Any advice on these types of MH's

[fredamens]

Hello all

First real post following my initial post where I introduced myself.

Looking for our first motorhome and I am looking at lots of different layouts. What is catching our eye is the smaller vans (6m - ish) with either a French or elevating bed. Also like the look of the MH's that have the 'Luton Top' giving a smaller van but decent size living space which is what we want. A few MH's we have seen (you tube) are the following - I appreciate there may be newer models but you get the idea:

Bailey Autograph 75-4
Autosleeper nuevo EK ES LT
Adria Matrix 590 ST 2.3

Does anyone have any experience with these MH's and if so would you recommend. If not what would you?

Also what is the general feeling about new vs used. assume used (in good condition/low mileage) would have most of the issued ironed out. Lastly I need to know about rattling? are the any MH's to avoid - although I appreciate most MH's will make some noise during travel.

Thank you kindly for any advice given.

Fred

 

[MisterB]

Welcome to the Fun House ...

All motorhomes rattle, but a lot of that can be reduced by using rubber matting etc in between 'things'. The hob and oven are often prime suspects!
Personally I would opt for pre loved but then again we've e never been in a position to buy the make/model we liked brand new.

Pre loved can tend to have all the niggles of a new motorhome resolved and often come with additions .....but as always, buyer beware.

Good luck with your search (as regards the motorhomes you're considering, we have found our Adria to be much better build quality than others we have owned)

 

[AndyPK]

Hi. We considered a Nuevo when searching for our last ‘van (Janine has one, so may like to comment…..?), but, eventually we went for something smaller. Our first ‘van was an AS Clubman - have you looked at any of those - obviously they tend to be much older. Wrt ‘rattles’, our Firefly is really good but, then again, we don’t have much in it that could rattle!

 

[Rollingwheels]

The Adria will be better for colder weather as it has better insulation and the pipework will be inside the van not externally as the other two can have, fine if you are not using in the winter but hard work to retrofit frost protection

 

[Janine]

I love my Nuevo and wouldn’t change it for anything else!

It’s a 2006 which is the ‘old style’ but well built and less electronic wizardry to go wrong. Overall, I do think Autosleepers have a good quality finish.

At less than 5.5 meters in length, it is quite easy to find a parking space that will accommodate it.

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[fredamens]

Welcome to the Fun House ...

All motorhomes rattle, but a lot of that can be reduced by using rubber matting etc in between 'things'. The hob and oven are often prime suspects!
Personally I would opt for pre loved but then again we've e never been in a position to buy the make/model we liked brand new.

Pre loved can tend to have all the niggles of a new motorhome resolved and often come with additions .....but as always, buyer beware.

Good luck with your search (as regards the motorhomes you're considering, we have found our Adria to be much better build quality than others we have owned)

Yeah thinking pre-loved is the way to go. Thanks

 

[fredamens]

I love my Nuevo and wouldn’t change it for anything else!

It’s a 2006 which is the ‘old style’ but well built and less electronic wizardry to go wrong. Overall, I do think Autosleepers have a good quality finish.

At less than 5.5 meters in length, it is quite easy to find a parking space that will accommodate it.

Thank you, How do you get on with the bed over cab, lots of room up there?

 

[Janine]

Thank you, How do you get on with the bed over cab, lots of room up there?

Sadly, mine doesn’t have the over cab bed. My previous van did which was lovely but limited headroom if you like sitting up reading.

 

[Lenny HB]

I think the Adria is the only one worth considering, I wouldn't touch a Brit built van. Loads of good German vans out there.

 

[Brains]

Rent before you buy!

We rented what we thought would be the 'perfect' MoHo for us.
8m with a French bed.

By the end of the first night anything with a French bed was off our list!
We also cut down the max size to 7m.

We then rented two more motorhomes before we were in a position to spec what we really needed, not what we thought we wanted.

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[Jabstatt]

I have a Bailey 745. Just the layout and equipment we need. Huge fridge freezer, French bed, no overcab. I’ve added 560w Solar and loads of lithium aas well as an inverter.
Most everything except cooking runs off 12v now.
Induction hob, Nespresso and air fryer.

All just as we want it but built quality is dire and support an insult.

I can’t even get a wiring diagram so mods become difficult.

Tony

 

[WESTY66]

I think the Adria is the only one worth considering, I wouldn't touch a Brit built van. Loads of good German vans out there.

This

Exactly what Lenny said, the adria is by far the best van on your list, build quality, insulation etc. I had an Adria it was a great van and I would have prob still had it if I hadn’t come across my present van by accident

 

[Brains]

I think the Adria is the only one worth considering, I wouldn't touch a Brit built van. Loads of good German vans out there.

I'd agree with this.

Having looked at loads and rented three, we limited our search to German MoHo's only.

They are mostly solidly built, are usually fully winterised, and do not use wood in the construction.
We further limited our search by saying that if we are going for a German top, we will go for a German bottom as well, therefore a Mercedes based, German built motorhome.

Our spec was:
The budget.
German built, German quality
Fully winterised
Mercedes base vehicle
Conventional 'van' cab (No A class or similar)
Minimum Euro 5 engine.
A max length of 6.99m
Decent payload (400kg minimum)
Twin beds (that can be a massive double) over a large rear garage.
A bathroom with a door that means it can be shut off from both sleeping and living area
An oven
4 seatbelts
Ability to carry two bikes

Obviously some things can be a little more flexible than others, for example had it been a fully winterised French Fiat based and just over 7m with the right layout we would have looked at it. But other things such as the Euro 5 or 6 engine,the van cab and the payload were not negotiable.

 

[Andy Norfolk]

Another vote for Adria.

 

[jerryz]

When i looked at my first van in 2021 I ended up with an 2009 Adria,680ST goldline ,, Build quality,, proper alpine winter insulation ,, and im happy with my decision .....

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[TheAleMan]

I have a Bailey 745. Just the layout and equipment we need. Huge fridge freezer, French bed, no overcab. I’ve added 560w Solar and loads of lithium aas well as an inverter.
Most everything except cooking runs off 12v now.
Induction hob, Nespresso and air fryer.

All just as we want it but built quality is dire and support an insult.

I can’t even get a wiring diagram so mods become difficult.

Tony

A friend of mine has an older 12 plate Bailey Approach and the build quality on that is also dire..always bits breaking on it and falling off. It really is poorly put together.

 

[Puddleduck]

Our last van was a Sunliving by Adria.

We sold due to illness but it was brilliant. Ours was a 2016 before the revamp - much prefer the older style and they do have a premium on them......

 

[Brains]

As an FYI on winterisation.

My sister has a PVC with a professional conversion done by a small UK company.
I have a winterised Hymer.
Both vehicles are Mercedes based 6.7m vans
Both have gas powered blown air heating.

When we were camping side by side last April (without EHU) when the temperature was in low single figures the warmest she could get her van was 14c, mine was easy to get to 21c.
Gas usage seems to be similar.

I think it's important for use in the UK outside of the 3 months of summer to have a fully winterised (to Alpine levels) vehicle.

 

[Just us on Tour]

This

Exactly what Lenny said, the adria is by far the best van on your list, build quality, insulation etc. I had an Adria it was a great van and I would have prob still had it if I hadn’t come across my present van by accident

Hi Westy66

Adria have a very good reputation , what was it that prompted you to change your van ?
I am curious , was it size or layout or build Quality ?

 

[WESTY66]

Hi Westy66

Adria have a very good reputation , what was it that prompted you to change your van ?
I am curious , was it size or layout or build Quality ?

Well Paul, my cousin Paul was buying a van off Simon and he sent him a walk round tour of his van and parked behind it was a Carthago, never took any notice UNTIL he said “it’s a keggy hander” then I suddenly became interested and Simon sent me the spec and it had everything on it I was going to put on the Adria, so a deal was done (a very good deal) and the Carthago was mine. At the time I didn’t know a thing about Carthagos, as it happens I have a very well specced van with all the right options and everything just works

Ps I need to get them pads off you don’t I??

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[Just us on Tour]

Well Paul, my cousin Paul was buying a van off Simon and he sent him a walk round tour of his van and parked behind it was a Carthago, never took any notice UNTIL he said “it’s a keggy hander” then I suddenly became interested and Simon sent me the spec and it had everything on it I was going to put on the Adria, so a deal was done (a very good deal) and the Carthago was mine. At the time I didn’t know a thing about Carthagos, as it happens I have a very well specced van with all the right options and everything just works

Ps I need to get them pads off you don’t I??

Cheers Westy66

My name is Steve .

 

[WESTY66]

Cheers Westy66

My name is Steve .

Sorry, wrong “tour”

 

[Jonno1103]

Build quality on Bailey can be questionable as the habitation is built at a separate plant then transported to another facility, tollerances aren't taken into account. Their Alu-tech body does suffer structural failures particularly on heavier/longer moho's & caravans.

Adria & Auto Sleeper are from the same stable, Trigano, meaning that under the skin most of what makes them tick is shared.

 

[Landy Andy]

I’ve got an old Adria, and can’t fault the quality or the practicality of the build. When/if you do have a problem, or you want to modify/upgrade something you can get to it, with a few basic processes.

 

[Lenny HB]

Adria & Auto Sleeper are from the same stable, Trigano, meaning that under the skin most of what makes them tick is shared.

I doubt it just look at all the brands under the Hymer banner, they all work independantly. Different construction methods, different fixtures and fitting etc.
Compared to the car industry it's still very much a cottage industry.

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[Northernraider]

Buy German
And buy the main brand not their cheaper sub brands.

If budget means second hand over brand new then that's the best approach

I'd rather older better quality than newer poorer quality.

Don't fall In to the trap that newer is better etc it really isn't.

If you like city breaks where low emission zones are a thing I'd go b&b or hotel instead.

Opinions will vary. But nothing worse than having to constantly repair a new expensive item. Much better repairing an older cheaper one.

 

[Jonno1103]

I doubt it just look at all the brands under the Hymer banner, they all work independantly. Different construction methods, different fixtures and fitting etc.
Compared to the car industry it's still very much a cottage industry.

Lenny I worked for Trigano during the horizonal & vertical branding integration, trust me, there's a lot of shared tech & design between them, more so with the A Class variants. Benimar, McLouis & Rimor share body construction techniques as do Chausson, Adria, Auto Sleeper & Auto Trail... the latter's A Class is straight from the CAD designers from Slovenia & Tuscany. Mobilvetta & Roller Team are basically the same vehicle.

It's about dumbing down the luxury brands to increase profit whilst improving the quality of the entry & mid level brands for mass sales.

Trigano's group turnover was almost 4 billion Euros last year. EHG's was 2.7 billion Euros. Knaus Tabbert, 1.4 billion Euros. It's anything but a cottage industry.

Group ownership & shared build techniques are the only way to survive now. They'll all head down that road eventually.

On the flip side Bailey have recently paid off a recovery loan, their turnover is less than £145 million. Swift have recently laid off around 175 production staff and shut down a production line and their turnover is more than twice that of Bailey at £321 million, this includes their lodges too.

It won't be too long before either Trigano or Thor/EHG start sniffing.

 

[enark]

I think the Adria is the only one worth considering, I wouldn't touch a Brit built van. Loads of good German vans out there.

And French or Italian….and Sweedish Coachman….

 

[Bill-H]

Not always of course, but quite often in my experience talking with owners, your first camper van or motorhome often gets sold within the first few years as you find your idea of the best layout isn't quite what you need, big bathroom taking up masses of space when you mainly stay on campsites and use their facilities, that bunk-bed layout at the end because 'the grandkids will love it' but it turns out they grow up and don't want to come with you, the drop down double which seemed such a good idea is a struggle when your knee gets dodgy and your partner need to keep climbing over you in the night to use the loo.
I'd sugest buying used so the previous owner has taken the devaluation hit and most of the issues have been ironed out. You may well sell it after a couple of years when you have a few trips under your belt and have a better idea what works for you in reality rather than a shiney looking one and a smooth talking salesman.

 

[Jenka]

Hello all

First real post following my initial post where I introduced myself.

Looking for our first motorhome and I am looking at lots of different layouts. What is catching our eye is the smaller vans (6m - ish) with either a French or elevating bed. Also like the look of the MH's that have the 'Luton Top' giving a smaller van but decent size living space which is what we want. A few MH's we have seen (you tube) are the following - I appreciate there may be newer models but you get the idea:

Bailey Autograph 75-4
Autosleeper nuevo EK ES LT
Adria Matrix 590 ST 2.3

Does anyone have any experience with these MH's and if so would you recommend. If not what would you?

Also what is the general feeling about new vs used. assume used (in good condition/low mileage) would have most of the issued ironed out. Lastly I need to know about rattling? are the any MH's to avoid - although I appreciate most MH's will make some noise during travel.

Thank you kindly for any advice given.

Fred

Hello all

First real post following my initial post where I introduced myself.

Looking for our first motorhome and I am looking at lots of different layouts. What is catching our eye is the smaller vans (6m - ish) with either a French or elevating bed. Also like the look of the MH's that have the 'Luton Top' giving a smaller van but decent size living space which is what we want. A few MH's we have seen (you tube) are the following - I appreciate there may be newer models but you get the idea:

Bailey Autograph 75-4
Autosleeper nuevo EK ES LT
Adria Matrix 590 ST 2.3

Does anyone have any experience with these MH's and if so would you recommend. If not what would you?

Also what is the general feeling about new vs used. assume used (in good condition/low mileage) would have most of the issued ironed out. Lastly I need to know about rattling? are the any MH's to avoid - although I appreciate most MH's will make some noise during travel.

Thank you kindly for any advice given.

Fred

I brought a Bailey autograph brand new and needed a therapist .I'm now on the road to recovery the therapist suggested I buy German it worked ! Good luck