Keep being drawn to a Auto trail Chieftan. (1 Viewer)

[maz]

Yes the Burstner Elegance 821 is an excellent build quality motorhome, certainly better than the Autotrail but is at least £25k more expensive, we looked long and hard at the Burstner and found that as nice as it was it just didn`t work.
Example:- the lounge area is to the right as you walk in, utilizing the drivers and passenger seat which spin round to face the lounge, there is a long seat on the right hand side of the vehicle with a fixed table and “L” shaped seat opposite.
The table does move around on a sliding system but space is limited, ie there isn`t much room to get past someone sat on the long seat on the right hand side of the vehicle, yes you could push the table over to the left hand side but not if someone is sat on that side.
The tv is mounted by the door on a slide out, not really the perfect position for those sat facing across the motorhome.
Ok bed time well let`s say we have a family situation so time for bed kids, mmhh their bed is over the drivers and passengers seats which means when you pull it down you have lost your lounge area, you certainly wouldn`t want them sleeping in your lovely end bedroom.
The kitchen is first class though as is the loo and shower room, the end bedroom comes with 3 options, island bed, double bed to one side or 2 singles.
So as individual areas the Burstner is top quality it`s just as a package it doesn`t work for a family.

Not sure where the 'at least £25k more expensive' comes from - certainly not in the mid-noughties age range when I was buying last year. :Confused:

Agree with the comment about the over-large table - first thing I did was remove it and buy a folding leg table that stores neatly out of the way by the wardrobe. That way you have a lovely open living area.

Don't watch TV so can't really comment on that aspect. My van doesn't have the slide-out by the door that robnchris mention, so guess that has altered over the years

Don't have children either, but take the point about the drop-down bed putting the cab seats out of action.

If you're not looking for winter use, then the Burstner might well be higher spec than you need. Full winterisation was one of my priorities, together with high payload.

Good luck in your search!

 

[bob and jules]

We've a 2010 Chieftain, so a little newer than you are looking at but I have to agree with a previous post re the Burstner vs Autotrail. We looked long and hard before buying the Chief for use mainly by just the two of us and bought it mainly because of the following

Why oh why dont continental vans have a twin bench seat setup instead of their ridiculous slidy front fixed table arrangement? Do all the Germans and French sit bolt upright at night or when watching the telly? In the Chief both of us can stretch out on what are effectively two single beds reading, snoozing etc. We really couldnt see how we could do it in the vast majority of the European variety.

The kitchens in most continental vans are really small, hardly any workspace at all and its an absolute bonus if you get an oven. The Chietains kitchen is like you'd get in small flat.

Dont get me wrong its not without its faults, but until the Europeans compete on layout, and I wish they would, we'll be sticking as we are.

Rant over, good luck whichever way you go !

 

[Encantador]

Thanks bob and jules, nice to have someone speaking up for the Chieftan .

Car to outline what you think are the faults with it?

Thanks

Steve

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[Theonlysue]

Couple of things - I have a hymer which has bench seats facing each other, which I prefer to the dinette as I like to 'lounge'

Also, A fully winterised van will keep cooler in summer as well as warmer in winter. And i think that the payloads are better.
Personally i would go for an older german van than a newer UK one -but always personal choice!

S

 

[Encantador]

Also now looking at Swift Kontiki and have started a new thread ......

Broken Link Removed

 

[ronboyracer]

large motorhomes

Hi , the Autotrail is an excellent product , especially the older models , but if there is only you , your lady and the dog , why such a big motorhome , as one or two motorhome Funsters as mentioned you need to really sit in any motorhome and think things out , its so important , we have all learnt by our mistakes , if I am going through a van change , I usually sit in the vehicle change for a good couple of hrs thinking things through. Bigger vans usually have garages which you fill and can never find anything , there is always a parking and mobility problem and these days smaller is a cheaper option , the price of motorhoming as rocketed in the last five years.

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[bob and jules]

Hi Encantador, yes there are one or two issues with the Chieftain, and yes the sheer size is one of them. Driving around a town looking for a parking spot and then having to walk a good distance in because you've had to park so far away does get a bit annoying after a while. Heating the thing in a cold winter also takes some doing due to its internal size and it not being fully winterised.
I cant speak for older models but the build quality on the newer ones is not what I expected from Autotrail. And to be fair most of the problems I've encountered with the Chieftain have been down to that quality or component failure as opposed to the design or layout of the van.
We went for it on layout and because we wanted a garage for a motorbike. Payload is not an issue, with about 870kg available and a rear garage load of 250.
Anyway, must dash, got to get loaded, got a ferry to Bilbao booked Tuesday for a 2 month trip to Spain and Portugal. I'll let you know whether I still like living with it after that !! Good luck with the search

 

[robnchris]

autotrail

Agree 100% with Bob & Jules re the build quality of the newer Autotrails.

They certainly aren`t built to the high standard of some of the continental motorhomes, which is a real shame as like Bob & Jules we bought our Arapaho for the layout which for some reason you can`t get in a continental van.
Ok we all have our needs and likes but why the motorhome industry has gone down the road (no pun intended) of the end bedroom is a puzzle to us.
Space is a premium and yet they waste so much of it on a room that will only be used at night, we don`t like the front lounge setup as we like to get out of the cab after all the driving plus in the winter the cab area tends to be quite chilly owing to the large windows and drafts from the various vents etc.

Certainly when we bought our Arapaho it looked fantastic in the showroom but we later found it to be all smoke and mirrors, the drawers in the lounge collasped, the framework being flimsy and some of the screws hadn`t located, nearly all the lattice seat supports fell apart, the kitchen cupboard doors all warped and came apart.
There was also lots of drafts coming inside, we found on closer inspection that the holes that had been drilled through the floor for the pipes and wires to run through were all much larger than they needed to be, (ie a 24mm holes for a single strand of wire) the sealant that had been applied was totally useless actually missing some of the holes in places.

The heating is just about useless in a van this size, fine in our smaller Cheyenne but just not powerful enough, why Autotrail didn`t fit a more efficient system is a mystery, gaps, poorly fitted joints and no insulation in the ducting meant the blown air just wasn`t warm enough when it got to the bathroom.
Considering the Arapaho is the flagship of their fleet it is a poor relation when placed along it`s continental competion.
Having said all that we love the interior layout so has persevered, altered, improved and rebuilt paying the attention to detail and finish that the work force and quality control should have done at the Autotrail factory.
Shame on you Autotrail, you came up with another wonderful design and all but ruined it with poor workmanship and lack of quality control.
You certainly didn`t learn from the mistakes you made from building the Grand Frontier, a classic white elephant.