Hymer B 584DL

[Folkranger]

This looks like it may be ok for us. Anyone any experience of this model? (2018 ish)

 

[Lenny HB]

We have a B678DL, overall quite a nice van, not keen on the lightweight construction, ground clearance is a bit low. Ride is quite hard on the DL's we have had Goldschmitt full air suspension fitted vastly improves the ride. Look out for corrosion around the edge of fittings on the body and bottom corners of drivers door, that applies to all Hymers.
The plastic door hinges tend to wear I'm having some Stainless Steel ones made at the moment.

Other DL owners are Speve , bellabee , Stewart J ,Taran_Las

 

[Detnor]

I have the 2017 hymer sales specs, technical and price list data booklet if any of this is any use, easy to scan the 584 pages.

 

[Lenny HB]

Also chrome is poor quality on draw & cupboard handles, most of us have had some replaced under warranty but not too expensive to get them re-chromed, I hope.

On the plus side they are a double skinned aluminium shell (inside walls are aluminium.)

 

[Folkranger]

It's over 10 years since we had a (2002) Hymer, quite harsh ride on that one but absolutely no sign of any corrosion, but they were probably built a lot better then.
Disappointed that they may ride hard as my Rapido is a beauty to drive. I'd fitted Air rides from my previous van but never needed them so just used for levelling.

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[Folkranger]

I have the 2017 hymer sales specs, technical and price list data booklet if any of this is any use, easy to scan the 584 pages.

Thanks, but I can get those details if it saves you the bother.

 

[Folkranger]

Also chrome is poor quality on draw & cupboard handles, most of us have had some replaced under warranty but not too expensive to get them re-chromed, I hope.

On the plus side they are a double skinned aluminium shell (inside walls are aluminium.)

Ouch. This doesn't sound like the Hymer I came to know and love.

 

[Stewart J]

Also chrome is poor quality on draw & cupboard handles, most of us have had some replaced under warranty but not too expensive to get them re-chromed, I hope.

On the plus side they are a double skinned aluminium shell (inside walls are aluminium.)

Lenny re-chroming handles is hideously expensive a friend in the trade informs me. A member of Hog has found a reasonably priced alternative design and has renewed all in his 2018 Exsis. We are considering the same so as not to go off topic I will start a new thread if of interest to other owners.

 

[bellabee]

We have a B678DL, overall quite a nice van, not keen on the lightweight construction, ground clearance is a bit low. Ride is quite hard on the DL's we have had Goldschmitt full air suspension fitted vastly improves the ride. Look out for corrosion around the edge of fittings on the body and bottom corners of drivers door, that applies to all Hymers.
The plastic door hinges tend to wear I'm having some Stainless Steel ones made at the moment.

Other DL owners are Speve , bellabee , Stewart J ,Taran_Las

We have a LHD B588DL and, generally, we're happy with ours.

We do have bubbling on the chrome kitchen drawer handles, and they're expensive to replace, if you use the Hymer ones. We've just been looking in Wickes this morning and have seen some very similar handles - yet to look up the price in the Wickes brochure.

We had the hab door lock repaired twice, under warranty, but I think that's a general motor home door thing and not specific to the DL. It seems that springs in the lock break and need replacing. We couldn't work out how to remove the door trim, so that would make replacement of the spring expensive, as we'd have to get it professionally done.

We've up-plated our from 3500 to 3850. This gives ample payload for the two of us and our dog, and we could manage at 3500, if we lost our C1s.

Graham enjoys driving the van and he likes the fact that it is narrow-bodied.

We like the general ambiance of the van, quality of upholstery etc. We view it as a 'keeper', and have no intention of changing it, for the foreseeable future.

(We'll have a couple of your stainless steel door hinges, Lenny HB, please . Our plastic ones are looking a bit worn (but we wouldn't have noticed, if it hadn't been pointed out ).

 

[Lenny HB]

(We'll have a couple of your stainless steel door hinges, @Lenny HB, please . Our plastic ones are looking a bit worn (but we wouldn't have noticed, if it hadn't been pointed out ).

Hopefully with have some mild steel samples to test soon if OK I'll get a batch of Stainless made.

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[Folkranger]

We have a LHD B588DL and, generally, we're happy with ours.

We do have bubbling on the chrome kitchen drawer handles, and they're expensive to replace, if you use the Hymer ones. We've just been looking in Wickes this morning and have seen some very similar handles - yet to look up the price in the Wickes brochure.

We had the hab door lock repaired twice, under warranty, but I think that's a general motor home door thing and not specific to the DL. It seems that springs in the lock break and need replacing. We couldn't work out how to remove the door trim, so that would make replacement of the spring expensive, as we'd have to get it professionally done.

We've up-plated our from 3500 to 3850. This gives ample payload for the two of us and our dog, and we could manage at 3500, if we lost our C1s.

Graham enjoys driving the van and he likes the fact that it is narrow-bodied.

We like the general ambiance of the van, quality of upholstery etc. We view it as a 'keeper', and have no intention of changing it, for the foreseeable future.

(We'll have a couple of your stainless steel door hinges, Lenny HB, please . Our plastic ones are looking a bit worn (but we wouldn't have noticed, if it hadn't been pointed out ).

Nice to know you rate your van so much, even with the problems. We're off (100 miles) to see a newer BMC T 690, but seeing the ad for the 588dl has thrown us in a different direction. If we don't love the 690 we'll have to set off 300 miles in the opposite direction to see the 588DL. Oh well, at least we're getting out for a change.

 

[Lenny HB]

We like our DL most of the faults are minor just a bit annoying no different to any other make and a lot better than quite a few. We tend to get corrosion due to living 200 yds from the sea which doesn't help but not noticed any on friends Carthago's.

 

[Folkranger]

We like our DL most of the faults are minor just a bit annoying no different to any other make and a lot better than quite a few. We tend to get corrosion due to living 200 yds from the sea which doesn't help but not noticed any on friends Carthago's.

Got to admit your first response worried me. We haven't had any real problem with our Rapido in 7 years, except for the first year when we opened the garage door in a wind and it blew right off its hinges which were just glued on. Fixed it back with screws and it was fine.

 

[Speve]

Folkranger We are much the same as others with a DL we have the 2018 B678DL and it’s our keeper it’s got everything we need and is warm and draught free, plenty of storage, big garage. We have the 180bhp with tiptronic box and it’s great.
Not had any problem with handles deteriorating? In fact very few problems at all my only gripe is and it’s partly my fault, I could not get a booking for damp check over last year due to returning from Spain in March and dealers were fully booked so had date for Sept but we were locked down again after contacting Hymer they told me that it’s hard luck mate you are out of damp warranty.
however we have not had any sign of dampness anywhere and I check regularly so not that bothered in fact saving a bit of money looking at the cost for inspection only as they no longer apply a spray to any cable entries etc.

 

[Folkranger]

Anybody use the front bed with extensions? Does it work well or is it a big compromise?

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[Folkranger]

Saw the BMC T 690 today. That was a wasted 120 mile trip. Despite being the same length as my Rapido everything was tighter and poorer build quality. The cab seats were tight to swivel, the side seat was tiny, the fridge was narrow, the bathroom was smaller and it was almost impossible to squeeze past the island bed.
Build quality was probably due to keeping the weight down but nothing felt substantial and seat fabric seemed quite basic. New these cost £105k! Really?
Tomorrow we have to decide if its worth a 450 mile round trip to see a 584 DL. I wonder?

 

[Folkranger]

We have a B678DL, overall quite a nice van, not keen on the lightweight construction, ground clearance is a bit low. Ride is quite hard on the DL's we have had Goldschmitt full air suspension fitted vastly improves the ride. Look out for corrosion around the edge of fittings on the body and bottom corners of drivers door, that applies to all Hymers.
The plastic door hinges tend to wear I'm having some Stainless Steel ones made at the moment.

Other DL owners are Speve , bellabee , Stewart J ,Taran_Las

Hi Lenny. I wonder why the ride is hard on DLs. When you say the Goldschmitt improves the ride, does it actually cushion the hardness or does it just stop any wallowing about?

 

[Speve]

Hi Lenny. I wonder why the ride is hard on DLs. When you say the Goldschmitt improves the ride, does it actually cushion the hardness or does it just stop any wallowing about?

I can’t answer for Lenny but never had any wallowing on Fiat Al-Ko. The chassis that was on the older Merc we had an auto trail Cheyenne it used to roll about like a whale.
but not on our B678DL the Goldschmidt full air does smooth the ride out but if your tyre pressures are high it can still be a bit rough especially on Michelin Agilis, when mine get a bit more wear I’m going to try another make

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi Lenny. I wonder why the ride is hard on DLs. When you say the Goldschmitt improves the ride, does it actually cushion the hardness or does it just stop any wallowing about?

It was the hard ride that was the main problem because they set the torsion bars so tight, only wallowing was with big trucks passing in high winds.
With the air it thumps over the bumps rather than crashing, also you can overtake an artic at 70 and take your hand off the wheel and it keeps a straight line.

 

[Folkranger]

It was the hard ride that was the main problem because they set the torsion bars so tight, only wallowing was with big trucks passing in high winds.
With the air it thumps over the bumps rather than crashing, also you can overtake an artic at 70 and take your hand off the wheel and it keeps a straight line.

Thanks for that Lenny. It seems that the DL might be a bit harder than my Rapido, but I'll find out for sure when we pick up the van next Friday.

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[Lenny HB]

Thanks for that Lenny. It seems that the DL might be a bit harder than my Rapido, but I'll find out for sure when we pick up the van next Friday.

What chassis is it on as the light chassis will probably be a better ride, ours is 4500kg.

 

[pandas]

Saw the BMC T 690 today. That was a wasted 120 mile trip. Despite being the same length as my Rapido everything was tighter and poorer build quality. The cab seats were tight to swivel, the side seat was tiny, the fridge was narrow, the bathroom was smaller and it was almost impossible to squeeze past the island bed.
Build quality was probably due to keeping the weight down but nothing felt substantial and seat fabric seemed quite basic. New these cost £105k! Really?
Tomorrow we have to decide if its worth a 450 mile round trip to see a 584 DL. I wonder?

I hate to say I told you so just incase it wasn’t you I told! Apologies if it wasn’t!

 

[Stewart J]

I have a 588DL on the light chassis with updated Goldschmidt springs on the front and it rides very well front tyres 56psi rears 66psi. Far superior to my previous van an Autotrail Mohawk which was a very hard ride wore off a set of front tyres at 17,500 miles and wallowed quite a bit cornering.

 

[Folkranger]

What chassis is it on as the light chassis will probably be a better ride, ours is 4500kg.

It is the light chassis

 

[Folkranger]

I hate to say I told you so just incase it wasn’t you I told! Apologies if it wasn’t!

I hate you to say you hate to say you told me so but you told me so and you were soooo right.

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[Lenny HB]

It is the light chassis

Is it upgraded to 3850 as I doubt it is runnable at 3500.

 

[Folkranger]

Is it upgraded to 3850 as I doubt it is runnable at 3500.

It is 3850. As the miro is quoted as under 3T do you think they've cheated? I know there are extras like awning, self levelling...... but assumed that there would still be a fair bit. I didn't buy it with the intention of downplaying but it would be nice to think I could if ever needed.

 

[Lenny HB]

Had 3 Hymers the MIRO has always been spot on but with a Hymer, you rarely buy a basic van. The Komfort pack adds a Drivers door, Comfort Hab door with Flyscreen, Climate control, electric mirrors etc., then there's the bigger fridge with oven all this adds at least 150kg.
On our van I've added 2 additional batteries 3 solar panels an awning, sat dish and lots of other bits. Our base payload was 1350kg and I've used over 1000kg of it.

 

[Folkranger]

Wow, 1000kg. that's a lot of payload used.
My last Hymer was spot on but this Rapido was the full 5% over, leaving me only 200kg. It'll be nice to be legal again - fingers crossed.

 

[Folkranger]

Gateshead Council have a free weighbridge (as long as you say you don't want a printout) I always head straight there empty and then again when full.