New Motorhomes ----Yawn (1 Viewer)

[Jim]

Saw a few "new, 2018" motorhomes launched this week. Manufacturers teasing us with their latest vans

Sooo Booring. One of them, went something like this, and I'm talking HIGHLIGHTS here!!!

"Look at these new comfy seats, we now have LED lights all round and look, plenty of storage lockers"

The presentation Half hearted, and beyond pathetic, but with nothing to really show off about, (maybe there was but we we weren't told) I'm not surprised. Some obviously easily pleased people clapped at the end. But it was so under-whelming to be embarrassing.

Where is the innovation, the concept motorhomes, the promises of exciting things to come. I missed all that. Did anyone else see it? I just saw same old, same old.

 

[CazPaul]

Yes I agree, everyone just seems to trundle out the same old stuff, year after year.
Where's the quality, where's the innovation, where's the winterisaton.

One of the reasons we are having our own spec PVC built.

 

[moggyg]

With extra round wheels? Smacks of a "New improved persil" so was the last persil rubbish?

Ciao

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[Steve and Kat]

The only MH I saw at the show this week that was different was that Neismann & Bischoff Smove.. the outside shape and ideas they are incorporating are to be applauded.. However, change costs and the Smove was vastly overpriced.. inside was boring and a major disappointment.. the outside shape though, for me, was stunning..

 

[Puddleduck]

They all seem to be variations on a theme (or a couple of themes) ..... I'm guessing they know what sells and how to make that as cheaply and efficiently as they can so they stick to it.

 

[Jaws]

Worse than that.. All the big players are copying each other ... apart from small details

Not ONE had either the bed layout or seating layout we want

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[Podney]

One would have hoped,wouldn’t one (god I’m sounding like Russell Harty), that with all the construction and quality problems that seem to beset this industry,they would focus on BUILD QUALITY,rather than fripperies. But no,it’s obviously easier to relieve us of our hard earned by gimmicky crap.
I bought our first motorhome a few months ago,it’s over ten years old,and I just can’t see the point in spending two or three times as much on a new one,to achieve little or nowt.
Hey ho,each to their own.

 

[PhilG]

But our needs from a MH dont change, they are the same thing we needed 20 years ago.. what exactly do you expect them to do, really. The car market can pander to the SUV brigade, people want 4x4 in case it gets slippy in Tesco car park, but they will buy stuff they dont need because its 'fashion' and they are stupid enough to fall for it.

I will throw this back at you @Jim with a 'if you were designing a MH what would you be doing , that they arent' question, because i dont see anything that you can really do , other than built in Solar , that wouldn't alienate half the market, with a 'not buying it cos its ugly' scenario.

 

[Stretto Boy]

The lack of change means that older vans don’t really date and so hold their value well

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[CazPaul]

Before you start with innovation you need to get the general build quality correct.
They need to look at different selling points, offer and market immediate refunds if there are a lot of issues. That would be a good selling point.
They need to concentrate on construction to start with, how hard is it this day and age to design and build something that is impervious to damp?
Cheap fittings really annoy me.
Why aren't the proper metal catches used on outside door retainers, they are only about £9 a set, instead they use 10pence bits of plastic.
They could design garage doors/lockers doors better to eliminate leaks.
One piece roofs that don't leak, impossible this day and age isn't it. Instead joins all over.

That's just to start with, there is loads they could do with general build quality.

 

[Manxcat]

Glad we've missed the show! We ere planni g on going, just to see the innovations.

 

[RidersofRohan]

Wasn't the recent innovation moving away from timber constructions, in British vans Bailey, Swift and Autotrail are now timber free (i think), but once you done that whats next? Surely build quality is improved by this move too.

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[MitchandJenny]

Way ay lad... What he said and more.. (CazPaul)
Mitch.
PS. Air suspension, elevating double beds, a fridge that can cope with outside temperatures above 30 dg C.
Scratchproof coating for body and windows, burglar proof everything, water gauges that work, bigger wheels, impact proof wing mirrors, lithium ion power pack, dis-mountable oven/grille/BBQ assy, drop down wind skirts, hydraulic jacks, bike racks and ladders built on during manufacture, quality locker catches and general better build quality ! ! !
Apart from that, I think they are great ! ! !
Mitch.

 

[Jim]

I will throw this back at you @Jim with a 'if you were designing a MH what would you be doing , that they arent' question, because i dont see anything that you can really do ,

But there is tons you could do. Just off the top of my head, where's the new British A Class, or Toy Hauler, they are not being made, what's being touted as new wasn't new 10 years ago. Other things of the top of my head..

New/different chassis giving real payload options
Lighter stronger composites that give users a useable payload
Different ways of heating vans that doesn’t kill batteries
Battery technology that is not victorian
Lightweight slide-outs
Full paint jobs over stickers
Beds that don’t rely on cushions that don’t fit together
Air suspension
Cruise Control
4 wheel drive - diff locks
Glass windows
Deadlocks . et al

Its not my job to design them, it's for them to wow me, much like you are wowed at Car or Boat or Home shows. You see exciting innovation that you immediately recognise as being useful, you just don't see that these days at Motorhome shows, just more of the same.

 

[PhilG]

But there is tons you could do. Just off the top of my head, where's the new British A Class, or Toy Hauler, they are not being made, what's being touted as new wasn't new 10 years ago. Other things of the top of me head..

New/different chassis giving real payload options
Lighter stronger composites that give users a useable payload
Different ways of heating vans that doesn’t kill batteries
Battery technology that is not victorian
Lightweight slide-outs
Full paint jobs over stickers
Beds that don’t rely on cushions that don’t fit together
Air suspension
Cruise Control
4 wheel drive - diff locks
Glass windows
Deadlocks . et al

Its not my job to design them, it's for them to wow me, much like you are wowed at Car or Boat or Home shows. You see exciting innovation that you immediately recognise as being useful, you just don't see that these days at Motorhome shows, just more of the same.

I would counter that manufacturers these days make what sells, and cost of ownership drives what they make, and making a £100k A class in 2017 , that might not sell , over a £50k PVC that you cant make fast enough is why that hasnt happened.
As for Toy Haulers, RS have that covered , if you want to pay that king of money, and Roller Team do a nice bike hauler that a few mates have in Germany.

100% agree on payload, the manufacturers can only work with what the OEM's do in terms of base vehicles though, and costs limit what you can do outside of that.

Paint ? For me now wrapping is relatively cheap and easy , i dont see the advantage , its another 'sales seperator' .. 3 on the pitch , but the customer wants the colour you dont have, although the caravan market seems to have grabbed hold of colour and external appearance as a choice these past few years.

Slide outs on 90% of MH's is out of the question due to chassis constraints, although i agree with the sentiments .

The rest i see where you are at , i think that the needs and demands of the average UK motorhomer vary so much , that it is a 'moving target audience'.. i personally think that permanent beds are the most pointless thing ever, because they mean you have massive amount of space that you cant use for anything else, but sales would say otherwise....

Id be happy to have a cooker you can use proper sized pans on

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[LesW]

Why should manufactures improve build quality? according to reports in Motorhome Mags etc, they're selling all they make with sales on the increase..

There's no incentive to 'improve'..

 

[Podney]

Why should manufactures improve build quality? according to reports in Motorhome Mags etc, they're selling all they make with sales on the increase..

There's no incentive to 'improve'..

Perhaps it needs the Japanese to start making them,then others have to keep up,like what happened with cars,and motorbikes. No.....I don’t expect that to happen either!

 

[hilldweller]

Where is the innovation,.

That would be electric beds Sir. A load of weight where you don't want it, you all have to go to bed at the same time and then they fail, leaving no bed and very unhappy punters who bought into progress.

The Romans had motor homes, 2000 years on there really isn't a lot left to innovate.

Maybe one of them will invent a shower tray that does not crack. I noticed one or two where the shower is in front of the toilet, so you step on the shower tray every time you are on the toilet. How absurd is that.

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[CazPaul]

[QUOTE

Maybe one of them will invent a shower tray that does not crack. I noticed one or two where the shower is in front of the toilet, so you step on the shower tray every time you are on the toilet. How absurd is that.[/QUOTE]


Its not absurd at all unless you have a cheap twenty pence paper thin shower tray, totally unsupported underneath.
How about a proper thick, heavy duty grp or steel or stone based shower tray, that weighs more than 3 ounce, with a proper wooden structure for it sit on.
Use sh1te and you finish up with crap.
Oh dear, forgot, its that payload word again.

 

[hilldweller]

Its not absurd at all .

Well I don't take my shoes off to go to the toilet in our van.

 

[CazPaul]

Well I don't take my shoes off to go to the toilet in our van.

You wouldn't need to if you wasn't walking on a paper floor with nothing underneath it. Its the construction materials and construction that's the problem, not the concept.
Floating, thin plastic and 16 or 20 stone don't go well together.

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[RogerThat]

Some obviously easily pleased people clapped at the end

Sounds like an Apple keynote event

 

[jdk62]

We saw the Rapido 8096dF and loved it.... great layout, colour scheme and furniture great, double floor, huge garage....was getting very tempted until I asked them to show me how the travel seats get configured....

What a faff.... and the skimpy bit of timber that is raised to make the space for the travellers legs came away in the salesman hand....15 mm board with minuiscule screws..... only £88,000 for the configuration we wanted....

We walked away......

 

[tacr2man]

They are extremely restricted by that 3500KG that most of the market seems to want . If you want decent size showers , big cookers,slide outs etc etc then there is already a route , some of us took it . I find it surprising what they manage to give within those constraints , and most seem happy to spend a small fortune on them .

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[soreeyes]

This year we seem to see "soft close" on draws and lockers the norm on new models .

 

[pappajohn]

I noticed one or two where the shower is in front of the toilet, so you step on the shower tray every time you are on the toilet. How absurd is that.

Saves pi$$ing on the floor when you've had skinfull I suppose

 

[soreeyes]

Saves pi$$ing on the floor when you've had skinfull I suppose

Will it save a ear hole bashing off the other half about missing the pan ?

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[funflair]

Seen a nice van for sale, heavy duty chassis RWD, auto box, Alde heating with Engine heat exchanger and dual zone underfloor heating, double skin alloy body construction so no damp issues even if it did leak, all moulded body panels are fibreglass not plastic, decent kitchen space with two sinks, big water tanks and enough payload to use them, oh and its 8 years old.

Martin

 

[Foxy1956]

Interesting reading all the comments. We are very pleased with our Autocruise Starspirit 2005, 103,000 miles. it has a tow bar, electric hoist, extra wide shower door. I occasionally think about changing it, but I cannot find anything which would suit us and our particular circumstances, except of course another Starspirit pre Swift of course.
The only problem is what do I spend the £40,000 on which is sitting in investments? Any ideas?

 

[Podney]

Interesting reading all the comments. We are very pleased with our Autocruise Starspirit 2005, 103,000 miles. it has a tow bar, electric hoist, extra wide shower door. I occasionally think about changing it, but I cannot find anything which would suit us and our particular circumstances, except of course another Starspirit pre Swift of course.
The only problem is what do I spend the £40,000 on which is sitting in investments? Any ideas?

You don’t.
You keep it.

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