Hymer, which chassis ? (1 Viewer)

[duffs]

Hymer is my prefered MH, (I do like other A class ones) we're not buying till next year, but I need info to persuade OH that they are very good. I do all the research and then present him with my version lol!

He was in the motor trade selling for years, all top end but has no knowledge mechanically sadly.

So Fiat Ducato ( are they the same?) and Merc are the ones I have seen. Just seen a Renault one now

All the ads say 'built on the reliable ............ and the engine that goes on for ever blah blah blah'

Help please I'm in the bottom price range 8-13k

Cheers jakki

 

[tonyidle]

In my (limited) experience the base vehicle is down to personal preference. In my opinion it's enough trouble finding the layout and make of van you want within budget without trying to add base vehicle into the mix. The most common base is Fiat with Merc a way behind. Both appear to be equally reliable.

 

[duffs]

In my (limited) experience the base vehicle is down to personal preference. In my opinion it's enough trouble finding the layout and make of van you want within budget without trying to add base vehicle into the mix. The most common base is Fiat with Merc a way behind. Both appear to be equally reliable.

lol I know so many so many letters and numbers etc etc etc, thank you

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[funflair]

If you are buying a vehicle of a certain age I would check with your tame mechanic as to spares availability.

Fiat will be FWD
Merc will be RWD

If it matters.

Martin

 

[tacr2man]

In the range you are looking at then vehicle condition is more important than base vehicle , with one caveat and that is Fiat fwd chassis had a period of gearbox/clutch issues . have a read on the forum . Mercedes chassis seem to be at a premium .

 

[duffs]

If you are buying a vehicle of a certain age I would check with your tame mechanic as to spares availability.

Fiat will be FWD
Merc will be RWD

If it matters.

Martin

Thank you, is one better than the other with maneuverability etc

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[funflair]

Thank you, is one better than the other with maneuverability etc

Better traction with the RWD especially if its twin rear wheels, and possibly better turning circle as the drive shafts on the Fiat FWD usually reduce it.

Martin

 

[duffs]

In the range you are looking at then vehicle condition is more important than base vehicle , with one caveat and that is Fiat fwd chassis had a period of gearbox/clutch issues . have a read on the forum . Mercedes chassis seem to be at a premium .

OMG a multitude of gearbox issues, thank you for highlighting

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Why not check out 'Classic Hymers Group' should be loads of good guidance on there.
https://classichymers.co.uk/

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[mikebeaches]

OMG a multitude of gearbox issues, thank you for highlighting

I think the clutch / gearbox issues referred to are perhaps on later model versions than you are looking at, from late 2006 until about early 2010 models, which were the original X250 Fiat Ducatos.

The problem with those was reversing, particularly up a slope, they juddered badly - supposedly because they'd been built with the reverse gear ratio too high. Fiat eventually came up with various fixes, but it's still something to be aware of in that age of vehicle.

 

[duffs]

Why not check out 'Classic Hymers Group' should be loads of good guidance on there.

Off there now, I'm in the Hymer Market too.
Thank you x

 

[funflair]

There was a 5th gear issue on older Fiat chassis.

Martin

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[duffs]

There was a 5th gear issue on older Fiat chassis.

Martin

So when we eventually find our MH I will be asking that question, cheers all x

 

[Theonlysue]

Also a hymer owners group on fb.

 

[two]

What payload vehicle are you planning to get (you should think about payload)? If less than 4.5tonne, you’re probably stuck with Fiat. I’ve just had my first Fiat and am bitterly disappointed with it. I’d have preferred a Merc base. My past two were on Mercs but dipping below 3.5t meant having to accept the Fiat, which is more economical but lacks guts, has a speed limiter that often fails, has a dash that cannot be read in most lighting conditions, and a direction indicator that flashes four times if you knock it. Mercs are RWD so provide the power where the weight is, so less chance of getting stuck and a better turning circle. How I wish I’d got the Hymer MLI (or MLT). Mercs are well worth the extra if you can afford it. As far as I know, Iveco is a worthy base vehicle.

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[duffs]

What payload vehicle are you planning to get (you should think about payload)? If less than 4.5tonne, you’re probably stuck with Fiat. I’ve just had my first Fiat and am bitterly disappointed with it. I’d have preferred a Merc base. My past two were on Mercs but dipping below 3.5t meant having to accept the Fiat, which is more economical but lacks guts, has a speed limiter that often fails, has a dash that cannot be read in most lighting conditions, and a direction indicator that flashes four times if you knock it. Mercs are RWD so provide the power where the weight is, so less chance of getting stuck and a better turning circle. How I wish I’d got the Hymer MLI (or MLT). Mercs are well worth the extra if you can afford it. As far as I know, Iveco is a worthy base vehicle.

Thank you, I'll remember that gem x

 

[jongood]

What payload vehicle are you planning to get (you should think about payload)? If less than 4.5tonne, you’re probably stuck with Fiat. I’ve just had my first Fiat and am bitterly disappointed with it. I’d have preferred a Merc base. My past two were on Mercs but dipping below 3.5t meant having to accept the Fiat, which is more economical but lacks guts, has a speed limiter that often fails, has a dash that cannot be read in most lighting conditions, and a direction indicator that flashes four times if you knock it. Mercs are RWD so provide the power where the weight is, so less chance of getting stuck and a better turning circle. How I wish I’d got the Hymer MLI (or MLT). Mercs are well worth the extra if you can afford it. As far as I know, Iveco is a worthy base vehicle.

That doesn't sound like either of the fiats I've had -12 years and 80,000 miles between them.

The mb chassis also has its limitations. Normally single floored and quite a bouncy ride and can be expensive when they go wrong. If you look at the high end, the majority are on fiat or iveco.

Having said that at your budget you would be well advised to choose based on condition. An older niesmann can deliver a lot of motorhome for the money.

 

[Shrimp]

Personally we like the Fiat, better sized wheels, and the Merc seems to have softer suspension-more roll on corners etc. I think the age you will be looking at-re your price range-an older Hymer should be fine but do get the vehicle checked over before parting with your money!

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[two]

True, the Mercedes ride is much softer (and the track width is narrower, too) so it can wallow more when overtaken by large vehicles on motorways. I had the suspension upgraded on my second one and it was much better. I always felt that the Mercedes was mechanically sound, although parts not cheap (but at least the garage gave a 'free' valet), and I never doubted my ability to complete a journey.
My new Fiat has spent two weeks in the garage already. I'm hoping the performance will improve when it's run in (10,000miles?). Fiat is are the most common base around (nearly said 'most popular' but we don't get much choice).
I'd still prefer RWD from an engineering point of view (even a Transit). In spite of that, there are many owners happily travelling around in FWD who've not had a problem. It's personal preference (and may be early days for my Fiat experience) but I know which base I'd be looking for, having owned both. If Fiat think that what they've produced is "best of breed" after all their years of development, I have to disagree.

 

[duffs]

Why not check out 'Classic Hymers Group' should be loads of good guidance on there.
https://classichymers.co.uk/

thank you Hettie just been accepted into this group x

 

[mojo]

We had Fiat last 4 vans .Firmer ride than our Merc but a number of times the front wheels would slip badly on damp hills leaving us always wary of such situations .Other than that we had good service from them.This is our first auto box and the Merc was best for this .

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[StephDeLux]

I know this is an old thread, but just in case, a look at crash tests can help the choice of chassis.

 

[jongood]

I know this is an old thread, but just in case, a look at crash tests can help the choice of chassis.

How so?

Most motorhomes are based on vans of modular construction, therefore anything other than a PVC is going to behave differently to the chassis manufacturers crash test.

You could of course look at the crash tests carried out by Hymer and N&B but that would only tell you how that specific model performed.

Happily serious accident involving motorhomes are few and far between so IMO most purchasers would be well advised to weight their decisions more in favour of the layout they best believe suits their needs.

 

[canopus]

One thing is fact, you’ll pay more if it’s on a Merc chassis.

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[StephDeLux]

How so?

Most motorhomes are based on vans of modular construction, therefore anything other than a PVC is going to behave differently to the chassis manufacturers crash test.

You could of course look at the crash tests carried out by Hymer and N&B but that would only tell you how that specific model performed.

Happily serious accident involving motorhomes are few and far between so IMO most purchasers would be well advised to weight their decisions more in favour of the layout they best believe suits their needs.

Indeed frontal collisions are a rare occurrence. And that's great, of course. It is true that for A Class, each MH model will have its own behaviour, generally very bad.

However, for semi-integrated, you keep the front of the cabin and its structural protection. And there is a big, big difference between a Ducato, which is truly deplorable on that front and a Sprinter where the cabin keeps its shape in case of a frontal collision. In the Ducato, the dashboards literally takes the place of the front seats, horribly compressing the driver and the passenger.

What happens in the back with kids seems to be horrible whatever the MH model.

In short, we would never buy cars with such low safety standards, but it does seem that Mercedes is much safer than Fiat or Ford for vans, at least in the front places.

 

[KUSKUS]

The op has stated that he intends to spend between £8k to £13 k on a motorhome ,
who would consider the crash tests on new motorhomes to be applicable to him ?
He would probably have bought a 25 year old motorhome by now.

 

[joka250]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but on the euroncap web site I can see no indication that Fiat Ducato or Mercedes Sprinters have ben tested by them.

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[StephDeLux]

Indeed.

Hower, other institute have made tests, notably the Swedish National Administration of Transport:



Pretty frightening

Concerning the Sprinter, I could only find this:



And this:

 

[Paddywack]

Indeed.

Hower, other institute have made tests, notably the Swedish National Administration of Transport:



Pretty frightening

Concerning the Sprinter, I could only find this:



And this:

You cannot use these videos as evidence, you are comparing an ambulance with a fixed cabin/bulkhead to a coachbuilt with no bulkhead. Also my Swedish isn't very good but there is no indication of the speeds in these tests - are they comparable?

 

[Speve]

MHO for what it’s worth we have owned a merc Autotrail Cheyenne 2004 nice van good engine but wallowed like water buffalo, an Autotrail Tracker FB a great van with 150 Fiat engine drove really well lots of power. A Hymer Exsis I 698 150 Fiat engine lovely van we towed a car trailer with it and never any problems drove really well. Now have a Hymer B678 DL 180 Fiat engine auto gears drives really nicely and tows trailer with ease. As far as I’m concerned the fiat engines we’ve had have been just as good as the Merc. And with the Alko Chassis you get double floors and a bit more storage as well as warmer winters.????

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