Carthago option

[Just us on Tour]

Hi All
I am seeking your advice yet again. Having just returned from the show ( like hundreds of others ) we are seriously considering ordering a new van . After much searching we have decided on a Carthago Chic C line A Class. This will be our first A class and our first European van . We have always had Autotrail.
The options list for Carthago is huge and can be very costly . I am interested to get your opinions as to which options are desirable and would be essential and those which are not . For example a coffee machine and inverter is £1800. Carpet set £600 ish , silver paint £3500 ish ……full leather £3500 ish.
Advice please as to which options you would consider are key to retain good resale value.
Thank you

 

[Wh05apk]

Good old Hymer - doesn't have central locking.

Mine does, works perfectly

 

[1090alex]

Hi All
I am seeking your advice yet again. Having just returned from the show ( like hundreds of others ) we are seriously considering ordering a new van . After much searching we have decided on a Carthago Chic C line A Class. This will be our first A class and our first European van . We have always had Autotrail.
The options list for Carthago is huge and can be very costly . I am interested to get your opinions as to which options are desirable and would be essential and those which are not . For example a coffee machine and inverter is £1800. Carpet set £600 ish , silver paint £3500 ish ……full leather £3500 ish.
Advice please as to which options you would consider are key to retain good resale value.
Thank you

Hi,
Exciting times!
These are some of the things we have which I'm led to believe are desirable.
My van has a coffee machine and inverter. The inverter is wired to all the 13amp sockets so it's a good thing to have. Silver paint definitely, leather ditto. We tend to lay the carpets in the winter . However we find they constantly need vacuumed!But they do protect the floor from winter mud etc.
Habitation ac is a must,
The engine preheat arrangement for the Alde heating is also very handy.

 

[AdrianChen]

Hi,
I've a Liner for Two which I bought in 2022 from a dealer already fitted with a coffee machine and inverter.
Just wondered if you'd had any issues with the inverter.

On our previous van we had the Carthago pack - the Dometic (Prev Weaco?) 1800w inverter - it had to be reset a couple of times with the switch on the unit itself, not the remote panel, but didn't fail as such. We only had it for 2 years. Researching the topic on the Web came up with a few instances where the auto transfer switch would pack up, so I decided if/when it broke we would replace with an alternative make. That van had 3 X 80AH Gel batteries, which I think is a little ambitious for the inverter at full power, so I doubt the batts would have lasted the 10years or so they should.

The new van was dealer stock and had no inverter, but the slide/lift and electrical socket for the coffee machine was all in place, god knows why since the space was then useless. We added a Victron inverter/charger (a bit of extra 240v wiring and an additional switch in the consumer unit) and the Krupps Essenzo Mini machine set to turn off quickly after use which I think is the only modification made by Carthago. That was part of adding Lithium batts, and extra solar, so I think now the battery/inverter system is more able to cope with the loads.

The little machine needed the settings altered to produce decent coffee, but with 2 decent brand capsules (only 5g of coffee each) per small cup it's OK for us and gets used quite a bit.

 

[cyberyacht]

Performance leather- yes

What's that? Black and white checkered along the van?

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[G1969]

What's that? Black and white checkered along the van?

It makes us drink faster sat on it

 

[Just us on Tour]

Hi All
I am seeking your advice yet again. Having just returned from the show ( like hundreds of others ) we are seriously considering ordering a new van . After much searching we have decided on a Carthago Chic C line A Class. This will be our first A class and our first European van . We have always had Autotrail.
The options list for Carthago is huge and can be very costly . I am interested to get your opinions as to which options are desirable and would be essential and those which are not . For example a coffee machine and inverter is £1800. Carpet set £600 ish , silver paint £3500 ish ……full leather £3500 ish.
Advice please as to which options you would consider are key to retain good resale value.
Thank you

I thought about starting another post on this , however I am sure with the wonderful response I have had from this post someone on here will put me right . Ok my dealer is suggesting I do include the coffee package within my build. The reason for this is it has an inverter included . From the response I have had on here many of you say the inverter that Carthago supply is not particularly powerful or very good . However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in . If I were to go for a dealer fit they would have to install the wiring which would be costly and time consuming . I must confess I don’t really understand electrics so wouldn’t want to install myself .Being a novice and not that technical my limited understanding is an inverter converts 12 volt DC battery power into 230 volt AC power. So that being the case does the inverter not drain Hab batteries very quickly ? So am I right in assuming the bigger power output the inverter the quicker the drain . Can any one put me straight please ? Thanks chaps

 

[G1969]

I thought about starting another post on this , however I am sure with the wonderful response I have had from this post someone on here will put me right . Ok my dealer is suggesting I do include the coffee package within my build. The reason for this is it has an inverter included . From the response I have had on here many of you say the inverter that Carthago supply is not particularly powerful or very good . However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in . If I were to go for a dealer fit they would have to install the wiring which would be costly and time consuming . I must confess I don’t really understand electrics so wouldn’t want to install myself .Being a novice and not that technical my limited understanding is an inverter converts 12 volt DC battery power into 230 volt AC power. So that being the case does the inverter not drain Hab batteries very quickly ? So am I right in assuming the bigger power output the inverter the quicker the drain . Can any one put me straight please ? Thanks chaps

We initially were going to buy a new C Class but purchased our current van instead. As part of our new spec build we did tick the inverter box, as you say pre- wired on all sockets etc. We had the Carthago inverter initially on this one, with 3 gel batteries and nothing wrong with it, just 1800w-but I think even that is over the limit for the batteries?. It depends on your usage?
We choose to upgrade to lithium and multiplus which is 3000w, and has other advantages, but as with anything you have to weigh up the cost against the benefits.

 

[LostInSpace]

However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in

I think the dealer has a very good point there.

So am I right in assuming the bigger power output the inverter the quicker the drain . Can any one put me straight please

Only if you actually use that available power.

If the inverter is switched off, it uses nothing.

Once switched on the battery drain is (almost) directly related to the power being used.
(after you allow a small drain just for it being left switched on)

 

[AdrianChen]

I thought about starting another post on this , however I am sure with the wonderful response I have had from this post someone on here will put me right . Ok my dealer is suggesting I do include the coffee package within my build. The reason for this is it has an inverter included . From the response I have had on here many of you say the inverter that Carthago supply is not particularly powerful or very good . However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in . If I were to go for a dealer fit they would have to install the wiring which would be costly and time consuming . I must confess I don’t really understand electrics so wouldn’t want to install myself .Being a novice and not that technical my limited understanding is an inverter converts 12 volt DC battery power into 230 volt AC power. So that being the case does the inverter not drain Hab batteries very quickly ? So am I right in assuming the bigger power output the inverter the quicker the drain . Can any one put me straight please ? Thanks chaps

I would firstly decide what 240v equipment you are going to use on the van - In our case we wanted domestic type kettle hair dryer etc, and albeit we can't switch everything on at once, we don't have to use low power camping gear. We charge our e bikes on DC chargers, and our laptop, pad and phones are all 12v, but for haircare/coffee it has to be 240v, and the bikes charge quicker on the 240v chargers, as does the tyre pump. So it's convenient.

Next if you are going to use sites with EHU all the time, you won't need an inverter, since you will just use EHU.

If you are going to use 240v kit, and expect to be off grid/without EHU, then an inverter will be needed.

Yes the Inverter will use battery power, a lot if you use the full 1800w, so its good to have a decent size battery bank. The Carthago options will work of course, but two 80ah gels is a bit low in my view. Having said that they'll still last a few years I'd guess before needing replacement

So if you want 1800w or more, it is likely you will also want the bigger capacity battery options, or one of the lithium options, which are now much better than when we ordered, but they are expensive.

The bigger battery will need recharging, so you may want to add solar, again Carthago can do this

If you cost all of this from Carthago (with the dealers input), then talk to someone like Offgrid/Vanbitz about the options you have for aftermarket kit, there maybe a useful saving, or improved performance/capacity. The inverter wiring on it's own is not a huge job or cost compared to some of the kit costs, but the best advice will come from Offgrid/Vanbitz or other supplier with a good reputation, and not an old fool like me!

This stuff sits in the background on the van, so it doesn't look like stuff that's been added in an amateur fashion - it'll mostly be in the garage. In our van you wouldn't know it was there until you look in the garage, and the main hab panel works normally, the only difference we have in the van is there is no Dometic inverter panel, and we use phone or pad to turn on the inverter, we do also have a separate screen to control it all (Solar, B2b, EHU charger Inverter, battery Monitor), but the phone is quicker!

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[Just us on Tour]

I think the dealer has a very good point there.

Only if you actually use that available power.

If the inverter is switched off, it uses nothing.

Once switched on the battery drain is (almost) directly related to the power being used.
(after you allow a small drain just for it being left switched on)

Yes , I can see where the dealer is coming from . Can you put things into perspective for me please . For example if I were to boil a 800 watt kettle and I had two 90 amp Hab batteries how many times do you think I could boil the kettle before killing the batteries ? Can it be estimated roughly ? Please forgive my ignorance only we have only ever used sites and been on EHU so I just don’t understand battery use.

 

[G7UXG]

Ok my dealer is suggesting I do include the coffee package within my build. The reason for this is it has an inverter included . From the response I have had on here many of you say the inverter that Carthago supply is not particularly powerful or very good . However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in . If I were to go for a dealer fit they would have to install the wiring which would be costly and time consuming .

I’ve previously fitted a large inverter to a Carthago C-Line that didn’t have one as a factory option. It’s really not that difficult to do, including wiring it to all of the van’s sockets. A competent technician would do it in an afternoon I’d guess.

That said, current van has the Carthago option of a Dometic inverter and coffee machine. Don’t use the coffee machine much because our mokka pot makes better coffee for less money.

More than happy with the 1800 watt inverter, the heaviest electrical item we run is the wife’s hairdryer and it handles that no problem.

We have upgraded to 300ah of lithium and a better charging system, but whilst LPG is still easily available in Europe, and not too expensive, we’ll keep on using gas to cook and heat water etc., so no real need for me at the moment to upgrade to more fancy electronics to handle high power drain electrical appliances.

It really depends how you intend to use your van. The Carthago option of an inverter will suffice for basic requirements like mine. Although it’s a little expensive, it’s an easy option.

 

[Just us on Tour]

I’ve previously fitted a large inverter to a Carthago C-Line that didn’t have one as a factory option. It’s really not that difficult to do, including wiring it to all of the van’s sockets. A competent technician would do it in an afternoon I’d guess.

That said, current van has the Carthago option of a Dometic inverter and coffee machine. Don’t use the coffee machine much because our mokka pot makes better coffee for less money.

More than happy with the 1800 watt inverter, the heaviest electrical item we run is the wife’s hairdryer and it handles that no problem.

We have upgraded to 300ah of lithium and a better charging system, but whilst LPG is still easily available in Europe, and not too expensive, we’ll keep on using gas to cook and heat water etc., so no real need for me at the moment to upgrade to more fancy electronics to handle high power drain electrical appliances.

It really depends how you intend to use your van. The Carthago option of an inverter will suffice for basic requirements like mine. Although it’s a little expensive, it’s an easy option.

Thank you

 

[Jwats]

In the simplest terms a standard Carthago has 1 circuit and the boiler sockets and fridge, including socket for the coffee machine. If you have the Carthago factory inverter (quite a lot fail on the transfer switch) then they have 2 circuits, 1 for the boiler fridge charger and a seperate circuit with a dedicated rcbo for the the inverter circuit. This is where the cost comes in in labour as a retrofit you have to seperate the appliances from the sockets and run through a new rcbo. For someone who is very good and familiar with Carthago wiring this could all be done in a day but for a novice who isn’t used to Carthagos it could take a while longer

 

[Al n Val]

I thought about starting another post on this , however I am sure with the wonderful response I have had from this post someone on here will put me right . Ok my dealer is suggesting I do include the coffee package within my build. The reason for this is it has an inverter included . From the response I have had on here many of you say the inverter that Carthago supply is not particularly powerful or very good . However my dealer says the key thing is the factory put all the wiring in . If I were to go for a dealer fit they would have to install the wiring which would be costly and time consuming . I must confess I don’t really understand electrics so wouldn’t want to install myself .Being a novice and not that technical my limited understanding is an inverter converts 12 volt DC battery power into 230 volt AC power. So that being the case does the inverter not drain Hab batteries very quickly ? So am I right in assuming the bigger power output the inverter the quicker the drain . Can any one put me straight please ? Thanks chaps

Steve

whatever Carthago can do, Offgrid Power Solutions can do it better, neater and a lot cheaper, seriously you need to trust me/us on that.

They’ll fit a crap inverter with shit wiring which will fail, Offgrid will spec a Victron Multiplus II and I can say from experience it’s a game changer.

Just ask WESTY66 who has a Carthago, he’s had Victron and thinks it’s fantastic as I do

Don’t worry about the wiring as they’ll run better quality and neater, you cannot see my wiring at all and they’ve done a lot in our motorhome

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[Just us on Tour]

Steve

whatever Carthago can do, Offgrid Power Solutions can do it better, neater and a lot cheaper, seriously you need to trust me/us on that.

They’ll fit a crap inverter with shit wiring which will fail, Offgrid will spec a Victron Multiplus II and I can say from experience it’s a game changer.

Just ask WESTY66 who has a Carthago, he’s had Victron and thinks it’s fantastic as I do

Don’t worry about the wiring as they’ll run better quality and neater, you cannot see my wiring at all and they’ve done a lot in our motorhome

Thanks Al , I will give him a call tomorrow. I am out of my depth on electrics !

 

[Al n Val]

Thanks Al , I will give him a call tomorrow. I am out of my depth on electrics !

Seriously any dealer or manufacturer will do you no favours when it comes to addons and upgrades

Go to an independent who’s recommended by us lot who have used them

and i’m not on commission

I honestly will never go to anyone else

PS. not sure if this is correct but if you only get 2 x 80ah lead batteries, well that is disgustingl for a premium motorhome

Go lithium as big as you can, plenty of solar and a decent (Victron) B2B

 

[Lenny HB]

For example if I were to boil a 800 watt kettle and I had two 90 amp Hab batteries how many times do you think I could boil the kettle before killing the batteries ?

Carthago fit 80ah gel batteries so based on two of them.
We use a 800 watt kettle and normally fill enough for 2 mugs which is about ½ full and it takes 5½ min to boil. I could boil it approx 20 times before the batteries would be at 20% which is minimum you would take Gels to.

The big but is you are taking far too higher current out out the batteries approx 72 amp current draw.
You shouldn't draw more than the C5 rate which for 2 x 80 ah batteries is 32 amps.

 

[Jwats]

At least Carthago are listening to what people are doing so have added a mastervolt system with 3000va inverter charger with 300amp lithium and remote monitoring etc, probably seeing everyone adding victron and wanted to offer something although still a lot more pricey than aftermarket