Just Sealed the Deal on our First MH

Many thanks for all your useful suggestions & views. I will ask the dealership to upgrade the weight from 3500kGs, as you say it can always be reverted back when selling if needed. It has been mentioned that even with the weight upgrade "I would save on road tax" can you tell me how weights affect road tax, save me looking it up if you guys already know. (well it is Sunday, day of rest, and all that)
As for trying to get the dealer to pay for solar, extra batteries and 12volt, I think they would shoot me on sight!, as I let them down big time on The Bolero order, True it was late on delivery anyway, but when I told them the real reason was build quality and listed defects reoccurring all the time on the new builds, there faces changed as they knew they were locked into taking The Bolero from swift and probably get stuck with it for a while
 
Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the increasing ranks of Carthago owners. (n):D
The vans are really well put together, particularly the joinery. All our lockers and cabinets are really well fitted.
Carthago's are not without their problems, just like any motorhome, and we have had a few during the warranty. Almost all niggles were with other manufacturers kit though. Dometic equipment probably being the worst.
All in all though, it's a lovely van that we love being in.

Don't forget that if you upgrade to 3650kg you will need a C1 licence and will be subject to lower speed limits.

Richard.
 
Hi Richard !, its all your fault!!!, I have been viewing your travel blog for sometime now,as we love airshows (live near Farnborough) and because of you, we switched from Swift To Carthago, I would love a Chic 5, but thought we would start touring in our first MH with something slightly smaller, work up to an A Class Bus eventually.
Yes I have a CI on a paper original licence, (need t to change for picture model I know for Europe travels) thank you for giving us such a good insight to travelling and staying in aires etc, when are you doing Italy?, we love the place and hope to hop over via Swiss to visit friends beforehand.
All the best to you & yours
 
TinaL said:
Hi Richard !, its all your fault!!!, I have been viewing your travel blog for sometime now,as we love airshows (live near Farnborough) and because of you, we switched from Swift To Carthago, I would love a Chic 5, but thought we would start touring in our first MH with something slightly smaller, work up to an A Class Bus eventually.
Yes I have a CI on a paper original licence, (need t to change for picture model I know for Europe travels) thank you for giving us such a good insight to travelling and staying in aires etc, when are you doing Italy?, we love the place and hope to hop over via Swiss to visit friends beforehand.
All the best to you & yours
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Oh dear, oh dear, what have I done?
I can only hope and pray that you are pleased with your new van otherwise I might have to stop writing the blog and go into hiding. :(
With all the things I've read about the madcap Italian drivers we've kept well away so far. There are so many lovely places to visit in France and we now have an increasing number of favourites that we return to again and again, plus finding our way round Spain and Portugal, I wonder if we will ever get to Italy.
So many wonderful journeys and places to explore!
The joy of motor homing! (y):):):)

Richard.

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Hi & Welcome to the forum

You will love your new van we have a Carthago Chic C- line 5.0 and we think the build quality is very good if you have any problems you will get all the help you need off forum members.

Paul
 
Thanks so much for the warmth and helpful advice so far, I thought I would miss The Swift Talk Forum, but I got so sick of reading about the same old build quality issues that I had to change direction and move over to Carthago. I was beginning to ask myself if there were any brands left these days where the workers took pride in their work and didn't need a mastic or staple gun to attach everything inside and out, and I think I have been lucky to have found a brand that can be trusted to last, and not leak through every orifice that opens.
 
We picked up our CTourer Sport 144QB in January this year. Ours is a 2016.
From the dealer it came with tow bar, satellite dish, 2 batteries, coffee maker (glorified ornament) double din radio, alloy wheels, 3 litre engine chequer plating in the garage, tracker and alarm and climate control
We had a 12v socket put in the Hab area, the only other one is a 'din' socket. Could have done with one in the bedroom area too.
The only thing we have broken so far after 5000 miles, was the sink waste in the kitchen. I over filled the drawer and shoved it in when it resisted.....umm, shouldn't have done!
We have just brought fridge fans ready to fit too. In warmer weather, we need them.
We also purchased a spare wheel. Like the idea of just taking a tire though as it is heavy
Enjoy your new purchase :)
 
TinaL said:
As for trying to get the dealer to pay for solar, extra batteries and 12volt, I think they would shoot me on sight!,
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That could be a blessing in disguise!

I know nothing about Chelstons & wouldn't want to tar them with the same brush as most other dealers without any knowledge, but unless all that lot was part of a deal sweetener, I would far rather have that type of equipment fitted by a specialist in the field - and they don't come much more specialist than VanBitz. Don't forget to quote your FUN membership number when you make the booking to claim your discount.
 
Well done you made the right decision, Carthago build quality is good we nearly ended up with one when we changed vans. The build quality is slightly better than Hymer but we couldn't live with their lounges & showers so it was another Hymer for us.

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Having been used to UK layouts like front parallel lounge sofas, end full size washrooms, Full size kitchens even a microwave we never used!, you can easily understand how many compromises we had to make to get a great quality built MH, they dont come much better than Carthago. The bottom line for us being newbies to motor home touring is that we through a slow but comprehensive learning curve now realise, that we will have to accept "The Euro Lounge" layout where in most cases the table in the middle is the dominant factor,and you cant have a large practical Garage if you have a rear washroom. We are therefore happy to accept that not only did we need to change away from UK manufacturers to get a premium product, but also that WE needed to change our expectations on a traditional layout.

PS: dont worry Leltel, Eddie at vanbitz wil be doing everything except supplying and fitting the side awning. Being an electrical engineer I can see the benefits of the products they use, also their reputation speaks for itself.
Spidey: I also agree that having had The growler system fitted and LPG, we will use the van to get a feel of what else is needed. I am hoping that we can find an insurance company that having had a growler system fitted does not insist on an active tracker being installed on day 1.

Thanks everyone, the future is looking good, especially as we have been grounded without a tourer caravan or MH for over a year now!
Getting excited for delivery front end of September!
 
TinaL said:
The bottom line for us being newbies to motor home touring is that we through a slow but comprehensive learning curve now realise, that we will have to accept "The Euro Lounge" layout where in most cases the table in the middle is the dominant factor,and you cant have a large practical Garage if you have a rear washroom.
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We were exactly the same for ages after changing from a caravan. We looked and looked at European vans and just couldn't get our heads round the layout. After having two UK motorhomes we finally saw the light and went for the Carthago. Now we are quite happy and comfortable with the Euro style lounge area.
You will soon get accustomed to it and it will seem quite natural.

Richard.
 
Richard, thanks for the encouragement, apart from a quality build, its almost laughable that nearly everything we set out originally for in terms of layout, we have compromised now, but I am pleased we made a good start and made a choice to stick to this time.
I forgot to mention that as well as following your blog on touring, another major influence was when watching The Tour De France a couple of years back, seeing all that fantastic countryside and views, sailing through small villages in the Midi Pyrenees, Rhone Alps, and this year the central parts and Champagne region. I realised then how beautiful Central France actually is. Now we cant wait to experience it for ourselves, so many lovely places to go to., so many Aires to find.
So many Motor homes parked up on the cycle route! Seems like thousands of them, now its great fun to play "Spot The Carthago" on the tele, did see three in total, but Pilote & Burstners seem to be the most popular.
Sad, but I have read so many times that some people regard France as a place they have to endure and get through as quickly as they can in order to get to their Spanish destinations, such a shame, I think they should do both equally if they have the time of course.
 
Once the toys are fitted you mentioned that will certainly eat into your payload. Best to work out everything you expect to fit in the next year then agree a payload upgrade. The dealer normally does this for nothing. Spare wheel is a must as who is going to run around sorting out a tyre fitter if you only carry the tyre. Good luck with your Carthago.
 
Question to BobtheBass or anyone who knows?

How many mains/12 volt sockets and the location of them does the new 2017 C Tourer 148H come with as standard or is there a handbook download available with this info?
Many thanks
Les & Tina

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Can't speak for the tourer as we have the 2017 C-line

We have a 240 socket by cab door ( we are lhd )
240 socket by hab door
240 socket in bathroom
240 socket in garage
240 socket in kitchen area

Also have a 240 socket in bedroom ( this one was a extra came with TV point option in bedroom )

We have one 12v socket in bedroom ( came with tv option extra )
There is also a 12 socket on the dash board that is live all the time I think this works of the hab battery
 
TinaL said:
Question to BobtheBass or anyone who knows?

How many mains/12 volt sockets and the location of them does the new 2017 C Tourer 148H come with as standard or is there a handbook download available with this info?
Many thanks
Les & Tina
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Pretty much as Zepp says I believe, unless things changed in 2017 (mine is a 2016). No 12v hab sockets as standard but Vanbitz fitted a dual 12v and usb socket below the lip of the seat next to the door for £50 or so. Our dash 12v socket is only live through the ignition though.
 
Good news & Bad News!
Good news I managed to track down a very nearly new alloy wheel & tyre on Gumtree as a spare for our new van when we get it in September £150 on collection from a fellow motor homer in East Sussex, he has three left so let me know if any of you need a spare Fiat Alloy wheel, I,ll pass you on to him.

Bad news...dealer wants additional £230 to do the weight upgrade, I know most get it thrown into the deal, so will see if I can persuade them;)
Cheers everyone
 
TinaL said:
Good news & Bad News!
Good news I managed to track down a very nearly new alloy wheel & tyre on Gumtree as a spare for our new van when we get it in September £150 on collection from a fellow motor homer in East Sussex, he has three left so let me know if any of you need a spare Fiat Alloy wheel, I,ll pass you on to him.

Bad news...dealer wants additional £230 to do the weight upgrade, I know most get it thrown into the deal, so will see if I can persuade them;)
Cheers everyone
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Firstly, congratulations on your purchase(y)

Secondly, thank you for the heads up with the Gumtree advert, I've been looking for a spare alloy for months and had almost given up! My only dilemma now is how to get it to me as unfortunately, I have no immediate plans to head down that way(n)

I've asked if they would consider allowing me to arrange a courier but if not, I may call on the kindness of fellow funsters to see if anyone could assist if they happen to be travelling from that way, to the show at Malvern next month:)
 
Hellski said:
Firstly, congratulations on your purchase(y)

Secondly, thank you for the heads up with the Gumtree advert, I've been looking for a spare alloy for months and had almost given up! My only dilemma now is how to get it to me as unfortunately, I have no immediate plans to head down that way(n)

I've asked if they would consider allowing me to arrange a courier but if not, I may call on the kindness of fellow funsters to see if anyone could assist if they happen to be travelling from that way, to the show at Malvern next month:)
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Well done for finding ad on Gumtree, yes we spent the afternoon travelling down to Hailsham, East Sussex, with a nice pub food stop on the way back. It was a long way there and back but it was well worth it, Peter & Gill are lovely people, and now we have a nice shinny spare wheel and its an alloy one to match the ones on our new van. It still weighs a bit mind you, but must be lighter than a steel one.
I just need some sort of fixing bracket for the garage and a wheel brace to get the job done.

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Guys I have an insurance dilemma...need advice. Comfort insurance have come out tops thus far for coverage & premium, Safegaurd offer via dealers, is 12 months cover for the price of 10, but still over a 100 quid more than comfort....now the problem...dealer wants to do handover on 1st September! nice I thought, but insurance companies will not give me sufficient grace period for getting the Strikeback alarm, or in Comforts case, a cat 5 or 6 tracker fitted.
The earliest I can get Vanbitz to fit these items is 3rd October....what would you do?, other than delay the handover?
Many Thanks for any ideas, this van is so close yet so far it seems:(
 
NFU don't insist on an alarm or imobilizer - though they will give you an extra discount when you've had them fitted.
They also offer a new for old cover for new vans for the first two years irrespective of mileage
 
Thanks Robert, I will give them a try tomorrow, main problem seems to be van is priced at over 75K, as this is the price point from where they need alarms & Trackers.
Fingers crossed.
 
TinaL said:
Thanks Robert, I will give them a try tomorrow, main problem seems to be van is priced at over 75K, as this is the price point from where they need alarms & Trackers.
Fingers crossed.
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No problems with high value vans
Our last one was £100k +
 
Yes 100K is easily done, especially after Eddie has fitted all the toys , then there after E&P?:D
I will be so skint after that lot, that "self leveling" blocks of wood will have to suffice me thinks.

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TinaL said:
I just need some sort of fixing bracket for the garage and a wheel brace to get the job done.
Click to expand...

Can I suggest instead of buying a brace buy a torque wrench and may be a breaker bar.

I carry a torque wrench in the van and bar. Both can be bought at a reasonable price off eBay.
 
Good Idea Silver-Fox I have a torque wrench left over from our last caravan, just need to see what size socket is required for the Fiat Wheel nuts, whats the breaker bar used for, or is that a dim question?
Thanks for your advice
Best wishes
Tina & Les
 
I am still between a rock & hard place with insurance companies, NFU passed me onto Bewise at a humongous premium and no grace period, but I cannot get around having to have an alarm & tracker fitted with a sufficiently long enough "Grace Period", cant say I blame em:cautious:
So I have had to defer the handover until mid Sept, and go with Comfort as they will give me 14 days to get the stuff fitted at Vanbitz on the 3rd October...hey ho! as they say.

Happy Travels everyone, send me a card eh?
 
I feel your frustration but it will be worth the wait(y)
 
Vanbitz may have a cancellation come through if you can take it st short notice?

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