N and B are they actually worth the additional cost?

Caggsie1 said:
Left hooker or right. We did, in our Dethleffs travel to Belgium and Germany, the Mozel and Lake Constance. Loved both areas, but in recent years hubby hasn’t wanted to drive across. Although we have changed Europe to Jersey, where we’d been for a few years. Used the tunnel for Europe which I would have to say is an absolute sinch. So for last 5 years have stayed in U.K. I’m just wondering whether a left hooker would allow for an easier drive.
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Our first one was RHD and we deliberately sought out LHD for the current one. Ok we do far more in Europe than in UK but no way would I change back, I find it much easier over there OK over here and the layouts work better in their original format.
 
In this 'modern' age, mileage is so much different to the 60's or 50's British vehicles----- we had a Granada with over 300,000 miles on it, our present Opel Astra diesel has more than 300,000 ks on the clock and runs great even our old Dodge truck had more than 300,000miles on it--- we bought our later Dodge truck with 120,000 miles on it (at four years old) and it never put a foot wrong.
In this age you are very unlucky to have a major problem under 200.000miles in my experience.
The cost of minor repairs will be much less than depreciation on value on replacing the vehicle I reckon!!
Just how I see it!!
 
funflair said:
For what it's worth I think the base vehicle is better for being used than standing around, that is what they are designed for (y)

Martin
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Some seven years ago I purchased a Flair that was one year old with very low mileage and it had hardly been used in the year either, as you can imagine it was just as new,however,we had nothing but trouble with it on one occasion returning from Spain it broke down 5 times and the garage could never get it fixed,needless to say we moved it on.
So,is there a benefit of low mileage.
 
Littlewheels said:
Some seven years ago I purchased a Flair that was one year old with very low mileage and it had hardly been used in the year either, as you can imagine it was just as new,however,we had nothing but trouble with it on one occasion returning from Spain it broke down 5 times and the garage could never get it fixed,needless to say we moved it on.
So,is there a benefit of low mileage.
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I have always agreed with using the van as much as possible. I do about 10k per year, lots of little trips but then 4k of that is generally motorway long haul miles. It performs well, drives beautifully because it has air suspension pulls like a train.... but I always worry about the miles...
 
First N&B I have looked at closely was a 4 year old Dutch registered one that we parked next to in an aire on Tuesday night .
4 am Wednesday morning and we had a knock on the door. Instead of threatening the callerwith a mallet or asking for them to stand in front of the headlights, I opened the door......:unsure:
The lady standing there, looking worried, was from the van next door and asking if we could ring the fire service because their van was on fire! Luckily, her husband managed to put it out, but the Pompiers still arrived to check if everything was all safe.
She said she was woken by a smell, like gas, then saw smoke coming from the fridge. The fire was at the back of the fridge and her husband managed to get the lower vent off and give the flames a squirt with an extinguisher. I had a shock when I looked in the open vent. Apart from the fire damage, the electrical cables in there looked like they had been fitted by a 3 year old, the fire was caused by a bunch of cables touching the burner surround.
This was their first day of a 2 month holiday to Spain, they had to go back home.
They told me the van was unlucky. Earlier this year, they set out for Spain again and had a rear tyre blowout. The tyre shredded and damaged the rear bodywork, which took their dealer 4 months to get parts and fix, and another week to refix everything.........

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Our 2017 (2018 model - new shape) N&B Arto Island Bed model is by far the best built van we’ve owned and by far the best quality/price.

Had a few niggles with third party Componenets which would have affected any brand of van they were fitted on.

Anyone interested in a high spec 2 year old van should contact Mike at Premium Motorhomes as it will be traded in during May next year
 
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Paul1958 said:
Hi, I am moving to Portugal soon, I think you will find that a Portuguese B licence category covers you to drive motorhomes up to 4250kgs, provided that you are over 21 (obviously in your case) and have had a licence for 2 years. I know that is less than 6 ton, but gets you a bit more payload on your next m/home. Just trying to be helpful, Paul
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Thanks for that----- it seems that we can exchange our UK licence with any categories that we have passed a test for---- a lot of us have c1+e under 'grandads rights' ----also being over 70 it is more of an issue----- we even lose the trailer category unless we have passed a test!.
Sorry gone well off topic!!!!
 
Jenka said:
Never understand why people worry about mileage as these vehicle engines are used in commercial vehicles and thus do very high mileage.if your happy with the van and it's serviced regularly keep it .
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Because the mileage shows how much the van has been used. So it is also an indication on how much the interior has also been used. More hours of the fridge running, the boiler heating, and all the interior probably looking more tatty.

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Landy Andy said:
Because the mileage shows how much the van has been used. So it is also an indication on how much the interior has also been used. More hours of the fridge running, the boiler heating, and all the interior probably looking more tatty.
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I guess that takes us back to the title of the thread, build quality in N+B vans is fantastic and they do not really show their age, we have friends with 20 year old N+B vans and the interior is better than many 2 year old cheaper vans.

Martin
 
Landy Andy said:
Because the mileage shows how much the van has been used. So it is also an indication on how much the interior has also been used. More hours of the fridge running, the boiler heating, and all the interior probably looking more tatty.
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I don't think this is necessarily the case. Some vehicles will be driven down to, say, Spain parked up and lived in for 6 months straight. A vehicle used in this way will show a low mileage but the interior will have clocked up some major usage.
 
No not always the case, but an indication. Two vans exactly the same one with three thousand miles other sixty three thousand miles on.
I would prefer the lesser miles.
 
Caggsie1 said:
I am gazing lovingly at a 2015 Arto 76 L and Arto 76 B My fave style but unsure about the black. Both for silly money but are they actually worth the additional cost? Are they without problems, Leakings, bits falling off etc?
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It's not so much about what your vehicle is but more about what you do with it.
If cash is short, spend it on the journeys rather than the transport.
 
Landy Andy said:
No not always the case, but an indication. Two vans exactly the same one with three thousand miles other sixty three thousand miles on.
I would prefer the lesser miles.
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I would only choose after having a look IMO mileage is a factor but not necessarily the deciding one

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funflair said:
I guess that takes us back to the title of the thread, build quality in N+B vans is fantastic and they do not really show their age, we have friends with 20 year old N+B vans and the interior is better than many 2 year old cheaper vans.

Martin
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I could just add to Martin's comments above, that on ours after 16 years all the catches, hinges and handles are still good, even as with Martin, on some handles the chroming has flaked - my sweaty fingers, but he has replaced those quite cheaply.

Geoff
 
Loving this thread, certainly informative. Thanks again, keep the info coming.

haganap how have you found the Erwin Hymer centre for after sales?
 
jongood said:
Our first one was RHD and we deliberately sought out LHD for the current one. Ok we do far more in Europe than in UK but no way would I change back, I find it much easier over there OK over here and the layouts work better in their original format.
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We have the opposite view. Although most of our travel time is in Europe there is significantly less traffic compared to the UK hence the preference for RHD. Also RHD controls are more familiar to us. Down side is that when buying or selling there is a bigger marketplace if LHD. We haven't found an issue with our A class with the layout.
 
pandas said:
We have the opposite view. Although most of our travel time is in Europe there is significantly less traffic compared to the UK hence the preference for RHD. Also RHD controls are more familiar to us. Down side is that when buying or selling there is a bigger marketplace if LHD. We haven't found an issue with our A class with the layout.
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If your selling the van in Europe then yes LHD but in the UK most people would want RHD as when I PX a LHD in the UK cost me thousands compared to equivalent RHD.
 
Landy Andy said:
No not always the case, but an indication. Two vans exactly the same one with three thousand miles other sixty three thousand miles on.
I would prefer the lesser miles.
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Two vans different mileage but what about the age of the van? Younger van 63k - Older Van 3K, what if the vans were a few years old!

So much comes into the equation, see my post #33 the van had done 346 miles, on my part big mistake the anxiety it caused will have shortened my life,it was a nightmare.

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Well, went to have a look at both the MH‘s today. Wrote one off as very dark with the black leather and bar version. The 76B not too much room to manoeuvre and couldn’t remove the table as it’s a fixed bar version. On some of the catches weren’t working making it difficult to open some of the cupboards, but overall quality ooozed. Going from the N and B into Hymers, Burstner, none were of equal quality. Generous garages, we’ve a good sized one on our Hobby, but these were bigger again.
the 76L was much nicer, being white leather proved to be a much brighter interior.also separate loo and shower where the 76B had a loo that moved into the garage when using the shower. The seat backs were much better for my bad back as they came up further than our Hobby but seating area was much smaller than our current one but the table could be removed to free up space. The cat and crate could be stored in bathroom during journey as large gap under the sink. closing the door so don’t have to listen to him howling! Also didn’t have to go mountaineering to get onto the bed which I have to do now.

now saving my pennies and will work on Chris, if MH still there in Jan it will be a serious contender. Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread. You weren’t wrong about the quality.
 
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Caggsie1 said:
Well, went to have a look at both the MH‘s today. Wrote one off as very dark with the black leather and bar version. The 76B not too much room to manoeuvre and couldn’t remove the table as it’s a fixed bar version. On some of the catches weren’t working making it difficult to open some of the cupboards, but overall quality ooozed. Going from the N and B into Hymers, Burstner, none were of equal quality. Generous garages, we’ve a good sized one on our Hobby, but these were bigger again.
the 76L was much nicer, being white leather proved to be a much brighter interior.also separate loo and shower where the 76B had a loo that moved into the garage when using the shower. The seat backs were much better for my bad back as they came up further than our Hobby but seating area was much smaller than our current one but the table could be removed to free up space. The cat and crate could be stored in bathroom during journey as large gap under the sink. closing the door so don’t have to listen to him howling! Also didn’t have to go mountaineering to get onto the bed which I have to do now.

now saving my pennies and will work on Chris, if MH still there in Jan it will be a serious contender. Thanks to all that have contributed to this thread. You weren’t wrong about the quality.
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think it's horses for courses and all that. I really liked the Bar version and oddly enough a very popular layout on the continent. But Nikki didn't like it so we never went ahead. Cross the car park and we really liked the 76l except it wasn't an auto and had 27k on it. Both nice vans, I like the black leather.
 
What did it for hubby haganap was the chair headrest opposite the drivers seat was smack bang in front of the TV!
 
Very smart looking vans, possibly the coolest looking things on the road these days.

If our circumstances were different then I would love to have an Arto on the drive.

Good luck with whatever you decide :cool:
 
I like the Black leather and bar version, but don't like scatter cushion ones.

Regarding space up front - its all about priorities, We rented a NZ mh 3 years ago and its very much a rear lounge market, really irritating getting to bed time and you ve got to tidy up and start making beds up and the rear window got absolutely filthy.

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Our first van jongood was rear lounge, a Dethleffs, a great first van but as you say making the beds became a chore, the shower curtain clung to everything! In our next one, the Hobby, priorities were, longer went from 5.99 to 7.5, two fixed doubles, larger garage and no darn shower curtain and room to manoeuvre. This was achieved in the Hobby Toskana, Large table came out, two long settees and 4 seatbelts. Quality improved too. Now priorities are, being able to separate bedroom from living area and separate loo and shower, this does however, within 7.5 ish length, compromise on seating area. Quality has gone up a few notches too?.
 
Hopefully this will bring up a search of 7metres+ 2008 onwards, just thought it might help with selection. There are normally more available but wrong time of year.

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Caggsie1 said:
Our first van jongood was rear lounge, a Dethleffs, a great first van but as you say making the beds became a chore, the shower curtain clung to everything! In our next one, the Hobby, priorities were, longer went from 5.99 to 7.5, two fixed doubles, larger garage and no darn shower curtain and room to manoeuvre. This was achieved in the Hobby Toskana, Large table came out, two long settees and 4 seatbelts. Quality improved too. Now priorities are, being able to separate bedroom from living area and separate loo and shower, this does however, within 7.5 ish length, compromise on seating area. Quality has gone up a few notches too?.
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Btw we have the swinging toilet, I do have to be a bit careful how I put the scooter in the garage but the upside is we get a very nice 700mm by 700mm shower with no intrusions, We have used it a lot ( I like being self sufficient) with no issues at all with the mechanism.
 
In fairness, I am the only one using the shower, Chris does when on a rally with no facilities but will always use the onsite facilities if they’re available. I felt that with the L version someone could be having shower and there’s a need for the loo, particularly now that neither of us have very good bladder muscles!
 
Caggsie1 said:
In fairness, I am the only one using the shower, Chris does when on a rally with no facilities but will always use the onsite facilities if they’re available. I felt that with the L version someone could be having shower and there’s a need for the loo, particularly now that neither of us have very good bladder muscles!
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Ha yes we ve been there but it only takes a few seconds to swing it back in.

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