Advice on Chausson

[Eric58]

Hi all glad I’ve stumbled on this forum hopefully it will prove to be s great help.
We are about to purchase our first motorhome and are quickly discovering it’s a minefield!!!
Ok so after shortlisting a few males at the nec last week we have now visited several dealers to get more hands on with the various makes that a) tick our boxes b) are within our price range and c ) within what I can justify to spend for the amount of use I envisage.
To cut a long story short we’ve viewed Carador, Weinsnerg, and Chausson. All falling within a similar price point and although the dealers keep telling us to stick with German and away from the chausson I have to say that the chausson models tick all of our must have boxes with very little compromise. Any advice or viewpoints from chausson owners would be greatly welcome !!!!!

 

[Eric58]

Oh just to add we are also pondering. On whether to go for a pre owned or pre Reg up to 2/3 yrs old with very low mileage of bite the bullet and buy new ? Again there must be lots of experienced owners on here that hopefully can help steer me the right way !!!!

 

[The Wino]

Had 2 chaussons wouldn't have bought the second if the first was no good . I think they are good value for money

 

[Eric58]

Thanks for the reply we just find that they tick the boxes we need which are large storage area fixed large rear bed access to storage area both sides. And contrary to what the dealers are telling me I am struggling to see the vast difference in build quality between them and the entry level German makes such as Carado or Weinsberg I’m the same price point ?

 

[mikebeaches]

Our last van was a Chausson, which we purchased new. We were happy with it and travelled all over Europe during 5 years of ownership. Had some innovative design features and never let us down. We were aware from the outset that it was built to a budget, but that caused us no concern whatsoever. Good value for money by comparison with other brands. And the company has much higher recognition and profile in the UK than the German Carado and Weinsberg vans you've mentioned.

Wish Chausson still sold PVCs in the UK...

Oh, and by the way - you've nearly run out of free posts and need to subscribe to MHFun - you won't regret it. Loads of useful info and camaraderie. A very lively forum with lots going on!

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[Geoff185]

Hi, we bought one (Suite Relax) as the layout suited us. This is our third camper but first Chausson. It has been superb so far. When you look at them the vehicle side is pretty standard to all manufacturers, ours is the Fiat Ducato base so as far as the running gear and chassis it is standard to others. As fir the "box" the different manufacturers put on the back they all use the same components inside. I.E. Domestic fridge,Trauma heater, Webasto air heater, Thetford toilet, Remis blinds etc. Obviously the cabinets and housings are bespoke and thus is where you will have differences, have heard hinges poor but they are made by Haffle as used by some others I am sure. I even spotted that the internal cab door covering is the same as an autotrail so I guess they all use the same supplier network.Yes it is a budget van but suits us we don't full time, if we did we would buy a lot larger and heavier van( which would have more substantial cabinets etc). Ours has been subjected to our family using it with an excited 7year old and 5 year old holidaying in it, with no issues .We are very pleased and don't intend to change.
As its your first think carefully how you will use it when deciding on layout. Ours has king sized fixed bed in rear which you can walk round two sides and we think is ideal.
When looking at dealers check on here and elsewhere for feedback, all are very good at selling you a van. It's the aftercare you need from my experience a lot are far worse than used car sellers. I can recommend Emm Bee motor homes for spares, they are really helpful and will contact you back. I have only had to buy a couple of plastic covers for door hinges,had been lost Chausson will not deal direct, I have tried, they want you to go through the dealer network.
Good luck in your search, you will love the camper lifestyle, we wished we had done it many years earlier. You have found a great forum here, lots of help if you ask

 

[peterc10]

You do not mention what driving licence you have and what are the weights and payload of the models you are looking at. You cannot drive a motorhome heavier than 3500kg MGW without a C1 licence. The dealer is out to sell you a motorhome. Most are not worried if you cannot legally drive it or, if you can, you can't put anything in that very large storage area because the payload is too low.

So start with layout, but then the next thing on the list is weight and payload.

 

[Spidey]

Our first van was a Chausson and like you our dealers were trying to persuade us that a used Rapido was a better purchase. We bought the Chausson because we liked the design and it felt very modern. It was fine a few niggles with the electric bed (not Chausson fault, but the bed manufacturer). We changed to get away from the bed problems and wanted a fixed bed. Bought a Hymer which is better made and we do notice the finishing. However we didn't change for that reason and if the Chausson had been the correct layout we would have kept it. We looked after our van and trading it in it looked new. I do love our Hymer though and glad we changed. But is it worth 20k more than a Chausson I am not sure. The most important thing is to get payload and layout right.

 

[tonka]

It's rare for people to choose and buy the "right" motorhome on first go.
Once you start to use a van you learn the things you do and dont need,, I had 3 in 18 months when i started but the final layout is one we have stuck with for the past 12 years.

Buying a good used van always gives you the option to trade up and not loose that initial hit in cash
There is some big money to be lost when selling a motorhome in the first 2 years, so cant advise on the Chausson but thats my input if any help..

 

[Wombles]

We love our Chausson as well designed, good build quality & insulation at the mid range price point. We will be selling it soon to downsize to a PVC & would choose Chausson again but they don't have the layout we want in their PVC range.

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[brynric]

Agree with most of the above. We have a second hand Chausson which is 10 years old now. The layout suits us and it’s been robust enough for year round touring with dog. We’ve had a couple of age related issues (seals etc) but everything was fixable. When we can afford a replacement we’d have no hesitation looking at another Chausson, we quite like the 630 at the moment. It seems to have some good ideas and uses space well.

 

[Wombles]

@Eric58 have sent you a message - see Inbox in top rh corner

 

[MillieMoocher]

I think some models might have payload issues, @Mickey1 I think I recall put some posts on the subject (but I couldn’t find them on search facility).

Personally I have a soft spot for Chausson, it was the vehicle we hired a couple of years ago and although it had had a hard life in the rental market seemed to have stood up well.

Some of their layouts are a bit odd, for example, drop down bed that covers the lounge so you have to go to bed at the same time (which would annoy me!)

 

[peterc10]

I think some models might have payload issues, @Mickey1 I think I recall put some posts on the subject (but I couldn’t find them on search facility).)

The thread is here. It was a Chausson with a payload of only 60kg according to the OP. From memory I think he rejected it and eventually got his money back.

 

[Wombles]

It's the 7.5m motorhomes that claim to be under 3500kg from not only Chausson but many other manufacturers that are the problem as tiny payload at most No problem with 6m models - know ours has a good payload

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[peterc10]

The trouble is the OP has given us no idea about what size moho he is after. And when looking many newbies make the mistake of thinking that the bigger the better. I did until I started looking at this forum.

 

[Ronny]

Got my first Motorhome, a Chausson Flash 530 in May this year and after covering 3000 miles in France last month we love it. Covered most at the NEC and nothing ticked the boxes apart from the Flash 610 which is identical to our 530 but .6 of a metre longer all allocated to garage space so we'll upgrade next year. If you want full oven and better spec etc choose a Welcome version but we're happy with the Flash and the electric bed system is brilliant.