Hymer B Class Modern Comfort BMC-T 680

Allinthestars

Allinthestars

Joined
Sep 23, 2019
Posts
134
Likes collected
129
Location
Stone, Staffordshire
Funster No
64,675
MH
Frankia i740 Plus
Exp
2020
Been to view this Today.
Anyone own one ? got any information about this van ? Anything at all Helpful please.
Got a second viewing Wednesday, so want as much info as possible.
 
Hi,

We had the BMC-i 680 same van different front end and loved the drive an absolute dream to drive.
Size and layout suited us fine along with the under floor storage but found the front wheel drive was no suited to where we live and was quite useless on wet grass.

They also have a massive garage we put a Ktm 790 adventure motorcycle in quite easily.

A good choice of van if you can live with the poor traction.
 
Longjohn said:
Hi,

We had the BMC-i 680 same van different front end and loved the drive an absolute dream to drive.
Size and layout suited us fine along with the under floor storage but found the front wheel drive was no suited to where we live and was quite useless on wet grass.

They also have a massive garage we put a Ktm 790 adventure motorcycle in quite easily.

A good choice of van if you can live with the poor traction.
Click to expand...
Use all weather tyres it will help overcome the traction issue
 
Thanks Longjohn for the excellent information. Can I ask what year yours was, and why did you choose a A-class for your next MH ?
 
Allinthestars said:
Thanks Longjohn for the excellent information. Can I ask what year yours was, and why did you choose a A-class for your next MH ?
Click to expand...

Yes, it was this year's 2019. We tried the A-class just for the additional bed at the front and additional views through the front whilst sitting around the table.

We now have a MLT 580 4x4 due in November which we are looking forward too although it is not as nicely set out as the BMC model's and only has the 7speed auto box.

The BMC are a great vehicle and I'm sure you will love it, take a good test drive in one they drive A1 with 9speed auto box and feel very responsive.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
The ML-T series are based on the rear-wheel drive Sprinter. Those vans have a shorter wheelbase so that a lot of weight is on the rear axle, ensuing an excellent traction even in 2 wheels drive.

Pros: rear-wheel drive :), narrower van, better interior

Cons: More utilitarian chassis, probably not as good to drive, no double-floor (that's the big one), less water capacity (120l vs. 180l in the BM-C)

In the case of the 580, which exists on both series, we find the bedroom much better designed in the ML-T. The cushion between the beds in the B-MC is more like a hard separation than something that helps the continuity between the beds. Also, in the B-MC the plastic contraption to make a kind of double bed is ridiculous. It can support 80 kgs maximum and it does not make for a comfortable double bed at all.

All in all, we found the furniture in the BM-C to be on a slightly lower level that what is in the ML-T.

Having considered both series for months, we went with the ML-T 560. We were tempted by the 4x4 but that meant a ladder for the wife to get in and a C1 driving license and we didn't think it was worth it.
 
We have a MLT580, love it, Mercedes auto, effortless drive, updated to 3850kg. We did put Dunlop air suspension on the rear which made it a far more stable ride. Big garage that we house our bikes in but we are thinking of buying a Honda Vision 110 for next year which will replace the bikes in the garage
 
Ok, I've been back to view the BM I 680 ( also the A class version) with the good wife tonight. They closed at 530, so only had about 20 mins to scoot round them. We intend to go back Friday, not to buy one, but to ask the question "would they get it weighed before a offer is made" ( now that kind of rhymes), could be a little slogan to pass on to potential buyers !! Anyway, after having a long chat this evening we have come to a conclusion that the BCT 680 does not give the room of the 680 A class, but the 680 A class is plate under 4000kg which is not what we are looking for. I have two others that i am looking at and again would like any information at all on pro's and con's of each MH. 1. Carthago Chic C-line 4.9 2019 which has the payload i,m looking for AND THE. 2. Knaus Sun l 700 LEG A Class
Also could any one advise if i'm post in the correct place to maximize replies for the two models stated.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Allinthestars said:
Thanks for the advice Stephane. Did you have the weight upgraded ? What is your pay load ?
Click to expand...

We didn't upgrade the weight, for several reasons, so we had to manage the weight while still indulging ourselves a bit with the full cooker with the oven and grill that adds 29 kgs, the larger fuel tank that adds 24 kgs and the 7G-Tronic that adds 45 kgs.

Nevertheless, we managed to keep the total weight of the extras to 161 kgs by not taking:
  • Awning
  • TV Sat
  • Solar panels
On top of that we'll replace the AGM battery with a Lithium, saving about 12 kgs. I project a daily consumption of 20Ah in winter and we'll move the van every day (in winter at least) because it'll effectively be our car and only transportation system. The booster fitted standard by Hymer should be enough to charge the battery with our daily driving. And even if we stay put 2-3 days, it still works :)

We wanted to keep the van the smallest possible because bikes are pretty much excluded for us. Of course the smaller size helps with the weight too, with the 560 being 50 kgs lighter than the 580.

So, with extras and after the battery replacement, we should have a MIRO of 3010 kgs. Hymer tends to be pretty precise on this.

I have listed what we bring when we travael with the weights and we'll be comfortably under 3.5T, comfortably enough to be able to add HPC hydraulic jacks (45 kgs - 10 kgs for the original jack - 7 kgs for the ramps = 28 kgs net).
 
Allinthestars said:
Ok, I've been back to view the BM I 680 ( also the A class version) with the good wife tonight. They closed at 530, so only had about 20 mins to scoot round them. We intend to go back Friday, not to buy one, but to ask the question "would they get it weighed before a offer is made" ( now that kind of rhymes), could be a little slogan to pass on to potential buyers !! Anyway, after having a long chat this evening we have come to a conclusion that the BCT 680 does not give the room of the 680 A class, but the 680 A class is plate under 4000kg which is not what we are looking for. I have two others that i am looking at and again would like any information at all on pro's and con's of each MH. 1. Carthago Chic C-line 4.9 2019 which has the payload i,m looking for AND THE. 2. Knaus Sun l 700 LEG A Class
Also could any one advise if i'm post in the correct place to maximize replies for the two models stated.
Click to expand...

Carthago was on our short list with Hymer, but Knaus was never seriously considered. After visiting them we didn't feel the quality is at the same level as the other two. Insulation in particular is not comparable, construction method is much less advanced and durable. The Knaus have very long beds, which is nice but the rest of the MH is a bit cramped as a result. All this is of course subjective ;)

Carthago didn't make it for us at the end for several reasons:
  • Weight management is virtually impossible before buying because you can not really tell what the real will be
  • The interior is gorgeous, very cosy (those beds!), very well built, but ultimately we found it less practical than the simpler Hymer
  • The garage in the Carthago is a big cube where you're on your own to make it practical. On the Hymer M-LT they build it with deep shelves that will replace many grey plastic boxes
  • If you look at the Cartago exterior body at an acute angle, you'll see the exterior aluminium sheet is not really smooth. It has what looks like vertical sipes. I am not sure why, but they are there. The Hymer exterior finish is perfect. Not sure it has any importance whatsoever, I just felt better paying that kind of money for a better finished product.
  • We do prefer the modern Mercedes Sprinter to the Ducato that is basically the exact same as the one we had 10 years ago. Highly subjective here, the Ducato is in my opinion an excellent base.
  • What finally made it was the pretty rude welcome we got when we travelled to Carthago City at Aulendorf for their presentation of the 2020 range at the beginning of August. We ended up spending more time at Hymer (14km from Carthago) and found our dream van: the ML-T 560 :)
To summarize, our subjective feeling came down to both brands producing excellent vans but Carthago has more bling and Hymer is more practical.
 
Thanks Stephane you knowledge and considerate replies are most welcome. Hopefully they will let me weight the Hymer Friday. I'll keep you posted. Any other hidden/most forgotten questions I can ask ? What Hymer model under 7.5 mtrs as the 4500kg ?
 
Allinthestars said:
Thanks Stephane you knowledge and considerate replies are most welcome. Hopefully they will let me weight the Hymer Friday. I'll keep you posted. Any other hidden/most forgotten questions I can ask ? What Hymer model under 7.5 mtrs as the 4500kg ?
Click to expand...

Regarding the questions to ask, I'd say absolutely anything you don't feel too sure about. Anything and everything. If it's a second hand don't take it without a new battery, and don't accept an AGM, you'll have to replace it.

Have you looked at their B-Class SupremeLine? 7.39m and 4500kgs. They look quite agreeable :)
 
We have just gone through a similar process of elimination.
We also ended up with the Hymer MLT series
We went with the 570 (60th edition)
7.74m Long
Currently plated for 3,500 kg (but can be easily re-plated for up to 4,500kg)
It's not 4x4, but is is rear wheel drive.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Brains said:
We have just gone through a similar process of elimination.
We also ended up with the Hymer MLT series
We went with the 570 (60th edition)
7.74m Long
Currently plated for 3,500 kg (but can be easily re-plated for up to 4,500kg)
It's not 4x4, but is is rear wheel drive.
Click to expand...
I think the 570 is shorter than that we had one a 60th it was around 6.7m long nice van, we now have a 580mlt 4x4 which is just below 7m on order.
 
We looked at the Hymer B Modern Comfort when it was launched a year ago and personally thought the circulation space was too tight particularly around the kitchen area. Also felt the overall proposition was too Mercedes led rather than Hymer, brilliant dashboard though.
 
pandas said:
the overall proposition was too Mercedes led rather than Hymer
Click to expand...

I can't say I understand what you mean there. Everything that is behind the cabin is Hymer, which is pretty uncommon in the industry.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
One thing which is being discussed at the moment and also to take into account if buying new, the MLT is normal VED where as the comfort range is over £2k first year.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top