New Van Better??? (1 Viewer)

GWAYGWAY

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Sep 6, 2014
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I went to my local dealer to look at a new Chausson 610 to replace my Oddesey 92. But I found that I was not impressed with what you get for your money. We wanted a really nice bed, big enough for two, that would be able to be left made up, An oven to cook things in. and enough room to keep all our bits. I really like the look of the new Ford Transit but it is like most of the other vans, Front wheel drive only. It has no room for two gas cylinders in fact it does not even have one supplied. The price offered was then added to by Delivery and PDI charges of £1800+ to which would need added Gas system and bottle, a spare wheel instead of a stupid little compressor and some goo, but there is not even enough room for a carrier.
All in all I think I am better off with my old van and just get some better cushions so my bed is better to sleep on, I have enough room for my motorbike in the garage, It has rear wheel drive though twin wheels, I do not have to worry about weight limits but I have to try and get sensible breakdown cover because it is over 3500kg and I must always keep outside London, as if I really desire to ever go in again. NEVER AGAIN.
These new vans look pretty and are smaller and tidier and little extras such a s cruise control and Aicon on some, but is it better?
No I think I will stay put and spend the money on travelling.
 

hilldweller

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Dec 5, 2008
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No I think I will stay put and spend the money on travelling.

It's what you do with it that counts. You can do a whole lot of travelling for what it would cost to change and if you buy new you've lost thousands the minute you turn the key.

Win win win for you.
 

westy77

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Feb 17, 2014
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We had the same thoughts. Late last year we called in a big motorhome dealer with lots of new and used stock. After going in nearly every van we could not find one that if money was no object we would want over ours. Sometimes cruise control would be handy, but most often traffic build up means I'd be switching it off a lot (car has it, rarely use it). As for air con, waste of time, open a window.

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Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
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Depends on your wants/needs - cruise is a must as hubby has a dicky hip and knee so not having to keep pressing the 'fast' pedal helps, as for cab air-con when it is really hot just opening a window when travelling doesn't work so battening down the hatches and putting the air-con on works a treat especially as we have 3 dogs in tow, it is also very useful in winter to keep the windscreen clear.
 
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Madwife

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Suggest Duvaley (hopefully have spelt it correctly!) for your bed. We got the double mattress topper and what a difference it has made. There are lots of posts on here somewhere about them and although expensive well worth the outlay and considerably cheaper than a new MH!

Interestingly, where we are staying here in Portugal a lot of the Dutch motorhomers are having their seats/upholstery renewed by a local guy who comes to the site and offers a bespoke service. Having seen some of the work it looks a great idea and as one of the fellow campers said "why change your motorhome that you are happy with just because the seats are worn and you can renew them for a fraction of the cost"

Kath
 
Feb 24, 2013
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not long enough
we found more or less the same, any change for similar and newer for us was going to work at virtually doubling the price

on that basis I doubt we will ever change, the newer version will probably never be twice as good so therefore not good value

quality seems to be less the newer we look at, we have spoilt ourselves a bit with what we have, but I think the same logic applies across the whole price and spec range

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Jan 25, 2013
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"If change itself can bring no more, 'tis easy to be true". Thank you Bard for those wise words! We all go looking, but I spent six months looking for THE right van for me and have not found anything that I would change it for - YET!
 

Photo4x4

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Jul 26, 2014
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Sometimes cruise control would be handy, but most often traffic build up means I'd be switching it off a lot (car has it, rarely use it). As for air con, waste of time, open a window.
The above just goes to show how everyone has different wants and needs, there is no one size fits all motorhome (or anything else for that matter).

Air conditioning (climate control on my vehicles) and cruise control are at the top of my list for any vehicle (apart from my motorcycles :) ).

Cruise control takes a lot of the strain out of driving and also the worry of getting caught by a speed camera (especially the average speed cameras). Also adaptive cruise control will slow you down if the vehicle in front gets slower. I use the cruise control on most journeys at some point.

As for air conditioning it is a common misconception that it is only used in the summer to cool the interior of the vehicle. As has been mentioned above you can have the air conditioning on when you have the heater on as it dehumidifies the interior of the vehicle and quickly de-mists the windows. Air conditioning also filters the air entering the vehicle so if you suffer from hay fever it is a great help. I use mine all year round.

I just think of the times when we have been caught in a long tail back on the motorway on a hot and sticky summer's day (yes we do have some here in the UK). There we are with our windows closed feeling crisp and fresh and comfortable. You can tell the vehicles without air conditioning, they have all their windows open and everyone inside looks like a boiled lobster!

BTW I also am a great fan of automatic gearboxes. My wife's car, my 4x4 truck and my motorcycle all have automatic gearboxes. The only vehicle we have without an automatic gearbox is our motorhome, and if I could have got that with an auto box I certainly would have.

We are all different, thankfully, or it would be a boring world and internet forums would have many less posts. :D

Keith Hart
 
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GWAYGWAY

GWAYGWAY

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I would also add that the 610 that I looked at has got diesel heating and hot water with EHU being necessary for the electric water heating when parked, there is no room for a bigger or second battery AND there is NO oven, how do you cook with a hob and only a small (toasting) grill I would like a bit more than that to stay away and off sites.

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Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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was then added to by Delivery and PDI charges of £1800+

Good old rip of Britain, it's the same with Hymer, UK delivery price £2000 any where else €500 and when you buy in Belgium or Germany the dealer looses it in the price.

Would never have a van or car without Aircon & Cruise control, current van has the Comfomatic wouldn't go back to a manual now.
 
Apr 25, 2014
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We bought our Swift Firebrand (same as a 590 but made by Barrons before they went bust) in 2007. It was our first van and we did loads of homework. Luckily we got it right first time because we went fulltiming for 3 years.
We get an 'invite' to Marquess Motohomes in Preston every year and as it coincides with us being in the Uk for the MOT we usually go and have a look round. In our case its often a 'sneer' round because we've never seen anything, at any price, that suits us as much as ours does.
I think they just make modifications because they have to so they can convince the punters they're getting the latest when in actual fact it doesn't make any difference. Sometimes the modifications are useless and often worse.
We've noticced that a lot of new models dont have ovens and a couple of years ago started to have 3 ring hobs. I think this may be for the contintal market where they live outdoors most of the time. Not so easy to use an outdoor kitchen sometimes in the UK.
 

jonandshell

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Dec 12, 2010
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Why do you need 2 gas cylinders?

It's got diesel heating and hot water. We have managed perfectly well with one Gaslow bottle for 5 years! It only does cooking and the fridge and lasts ages between refills.

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hilldweller

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Air conditioning (climate control on my vehicles) and cruise control are at the top of my list for any vehicle (apart from my motorcycles :) ).

Now you mention it, there have been many times when both would have been good, hot and sweaty and with a dead right hand. It's a real problem going from here to Rome, all wrapped up against the cold here and too hot even in just a T-shirt in Rome.
 

Minxy

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Aug 22, 2007
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I would also add that the 610 that I looked at has got diesel heating and hot water with EHU being necessary for the electric water heating when parked, there is no room for a bigger or second battery AND there is NO oven, how do you cook with a hob and only a small (toasting) grill I would like a bit more than that to stay away and off sites.
Everyone has different needs/requirements/compromises ... we have a PVC and I had to forgo one ring on the hob (now 2 instead of 3) but same crappy Smev grill!
 
Jun 16, 2013
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Low Profile Hymer CL 554
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We have a 510 and it only has a 3 ring and grill. We bought a tefal roast'n bake and having the grill replaced with microwave. To us the most important thing was size, large living space, aircon, bathroom and fixed bed. The bed is a drop down which is great but not perfect and we would have liked an oven. But they were the compromises we made. So many big new vans we looked at had cramped living spaces which would have made us feel claustrophobic.

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Puddleduck

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Jan 15, 2014
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I would also add that the 610 that I looked at has got diesel heating and hot water with EHU being necessary for the electric water heating when parked, there is no room for a bigger or second battery AND there is NO oven, how do you cook with a hob and only a small (toasting) grill I would like a bit more than that to stay away and off sites.

We have a Chausson as well. We had the useless grill taken out and a combi-microwave put in. Okay, the m/wave needs a hook-up but that's okay as we tend to use EHU for other reasons. I use my slow cooker as an oven when travelling (yes, we cook on the move) and it is quite possible to roast meat or bake a cake in a slow cooker.

In the year we have had our Chausson we have changed the gas cylinder that came with the van (and not full) but the replacement is still almost full.

Obviously your requirements are very different to ours so it's horses for courses so to speak. I thought the 610 would be an ideal replacement for Buffy in a few years time. I think one of the upgrade packs for the 610 includes a gas oven.
 
Nov 3, 2014
186
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For ten years
Went to dealers weekend show fell for a newer van payed £1000 deposit went straight away in the old van for 3nights called in to dealers on the way home had another look at van, we canceled next day not worth the money compared to what we have ,lost the £1000 deposit.

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GWAYGWAY

GWAYGWAY

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I looked at the pamphlet and there is no mention of an oven at all but you do get an outside cooker??????? Maybe foreigners do not use ovens, I liked the van as such but there is little more space than my present one and the bed is too small for two restless oldies to turn around and try to get comfortable. I am going to save £22000 by sticking. This one will probably outlast me.
 

Minxy

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Must admit that we love our PVC, we've browsed others at shows but nothing would get us to part with ours, yes there are some compromises but overall it gives us just about everything we want. If we did change it all it would mean is we'd be changing some compromises for others.
 

PJGWiltshire

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Mar 11, 2013
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Had our Swift Kontiki 669 from new coming up to 6 years old. Like many, something to do last October decided to have a day out at the NEC Motorhome show. Had a great day, amazed who we kept bumping into. Obviously looked at the new vans available and checked them out. Looked around the 3500 vans and can now see that there is very little payload room. The weights of the vans sitting empty were very near the max. I could see many first timers getting caught out. Looked very pretty but wouldn't be able to carry much.
What we could not get over was not a lot had changed on the swift Kontiki 669 in the 5 1/2 years since we got our 669. What had changed was good i.e. the new heating system coverings and colours but to replace our van we were looking around £40,000 to change comparing the increase in price since we bought ours. I priced it up to refit my van with the upgrades available could be done for £10,000 if we really wanted all the new ideas and re upholstery. So with only 25,000 miles on the clock (just run in) people would say not worth it. We are readying ourselves for a 1 year trip. This will probably knock out the basic stuff so we shall have a refit upon our return and keep on rolling. Though if my numbers come in Concorde look out I'm coming calling

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Puddleduck

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The 610 has a gas oven/grill on the Welcome variant according to the 2015 technical characteristics leaflet I have.
 
Aug 18, 2011
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derbys
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since 2007.Tugger before since 1970
We bought our Swift Firebrand (same as a 590 but made by Barrons before they went bust) in 2007. It was our first van and we did loads of homework. Luckily we got it right first time because we went fulltiming for 3 years.
We get an 'invite' to Marquess Motohomes in Preston every year and as it coincides with us being in the Uk for the MOT we usually go and have a look round. In our case its often a 'sneer' round because we've never seen anything, at any price, that suits us as much as ours does.
I think they just make modifications because they have to so they can convince the punters they're getting the latest when in actual fact it doesn't make any difference. Sometimes the modifications are useless and often worse.
We've noticced that a lot of new models dont have ovens and a couple of years ago started to have 3 ring hobs. I think this may be for the contintal market where they live outdoors most of the time. Not so easy to use an outdoor kitchen sometimes in the UK.

We dont use 4 hobs at home...steamer for veg plus 1 for gravy,,,meat in oven...BUSBY
 
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GWAYGWAY

GWAYGWAY

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The 610 has a gas oven/grill on the Welcome variant according to the 2015 technical characteristics leaflet I have.
Yes I have looked it up for the Welcome but I do not see paying £3000 more for some fancy trim just to get an oven.
Still needs a spare wheel as well as a gas cylinder. More for less.

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Aug 18, 2011
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Yes I have looked it up for the Welcome but I do not see paying £3000 more for some fancy trim just to get an oven.
Still needs a spare wheel as well as a gas cylinder. More for less.

You can buy a small electric oven for less than £30,,,,BUSBY.
 

Alonsos

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Feb 9, 2015
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Puddle duck
What Chausson have you changed the (silly grill) over to a micro/combi oven
Ime getting the Chausson best of 510 in 3 weeks time and yes it's got the cooker/grill as they call it (grill to us)
I have a brand new micro combi bought for a previous van that fell through,the van that is not the Microwave (ha)
Size wise it will fit but not having van yet can't try in place ,ime told the current grill has air vent trunking behind it
Cut to the chase where in the van did you fit yours ?
 

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