Winterised motorhomes (double floor) ?

[MotorhomeKing]

Hello everyone.

I intend to buy a motorhome to live in soon and have decided a tag axle will be best so I don't have to worry too much about payload with the all the junk I'll inevitably accumulate over time (I am a class CE licence holder).

As I'll also be living in it over winter and suffer from cold feet then insulation is important to me, especially the floor, so I am looking at models which have those.

Can anyone tell me which models have this feature please? I have seen a Dethleffs 7877-2 on ebay has it (too expensive at £80k!) and also a Euromobil A 770 EB too (sadly sold). Needs to be RHD, manual, van based, less than 5 years old and have good size garage.

I like the higher platform too for extra privacy as you can't see inside from ground level. Not interested in Hymer type stuff that looks like a mobile library bus.

I really like the Swift Kontiki BE 679s with the rear bed over large garage, but sadly no double floor from what I can tell.

Thanks .

 

[PaulC70]

If you look underneath can you see the water tanks? If yes then its single. Another good test is if it getting out of bed in the winter takes several goes because the floor is so cold.

LOL, I'd have to wait for winter for the second part though thankfully there are carpets I'll have a look underneath tomorrow

 

[pandas]

Mobile library bus for me please more space, better insulation and put it on a decent rear wheel drive chassis and you get a proper double floor housing all the tanks and services and heated as well, on top of that you get decent payload and better traction on the wet and slippy stuff.

And you never have worry about running out of anything to read.

 

[TinaLes]

Lets just hope the ER Insulation "Activists" dont find out about Brit vans being single floored, they would be singled out and maybe they would form sit down circles around them in traffic jams.
LES

 

[CazPaul]

Yes inside

One sometimes overlooked aspect of winterisation is the position of the grey water drain off valve. If it is a tap on the end of a pipe it isn’t winterised. The tap and the pipe full of water behind it will freeze solid and no amount insulation or tank heating is going to let you drain off the water when you need to. The valve must be inboard where it won’t freeze. Some use motorised valves and others have mechanical ones.

Yes inside a heated locker like this.

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[tonyidle]

The van I have now has 50% double floor (rear bedroom & bathroom) but it has Alde heating including underfloor. It's the first leisure vehicle I've had that let's me go barefoot in Winter.

 

[Minxy]

The van I have now has 50% double floor (rear bedroom & bathroom) but it has Alde heating including underfloor. It's the first leisure vehicle I've had that let's me go barefoot in Winter.

Just barefoot?

 

[EuroTrotters]

We had a Eura Mobil with double floor. As it was on the Mercedes sprinter chassis the under floor was not very high.

The floor height was also quite small in our Frankia Mercedes .

But I’ve never felt the floor bring cold in our single floor Hymer. Or our La Strada Nova Just the bits of storage that were useful in our double floors.

 

[Coolcats]

Hi, thanks. I've checked out all those models and they are what I call mobile library buses(!). I don't like that design at all. Must be van based.

I could be wrong here but van bassed have you discounted a HymerCar and this is Hymer’s definition and the industries of winterised and winter proof. If it helps.

Buying a winter-proof motorhome? This is something to consider

Winterproof vs. suitable for winter: Even if the two terms sound very similar, there are clear differences in their definition. Both designations are based on standards and can be clearly and unambiguously defined in this regard. All HYMER motorhomes are winterized when delivered from the...

www.hymer.com

 

[tonyidle]

Just barefoot?

........

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[Garry - June]

I agree chaps, what the OP desires in the way of features for full timing are best suited to A Class Motor homes.
Yes, to the unfamiliar eye, they are ugly, but calling them Library Vans, even after 4/5 years my Mrs still calls them "Bakers Vans", still does, and it still makes me laugh.
The best looking A Class for me, is The newer N&B Flair or Arto's, although we do love the new Carthago's they just cant cut the mustard looks of The N&B's, hopefully all A Classes in the future will have enhanced more slick front end looks.
Hymer's and many others are improving, its amazing how your personal taste changes after you have been in the frame for a few years, and appreciate things better.

Full timing in vans is becoming ever more popular, last figure I heard quoted somewhere suggested 20K full timing vans in the UK
This "Lifestyle" choice by many is not easy, especially in the UK with parking restrictions/costs etc, but to be off grid, most of us know that involves some serious kit to allow it to be practical, let alone possible in winter.

If it were my lifestyle choice I would be looking for the most stealth like van conversion, to blend into surroundings better, but certainly not a great big 7/8/9 mtr white/silver or gold lump tag axel, with sat dishes etc.

LES

We fulltime in our 8.4m, white, lump, tag axle, ...with sat dish... Frankia, and have done for two years now .... and wouldn't swap it for anything else... its perfect....although i may consider removing the sat dish as we don't use that much..

 

[Marian Lightfoot]

We had an Adria Vision for many years. Double floor and never felt cold even at minus 14 degrees when skiing in the Alps. Double floor great for stowing skis and loads of storage space too

 

[A S R]

I can VERY highly recommend the Burstner Elegance i821g.
Double floor, Alde heating ( fantastic ), big garage, usable cab area when parked up, superb beds at both ends, etc….
I‘ve had mine 4 years now and absolutely love it.

 

[Flairy]

We’ve been minus 20 in a Hymer 694 single floor could not keep it warm, Truman working flat out and an ebespatchper trying to help. 10 years later same place niessmann Flair double floor the only cold area the dash we sorted this with an insulated carpet curtain,The later version and Arto have radiators in the dash area.

 

[Peter and Julie]

We've got a small locker like that! We can access it from under the seat inside or through an outside door; really useful for the alcohol and the UHT milk!

Sound good for illicit sausages and bacon too!

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[Catpirate]

I love my Burstner,747, winterised and toasty warm, loads of space for bits. mine is now quite old (2003) but runs well and seems solid. I also like the look of A class MoHos, each to their own. mine is a bit big but with 5 of us and dog we need it. I think the OP should look for a MoHo within his budget and concentrate on condition rather than age, an ex rental may be in poorer condition than a one owner private purchase.

 

[Catpirate]

The Burstner has rads in the cab.

 

[Peter and Julie]

I can VERY highly recommend the Burstner Elegance i821g.
Double floor, Alde heating ( fantastic ), big garage, usable cab area when parked up, superb beds at both ends, etc….
I‘ve had mine 4 years now and absolutely love it.View attachment 543992View attachment 543993

We looked at this model, lovely looking van but ended up with a Comanche, as at the time was out of our price range! We used the Comanche throughout 2 winters, cold wasn't a problem.

 

[Catpirate]

Nice Van ASR, looks very practical and roomy

 

[Catpirate]

saw this one on the interwebnet thing may be sold though

KAL Kore

www.camperuk.co.uk

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[Fulham Dave]

We fulltime in our 8.4m, white, lump, tag axle, ...with sat dish... Frankia, and have done for two years now .... and wouldn't swap it for anything else... its perfect....although i may consider removing the sat dish as we don't use that much..

We could not agree more! We full time too in our silver, winterised, Alde heated, Dethleffs tag axle and spent lockdown last year in Cornwall and we're blissfully warm and happy!

As we have no sat dish we are fully camouflaged so I bet you cannot see 'Harlee' the van hiding behind the tree in the photo

 

[Minxy]

We could not agree more! We full time too in our silver, winterised, Alde heated, Dethleffs tag axle and spent lockdown last year in Cornwall and we're blissfully warm and happy!

As we have no sat dish we are fully camouflaged so I bet you cannot see 'Harlee' the van hiding behind the tree in the photo
View attachment 544047

That's a tree! I thought it was a large rotary drier!

 

[SheilaHandley]

Older Pilotes .. 240, 270 have massive under floor storage with access through floor hatches and external locker access. A-class is the place to be. My husband was a librarian so very happy with it!!

 

[Rob Turner]

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[A S R]

Nice Van ASR, looks very practical and roomy

Ta.
It’s just the right size for one!

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[Peter and Julie]

Ta.
It’s just the right size for one!

We have an RV with slides! It's a 2 berth if anyone asks Don't go too small.

 

[Monty777]

When I first started looking for a Motorhome I was looking at van conversions, went to see a couple and ended up at Brownhills in Newark, this was 2003. I wanted the van for me to use as a weekend home when I was racing (motorcycles) and for 2-3 week holidays. I was advised that van conversions were ok for a weekend but we would find it limiting over a longer period and advised to look at ‘A’ classes particularly the Hymer range. My comment to him was ‘but they are butt ugly’…….. we are now on our 3rd Hymer and love them.

 

[Pausim]

‘but they are butt ugly’…….. we are now on our 3rd Hymer and love them.

I have owned PVC, C Class and A Class motorhomes and it surprises me that some people see the A Class as the ugly one. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me the A Class is generally the better looking and built for purpose. PVC motorhomes can be pretty but are clearly a van with windows. C Class can look ok but appear to be a caravan built onto the back of a van, I sometimes wave to supermarket delivery vans. Perhaps I am influenced by the functionality, which is where the real beauty of a motorhome lies, none of them have the external elegance of a Ferrari.

There may come a time when I buy another PVC, for the convenience. I doubt that I will buy another C Class, partly because of the less open feel inside and partly because they are less relaxing to drive.

I also wonder where the names A and C Class came from. Perhaps the C is for coach-built but this only applies to the back end not the front. Coach-built means “having specially or individually built bodywork” which is more properly applied to the A Class. I prefer the terms Integrated (A) and Semi-Integrated (C).

Oh, and the Integrated ones are better insulated at the front end which contributes to winterisation.

 

[KimnGary]

I can VERY highly recommend the Burstner Elegance i821g.
Double floor, Alde heating ( fantastic ), big garage, usable cab area when parked up, superb beds at both ends, etc….
I‘ve had mine 4 years now and absolutely love it.View attachment 543992View attachment 543993

We are looking at full timing and need to have a moho that is warm - we want to ski/visit nordic countries...as well as warm ones. We are interested to see your comments as we were put off Burstner as we were told not all have double floors and they aren't 'proper' double floors. We cannot find any info on this ourselves. Just wondered if you could set us straight really? Thanks

 

[jongood]

We are looking at full timing and need to have a moho that is warm - we want to ski/visit nordic countries...as well as warm ones. We are interested to see your comments as we were put off Burstner as we were told not all have double floors and they aren't 'proper' double floors. We cannot find any info on this ourselves. Just wondered if you could set us straight really? Thanks

I don't know about Burstner in particular but the double floor will depend on the make and the spec level, If you want to go cold places, you probably need to add A Class, and Alde Heating to your spec and preferably double glazed cab windows.

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[Lenny HB]

All Carthago's, N&B, Frankia and more upmarket models have double floors.
The more down market ones like Hymer, Burstner etc, it will depend on a combination of things, year model, chassis etc.