Quality Motorhomes (1 Viewer)

[dabhand]

My first van was a 1983 Joseph Arnold (Arnold) which was taken over by RMB I bought it in about 1997 for £17,000. It was bulletproof, I loved it and went everywhere in it, bashed the back end of it twice exploring places I shouldn't have been, easy to repair and spray, big lump 3l diesel, never let me down, decided to get something newer and sold it cheaply to a mate in 2005 for £7,000. Although to be fair, he did spend a couple of grand on doing it up. He is still living in it in Portugal, it is going strong and he is thinking of getting a newer van, guess how much he wants for the Arnold?? 10K, he'll probably get it too. So have to agree with Snowbird really. It's a leap of faith to buy an expensive older van, get the right one and your quids in.

 

[Snowbird]

My first van was a 1983 Joseph Arnold (Arnold) which was taken over by RMB I bought it in about 1997 for £17,000. It was bulletproof, I loved it and went everywhere in it, bashed the back end of it twice exploring places I shouldn't have been, easy to repair and spray, big lump 3l diesel, never let me down, decided to get something newer and sold it cheaply to a mate in 2005 for £7,000. Although to be fair, he did spend a couple of grand on doing it up. He is still living in it in Portugal, it is going strong and he is thinking of getting a newer van, guess how much he wants for the Arnold?? 10K, he'll probably get it too. So have to agree with Snowbird really. It's a leap of faith to buy an expensive older van, get the right one and your quids in.

Leap of faith indeed. When I put my last RMB up for sale I was away with the present van. I had one clown offer half the asking price, saying that its a 24 year old van and no way is it worth what you are asking. By the time I got back to the UK they were queuing up at the front door with bags of cash. If I had 10 of them I could have sold the lot. When you consider that a few high end vans were built to last a lifetime with no compromises, are they expensive. Some of these older high end vans were so far ahead of there time when built they will always be timeless. Modern vans have only just started to use metallic colours, whereas RMBs were on metallic colours 25 years ago. The only thing that will kill a motorhome is damp, but by the nature of there construction, its impossible to get damp ingress. They were always built on ultra reliable Mercedes chassis, and for that reason should last indefinitely. According to a German owners club, 93% of all RMBs ever built are still in use, the odd 7% have been involved in RTA writeoffs. I cant think of any other manufacturer with that track record. Over the last few weeks I have been surrounded by 3 Concordes, 2 Liners and a Charisma, each of them extolling the legendary build quality of the RMB. Rolls Royce is one of the few cars I have never owned but I have driven a couple owned by friends, and yes, if I could have afforded one I would have bought one as the build quality speaks for itself. I have no idea what the build quality of a new RMB is like, but from what am told by people obviously in the know, the craftsmanship is not what it used to be. But then again, few things are what they used to be, Rolls Royce included.

 

[Coolbeanz]

You're right... We're after a twin single bed van, winterised and ideally an A class - and crucially - quality build over age (although we realise there is probably a compromise to be made)

The main reason for the original post was that dealers with french or german vans are few and far between round here, so wanted to narrow any potential buys down by make first eg. I don't think an Elddis would suit.

That was our criteria with the addition of a garage for our bikes. We had a 40k budget and we're looking at almost new vehicles when we came across a 10 year old Hymer B774 in February, twin beds, large garage, excellent build quality, in fact it was in better nick than some 1 year old English vans we'd looked at!! Snapped it up at 34k and have just got back from over 4 months touring and it exceeded our expectations. It's worth holding out for the quality and layout you want.

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[androidGB]

Twin beds, Mercedes sprinter diesel with very low miles and at around £35K well under budget.
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The only thing you might have to consider is payload. This is on the 4.6 tonne chassis, and has quite a few extra's, I'd want to get this one on a weighbridge before committing.

Andrew

 

[funflair]

I have no idea what the build quality of a new RMB is like, but from what am told by people obviously in the know, the craftsmanship is not what it used to be. But then again, few things are what they used to be, Rolls Royce included.

We looked at the RMB at Dusseldorf and yes the quality is not there as it was IMO. Same as the Niesmann+Bischoff range, look at the old Clou liners and they dont build vans like that now (but they are lighter) or possibly the ones built like that are the mega bucks Vario mobil and Volkners.

Martin

 

[funflair]

The only thing you might have to consider is payload. This is on the 4.6 tonne chassis, and has quite a few extra's, I'd want to get this one on a weighbridge before committing.

Andrew

This was one of the first things that I thought of as well, the listing says it has 600Kg payload but it depends how much is lost in extras and 600 is not that much to start with.

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[Taran_Las]

To determine quality of build etc and see all of the new model layouts why not visit the NEC next week.

Most of the salesmen there will be able to tell you what older models (of their marque) have the layout you'd prefer.

 

[Zains Pops]

TEC are a brand made by LMC which I think is part of the Hymer group.
Sold in this country as TEC or Geist.
From my experience well made typical German build quality at a lower price than some others.

 

[EssexBoy]

To determine quality of build etc and see all of the new model layouts why not visit the NEC next week.

Most of the salesmen there will be able to tell you what older models (of their marque) have the layout you'd prefer.

Funny enough, we bought our tickets online last night !!

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[EssexBoy]

TEC are a brand made by LMC which I think is part of the Hymer group.
Sold in this country as TEC or Geist.
From my experience well made typical German build quality at a lower price than some others.

It was the reasonable prices that made me query their quality. So in your opinion they're definitely worth a look then?

 

[Portland]

The only fault I find with many quality motors is the layout. The main problem is that they do not have the comfort of home built as they are often all beds no lounging area's. We have a Hymer B544 with twin couch's, not everyone's choice but suit's us. Also the old 2.9 merc engines are indestructible but low on power, thirsty and very noisy. There was a Fiat based RMB on mobile.de that I was interested in it has been on for some time so perhaps you could negotiate.

 

[canopus]

To determine quality of build etc and see all of the new model layouts why not visit the NEC next week.

Most of the salesmen there will be able to tell you what older models (of their marque) have the layout you'd prefer.

Most of the salesmen won't have a clue. I spoke to a salesmen at a show recently and his dealership were agents for one of the high end German marques. He had never heard of Concorde. Admittedly there are one or two out there who know their onions, but the majority IMO, know jack sh1t even about the product they're selling

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[canopus]

What about this for quality!

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[Zains Pops]

It was the reasonable prices that made me query their quality. So in your opinion they're definitely worth a look then?

We are very pleased with our 1998 model on a Transit chassis. No problems to date, it just works for us.
I purchased it from a guy near Newcastle, proving the point to get what you want sometimes you need to travel.
Would recommend strip to NEC show just to get a handle on what's available.

 

[Forestboy]

That was our criteria with the addition of a garage for our bikes. We had a 40k budget and we're looking at almost new vehicles when we came across a 10 year old Hymer B774 in February, twin beds, large garage, excellent build quality, in fact it was in better nick than some 1 year old English vans we'd looked at!! Snapped it up at 34k and have just got back from over 4 months touring and it exceeded our expectations. It's worth holding out for the quality and layout you want.

Basically the same van as ours B694G with the bar lounge which is perfect for us except ours has a massive transverse bed which we really like. Upgraded from 4500 kgs to 5000kgs so now have 1500 kg payload in a huge garage which takes our 650 Kawasaki plus all the other stuff and 2 electric bikes. Twelve years old now and still like new, best van we've ever owned just got back from a 3000 mile trip and off to Valencia in a couple of weeks to the Motogp another 2000 mile trip. Sold a year old van to buy this one 4 years ago and it was the right decision.

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[FIDGET]

Hi , We've had 2 pilotes build quality is good , first one was ab/fab wish I'd never got rid of her, 2nd one bodywork perfect interior very well built but my experience with this vehicle was to me she was jinxed, after several problems ( not to do with Pilote) more to do with work done by various garages but just put me off this particular vehicle otherwise I would have kept her .
Terry FIDGET

 

[dabhand]

What about this for quality!

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had my eye on one of these for a while,not much to touch them imo.

 

[EssexBoy]

UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!!
After many hours/days/weeks/months scouring the small ads & dealers forecourts for suitable Hymers, Rapidos etc in our price range, we only went and a bought a Laika Ecovip H710 A Class yesterday!!! The layout is spot on, the condition great & has all the features we were looking for....

The only issue I can see that concerns me is that after 20+ years of thetford toilet cassettes, I've now got a "marine" toilet with a black tank to learn how to empty !!! Wish me luck, I've no real idea how the black waste gets from the outlet under the van to the borne or manhole There's some black pipes and connectors in the locker Sounds like a bit of practice with some clean water is on the cards...

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[Snowbird]

UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!!
After many hours/days/weeks/months scouring the small ads & dealers forecourts for suitable Hymers, Rapidos etc in our price range, we only went and a bought a Laika Ecovip H710 A Class yesterday!!! The layout is spot on, the condition great & has all the features we were looking for....

The only issue I can see that concerns me is that after 20+ years of thetford toilet cassettes, I've now got a "marine" toilet with a black tank to learn how to empty !!! Wish me luck, I've no real idea how the black waste gets from the outlet under the van to the borne or manhole There's some black pipes and connectors in the locker Sounds like a bit of practice with some clean water is on the cards...

Take my advice and buy a macerator. You will definitely need it sometime, and it will make dumping anywhere possible.

 

[Electraglide]

UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!! UPDATE !!!!!
After many hours/days/weeks/months scouring the small ads & dealers forecourts for suitable Hymers, Rapidos etc in our price range, we only went and a bought a Laika Ecovip H710 A Class yesterday!!! The layout is spot on, the condition great & has all the features we were looking for....

The only issue I can see that concerns me is that after 20+ years of thetford toilet cassettes, I've now got a "marine" toilet with a black tank to learn how to empty !!! Wish me luck, I've no real idea how the black waste gets from the outlet under the van to the borne or manhole There's some black pipes and connectors in the locker Sounds like a bit of practice with some clean water is on the cards...

We are looking to buy a 709 next year, will be interested in how you get on.