Total Noob.... Carthago M-Liner (1 Viewer)

[GyroPilot]

Hello All

just purchased my first MH.

2004 Carthago M-Liner 52w, LHD Auto, Merc 5-cyl 2.7 diesel. 50,000 miles, 2 owners, last owner 10 years. Satellite TV, NO aircon, NO Solar


Known faults: exhaust on the way out. Truma not functioning.

Drives very well. Nice van for my current needs.

Would appreciate expert comment, do's and don'ts etc...

Oh, and you can guess what I paid.

 

[davidbaldam]

Hi and welcome to FUN.

 

[Southdowners]

Hello and welcome!

It looks like a lovely vehicle. I have no idea of the price but would take a stab at saying around £60K ???

As to do's and don'ts. I'd get solar installed, a gas tank and a levelling system.

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[Janine]

Hello and welcome to the Fun ?

 

[The Dudess]

What a nice looking van.
and

 

[MikeD]

Hi and welcome to the Fun

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[Figaro]

Lovely motorhome, it looks in really good condition.
If you can identify the Truma model number and detail the fault, there are lots of knowledge folk on here who can give advice on fixing.
Whatever you paid isn't important, just get out and enjoy it

 

[irnbru]

Hi and welcome. Do we get a prize for guessing correctly Im gonna say 37,850 basing it on the one thats on ebay. Don't leave water in your system if its frosty, and make sure you drain your boiler too.

Why is the truma not working?

PS: It looks a lovely van.

 

[Howard H]

And

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[gus-lopez]

Hi & welcome .It certainly looks a lovely van. As to the price I have no idea but love a bargain.

 

[Caggsie1]

£25000

 

[nicholsong]

My guess for price would be £26,000 if bought privately or £33,000 if from a dealer.

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[Lenny HB]

£29k.

 

[Concord Pilot]

Hi and welcome .. I lovely looking van .. just go and enjoy it !!

 

[Wagoneer]

Welcome. Lovely van in excellent condition. I reckon you got it at a bargain price and only paid £20k.

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[GyroPilot]

caggsie1 and nicholsong hit the target (what I paid, and the asking price). A lot of van for the money. He paid £60k ten years ago (which sounds a bargain for him then, too)

The owner has kindly drained it down and given me an intensive handover session.

Not sure yet what the Truma problem is (or as a noob, even what a Truma IS... )

He reckons it doesn't need solar, as the leisure battery recharges when driving. He gets a couple of days off-grid at a time. A tank and levellers I doubt I'll need at this stage. I do have a few questions about the gas though (I'll post some more pics later)

Thanks for the friendly welcome and the comments so far.

 

[Wagoneer]

The Truma is the boiler for heating the water and for providing warm air heating via the vents.

The boiler is probably installed below the wardrobe or under a seat.

 

[Campervan_man]

Solar Panels are a must unless you have 240V access. Carthago is a great quality van.

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[Campervan_man]

Nice looking van. You have had a bargain.

 

[GyroPilot]

Well that's supposed to work. The boiler is under the sink, in the floor. It was just the Truma controller that he thought was playing up - or at least "there was no need to touch it".

I'll have to play with it when we defrost a bit !

 

[ambulancekidd]

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[GyroPilot]

Solar Panels are a must unless you have 240V access. Carthago is a great quality van.

For a Noob, can you explain why they are a "must", when the last owner has got by fine for 10 years without them, for a couple of days at a time, on leisure/gas alone...?

Or, to put it another way, what would be the realistic benefit in adding them now? An extra day in the "wild"?

I'm genuinely curious and anxious to learn.

 

[GyroPilot]

Another curious thing. This MH still has a km/h speedo. Sailed through every MOT for fifteen years without quibble...
Why have I seen people here getting panicky about having to change to mp/h?

Again, genuine question. Assume I know NOTHING...

 

[TinaLes]

We have like most considered Solar Power as a must have from day one, and like many on here see the immediate benefit.
1.solar charging keeps the leisure batteries & cab battery charged or topped up whilst in storage or parked up, so no need to have it plugged in at home.
2. Depending on your holiday preferences, you may like many on here,want to go somewhere and tour for weeks, maybe months, and not wish to rely on campsites to provide electric to charge up your batteries.
3.If you stay in one location for more than a couple of days whilst wilding (not using campsites) around the Med for instance, then you will be able to stay"off grid" and self sufficient longer.
4. Your batteries will last longer, as hopefully you will not discharge them to below 50% at any given time (bit more tolerance on Gels type), The Solar panels, will or should help you maintain a full charge if in full summer conditions.
5.For longer duration's in the shoulder months, there might not be sufficient sun to allow the panels to fully charge the batteries, so you either have to drive for longer periods, stay on a facility with mains hook up, or delve into more sophisticated charging methods with the use of Battery to Battery chargers, which will top up batteries when driving in a much shorter time/distance.
6. Refillable gas tanks, are for most of us a "o brainer"as they say, the cost of refilling at an LPG station is so much cheaper than replacement off the shelf gas like Calor etc. If you travel abroad the gas bottles vary so much you probably would need to have a collection of gas tailpipes to fit the differing cylinder types. Having you own refillable tanks on board is a lot cheaper and less faff.

Great choice of van, Carthago's are quality as you will find out, hope you get the chance to get out there more than the previous owner did, and have longer adventures to foreign places.
Hope that helps, happy travels.
LES

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[gus-lopez]

Another curious thing. This MH still has a km/h speedo. Sailed through every MOT for fifteen years without quibble...
Why have I seen people here getting panicky about having to change to mp/h?

Again, genuine question. Assume I know NOTHING...

If it is registered what the speedo reads in doesn't matter. If you need to register one ,either new or secondhand , then it has to have a mph speedo.....................which you can then bin.

 

[Southdowners]

For a Noob, can you explain why they are a "must", when the last owner has got by fine for 10 years without them, for a couple of days at a time, on leisure/gas alone...?

Or, to put it another way, what would be the realistic benefit in adding them now? An extra day in the "wild"?

I'm genuinely curious and anxious to learn.

It would probably help if you were to say how and where you intend to use the vehicle.

 

[f6c]

Welcome aboard

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[f6c]

One Grout

 

[CazPaul]

Nice van, is it Sprintshift or full auto?

 

[GyroPilot]

Nice van, is it Sprintshift or full auto?

Hi, it seems to be full auto with tiptronic. (+/-) I didn't notice anything unusual about it when driving it home 100 miles. I'll try to get a close-up pic tomorrow.

Last owner reckons he gets 25 mpg at 50-60 mph.... Cruise control nice, just like on my CLK.

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