Disappointed with New Motorhome Quality Standards (30 Viewers)

[Lenny HB]

Had 3 Hymers they were OK for a mid range van, nothing special but quality wise streaks ahead of Brit built vans.
Now have a small Carthago a few little niggles but build quality far better than Hymer.

If you are looking at £65k vans they are bottom end of budget range, Problem is they put loads of stuff in them to attract buyers but then have to cut back on quality to balance the books.
With German vans they spend the money on build quality then you have to pay on top for the extras.

 

[Saucer]

Slovenia is the world's biggest producer of leisure vehicles per capita. Cost of production apart, there is a large pool of skilled workers and a large forestry industry. Other than Adria, Carthago/Malibu has two factories. There are other Slovenian brands such as Robeta, MegaMobil and Tourne. All are renowned for the quality of their products. MegaMobil are launching in the UK at the NEC.

Really interesting information, thank you.

 

[raysalaugh]

Slovenia is the world's biggest producer of leisure vehicles per capita. Cost of production apart, there is a large pool of skilled workers and a large forestry industry.

Are they still using wood in the build of these motorhomes?.

 

[ianp]

renowned for the quality of their products.

'Quality' is a very subjective concept and rests in the eye of the beholder I tend to think and whether it is found in £30k, £60k, £120k or even £240k vehicles it's possible to argue.......! For me, stuck firmly in the £30k bracket, I philosophically gasp when I hear of people buying a vehicle at the equivalent of a nice semidetached house in middle England......but is it any different to buying a top spec Aston Martin....etc etc etc
I don't know what the design life expectancy of a motorhome / caravan/ static is but would suspect not much more than 15 - 20 years in reallity.......mmmm ?

 

[Lenny HB]

when I hear of people buying a vehicle at the equivalent of a nice semidetached house in middle England...

I suppose it's relative when you live in the South East and a very small starter home is over £300k it makes Motorhomes look reasonable.

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[Pausim]

Are they still using wood in the build of these motorhomes?.

Using wood for furniture is quite different from using wood for structural purposes. I have no problem with them using it in the furnishings.

 

[Northernraider]

'Quality' is a very subjective concept and rests in the eye of the beholder I tend to think and whether it is found in £30k, £60k, £120k or even £240k vehicles it's possible to argue.......! For me, stuck firmly in the £30k bracket, I philosophically gasp when I hear of people buying a vehicle at the equivalent of a nice semidetached house in middle England......but is it any different to buying a top spec Aston Martin....etc etc etc
I don't know what the design life expectancy of a motorhome / caravan/ static is but would suspect not much more than 15 - 20 years in reallity.......mmmm ?

Mine is 20 years old and in the £30 bracket . It cost more than my first flat but a 1/4 of my last house.

But it's quality built .

 

[plug]

Our 2023 has now done just shy of 12k miles. Creaks and rattles are starting to rear their heads. It was silent when we got it. The dealer did next to nothing to help apart from saying that "motorhomes do flex a bit." The front dashboard Cowell, the bit that bridges the Sprinter dashboard to the windscreen has developed a fair old creak. So, sitting on an aire with nothing to do, I got my tool kit out. All of the self-tapping screws beneath the windscreen blind had a good half-turn in them. The blind runners a good quarter on either side. So, having found this, I set about sorting the squeaking from the fifth seat. On the screw into the floor nearest to where the noise is coming from, the screw turned as many times as I wanted to do it for as it has obviously been over torqued when built and has stripped the hole.
Has anyone on here got suggestions for a product that will fill the existing hole and allow me to re-fit the screw please?
When we get back, I am going to check every single fixing possible.
Thanks in advance.
BnB

Use a drill and fit a wood dowel with glue leave it to dry then cut back the excess flush..

 

[ianp]

Mine is 20 years old and in the £30 bracket . It cost more than my first flat but a 1/4 of my last house.

But it's quality built .

What features and aspects of it make a 'quality' vehicle to you that other similar vehicles don't have ?

 

[ianp]

I suppose it's relative when you live in the South East and a very small starter home is over £300k it makes Motorhomes look reasonable.

Mmmm 'reasonable' is also a very subjective term.....in 20 years your 1/4 million pound Motorhome will be but a small 'bump' away from being converted in to dog food tins whereas your 'small ' starter home will last for another 50 to a 100 years and be ever increasing in value as will the land it stands on.......

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[Northernraider]

What features and aspects of it make a 'quality' vehicle to you that other similar vehicles don't have ?

The general build quality is far superior to any van I've owned before.

It's not something you'd understand from me describing it to you. You'd have to look in and around the vehicle to actually appreciate it.

I've had frankia , hymer, burstner, mobilvetta , eura Mobil brands prior to this Niesmann bischoff, my parents had eldiss, swift, autotrail, autosleeper, Ci, Bailey. My sisters had liaka and now autocruise.


So a good selection

This one is far superior quality of build . The construction alone is completely different