Does size really matter, mine is huge, any tips on what to be aware of?

[pappajohn]

I have the heavy duty chassis and the fitter recommended them to take the pressure off the rear wheel, they are one of the best companies in the country for specialist vehicles, are they wrong?

Yes, they are wrong and in all honesty I would be having them fitted somewhere else where they know what they're talking about.

 

[pappajohn]

I guess my handover on Wed is going to take the full day

I guess your handover will take three hours..... If your lucky.
You certainly have a high opinion of the dealer.

 

[TheBig1]

if you have no experience of long overhangs on vehicles, i suggest an hour or 2 tuition at a commercial driving school. never turn sharp left or your tail will swing right into the other carriage way. right and it could hit parked cars or pedestrians. you learn to steer in an arc carefully observing other traffic.

i have an 8.5m tag axle and towed a car on a trailer behind, now that can be fun to manoeuvre round tight turns

 

[596]

If you read post 23 you will see I have understood all that has been said about the weight on the steadies and will use axle stands over winter, I will use the steadies for their intended purpose although not sure if I will need them, will find out when I get my van on Wed ?. Thanks to all!

 

[Baileysbus]

the corner steadies were for when having sex with a 2.4mtr over hang in the afternoon in France,

Unusual I have to say but whatever floats your bateau ........

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[teddybear]

Knew a HGV driver who was turning left, so moved to right to get a bit more room, started turn , checking mirror just in time to see trailer wheels going over front of a mini. The young lady mini driver when asked why she had gone up the inside when he had the left indicator going ,said because he had moved to to right she thought he had put the wrong indicator on. Moral of the story don't give yourself too much room,but that will only come with practice

 

[bigtwin]

If you read post 23 you will see I have understood all that has been said about the weight on the steadies and will use axle stands over winter, I will use the steadies for their intended purpose although not sure if I will need them, will find out when I get my van on Wed ?. Thanks to all!

With a 2.4m overhang, you’ll need them as ANY movement in the overhang area will be transmitted and amplified forward of the rear axle.

Ian

 

[tacr2man]

You have been seriously misleading your wife if she thinks yours is huge at 8 mtrs Mine was 12

re rear o/Hang , dont pull too near to fuel pumps and then try a swift turn out seen it happen a couple of times!

 

[SuperMike]

10m with hydraulic jack/levelling and a 500lb on the towball nose.Never had any problems, remember the length, swing out a little and go past a junction a little before turning. Your mirrors are your very, very, very, best friend, and be very careful of the person standing on the curb at a corner.

 

[Ian.s]

Ok this is a serious question, we bought a new motorhome without really having a good look at it due to time constraints, yesterday we went to the NEC to see what we bought, we pick it up on Wed next week. When my wife saw it again yesterday (she had only seen if for 20 mins in a tight parking spot at the dealers while passing), she thought it looked enormous as you could see it in all its glory in the huge hall, she said I am never driving that! It’s 8.1mtrs long which I don’t see as a problem, I guess it’s just having walked past loads of tiny vans to get to it that it looked so big, in fairness there were others even bigger.

The overhang is 2.4mtrs which is a mtr longer than our previous one, can anyone with experience give us some tips as to what to what to look out for, I will be driving it around from Wed to Sun doing quite a few miles, I guess it’s giving turns a wider berth being one thing.

For going backwards we have twin reversing cameras and I’m having reversing sensors fitted so these should help while going backwards, for tight spots, I also have the Sena Expand system we use on our boat to communicate which is fantastic and hands free BROKEN LINK

Thanks

The same length as my MH and a little shorter than my last, Never had problem. The length is really no issue at all. A well designed Mh will have steering that matches the length, ie no real issue with tail swing. Just give a foot or so more than normal when taking tight turns to help the rear wheels miss curbs etc. For me the width is the only measurement that has any real effect, I drive down the side of Loch Lomond regularly. If you can get a MH down there then you will have no probs at all. Take your time slow down and pull over for traffic behind you and all will be well

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[tonyidle]

it’s just a shame the poor dealer has to rectify the sloppy Swift workmanship, it seem it takes much longer to correct than for Swift to do the job properly, I actually think the quality controller at Swift needs a good talking to, if one exists!

It isn't only Swift believe me!

 

[busby]

I have the heavy duty chassis and the fitter recommended them to take the pressure ofthe rear wheel, they are one of the best companies in the country for specialist vehicles, are they wrong?

Thought wheels we're there to take the weight! Only damage to them would be flat spotting of the tyres if parked for very long periods.But as its a motorhome and if you use it that won't happen.BUSBY.?

 

[Minxy]

When we had a longish MH it was the swing that was the biggest 'issue', not the actual length or width, whilst you can allow for it when turning what you can't totally anticipate are the idiots who try to go past you as you do so!

 

[Minxy]

I guess my handover on Wed is going to take the full day

... I bet they are drawing straws to decide who's gonna be the 'lucky' person to do it!

 

[tonyidle]

if you have no experience of long overhangs on vehicles, i suggest an hour or 2 tuition at a commercial driving school. never turn sharp left or your tail will swing right into the other carriage way. right and it could hit parked cars or pedestrians. you learn to steer in an arc carefully observing other traffic.

i have an 8.5m tag axle and towed a car on a trailer behind, now that can be fun to manoeuvre round tight turns

One useful thing about a long overhang is you never need to worry about the trailer wheel running over the pavement. The overhang takes the hitch through such a wide arc that there's no chance the trailer will cut the corner. (8M van + 4M trailer).

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[TinaLes]

I am still not sure what van 596 has ended up with? after all his concern of payload ,mastic joints & misaligned reflectors, plus sending his wife to the dealers to take video footage when his van had arrived at dealers etc, etc.
I just hope he rejected his original order and bought an N&B or a Morelo as I couldn't see any ordinary van matching up to his build quality targets.
Last post I saw he stated that he had something like 1450KG payload, so please help as I have obviously lost track and not kept up to date, what did he buy in the end?...A Sherpa tank or what?
Sorry 596 I am not being rude, but I blinked and have obviously missed something, as you seem to be spending a hellover lot of upgrade dosh for a single trip to the south of France, please update me, I feel so lost & confused now, having shared our own experience of ordering a new Swift van & cancelling due to well known build defects
Les

 

[596]

I am still not sure what van 596 has ended up with? after all his concern of payload ,mastic joints & misaligned reflectors, plus sending his wife to the dealers to take video footage when his van had arrived at dealers etc, etc.
I just hope he rejected his original order and bought an N&B or a Morelo as I couldn't see any ordinary van matching up to his build quality targets.
Last post I saw he stated that he had something like 1450KG payload, so please help as I have obviously lost track and not kept up to date, what did he buy in the end?...A Sherpa tank or what?
Sorry 596 I am not being rude, but I blinked and have obviously missed something, as you seem to be spending a hellover lot of upgrade dosh for a single trip to the south of France, please update me, I feel so lost & confused now, having shared our own experience of ordering a new Swift van & cancelling due to well known build defects
Les

Why not ask me I’m here? Well the dealer has been so nice to me I didn’t want to let him down so still buying the Swift this Wednesday, I have had the childish sloppy mastic re done, exposed wiring properly covered and had just about every conceivable extra fitted to try and make it how I want it, the only bit I don’t like is the remote controlled dump valves, who wants to dump grey waste from the other side of the world, all I want is a plain and simple stop valve! New upgraded 121 rated Michelin Agilis all seasons have been fitted, A graded for wet driving which is good as I only use it once a year in the summer ?, VB air suspension being fitted this Friday together with 2nd leisure battery (now have twin 110amp batteries), swivelling front passenger seat and Alko corner steadies, got the upgraded engine at 150 PS, Lux pack with air con, sat nav I will never use, leather steering wheel etc, two totally separate independent alarm systems, G2 bike rack with 3 bike option, removable tow bar, solar panels, exterior shower / 240v / BBQ point, twin 11kg Gaslow system with filler in the skirting (they were going to fit it in the locker door), cruise control, gas crash sensor, status 570 TV aerial ( but I don’t watch TV), wifi, LED headlights, sidelights and indicators as well as LED daytime running lights and all the normal stuff it comes with including the remote Wi-Fi command system and Alde heating. So all in all a dressed up pig! ( or is that being unkind to pigs?)

I just can’t get excited about picking it up on Wed, will probably sell it before we use it in July/Aug next year and get something decent ordered but as I said was not going to let the dealer down, I was at the NEC on Sat and made my feelings crystal clear to Swift at their stand, I spoke to people from the factory who were shocked at some images I showed them of my new van (or pretended to be) and they said they will be taking action ?, anyhow now got my eye on the Carthago Model 53 L with Fiat Ducato AL-KO double axle with Iveco Daily 65C with permissible gross weight of 6.7 t ?

So in the future someone will get a great deal on pretty much zero mileage piece of the best of British workmanship van, fully loaded complete with corrected sloppy mastic and the best of British ideas included i.e. The capability of dumping grey waste anywhere in the world remotely, I will arrange for viewing strictly in the dark unless I have had it wrapped by then to disguise its make ?

Handover is going to take most of the day, I WILL NOT be rushed, I have only seen the thing for less than an hour, at the end of the day it was the Ducato engine and Maxi chassis I wanted, I now have the payload I wanted and more, now upgraded from 822kg to 1,422kg. I wanted manual as the old robotic auto is now assigned to the Fiat museum and when I came to sell would be competing with others selling theirs with the new fully auto 9 speed box, so who would want the old one? The old comfortmatic did its job, it had its issues, you were able to make it work but the new box blows the old one out of the water, I was offered the auto for a minimal extra £1,000 but declined for the reason given, I could have ordered the new auto with the new Euro 6D engine with the new 9 speed box but comes with the horrific Adblu, that would have meant the increased VED which was the only reason we stupidly rushed and bought a Euro 6B, I do like the control of the manual and the engine we have chosen though ?

So that’s the update, the only decent part of the sh1tty new van will be the Fun sticker that will be going on it ?. I am going to buy a cover for the van so the neighbours don’t have to look at it, at the NEC they didn’t have the 8mtr plus cover in stock so will have to order online ? I guess I could also have it wrapped to look like a Carthago ?

you never know after sleeping with her a few times we may start to bond but she has a hellof a lot to live up to after my 645 KonTiki I recently sold, the new owner got an absolute bargain as I had spent £12,500 on accessories for that ? The only reason for change was that we live in the London LEZ so my old euro 3 engine was the issue with emissions and inability to upgrade over 3,500kg without expensive filters being fitted for emissions.

Just enjoying my last 2 days of freedom before I have a huge liability on my hands ? ?

 

[Minxy]

Well the dealer has been so nice to me I didn’t want to let him down so still buying the Swift this Wednesday

You've spent a load of dosh buying and then more dosh on extra stuff for a MH that you don't want and will 'probably' sell before you even use it!

I'm sorry but that just doesn't cut it ... I think you love it really and are just trying to make us think you don't want it aren't you ... you're just

 

[TinaLes]

Sounds like an outstanding dealership so I have searched ALL the 140 odd channels of crap on my TV, still cannot find any called "596 Pimp My Swift" I give up!
Les

 

[tacr2man]

How much did the extra mastic eat into the payload ?

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[PeteH]

26-1/2ft Is not really that big an issue?. What my instructor repeatedly told me when I did a retake of my LGV, aged 58 (following a DVLA "cock up"!!) in order to legally drive my first R-V (34ft). was "command the road". Effectively what he was saying is to ensure that all the traffic around you is aware of what you are doing or about to do. Taking both lanes when approaching a turn is not "selfish" it is "self Preservation", as is giving yourself the room to manoeuvrer when in traffic. Go for it, practice on quiet roads, Sundays on Industrial Estates can be good!. Tell "er indoors" she is lucky, my wife was in the RH seat when we first went out in the new R-V! She referred to it as the "suicide seat"!