Trusted Manufacturers (1 Viewer)

[Candapack]

When I started with motorhomes, I followed lots of advice about which makes to avoid - mostly British, eg Elddis and Swift - and which were solid gold - mainly Hymer. Available cash meant I ended up buying on layout and keeping fingers crossed.
But as time goes on, nearly all manufacturers have abandoned wood or at least reduced using it to virtually nil, and I keep hearing that new Hymers aren't a patch on older ones.
So, if you were to buy a brand new van and every maker offered the exact same layout you wanted at much the same price, which would you go for?

 

[Fletton]

“Trusted Manufacturer”... those two words form what is known as an Oxymoron...

 

[martin2603]

If they all overed the same layout that is one thing but for me there is another issue. Which one would charge another 15k for extras which are standard from other manufactures.
Met a German fellow from Bavaria a few days ago in Madrid. He now drives a Jaguar !
He had bought tha new Burstner but to keep it below 3.5ton it was very light on spec . Licence issue for his son was a factor .

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[Kevinthecat]

I've had Swifts for the last 7 years, I'm very happy with Swift. On a regular basis on different sites I've stayed on the majority of vans and caravans have been swift.
Auto trail appear popular as well.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

You don't read too much about issues with products of the Pilote group. All of this discussion must be taken in conjunction with the actual number of vans that each company produces. It would be really interesting to see some stats on habitation faults per thousand vehicles for each converter. Personally, the only British coachbuilt van I would consider is Auto-sleeper, but they are now owned by the Trigano behemoth

 

[scotjimland]

New Hymers still use the same proven PUAL construction method that was introduced in 1976... NO timber, with PU insulation that water cannot permeate and an Aluminium frame .. hence PUAL .. they must be doing something right. Later models now have a glass-fibre floor.... so cannot rot.

others have seen the benefits of non-wood construction, Bailly with Alu-tech and Eldis (since purchased by Hymer Group) with SoLiD build . which still uses wood in the frame .. read the forums , they still haven't cracked it, plenty of bad reviews and water ingress of both systems.

As an owner of a 17 year old Hymer I can testify to the quality of the build, and it's more than that, it is designed to be used in four seasons in the worst winter conditions.. all tanks and water pipes are inside between a heated floor space, the drain pipe from the grey tank is isolated inside the van.. so no water left in discharge pipe to freeze.

there is more to a motorhome construction than meets they eye.. pretty decals and badges don't cut it, delve deep and find out exactly how it is constructed, is it designed for 4 season camping... how is that achieved... simply wrapping insulation around a pipe doesn't make it winterised.

to answer your question.. if buying new it would be one of the German marques, many of whom are now owned by the Erwin Hymer Group. I'm hopeful that Hymer will introduce PUAL to the Eldis brand.. then I would consider it, certainly not before, the same applies to the other British brands.



Edit..

If you ever get the time, visit the Hymer factory in Bad Waldsee for a tour .. it is very interesting .. There is also an excellent Hymer Museum .

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[Tincataylor]

All we can offer on here is personal opinion, which has little value. Only hard data can answer the question and each individual company has this from their warranty returns and dealer reports, but NONE of them will ever publish this information. This begs the question "why not" as if I were a manufacturer and I had hard data to show that my in in warranty failure ratio was excellent then I would want to sing it from the rooftops and thus gain a business advantage over my competitors. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that they ALL have skeletons in the wardrobe locker.................

The Tincas

 

[scotjimland]

All we can offer on here is personal opinion, which has little value.

opinion as you say is of little or no value.. but

we can offer personal experience from ownership and use, which in my view is more valuable than hard data.

 

[Minxy]

Not sure how some are made now but our experience of MH ownership is as follows:

Elddis (1991 model) - very well built and good quality materials
Swift (2001 model) - fairly well built with mid-range materials
Rapido (2003 model) - fairly well built with mid-range materials
Rimor (2006 model) - very well built and high quality materials
Chausson (2010 model) - well built with mid-range materials
Autocruise (PVC) - well built with mid-range materials
Globecar - well built with mid-range materials

So from our experience Rimor would win out but that was a top spec MH, if I was comparing the standard spec Rimor it might be the same as others.

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[The Wino]

If they were all the same spec and price the one with the best local dealer

 

[Minxy]

If they were all the same spec and price the one with the best local dealer

... one peron's best dealer can be another person's nightmare!

 

[The Wino]

... one peron's best dealer can be another person's nightmare!

Same with the motorhome makes just look at the ones on here!!

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[Lenny HB]

New Hymers still use the same proven PUAL construction method that was introduced in 1976... NO timber, with PU insulation that water cannot permeate and an Aluminium frame .. hence PUAL .. they must be doing something right. Later models now have a glass-fibre floor.... so cannot rot..

Not forgetting both external internal walls are aluminium now.

Only ever had Hymer Motorhomes but have had British caravans enough to put me off British built vans for life.

 

[Podney]

When we bought our first motorhome last year,I asked basically the same question. But I soon realised that,in the real world,it is unanswerable.
It is very frustrating that there is no INDEPENDENT research/information on the subject. Magazine reviews are,in my opinion,largely useless.......the publishers are reliant on advertising revenue.
Makes and models vary depending on year of manufacture.
I ended up with a short list of makers,mostly French and German,and ended up with Rapido,which is a very well made,middle aged lady.
And,of course,then there is the question of base vehicles...........

 

[Blue Knight]

Anything from the Pilote Group IMO:

Pilote
Le Voyageur
RMB
Frankia
Bavaria

I do like the look of the Hymer Brand but I've just read far too many bad threads on them recently to ever consider buying one.

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[Jagtazman]

Our top 3 is
Rapido
Pilote
Hymer
Not necessary in that order does change. But over past few years there have always come out in our top 3 for price, layouts, build quality, spec.

 

[BobtheBass]

We only have one of the cheapest Carthago models but I have to be honest and say it's fantastically well built with good quality materials. Then again, I have heard of people who have had many problems with theirs and the Carthago dealer network leaves a lot to be desired. Everything connected with Motorhomes seems to be love/hate and based on compromises.

 

[Candapack]

Some interesting responses, cheers.

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[nicholsong]

Without looking back I think Niesmann+Bischoff have not been mentioned.

N+B were a family-run firm who were taken over by the Hymer Group, but are still designed and built at the original factory in Polch. They are generally considered top of the Hymer Group range .

We have a N+B Arto(2003) which has given us no problems except a water pump, tap micro-switch and a few plastic bits. Very well constructed.

Like all Marques there is comment that the recent ones are not so good. This maybe that they are using materials to try to keep under the 3500kg limit for drivers post-1996 with no automatic C1 licence.

I also think that UK dealers are not very good at PDI inspections. I am lucky in that were I to buy a new(Heaven-forbid) N+B I could buy from the factory, only because they have no Dealer in Poland. I would then get Jurgen(Workshop Manager) to make damned sure he was not going to get it back for rectifications, and I think he would.

Just add N+B to your list - not cheap new, but secondhand not much, if any, more than other good ones metioned.

Geoff

 

[Xabia]

First motorhome British built Compass. After first trip to Spain when brand new so many faults (like fridge falling out) that I sold it and bought a Pilote from Hayes. They were very good, problems with hab door coming open in transit, leaking through roof light, they took it back to their premises on a number of occasions to rectify it. Finally it developed a problem with the outer skin looking like it had measles. The steel staples on the inner skin were in contact with the aluminium outer causing corrosion.

Pilote acknowledged the fault but said they would repair French vans before they got round to British ones. Got rid very quickly.

Since then 2 Hymers both bought from Germany and neither of them has had to go back to a dealer for any rectification. Current one is 11 years old and as good as new.

 

[Lenny HB]

Anything from the Pilote Group IMO:

Pilote
Le Voyageur
RMB
Frankia
Bavaria

I do like the look of the Hymer Brand but I've just read far too many bad threads on them recently to ever consider buying one.

In reality compared to British built vans very few problems. When you take into account the number of Hymers produced compared to other vans you are bound to get a few faults. Hymers annual output is more than all of the British manufacturers put together.
Also people tend to jump on Hymer faults as they are perceived as an up market van due to being hyped up in the past also the price was hyped as well. In reality they are only a mid range van.

On our 3rd Hymer they are not faultless no van is. 1st one 2008 Tramp SL had problems with corrosion on the hab door it was replaced without question even though the van was out of warranty, internal materials were very good. 2nd one was an Exsis A Class OK for what is was, just a bit basic, only a couple of minor faults. Current van is a one year old Dynamic Line we like the van but not sure about how well the lightweight internal timber will hold up. They have changed from lightweight ply to a ply sandwich of 2mm ply with a polystyrene core. So far only a couple of minor faults.

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[DuxDeluxe]

Anything from the Pilote Group IMO:

Pilote
Le Voyageur
RMB
Frankia
Bavaria

I do like the look of the Hymer Brand but I've just read far too many bad threads on them recently to ever consider buying one.

Le Voyageur gets my vote.........

 

[tonyidle]

Le Voyageur gets my vote.........

I'm on my first trip in mine. So it's perfect .

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I'm on my first trip in mine. So it's perfect .

What do you have?

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[tonyidle]

What do you have?

A new-to-me 2012 Le Voyager RX958 Platinum......... . On a slow route to Peterborough.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

A new-to-me 2012 Le Voyager RX958 Platinum......... . On a slow route to Peterborough.

Verrry niiice......

 

[tonyidle]

Verrry niiice......

We like it. Still getting used to the extra room after the B584. Currently running with no table - we removed it the second day of the trip & a tugger friend took it home for us. We'd sourced & fitted a smaller table top before we set off but it (and the massive pedestal) was a continuous irritation. We're looking at options just now - could hold a dance in here at the moment .

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[BusyBuilder]

My brother had a Lunar, it was called the Leaky Lunar, had to have the back end rebuilt twice in 5 years. He then bought a Hymer and never looked back.
That swayed my decision of make to buy, we looked at various motorhomes but settled on a 2009 T class 552CL, it was excellent. Although at 6 years old we had a leaky bathroom tap, and that was it. The build quality was (in our opinion) excellent.
We now have the van of our dreams, a 2012 B544 Hymer. Had a problem today after 6 months ownership, the bonnet catch isn't (catching). But an easy fix I think. Though before we bought it, it did have a leaking front Remis window.

 

[Pia]

We love our Adria Coral Supreme 680ST...wouldn't change it for the world as the design is perfect for us. Adria was taken over last year by a French firm...wonder if the quality will remain as good as it was at take over.

 

[Foxy1956]

We run an Autocruise Starspirit 2005 with 104,000 miles. We're the second owner and we know the previous owner who lives near us. So far we have had no problems except wear and tear. When I read about damp, beds dropping on peoples heads, recalls, bits dropping off and other failures on new vans I am quite content to stick with what we've got and contemplate the opportunity cost. My only reservation is when next to change the cam belt?

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