Which make ?

[Stonemonkey]

Hi everyone,
Just joined and introduced myself, family of 4 in total, kids boy and girl 10 and 7, we hire eldiss 180 6 berth last year - good fun
Looking at eldiss 180 or smaller range like 196
Bailey 665
Advance 70-6
Or swift range like 630.674.685.695

Difficult whether u lounge x bunk beds, drop down bed or larger 6 berths
First I thought is which make?
Swift
Bailey
Eldiss
Thoughts please
Thanks Gordon

 

[Lenny HB]

Do you have a C1 licence as the vans you mention do not have anything like enough payload at 3500kg, very borderline for two let along 4. For a family of 4 you are going to need at least 1000 kg payload.
If you don't have a C1 the van you hired you were probably driving overweight.

 

[Stonemonkey]

I have my class 1 and 2, just not sure whether to go bigger or compact?

 

[TerryL]

You really need to take the family around as many dealers as you can and thoroughly check out the different layouts - what works for one doesn't always work for another. Overall size is a matter for what type of touring you're going to do, but you still need to watch the weight/payload (and don't believe the salesman/manufacturer). As regards make there are as many opinions as there are members on here but truly there's not much difference problem-wise, just down to personal preference is all.

Best advice is to invest £15 in a membership, you'll save at least that for advice alone, which gives you access to loads of info and resources as well as Jim's "Guide to Buying a Motorhome", free to members although you can buy it separately if you wish. Also get unlimited posts on here, rather than the 5 you are limited to as a "guest".

You've taken the best first step so all I have to say is and good luck with your search.

 

[denisejoe]

TerryL is right. It's worth joining the Forum for £15. You'll be able to download the Buying a Motorhome guide free of charge rather than paying £7.99 for it.

Loads of advice to be had on here.

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[Jonno1103]

Do you have a C1 licence as the vans you mention do not have anything like enough payload at 3500kg, very borderline for two let along 4. For a family of 4 you are going to need at least 1000 kg payload.
If you don't have a C1 the van you hired you were probably driving overweight.

Lenny if they bought a 6 man tent and took all the gear they needed for a 2 week holiday I doubt that would equate to a tonne's worth of payload. Maybe they should just attach an A frame to their house and tug that?

 

[Jonno1103]

Hi everyone,
Just joined and introduced myself, family of 4 in total, kids boy and girl 10 and 7, we hire eldiss 180 6 berth last year - good fun
Looking at eldiss 180 or smaller range like 196
Bailey 665
Advance 70-6
Or swift range like 630.674.685.695

Difficult whether u lounge x bunk beds, drop down bed or larger 6 berths
First I thought is which make?
Swift
Bailey
Eldiss
Thoughts please
Thanks Gordon

Have a look at Roller Team, the hire companies are choosing them more and more now as they are proving to be more reliable than the the Likes of Swift, Elddis and Tribute. One reputable hire company I know personally have stopped using Swift as they say, and I quote verbatim: "They fall to pieces."

An up-plated (3650) Zefiro 6 berth on a Ford or Fiat which has a garage or two really wide bunks, 5ft wide overcab bed and convertible dinette will give you a 660 kg payload. Zero wood in the construction and separate shower. The bike rack is already included but on the downside you'll lose 30kg's if you add both upgrade packs and there's no microwave option.

Catterick are selling their 2019 ex hire fleet which are fully up graded, 147hp engine, comfortmatic etc, etc. for less than £48k.

 

[Lenny HB]

Lenny if they bought a 6 man tent and took all the gear they needed for a 2 week holiday I doubt that would equate to a tonne's worth of payload. Maybe they should just attach an A frame to their house and tug that?

If you want to drive a van legally you still need over 1000kg of payload for a family of 4. From experience 700 kg is about right for 2.

 

[Servo]

Lenny in his early days.

[? ? ?


QUOTE="Lenny HB, post: 3441232, member: 658"]
If you want to drive a van legally you still need over 1000kg of payload for a family of 4. From experience 700 kg is about right for 2.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Jonno1103]

If you want to drive a van legally you still need over 1000kg of payload for a family of 4. From experience 700 kg is about right for 2.

Sorry Lenny I can't agree with that. A Mondeo estate has a payload of around 620 kg's, how many of those do you see with a family of 4 in packed to the rafters clogging it down a motorway with a roof box on it's head and bikes on the back?

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[Sgtash]

Hi everyone,
Just joined and introduced myself, family of 4 in total, kids boy and girl 10 and 7, we hire eldiss 180 6 berth last year - good fun
Looking at eldiss 180 or smaller range like 196
Bailey 665
Advance 70-6
Or swift range like 630.674.685.695

Difficult whether u lounge x bunk beds, drop down bed or larger 6 berths
First I thought is which make?
Swift
Bailey
Eldiss
Thoughts please
Thanks Gordon

Hi Gordon

We have just been through the same head ache when looking for a MH, even though there is only three of us ( Vicki, me and our three year old daughter), we knew if we got a van with permanent rear bed / beds our little one would end up in there and although some sales people said just move her when you want to go to bed it’s not that easy.
The last thing we want is a grumpy little one after being moved from a comfy bed.
For us it can down to MH’s with bunk beds (little one goes to bed) we can still sit be up without worry of having to move her or the hassle of making up a bed.
Bunk bed layouts are very limited
Roller Team
Zefiro 747 ? Fixed rear bunks
Auto Roller 707 fixed rear bunks
Chassoun 716 twin electric drop down bunks
there was one from Benimar but can’t remember model number.

Another issue we found was travel seats either not being enough for the number of berths and there is nothing on the market that has isofix points for a child seat, we have had to purchase a different kind of seat of our little one to use while traveling in the MH.

 

[CazPaul]

Sorry Lenny I can't agree with that. A Mondeo estate has a payload of around 620 kg's, how many of those do you see with a family of 4 in packed to the rafters clogging it down a motorway with a roof box on it's head and bikes on the back?

Motor home manufacturers are renowned though for being economical with the truth when it comes to payload.
plus you then fit heavy things, extra batteries, solar etc, soon all adds up, things which you don't fit in or on a car

 

[Lenny HB]

Sorry Lenny I can't agree with that. A Mondeo estate has a payload of around 620 kg's, how many of those do you see with a family of 4 in packed to the rafters clogging it down a motorway with a roof box on it's head and bikes on the back?

Its totally irrelevant to this thread is that someone wants to drive a car overloaded & illegal ( just as illegal to drive a car overloaded).
My point is that there are very few Motorhomes if any that can carry 4 people at 3500kg and be legal.
If you want to drive around illegally, fine but don't preach your unsafe practices to others.

Our last van had 580 kg payload we ended up uprating as were always running over and we are lightweights the two of us only weigh 120 kg combined that saves a fair bit of weight over a lot of couples. Didn't make the same mistake again we bought a van with over 1350 kg of payload.

 

[swiftsteve]

I weighed everything that we are ever likely to take with us, excluding food and clothing. It all came to 112kg including the portable solar panel (about the heaviest thing we have), that we only take when we know we won't have EHU for more than 2 days (Motorhome shows for example). I can't think what random stuff I could chuck in to total 700kg, 1000 bottles of beer perhaps.

 

[Puddleduck]

Don't forget that there are lots of European makes as well.

We have a Sunliving (Adria) and our Grandsons love the drop down bed in the middle. It is possible (just) to use the front seats when they are in bed but generally when they go to bed so do we - exhausted!

We thought the boys would use the permanent rear bed and we would use the dropdown when they were with us (we would use the rear bed when we were by ourselves) but they much prefer the dropdown. I put a pillow behind me and sit with my back against a bulkhead at the back so it isn't completely wasted space during the day.

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[Lenny HB]

I weighed everything that we are ever likely to take with us, excluding food and clothing. It all came to 112kg including the portable solar panel (about the heaviest thing we have), that we only take when we know we won't have EHU for more than 2 days (Motorhome shows for example). I can't think what random stuff I could chuck in to total 700kg, 1000 bottles of beer perhaps.

To start with dealer & factory & self fitted extras around 200 kg, 2 e- bikes 50kg, full tank of water 100 - 150 kg. Spare wheel 30 kg, table & chairs 10-15kg, full gas bottle 15kg (MIRO only speced with 1) Tools & spares 15kg . That's nearly 500kg before you add the wife, clothes bedding, toiletries, towels, walking boots, shoes, bedding, food for several days etc.

 

[swiftsteve]

To start with dealer & factory & self fitted extras around 200 kg, 2 e- bikes 50kg, full tank of water 100 - 150 kg. Spare wheel 30 kg, table & chairs 10-15kg, full gas bottle 15kg (MIRO only speced with 1) Tools & spares 15kg . That's nearly 500kg before you add the wife, clothes bedding, toiletries, towels, walking boots, shoes, bedding, food for several days etc.

Oh right fair enough, but the stuff that is fixed becomes part of your MIRO, so imo, it's better to weigh the van with all your extras attached without your consumables. I have a list of the weight of all our stuff which we may or may not take. Any extras we buy gets weighed and added, I find it easy to keep track.
Mind you, before I was driving an hgv for a living I was ignorant of payloads, we just took what we needed and didn't give it a second thought. There must be thousands on the roads like that.

 

[Viennese]

Hi Gordon

We have just been through the same head ache when looking for a MH, even though there is only three of us ( Vicki, me and our three year old daughter), we knew if we got a van with permanent rear bed / beds our little one would end up in there and although some sales people said just move her when you want to go to bed it’s not that easy.
The last thing we want is a grumpy little one after being moved from a comfy bed.
For us it can down to MH’s with bunk beds (little one goes to bed) we can still sit be up without worry of having to move her or the hassle of making up a bed.
Bunk bed layouts are very limited
Roller Team
Zefiro 747 ? Fixed rear bunks
Auto Roller 707 fixed rear bunks
Chassoun 716 twin electric drop down bunks
there was one from Benimar but can’t remember model number.

Another issue we found was travel seats either not being enough for the number of berths and there is nothing on the market that has isofix points for a child seat, we have had to purchase a different kind of seat of our little one to use while traveling in the MH.

Also worth looking at is the , which has bunk beds rear and double bed in front lounge.

 

[Lenny HB]

Oh right fair enough, but the stuff that is fixed becomes part of your MIRO, so imo, it's better to weigh the van with all your extras attached without your consumables

Used to weight my last van before nearly every trip fully loaded. Don't bother now as with the van fully loaded I have 400 kg spare

 

[Jonno1103]

To start with dealer & factory & self fitted extras around 200 kg, 2 e- bikes 50kg, full tank of water 100 - 150 kg. Spare wheel 30 kg, table & chairs 10-15kg, full gas bottle 15kg (MIRO only speced with 1) Tools & spares 15kg . That's nearly 500kg before you add the wife, clothes bedding, toiletries, towels, walking boots, shoes, bedding, food for several days etc.

Ah so a lot of what you believe to be necessary is really just your personal choice... you want a huge payload even though you don't need one.

The gas bottle and spare wheel are already included in your van's weight so there's 45 kg nor do you need to travel with a full tank of water, we carry around 20 litres when on the move so I've just saved myself another 80 kg. Bikes? nope we don't ride them so another 50 kg's.
That's 175 kgs back off the scales.

On the new one we're having a Fiamma 4 bike rack 8 kg, Fiamma 500 back box 17 kg, Dometic 1700 air con 30 kg, VU cube sat dome 5 kg, 2nd leisure battery 22 kg and a Dometic 3.5m awning 18 kg. I'm considering an integrated Hyundai generator which is 50 kg all in although it probably won't fit as the van is only 6m long.

Minus the genny that's 110 kg's with wiring etc, no where near 200. The van, a Pegaso 590, has been weighed at Leeming Bar with me a full fuel tank, 11kg gas bottle and a hand filled 20 litres of water - 2903 kgs ... which with those extras and another 45kg for chairs, table hoses, wastehog, aquaroll, leads etc etc it still leaves 442 kg for the missus plus everything else.

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[Lenny HB]

The gas bottle and spare wheel are already included in your van's weight so there's 45 kg nor do you need to travel with a full tank of water,

Hardly any vans have a spare wheel so the weight is not included, EU recommendation for MIRO which most manufacturers go by is for only a single 11 kg aluminium gas bottle.
I wouldn't dream of setting off without a full tank of water, you never know when you are able to fill up next, that's currently 160Lt.

 

[TerryL]

Oh right fair enough, but the stuff that is fixed becomes part of your MIRO, so imo, it's better to weigh the van with all your extras attached without your consumables. I have a list of the weight of all our stuff which we may or may not take. Any extras we buy gets weighed and added, I find it easy to keep track.
Mind you, before I was driving an hgv for a living I was ignorant of payloads, we just took what we needed and didn't give it a second thought. There must be thousands on the roads like that.

Hmmm, don't think so. I believe the MIRO is the weight of the van when it leaves the factory BEFORE anything like tow-bars etc. are added. Stuff you can take off without the van becoming unfit for use isn't included in the MIRO. That's how my van (MAUW 3850 kg) gets the higher speed limits in the UK but not, unfortunately though, elsewhere.

 

[Stonemonkey]

Sorry Lenny I can't agree with that. A Mondeo estate has a payload of around 620 kg's, how many of those do you see with a family of 4 in packed to the rafters clogging it down a motorway with a roof box on it's head and bikes on the back?

You want to see my smax - we are in Cornwall, roof box, kayak and usual kitchen sink lol

 

[Stonemonkey]

Thanks for all your advice - when I get back off hols I will read through and look at the makes you recommend - regarding payload I will see what's involved in replating if needed - thanks Gordon

 

[MichaelT]

Ah so a lot of what you believe to be necessary is really just your personal choice... you want a huge payload even though you don't need one.

The gas bottle and spare wheel are already included in your van's weight so there's 45 kg nor do you need to travel with a full tank of water, we carry around 20 litres when on the move so I've just saved myself another 80 kg. Bikes? nope we don't ride them so another 50 kg's.
That's 175 kgs back off the scales.

On the new one we're having a Fiamma 4 bike rack 8 kg, Fiamma 500 back box 17 kg, Dometic 1700 air con 30 kg, VU cube sat dome 5 kg, 2nd leisure battery 22 kg and a Dometic 3.5m awning 18 kg. I'm considering an integrated Hyundai generator which is 50 kg all in although it probably won't fit as the van is only 6m long.

Minus the genny that's 110 kg's with wiring etc, no where near 200. The van, a Pegaso 590, has been weighed at Leeming Bar with me a full fuel tank, 11kg gas bottle and a hand filled 20 litres of water - 2903 kgs ... which with those extras and another 45kg for chairs, table hoses, wastehog, aquaroll, leads etc etc it still leaves 442 kg for the missus plus everything else.

So are you carrying bikes or not? One sentence saying nope you don't ride them but the next says you are having a 4 bike rack fitted????

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[MichaelT]

Hardly any vans have a spare wheel so the weight is not included, EU recommendation for MIRO which most manufacturers go by is for only a single 11 kg aluminium gas bottle.
I wouldn't dream of setting off without a full tank of water, you never know when you are able to fill up next, that's currently 160Lt.

Same here, always fill and empty at every opportunity unless I am 100% sure there are services where I am going to.

 

[MR. FUSION]

Have a look at Roller Team, the hire companies are choosing them more and more now as they are proving to be more reliable than the the Likes of Swift, Elddis and Tribute. One reputable hire company I know personally have stopped using Swift as they say, and I quote verbatim: "They fall to pieces."

An up-plated (3650) Zefiro 6 berth on a Ford or Fiat which has a garage or two really wide bunks, 5ft wide overcab bed and convertible dinette will give you a 660 kg payload. Zero wood in the construction and separate shower. The bike rack is already included but on the downside you'll lose 30kg's if you add both upgrade packs and there's no microwave option.

Catterick are selling their 2019 ex hire fleet which are fully up graded, 147hp engine, comfortmatic etc, etc. for less than £48k.

In Europe many hire firms use the German Sunlight models as they are cheap and robust.
https://www.sunlight.de/en/

 

[Jonno1103]

So are you carrying bikes or not? One sentence saying nope you don't ride them but the next says you are having a 4 bike rack fitted????

No, no bikes. All Roller Teams come with a 4 bike rack as standard direct from the factory, they bolt them on in Tuscany before they have their water ingress tests. I'll be using it to put a box on and removing both as required.

The advertised MIRO is 2865 kgs, I'm a big lad so the weighbridge figure of 2903 is about right with me, gas & fuel in it, this also suggests that they take account of the bike rack in their figure but I've deducted the 8 kgs just to be sure.

I know it comes with a 120w solar panel on the roof but the 360w of CIGs panels on our Tracker (3 120's) weigh less than 7kgs combined so I may put two of them on the 590 in place of the factory original.