Tam, Jade and Franky's European Adventure

So after having the hymer just over a week now there's lots of things I like about it better than franky so I thought I'd list them.

The driving position ....seat height is adjustable front and back ( franky didn't have that)
The flip down sunvisors that can swing forward or back on arms but fold away nice and neat ( franky had rattly pull down blinds you couldn't reach when driving )

Cab blinds are better.

Engine access is easier ...bigger bonnet I can top up oil water windscreen water etc much easier.

Passenger door in cab feels much sturdier van doesn't vibrate when you slam it.

Good use of space ....I actually have more internal storage than I did in franky

Good solid shower tray ..doesn't flex underfoot ( frankies did I was always worried I'd crack it )

Non electric beds or skylights less hassle to use.

Truma heating....I actually prefer it to the alde.
Easy to use and even just the water heater on warms the van. Inside wardrobe is very cosy

Better on fuel.

Cab seats same height as sofas.

Cab aircon
Cruise control

And of course the main reason for changing
Fixed rear French bed.

There are a few things I did prefer on Frankie

Seatbelts integrated in seats rather than van.

More powerful engine

More water pressure in shower

Larger tanks

2 cassettes


A few of these I can perhaos change but the rest I'm happy to compromise as the good points far outweigh the bad.


Overall I love my new van I feel so much happier with it than I did with the big one.
I feel I can modify and personalise it a bit more without worry of devaluing it and I think overall it will suit my needs better.

I honestly cannot fill it I've still loads of empty storage space which at first I thought I'd struggle with.
 
Sounds like that you are really happy with your choice of van.
Great news. P.s you made a massive impact on that van with a lot of elbow grease and a bit of car valeting knowledge .well done.
 
Northernraider said:
So after having the hymer just over a week now there's lots of things I like about it better than franky so I thought I'd list them.

The driving position ....seat height is adjustable front and back ( franky didn't have that)
The flip down sunvisors that can swing forward or back on arms but fold away nice and neat ( franky had rattly pull down blinds you couldn't reach when driving )

Cab blinds are better.

Engine access is easier ...bigger bonnet I can top up oil water windscreen water etc much easier.

Passenger door in cab feels much sturdier van doesn't vibrate when you slam it.

Good use of space ....I actually have more internal storage than I did in franky

Good solid shower tray ..doesn't flex underfoot ( frankies did I was always worried I'd crack it )

Non electric beds or skylights less hassle to use.

Truma heating....I actually prefer it to the alde.
Easy to use and even just the water heater on warms the van. Inside wardrobe is very cosy

Better on fuel.

Cab seats same height as sofas.

Cab aircon
Cruise control

And of course the main reason for changing
Fixed rear French bed.

There are a few things I did prefer on Frankie

Seatbelts integrated in seats rather than van.

More powerful engine

More water pressure in shower

Larger tanks

2 cassettes


A few of these I can perhaos change but the rest I'm happy to compromise as the good points far outweigh the bad.


Overall I love my new van I feel so much happier with it than I did with the big one.
I feel I can modify and personalise it a bit more without worry of devaluing it and I think overall it will suit my needs better.

I honestly cannot fill it I've still loads of empty storage space which at first I thought I'd struggle with.
Click to expand...
Shh don't list the bad bits on Franky she may get upset or the new owner may read this and want a refund!!:LOL:
Seriously I love Toby and he is very sparkly inside and out you've done a great job!
Would @ianthebuilder swap Helga for him at £1 a week? I bet he would!!:rofl:
 
Anthea M said:
Shh don't list the bad bits on Franky she may get upset or the new owner may read this and want a refund!!:LOL:
Seriously I love Toby and he is very sparkly inside and out you've done a great job!
Would @ianthebuilder swap Helga for him at £1 a week? I bet he would!!:rofl:
Click to expand...
Ha ha I wouldn't have said they were bad bits so much just that for a newer van both based on fiats I'm surprised that a few good features this older van has the newer one didn't...I still loved franky and she was a great van and served me well for the year I lived in her.

The new owner isn't on here so don't have to worry about that.

I'm afraid as much as I love @ianthebuilder s Helga and I think I'd have liked the autobox and rear wheel drive...the drop down bed being the main bed put me off that model.

Great layout otherwise but I wanted a floor level fixed bed with still a comfortable lounge so this van had that for me.

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I sold my old bike the other day so I'm not on the lookout for an off road replacement as I was sick of getting punctures.
Got a few from gumtree to go and look at today might even get myself a bargain :)
 
Mr porky said:
Sounds like that you are really happy with your choice of van.
Great news. P.s you made a massive impact on that van with a lot of elbow grease and a bit of car valeting knowledge .well done.
Click to expand...
Thanks I'm really pleased how well he came up doesn't look half his age now and as I'm fussy and look after my vehicles he will now be kept in good clean condition. :)
I'm going to get a personal reg for him just to take the year off nothing too expensive just one of dvlas £250 On the van ones

Planning to keep this one for a while
 
intokenny said:
@Northernraider those hanging pouches on ebay have you got a link to them please? I've been looking since you put them up but cant find them. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Yes the one I've shown on here is this one

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/323483693982


And I also bought a blue one of this one which you'll see when I've finished a few mods in the lounge area



Different types of material the top one is like nylon and the bottom is like thick felt like material
 
Hi Tam
Enjoying the developments on your replacement van.
Have you managed a weighbridge visit yet?
I know on my 3.88T Frankia we could run overweight if not too careful.

Your Hymer should be alot more 'solid' than the newer models, but I wondered how much payload they have available?
 
GROGGY64 said:
If I may say Tam, patriotic you may be, but soft furnishings are definitely not your forte!
Click to expand...
Tam, I’m sure you know by now, some folks taste is in their




F08D05B7-0EEE-4F50-B74D-FD8AB075A795.jpeg


PS Groggy64, just a joke.
 

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Deanobeano said:
Hi Tam
Enjoying the developments on your replacement van.
Have you managed a weighbridge visit yet?
I know on my 3.88T Frankia we could run overweight if not too careful.

Your Hymer should be alot more 'solid' than the newer models, but I wondered how much payload they have available?
Click to expand...
I plan to wait till I've loaded everything back in to it and then go seek a weighbridge just to see. But ive cleared out a lot of stuff from what I was carrying before so hopefully I'm still under.im not entirely sure what the unladen weight of this van is but I'd guess around 3.2 tonne so that would give me 700 to play with.
Will check it and see
 
dalspa said:
I did remember what you said about the guy you bought off, that’s why I just said a previous owner. The rest of the mirror looks to be original. Our first van was a 2002 B544 and the main mirror/bracket looks to be the same, if I remember correctly. We never experienced any problems with vibration in the five years that we had it. Did have the fifth gear go and also had a problem when it would go into limp mode (that was sorted easily, having been told what to look for).
Re the top bracket, I would remove and see if any vibration. If bad then I may re fit, but would prefer to revert back to original status. If removed then some small holes to fill, but easy to do.
Click to expand...
I know yours is a different year but what is your unladen weight and available Payload?

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Re Truma v Alde. You will notice the difference when using on very cold evenings. There is no comparison IMHO, Alde every time.
 
canopus said:
Re Truma v Alde. You will notice the difference when using on very cold evenings. There is no comparison IMHO, Alde every time.
Click to expand...
It's very cold here just now and I'm finding the truma better ....But it's a smaller van also.
The alde was okay but not enough radiators in the Frankia I felt . The cab and back bedroom were never that warm.
This one has loads of outlets all around the van so it gets quite toasty.
I do get a draught in through the oven vent though I may have to look in to a cover for that
 
I find the Truma heating in my van very good but by golly it fairly eats the gas particularly in an Aberdeenshire winter! Thankfully I no longer have to cope with them.
 
Cheers just checked and i do have it also got FillLPG.co.uk. But it is good to get local info,

Cheers Sam (y)
 
Okay to keep all your brains active this morning look at the following picture and see If you can spot the difference.

If not found I'll reveal the answer at 10.30

IMG_2018-10-22_08-52-34.JPG



P.s it isn't the rear light that was jist a bulb change

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Northernraider said:
Okay to keep all your brains active this morning look at the following picture and see If you can spot the difference.

If not found I'll reveal the answer at 10.30

View attachment 262859


P.s it isn't the rear light that was jist a bulb change
Click to expand...

You’ve found it’s got air assist on the back, or does it look lower due to camera angle.
 
Rubber strip running along side just above lockers now brought back to black. I had noticed it being discoloured in earlier photos.
Ps. Will look up details later regards van weight, they are in a file in the van.
 
Northernraider said:
There are a few things I did prefer on Frankie

More powerful engine
Click to expand...

I presume your new beastie is based on the 2.8 JTD? So is mine - and a remap, to a compromise fuel economy / extra power map, made a significant difference to the driveability of it - much torquier now. I know someone will say "CLUTCH!" - apparently a weak point on the 2.8 - but I suspect the clutch issues are more due to levelling ramp abuse than anything else. I've certainly not had any clutch slippage problems since the remap 3 years ago.
 
Northernraider said:
Another wee addition to Toby today
His voile curtains are missing so I made my own for the big bedroom window :p
View attachment 262502 View attachment 262503
Click to expand...

That's the difference compared to being English. Do that in Scotland and everyone just thinks you're a proud Scotsman - if perhaps a little nationalistic - and you can still drive in England and Wales quite happily. Same if you're Welsh with the Welsh flag really. Do that in England with the English flag and you give a very different impression.

Not saying it's right, but it's true!
 
The "HYMER" on the back is different. :censored:

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