Which is better - Hymer or Carthago - subjective help please.

So as a conclusion- the answer is yes maybe no
 
Stephane Bosman said:
Gosh now I feel awful. The Mercedes part is exactly what prevents me from completely discarding the Hymer MC but I stand by what I said, but remember a lot of this is a subjective evaluation. I have no idea of what is going on in the engineering of the interior.

I've visited a Tramp SL and, well, it is not the same, that's for sure.
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Just to update, after lots of visits and consideration and back and forth, we're strongly leaning towards a Hymer ML-T 560.
 
wiljoy said:
Choice is hours I'm afraid. Not really a lot of difference. We've had Hymers that delaminated Dethleffs that kept bursting water joints and tanks. We thought we would really get quality so bought a Carthago. We've had water ingress, pipe joints separating waste water tank cracking furniture warping entrance door stays snapping etc etc. Nothing out there to rave about and if you are keeping to 3500kg you'll not have much payload for levelling toys. Good luck with whatever you choose.

PS I've heard glowing reports about Camper UK. My dealer near Doncaster wasn't very good I'm afraid.
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Welcome to Carthago. You must have a van built by the same numpties as mine. I've also had all your issues. I have many friends who have purchased from Camper UK and they are very happy with the service and support. When I was having all the issues with mine I rang them several times for advice and they were excellent. Nothing was to much trouble. I bought mine from the Doncaster mob but wouldn't use them again.
 
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So you reply to our own post as if it was written by someone else to create a further occasion to bash both brands but Carthago a bit more? Really?

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Still a spirited debate
 
Lenny HB said:
You can only have them if the chassis goes right to the rear so only normally available on big vans. On the Hymers the chassis stops in front of the garage, the garage is self supporting on the 350kg garage, if you have the 450kg garage they fit chassis extensions, I doubt if they would be suitable for the wheels.
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This same subject is current in this Post:- https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/hymer-rear-chassis-wheels.203157/#post-3462968

Ref; Rear extensions and the use of wheels.
 
tomlowry07 said:
Hi Stephen, please do report on your test drive and thoughts on the modern comfort. What's new for 2020 etc. I have ordered a mci 680 for October delivery, and no idea what to expect. Main reason was merc and 9speed gearbox, plus the info tech. Disappointed finish sounds worse than my current hymer tramp sl. I thought this was going to sort out my carthago envy....
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Sorry for the late feedback, but it didn't go according to plan. Carthago City was pretty crowded and while there was a lot of Carthago personnel on site, it seems only 2 of them spoke English. Among the different models we would have liked to compare, only one was on show: the C-Tourer 143. And the general impression was that C-Tourer clients are not the first priority.

Also, you have to live either in Germany, Austria or Switzerland to be able to have an actual conversation with a sales person. If you're not from one of those 3 countries, they refer you to a dealer, including for questions about the motorhomes. Not that they had anyone particularly knowledgeable there.

I asked for a text that defines exactly the warranty terms. The guy was obviously very surprised. When I told him that is not available anywhere in the commercial documentation nor on the web site, he just said that the warranty is 2 years and 6 years for water ingress.

We could not get the test drives we asked for, were offered another one with an A-Class Malibu but we are not really into that.

The loos were closed with something written in German on the doors, no idea what it meant. Does not help to feel relaxed...

I had sent questions by email both to the contact at Carthago-City and to their biggest dealer, never got an answer from either.

So we lost the will to go further with them. That was certainly related with us spending the morning at Hymer in Bad-Waldsee and finding that after all the ML-T 560 is what we were looking for. Also, the general atmosphere and people attitude at Hymer was much, much friendlier. We've been there a few times now, the lady at the reception recognizes us now :) They'll be happy to have you as a customer no matter which country you're from.

The general feeling is I trust Hymer more. And that Merc...

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GPW said:
An alternate to a giant coachbuilt would also be a simple van designed to hold a lot in the garage, such as this Adria that Andrew Ditton shows us around:



If the mobility scooter can fit into there (or change it to one that does!) thsi would give you a nice manageable solution.
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That’s our van and we love it.
 
Had my Carthago Compactline 144 around 6 weeks and we are very happy with it. Big garage huge payload. It drives like a dream and is returning 31mpg!
 
Lenny HB said:
So they have, last time I saw one was as a few years ago at Caravan Salon, but boy has the price gone up silly money for a budget van. By the time you have added a few extras nearly 80k.

They bought their way into the lower end market with the C Tourer, Compact Line & Malibu now they are entrenched in that market area they have jacked the prices up.
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Came across a new VW Californian yesterday at a dealer which was up for £80k! Shows the influence of a 'brand'.
 
pandas said:
Came across a new VW Californian yesterday at a dealer which was up for £80k! Shows the influence of a 'brand'.
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I wonder if it was legal weight wise with that amount of kit on it. I've not seen one above the high 6O's. Even if it were 40k it would be overpriced for what you get.

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Just spent my second night in our new Carthago Compactline I143 after 4 years of a Hymer MLI 580. Almost identical in size and facilities but too early to write up an objective comparison of the two. I prefer the finish of the Carthago but some of that is taste. The most obvious difference is the under floor storage space, the Carthago garage is nearly empty because much of the heavy stuff is now under the floor or in external lockers, between the axles. I visited a public weigh bridge yesterday and discovered that the front and rear axles had exactly the same spare capacity. In the Hymer I would have had little or nothing to spare on the rear axle but lots on the front.
 
I like both marques but couldn’t get close to an equivalent Carthago for the deal we have secured on a Hymer Exsis-I 588 (assuming it doesn’t go belly up). The Hymer is probably more functional than aesthetic ‘bling’ inside by comparison, but should at least satisfy my obsession for a garage and twin beds with reasonable payload at 3500. Fingers crossed anyway...
 
Pausim said:
Just spent my second night in our new Carthago Compactline I143 after 4 years of a Hymer MLI 580. Almost identical in size and facilities but too early to write up an objective comparison of the two. I prefer the finish of the Carthago but some of that is taste. The most obvious difference is the under floor storage space, the Carthago garage is nearly empty because much of the heavy stuff is now under the floor or in external lockers, between the axles. I visited a public weigh bridge yesterday and discovered that the front and rear axles had exactly the same spare capacity. In the Hymer I would have had little or nothing to spare on the rear axle but lots on the front.
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How would you compare the driving experiences of both vans?
 
Pausim said:
Just spent my second night in our new Carthago Compactline I143 after 4 years of a Hymer MLI 580. Almost identical in size and facilities but too early to write up an objective comparison of the two. I prefer the finish of the Carthago but some of that is taste. The most obvious difference is the under floor storage space, the Carthago garage is nearly empty because much of the heavy stuff is now under the floor or in external lockers, between the axles. I visited a public weigh bridge yesterday and discovered that the front and rear axles had exactly the same spare capacity. In the Hymer I would have had little or nothing to spare on the rear axle but lots on the front.
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Suspect you may not be comparing like for like. The lack of underfloor space is caused by the Mercedes chassis, not the choice of converters. Hymers on Fiat/Alko chassis have plenty of underfloor space, especially the newer ones that use the new Alko chassis.
 
Stephane Bosman said:
How would you compare the driving experiences of both vans?
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This is as much a comparison of Mercedes v Fiat. The Hymer had a traditional auto box which was very good, however the Fiat Comfort-Matic has worked well enough so far. The Carthago is quieter in the cabin, fewer rattles and less engine noise. The Mercedes chassis was sometimes difficult to keep in a straight line, the Fiat feels more stable. Forward visibility on the Carthago is better but there is a blind spot caused by the position of the drivers external mirror, it is in exactly the right position to obscure traffic already on a roundabout so extra care is needed when joining one. Overall we are very happy with our choice.

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Carthago offers test drives at the Caravan Salon at Düsseldorf. Pretty unlikely we'd go that route at this point, but I booked a drive with a C-Tourer T 143 just to make sure.
 
peterc10 said:
Suspect you may not be comparing like for like. The lack of underfloor space is caused by the Mercedes chassis, not the choice of converters. Hymers on Fiat/Alko chassis have plenty of underfloor space, especially the newer ones that use the new Alko chassis.
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Yes, our Hymer B588 DL has loads of underfloor locker space, including a largish space under the passenger footwell (LHD), where we store bike batteries and security chains. We tend to put heavy stuff like beer and wine, in the others.
 
bellabee said:
Yes, our Hymer B588 DL has loads of underfloor locker space, including a largish space under the passenger footwell (LHD), where we store bike batteries and security chains. We tend to put heavy stuff like beer and wine, in the others.
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Don't agree the underfloor storage on our DL is naff compared to my mates Carthago.
 

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