£225,000 at the NEC

[Al n Val]

So

we’re going to the NEC on thursday, we’ll be there a max of 6 hours possibly less looking to spend (maybe) £225000 less PX
on an A Class

1. max 8mtrs

2. Not white (silver)

3. 2 berth (poss 4) so 4 belts

4. Island bed (poss singles)

5. double floor but don’t want to have to climb a staircase to get in/out

6. big garage for folding elec bikes, chairs,table but no high bed inside

7. Must be auto and poss Merc but not essential so Iveco or something else

8. enough roof room for 600w min solar

This will poss be our last motorhome so good build quality with no shitty dealer backup service would be nice

Dealer max 2 hours but pre preferred less from West Yorks, is their any good dealers out there ???

Can you think of anything else and i’m not a fan of the TV in the hab door entrance either

cheers
Al

PS. Val will not entertain rouffle leather so has to be nice n smooth

 

[funflair]

Ground clearance looks very poor.

Just push the "off-road button" and jobs a good en

 

[Northernraider]

Just push the "off-road button" and jobs a good en

Does it lift up a good 12-18 inches then because I'd ground that constantly

 

[bobnick]

Don't know about the afford bit.
Some could/can comfortably afford one of these big vans but some just don't want one.
As we all keep saying each to their own.

 

[Mr porky]

Even the morelo brand suffers from snags, however it is more robust than others I have seen.
We have comfortably used ours 9 months of the year every year for the last 4 years and it's only real issue is with iveco side of the equation, and that's just a software issue. The engines are very robust and will tootle along on the motorway at 70mph never missing a beat.

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[Dutch 68]

Ground clearance looks very poor.

That will be the air suspension lenny,

 

[Flairy]

Mine still ambling along at 65 -70 after over 20 years still love it just lacking torque on long autobahn climbs need mote horses (cart horses) like Jongood clou.

 

[Just smiffy]

I think most seasoned motorhomers are satisfied with what they have it’s just that bloody grass over the fence looks greener…

 

[Garry - June]

Right then

just got back from the show and….

we’ll be keeping our Rapido, certainly for the time being, we looked at Carthago, Frankia, Hymer, Burstner, Dethleffs and Le Voyager.

Everything we looked at would give us less than we already have, we looked at up to £265k and there was nothing we’d change to.

So getting ours sorted and fitted with VB air and that’ll be it.

Can anyone please explain why on certain A class motorhomes based on Mercedes that the front wheels are narrower by approx 1ft than the rear wheels?

The front wheels were set into the front wheel arch so much it just looked wrong to us.

You came to the same conclusion as us ... Our 2015 Frankia seems to us far better built than the newer models .. and to even contemplate upgrading would mean forking out 150% more than the value of what we have now.. I have spent the last 5 yrs ironing out any issues and upgrading where I can.. Would it be great to have a brand new shiny van..yes I suppose so.... but not at the cost it would entail.

 

[Colin McCourt]

That's right . Some drivers just won't attempt to go where I go .

Drove the length of the Pyrenees and the most common comment from my Co driver was “ should we be on this road with a Motorhome this size?”

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[bigtree]

And I have much more storage on my rwd Flair than I had on my fwd frankia .
Same overall height though but far more ground clearance.
Both same overall length height and width

The Frankia lockers were too small and not enough of them, several owners said more could have been fitted.

 

[waveridergsy]

So

we’re going to the NEC on thursday, we’ll be there a max of 6 hours possibly less looking to spend (maybe) £225000 less PX
on an A Class

1. max 8mtrs

2. Not white (silver)

3. 2 berth (poss 4) so 4 belts

4. Island bed (poss singles)

5. double floor but don’t want to have to climb a staircase to get in/out

6. big garage for folding elec bikes, chairs,table but no high bed inside

7. Must be auto and poss Merc but not essential so Iveco or something else

8. enough roof room for 600w min solar

This will poss be our last motorhome so good build quality with no shitty dealer backup service would be nice

Dealer max 2 hours but pre preferred less from West Yorks, is their any good dealers out there ???

Can you think of anything else and i’m not a fan of the TV in the hab door entrance either

cheers
Al

PS. Val will not entertain rouffle leather so has to be nice n smooth

Wow this sounds awesome have a great time and happy hunting my budget is £225 lol

 

[Al n Val]

Wow this sounds awesome have a great time and happy hunting my budget is £225 lol

Your a bit late to the party but hey ho welcome to join in

However we saw nothing better than what we’ve already got so sticking with it for the time being

 

[jongood]

The Frankia lockers were too small and not enough of them, several owners said more could have been fitted.

Frankia is a good product but I've never understood the garage arrangement on them, you get enough space for a decent garage but frequently end up with compartments instead.

 

[bigtree]

Frankia is a good product but I've never understood the garage arrangement on them, you get enough space for a decent garage but frequently end up with compartments instead.

Mine was a special order, that’s my 6’ nephew in the picture.

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[haganap]

Been to polch this week to have some work done.
The n and b 78 fits your bill but the 88 is a better van.
But you don't want over 8m

Love our 79 but they don't make them any more..
Now you have 78 88 or the flair.

Cut above the rest and totally understand why you wouldn't want a Morello.
Prefer the ducato tag to the merc personally

 

[jongood]

Mine was a special order, that’s my 6’ nephew in the picture. View attachment 968636

Do you why others had the 2 doors and were separated?

 

[bigtree]

Do you why others had the 2 doors and were separated?

I think that’s the way they are built now.

 

[Ditcha]

Frankia is a good product but I've never understood the garage arrangement on them, you get enough space for a decent garage but frequently end up with compartments instead.

Yes your right our garage is tight width wise just get the scooter in and bikes then you have the 2x smaller doors which could have all been garage.Still good storage though as one is the electrical cabinet and the the other we have a compressor fridge box in for the drinks we are 8m long.

 

[bigtree]

Frankia is a good product but I've never understood the garage arrangement on them, you get enough space for a decent garage but frequently end up with compartments instead.

Could easily accommodate a SuperDuke.

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[Flairy]

That’s a good fit

 

[dunnah01]

We had a good poke around most manufacturers but it was disappointing that all of them had some components bought off Temu. What's going on if they have to penny pinch on the touch point stuff

 

[jongood]

We had a good poke around most manufacturers but it was disappointing that all of them had some components bought off Temu. What's going on if they have to penny pinch on the touch point stuff

Our 2003 Clouliner has Grohe taps, when we bought it the kitchen one was seeping around the base where it swivels, I found the model number and was able to buy a new seal kit and its sorted. I can't see thatbeing possible with the new stuff.

 

[jongood]

Interestingly it's plumbed throughout with an early version of JG speedfit in 15mm. You quite often see owners on the Clou treff page wondering how to source them

 

[EuroTrotters]

Definitely not. All the weight is in the rear..its easier to push weight than pull it and front wheel drive loses traction far easier.

The best built vans are rwd

Without a doubt.

Mercedes Spent year marketing and tell us so. Until now, all down to cost and requirements of the van market.

Twin wheels on 1 RWD axle or as a compromise or some chassis 4x4 . I guess 6WD 6x6 would be great .

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[nicholsong]

Arto 78 on Merc in Silver, ticks all your boxes i think.

Al n Val specified 'No shitty dealers'

So

we’re going to the NEC on thursday, we’ll be there a max of 6 hours possibly less looking to spend (maybe) £225000 less PX
on an A Class

1. max 8mtrs

2. Not white (silver)

3. 2 berth (poss 4) so 4 belts

4. Island bed (poss singles)

5. double floor but don’t want to have to climb a staircase to get in/out

6. big garage for folding elec bikes, chairs,table but no high bed inside

7. Must be auto and poss Merc but not essential so Iveco or something else

8. enough roof room for 600w min solar

This will poss be our last motorhome so good build quality with no shitty dealer backup service would be nice

Dealer max 2 hours but pre preferred less from West Yorks, is their any good dealers out there ???

Can you think of anything else and i’m not a fan of the TV in the hab door entrance either

cheers
Al

PS. Val will not entertain rouffle leather so has to be nice n smooth

Close to that budget we have just been negotiating today to buy a house in Poland which has been very well refurbished and fitted out, large kitchen living room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms (incl jacuzzi), all furniture included, two garages - one for the MH (12m long 4m wide, 4m high with full-length inspection pit.

We all spend our money differently.

 

[funflair]

Al n Val specified 'No shitty dealers'


Close to that budget we have just been negotiating today to buy a house in Poland which has been very well refurbished and fitted out, large kitchen living room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms (incl jacuzzi), all furniture included, two garages - one for the MH (12m long 4m wide, 4m high with full-length inspection pit.

We all spend our money differently.

That sounds like a cracking spot Geoff, I would be happy with the MH grade and pit

 

[Peregrinator]

So

we’re going to the NEC on thursday, we’ll be there a max of 6 hours possibly less looking to spend (maybe) £225000 less PX
on an A Class

1. max 8mtrs

2. Not white (silver)

3. 2 berth (poss 4) so 4 belts

4. Island bed (poss singles)

5. double floor but don’t want to have to climb a staircase to get in/out

6. big garage for folding elec bikes, chairs,table but no high bed inside

7. Must be auto and poss Merc but not essential so Iveco or something else

8. enough roof room for 600w min solar

This will poss be our last motorhome so good build quality with no shitty dealer backup service would be nice

Dealer max 2 hours but pre preferred less from West Yorks, is their any good dealers out there ???

Can you think of anything else and i’m not a fan of the TV in the hab door entrance either

cheers
Al

PS. Val will not entertain rouffle leather so has to be nice n smooth

A lot of people supporting rear wheel drive, unfortunately I have seen a lot of rear wheel drive van's stuck on the wet grass, while most front wheel managed, on wet and icy roads I find rear wheel drive as no traction, hence why they are good for drifting, where as front wheel drive you can steer into, I would go for front wheel any time, but that's just my opinion anyway

 

[Paul F]

A lot of people supporting rear wheel drive, unfortunately I have seen a lot of rear wheel drive van's stuck on the wet grass, while most front wheel managed, on wet and icy roads I find rear wheel drive as no traction, hence why they are good for drifting, where as front wheel drive you can steer into, I would go for front wheel any time, but that's just my opinion anyway

Given a choice I would go for rear wheel drive every time. It is much better to have the driven wheels under the heaviest part of the vehicle. On most MH‘s the rear axle load will be 50%-100% more than the front axle load.

I watched all the FWD vans wheelspinning and sliding out of the muddy campsite at Oulton Park in September after torrential rain. I just slowly moved out with no problem at all.

Getting stuck or not has as much to do with the drivers technique as their drive configuration I think.

 

[WESTY66]

Rear wheels for driving
Front wheels for steering

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[funflair]

A lot of people supporting rear wheel drive, unfortunately I have seen a lot of rear wheel drive van's stuck on the wet grass, while most front wheel managed, on wet and icy roads I find rear wheel drive as no traction, hence why they are good for drifting, where as front wheel drive you can steer into, I would go for front wheel any time, but that's just my opinion anyway

I agree that a lot of RWD are not that good in the snow compared to FWD, but muddy fields are different thing all together in my opinion as you tend to sink into mud and that is where a RWD with 4 driven wheels on the rear axle really comes into it's own, I think it was Chester racecourse fun rally a few year ago that out of 90 vans there were less than 10 that drove out under their own steam, we were one of them in our IVECO based Flair