Could this motorhome be haunted?

L

Lizbiebrowne

LIFE MEMBER
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Posts
529
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753
Location
Teesside
Funster No
71,293
MH
Hymer B654
Exp
Since 2019.
I’ve found a 15 year old low mileage Hymer motorhome I’m interested in but I’ve found out it’s had 8 previous owners. That seems a lot to me and I was wondering what could possibly be wrong that caused the previous owners’ tenures to be, on average, 2 years and 4000 miles. I was thinking possibly a poltergeist but perhaps there are other more innocent explanations.

What is the average period funsters generally own their motorhome for?
 
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Alsatian said:
This mileage thing is a bit of a conundrum to me, previous owning a mh I've had quite a few ex notability cars as generally speaking they've been regularly serviced and had anything they may have needed during their 3 year tenure with the owner, plus are generally low mileage.
Now there seems to be a conflict of opinion as to what kind of mileage is best. There's the 'don't go for a low mileage' camp, saying that it must have been stood for a long time and could suffer from chassis rust etc. Then there's the 'don't buy a high mileage' camp, saying that it will have been well used and abused! 🙄
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There's no simple answer regarding mileage except to say mechanical components don't cope well with under use. They're much happier being used as intended and under use can shorten their life.
 
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The MOT history raises no concerns particularly. However at that age I believe the floors were still plywood and can often go rotten behind the rear wheel arches. An MOT is only good for the day it is carried out and does not check anything in the habitation area or the roof for leaks. Invest in or borrow a non probe type damp meter to do your own tests. Never rely on the word of a seller unless you are friends.

Likewise, you need to look at the condition of the engine and electrics under the bonnet. Too clean, what are they hiding. Too dirty it has not been regularly checked and maintained. Oily again it has issues. Check the coolant bottle for staining and the oil filler cap for cream coloured deposits indicating head gasket. Check the service records for proof the cam belt was done on time each time it was due. No cambelt but chain, listen carefully for a metallic rattle indicating chain stretch. A broken cambelt or chain is a catastrophy on an engine like that. If not replaced, have the seller do it as part of the price.
 
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dna said:
is it left hand drive? people may buy it thinking of european trips and then decide they dont like driving in UK, also if habitation door on wrong side it might become irritating for some people
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What’s the wrong side?? Just curious 🧐

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The 7 MOTs since 2020 make me suspicious, I know dealers will give a years mot but this works out about 1 every 3 months.

I’m wondering if someone has bought it then found a fault like damp which wouldn’t fail an MOT, when they’ve advertised it for sale they’ve stuck 12 months on to make it sound good to the untrained motorhomer.

I’d certainly do my due diligence before parting with and cash, is it a dealer that’s selling or private?
 
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The mot failures also look to my untrained eye as basic lack of maintenance

If its too good to be true and all that what is the cost and look at the repairs they say 2% on top of any MH purchase for the incidentals.

That's just a starting point. Had mine 4/5 years about to hit that this year but that includes fitting solar panels and the new refillable gas shortly
 
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Go_buddy_go_ said:
What’s the wrong side?? Just curious 🧐
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UK vans tend to be right hand drive with the habitation door on the left hand side. European vans tend to be left hand drive with the habitation door on the right.

That puts the habitation door on the kerb side of the van in it's home country which can be useful when parking on the roadside.

Of course there are exceptions. My first van was a right hand drive Adria but as it was designed as a left hand drive van, the habitation door was on the right hand side!
 
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Lizbiebrowne said:
Here's the mileage graph. Folkranger, you're right. There's 7 MOT's since Feb 2020. A lot of COVID related sales with little use? Each time point represents an MOT.

View attachment 760607
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Very good but Lennyhb said it more succinctly.

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dna said:
UK vans tend to be right hand drive with the habitation door on the left hand side. European vans tend to be left hand drive with the habitation door on the right.

That puts the habitation door on the kerb side of the van in it's home country which can be useful when parking on the roadside.

Of course there are exceptions. My first van was a right hand drive Adria but as it was designed as a left hand drive van, the habitation door was on the right hand side!
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Ours is right hand drive right hand hab door 🚐
 
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Go_buddy_go_ said:
What’s the wrong side?? Just curious 🧐
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Right is Wrong

According to the Obergruppen Fuhrer at a well known C&MHC site, all van are instructed to reverse into the pitch in line with peg (discrepancies under 1" permitted).

However if your hab door is on the right/'wrong' side then you mess up the system, as it means you are facing the neighbours!

Therefore you have to go in fowards, which spoils the symmetry of the site.
(Also very difficult for a caravan)
 
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Brains said:
Right is Wrong

According to the Obergruppen Fuhrer at a well known C&MHC site, all van are instructed to reverse into the pitch in line with peg (discrepancies under 1" permitted).

However if your hab door is on the right/'wrong' side then you mess up the system, as it means you are facing the neighbours!

Therefore you have to go in fowards, which spoils the symmetry of the site.
(Also very difficult for a caravan)
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I think you will find that this isn’t the case anymore. You can park either way round as long as you are in the centre of the pitch.

Some sites are trialling a 2-peg system to park inbetween.

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Janine said:
I think you will find that this isn’t the case anymore. You can park either way round as long as you are in the centre of the pitch.

Some sites are trialling a 2-peg system to park inbetween.
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That's where the higher pitch fees have gone buying more pegs :eek:
 
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dna said:
is it left hand drive? people may buy it thinking of european trips and then decide they dont like driving in UK, also if habitation door on wrong side it might become irritating for some people
Click to expand...

There isn't a 'wrong side' for a hab door. My German van is right hand drive but the door tends to be the opposite to many UK vans. Never noticed it being a problem.

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Brains said:
Right is Wrong

According to the Obergruppen Fuhrer at a well known C&MHC site, all van are instructed to reverse into the pitch in line with peg (discrepancies under 1" permitted).

However if your hab door is on the right/'wrong' side then you mess up the system, as it means you are facing the neighbours!

Therefore you have to go in fowards, which spoils the symmetry of the site.
(Also very difficult for a caravan)
Click to expand...
🙄
 
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