Riverbankannie]

Just to add to carolyn ‘s post, we are both 6ft tall, John used to be 6’2 , and bed length was one of our major criteria. The IH630 RL is long enough to stretch out fully, (our bed at home is 7’ long and we always remark on how well we sleep in the camper). The other reason for our choice was the comfy rear lounge during the day. Having longer legs means that a turned around cab seat is not really an alternative for comfort and those with front dinette seats so 4 can travel even worse. Being older, feet up lounging for an hour or so in the day and when going away this time of year with cooler darker evenings.

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[Wombles]

Hi & welcome! The flip wall shower, that some of the models you have listed have, is great for showering every day. Be wary of the panoramic front panels as some have had problems with road noise & they can be too hot in summer & lose too much heat in winter. Oven not necessarily essential as many of us carry a Remoska https://www.lakeland.co.uk/brands/remoska-brand?intcmp=INTSRCH:remoska or cook on hob.
Have a look here for some tips about visiting the Show https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...tickets-tips-where-to-stay-whos-going.267681/

 

[Maloflora]

Thanks for all the welcomes and very helpful replies. Consort look like a really interesting maker - I'll make sure to look them up. And I'll definitely look at the IH630 RL. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of chintzy fabrics which has slightly put me off their models. I rather prefer gloss white storage and dark grey fabrics, but difficult to make a real judgement without seeing it all in person.

The flip wall showers look really interesting and a great idea. I just need to make sure there's enough room to stand up straight and move around a little bit in there. And good tip on the panoramic panels - is that true of all of them? And blinds would presumably help.

 

[carolyn]

Thanks for all the welcomes and very helpful replies. Consort look like a really interesting maker - I'll make sure to look them up. And I'll definitely look at the IH630 RL. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of chintzy fabrics which has slightly put me off their models. I rather prefer gloss white storage and dark grey fabrics, but difficult to make a real judgement without seeing it all in person.

The flip wall showers look really interesting and a great idea. I just need to make sure there's enough room to stand up straight and move around a little bit in there. And good tip on the panoramic panels - is that true of all of them? And blinds would presumably help.

Scott Naylor who owns Consort used to own Vantage and sold out to Signature or one of the other big chains. Travelled a bit and then started again! That’s why they’re so good, a lot of his old fitters have gone from Vantage across to Consort allegedly. People we met on our recent tour of Italy are about to pick up a Consort, they’ve got a 2017 Vantage Neo!

The Consorts are certainly very much plainer and a bit cheaper.

 

[EuroTrotters]

We are there as advisors

 

[ambulancekidd]

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[Maloflora]

Can I ask a broader question in prep for the NEC? Is there a consensus on a ranking of manufacturers on this site? I.e. is there general agreement that x is a value for money brand, y is less reliable, z is premium price etc.? Are small bespoke firms better quality than big factory brands? Just trying to make sure I see a representative range when I go.

This may stir up a hornet's nest of course...

 

[Wombles]

Mostly very good brands in your list although we would omit Elddis & RP but very much personal choice - there's no best one just the best for you With regards to panoramic roofs they are like Marmite! Some love the airy feel & being able to stargaze. We had one but kept the blind 3/4 closed most of the time & much prefer the extra storage space we have now. Closing the blind fully can cause any window to warp & some early panoramic windows did come unstuck but hopefully that's been resolved now as well as some having factory fitted deflectors reducing road noise.

 

[TheMachMan]

A bit bias, but after carrying out our research at the 2019 show we shortlisted & bought a Malibu. No issues with the pan roof window. Makes the space feel much more airy.
Our shower has a retractable loo, so has lots of room.
Not sure you’ll get an electric bike in under the bed on any of these though unless you fold up the bed Which we can do.
Our friends have a nice Adria Twin very good quality, and another a Westfalia, not so common but very well finished.

 

[Grianan]

We have a Campscout which, in many ways I love. Shower is excellent, i love the higher level fridge and the bed is really comfy. We store silverscreens above the cab and wouldn’t want to trade that space for a panoramic roof.

Things I’d like to change:
- can’t sit up in bed to read as bed is raised and there are cupboards above which I hit my head on.
- no lounging space
- we don’t need 4 seats any more so dinette would be better as comfy corner seats.

Other thoughts:

I’d be nervous about changing to a bed you have to make up as it was a bit of a palava in our lovely caravan and it wasn’t hugely comfortable.

A sofa opposite the huge sliding door would be great but the beds with this configuration don’t seem to be very long and looks as if you’d have up climb over the other person to get to the loo at night.

 

[Maloflora]

Yes Malibus look great - definitely on my list to look at.
Campscout looks great too. Do you need silverscreens if you get cab blinds?

Yes I'm keen to avoid making up a bed all the time. Of course it's just me, so I think I can afford to take some risk on storage and there's no one else to climb over! So might be worth exploring transverse bed if there's one over 6'2.

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[uzsnowdrop]

Maloflora, 100%worth getting external screens even if you have those internal blinds.
Theres whole threads on here about them but they are cosy and help to eliminate condensation, a good investment.

 

[Maloflora]

Thanks again for all the very useful suggestions!

Another question from me, as I've only driven a couple of Fiat coachbuilts so far. Does the make of the base vehicle make a lot of difference in the end? I've seen a lot of Fiats, some Mercedes, and the odd Peugeot / Ford. Would be great to get any thoughts.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN. Why not join, you will get your annual subscription back in advice alone.

 

[georgio]

For us making a bed up every night would be a chore too far on anything more than a couple of nights

 

[Maloflora]

Well I had a lovely time on Saturday! What a lot of motorhomes and caravans. Slightly mediocre chicken burger for lunch and a nightmare on the trains getting back.

I managed to discover one really important thing for someone who is 6'3 - not all campers are the same height. In particular I discovered one model in particular (Pilote V633M) that seems to be built on a taller Ducato van than the others. I managed not to bang my head on this one, and the showerhead was above my head. Plus the storage is amazing.

Is there any way to find other campers with a similar height? It seems to be an unusual base van.

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[Maloflora]

Sorry to bump, but does anyone know how to find extra high top (H3 I think it is) vans? Maybe I just need to look at van heights as the only distinguisher but it can be hard to find on the websites.