Honest opinion..

mikebeaches said:
You may be right?

I posted on the basis of my own experience. However, appreciate your view.
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I was thinking about vans like a top of the range hymer the depreciation would be way more than something like ours in fact after 5 years would probably be more than we paid at new!
 
Blue Knight said:
Is it 'brilliant' because the majority of new Mobilvetta vans are running 'brilliantly overloaded' due to their brilliantly poor payload or is it their brilliantly poor quality internal fixtures that wins it over for you.

;)
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Yeah, as I have a C1 license, I wouldn’t entertain the lower payload model but thank you for pointing that out so brilliantly! :LOL: As I’ve posted, sorry to Mobilvetta owners, but I’m leaning heavily now towards a 2-3 year old German... under 7m with a low-ish roof. Learning spadefulls by the day!!!

Hey, please.... remember I’m a novice...
 
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BishBosh said:
Beware some beds are short. We tried a couple of Autotrail Motorhomes for size and was surprised that some of the beds were shorter than others, also if they have a very rounded end my feet were hanging off when I laid down and I’m only 5’ 11”.
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I will have similar issues at a tad under 6’2”... thank you Bishbosh... lay on it first! (y)
 
Mr porky said:
We have a long van at 9 metres but as we are 2.99 metres high we are under the magic number of 3m tall hence we have only been charged for class 2 ie camping car and that does make a huge difference in the cost of travelling on toll roads.
Personally I wouldn’t go over 8m long again, even go down to 7m and we travel extensively and although the bigger van is super comfortable big separate shower big fridge and a usable kitchen it can be restrictive in some smaller villages.
Get good solar panels and good leisure battery’s.
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Excellent points made, I didn’t know about the differing charges but hey, I do now...(y)
 
BusyBuilder said:
Were currently travelling through europe, and weigh 4250kg, only charged class b on toll roads.
We have used mainly Aires, of one sort or another over last 4 weeks. Having lpg and 250w solar makes a big difference. In over 4 weeks its cost is £17 in gas (no heating).
So something else to consider.
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Love the sound of those costs!!!! Blimey, keeping sensible and with the correctly fitted extras makes that much difference!!! Likey likey... (y)

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Being a newbie how much is the toll charge for under 3 mtr and how for over 3mtr?
 
Travelling through France and into Spain in January 2019 we calculated the under 3.5t/under 3m height to be £200 each way, and for us, exceeding both of these, £400!
 
look at size/ layout short list a few then see if you can hire one with similar size and layout, much cheaper than buying new and then realising it doesn't suit
 
The Wino said:
I was thinking about vans like a top of the range hymer the depreciation would be way more than something like ours in fact after 5 years would probably be more than we paid at new!
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Yes, I get that completely.

I've since seen the OP is now thinking about a 2 / 3 year old German van, so I reckon my original suggestion probably holds up OK.

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mikebeaches said:
Yes, I get that completely.

I've since seen the OP is now thinking about a 2 / 3 year old German van, so I reckon my original suggestion probably holds up OK.
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Too right Mike! (y) Should have listened to you in the first place mate...:)
 
Conal said:
Travelling through France and into Spain in January 2019 we calculated the under 3.5t/under 3m height to be £200 each way, and for us, exceeding both of these, £400!
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Wow, double! Given the time, could you avoid the toll roads and waive these fees or would it just take months and cost zillions in extra fuel?
 
Jay, After reading the Michelin web site guide giving these figures we avoided ALL tolls for two trips to Spain Jan 2018 and Jan 2019.

We enjoy travelling on the smaller roads most of the time but may pop on a few short stretches of toll road in the future to avoid the traffic near Reims and Bayonne, although if timed properly, these are not much of a problem.

It took us four days each time to reach the Valencia region and the same back, but we could have done in three.

Conal
 
Conal said:
Jay, After reading the Michelin web site guide giving these figures we avoided ALL tolls for two trips to Spain Jan 2018 and Jan 2019.

We enjoy travelling on the smaller roads most of the time but may pop on a few short stretches of toll road in the future to avoid the traffic near Reims and Bayonne, although if timed properly, these are not much of a problem.

It took us four days each time to reach the Valencia region and the same back, but we could have done in three.

Conal
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Christ thats slow the coach from Oxford used to do it in 30 hours :cool::devil:
 
Romany, I quite like the travelling but at that time of year all the Aire water is switched off and most of the towns/ villages are very quiet.

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Just a few random points. Consider the future. So make any purchase now affordable but the latest technology for emissions ie Euro6. The Extinction people are not going to go away and governments will react to pressure. High priced German vans could depreciate fast if not Euro 6. I bought a brand new British van in April for £42k with Euro 6 engine. Your spending more than that.
The pro German lobby have jumped all over this thread. Look inside any van and regardless of who has built it the fridge,the heating, the hob cooker, the windows, doors, lighting are all sourced from dometic or Thetford or truma and of course Fiat and Peugeot. The bulk of what you are getting is the same. The premium of £15000 to £40000 for a German van is for better built furniture and some improved insulation features plus brand. Leaky vans exist in Germany too.
It’s your money spend it wisely and enjoy the van you choose and don’t worry about what someone else says they’ve got because everyone including me seeks to justify shelling out a huge pile of dosh.
 
The fact is that if your motorhome is over 3.5t MGW or 3.0m high it is not class 2 on French motorways. If you are over 3.5t of 3.0m high you are class 3, unless you have more than 2 axles, in which case you are class 4.

But the only thing that is consistently checked is the height, with all toll booths having electronic height gauges. So most people get away with the weight restriction, because it is not checked. We have a 4.5t motorhome that is 2.9m high and have always been charged class 2.

As for French weight limits, our resident French expert, yodeli , has confirmed that if the 3.5t sign is accompanied by an outline of a truck, as most are, the limit only applies to trucks. Otherwise it applies to all vehicles over 3.5t.
 
Conal said:
Jay, After reading the Michelin web site guide giving these figures we avoided ALL tolls for two trips to Spain Jan 2018 and Jan 2019.

We enjoy travelling on the smaller roads most of the time but may pop on a few short stretches of toll road in the future to avoid the traffic near Reims and Bayonne, although if timed properly, these are not much of a problem.

It took us four days each time to reach the Valencia region and the same back, but we could have done in three.

Conal
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Excellent Conal, four days is perfect and off the toll roads a lovely way to travel.

I have an Emovis tag in my car which is brilliant for bombing down the toll roads but the countryside whizzes by in a heartbeat. Went to Frejus a couple of summers ago making one stop in Troyes on the way down and one in Lyon on the return journey and honestly I remember nothing of the trip other than these two stops. That’s not the way I intend to do it I’m my van!

Thanks for the post, very interesting.
 
peterc10 said:
The fact is that if your motorhome is over 3.5t MGW or 3.0m high it is not class 2 on French motorways. If you are over 3.5t of 3.0m high you are class 3, unless you have more than 2 axles, in which case you are class 4.

But the only thing that is consistently checked is the height, with all toll booths having electronic height gauges. So most people get away with the weight restriction, because it is not checked. We have a 4.5t motorhome that is 2.9m high and have always been charged class 2.

As for French weight limits, our resident French expert, yodeli , has confirmed that if the 3.5t sign is accompanied by an outline of a truck, as most are, the limit only applies to trucks. Otherwise it applies to all vehicles over 3.5t.
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Very interesting, so does the length of a van ever come into question or is it mostly height and, more seriously, if I did find myself on a road clearly signposted, overweight and had an accident would my insurance be void?
 
My advice is if buying from a dealer make sure you research them throughly for after service experience, don't base the descision on price of van alone. Go for a van that suits you and your needs regardless of country of origin, I recently helped a German guy empty the garage of flood water from the water pipes and it was a Concorde he was not impressed with built quality!

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Jay Butts said:
Very interesting, so does the length of a van ever come into question
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Nope, at least not in France, Italy, Spain or Portugal.

Jay Butts said:
if I did find myself on a road clearly signposted, overweight and had an accident would my insurance be void?
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Don't know for sure, but doubt it.
 
Jenka said:
My advice is if buying from a dealer make sure you research them throughly for after service experience, don't base the descision on price of van alone. Go for a van that suits you and your needs regardless of country of origin, I recently helped a German guy empty the garage of flood water from the water pipes and it was a Concorde he was not impressed with built quality!
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Thanks for posting, I’ll take your advice on the after sales service as that needs to be top drawer when spending so much!

I’m pretty sure I’m going for a Bürstner, Knaus or a Hobby. This isn’t because they’re German, it’s because these simply are my three favourites at the moment. All three with garage, fixed single beds and cracking reviews.

May change again though! :)
 
Regarding 3m limit, just planning to install aircon on my 2.98 roof, will that move me into class 3 in France, anyone knows?
 
etsique said:
Regarding 3m limit, just planning to install aircon on my 2.98 roof, will that move me into class 3 in France, anyone knows?
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yes with the height gauge . you just have to tell them 'camping car' to hopefully get class 2 still.

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etsique said:
Regarding 3m limit, just planning to install aircon on my 2.98 roof, will that move me into class 3 in France, anyone knows?
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We have an Autotrail Tracker which is is 3.1m high and we have always been charged Class 2 in France.
 
Don't write off the French vans. Although I'm back to my second Hymer I would highly recommend Rapido be on your list of must sees. A quality package with great design and interior fitments at 20% less than the equivalent Hymer. Yes the Hymer is a bit bettter put together but there's not miles between them as there is between British brands.
 
Not read all the posts.
We bought one with what we thought would suit us.
We soon found out that certain things we could live with and others we could not.
After 1 year we went searching for a new van with more of what we want and bought again accordingly (waiting for delivery)
Moral, get something as close as you can and use for awhile making notes of what you like/don't then search for the ideal.
You will never, IMO get a 100% perfect van, there will always be a compromise or two.
Advice and tips on here are invaluable. Expect a little bias here and there.
Good luck with your search

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