best brand of Motor homes.

Bytheway

Is there such a thing in the camper world as good brands and bad brands ?
I see Fiat and Hymer branded a lot.
Can anybody recommend a reliable 3 -4 berth camper ?
Is there a brand that could be compared to Honda or Toyota (cars), that they are reliable even after 10 years ?

peasant

No such thing I'm afraid.

For the base vehicles you can spend a few rainy weekends on websites like "What van" and such and get a bit of an idea of what's good and what's not so good.

The conversions on the other hand are all handbuilt by more or less motivated workers and the quality can vary largley within the same brand.

Over the last few years the market very much ran away with itself and there were new models and designs every year, hastily nailed together and hardly tried and tested.

I'm on a large German motorhome forum and some of the faults and shoddy build that are found on brandnew motorhomes (across all brands) are unbelievable, some owners spend months and x trips to the dealer to get it put right. Yet the next guy bought the exact same motorhome and has no issues whatsoever ...once again across all brands.

Wide open eyes and no impulse buying ...that's all I can advise really.

On second hand motorhomes a lot also hinges on what level of care the previous owner(s) put into their vehicle.

stapeler

Traditionally Fiat Ducato has always had a good reputation, I'm on my second one and haven't had a fault yet. Fiat have a newish 2.3L engine which is powerful and very economical.
Hymer over the years have always had a good reputation with excellent build quality. Knaus would also be considered a good manufacturer. The Germans in my opinion build the better motorhomes.
As reguards a recommendation, depends on budget and age but I'm tempted to say a Hymer 524 or Hymer Swing 544.

3ps

Knaus have shut down.

Hymer are good but their designs tend to not be family friendly and are more suited to couples.

I think I would only ever buy a German brand TBH.

stapeler

3ps wrote: »

Knaus have shut down.

Knaus still going, they were taken over recently.

KoNiT

Can anybody recommend a reliable 3 -4 berth camper ?

Most Campers are fiat based, nothing wrong with that, the vans drive forever.

Could do with more info tbh...

3-4 berth for couple? or family with 1-2 kids - ages?
How much money do you want to depart with?
How big or long do you want it to be?
Also what are you looking for in the camper?

• Bunk Beds << younger kids won't mind a sharing a double bed?
• U Lounge or Garage?
• A Class or C class (Alcove)
• Basement:eek:

or what are you not wanting?

Come back with more info & we'll see what we can do as different makes can cater for different styles of life..

parkmoy

Traditionally Fiat Ducato has always had a good reputation, I'm on my second one and haven't had a fault yet. Fiat have a newish 2.3L engine which is powerful and very economical.

Until, that is, you try to reverse it uphill when it judders, burns out clutches and wrecks gearboxes.

Have a read of http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=12560&posts=998 if you like horror stories.

Bytheway

Ya i didn't give much detail.
Ideally, a camper for adults as Ihave no kids yet. Nothing to large as the Irish roads aren't very friendly to long wide loads. Used 90% of time by couple but would like the space to fit an extra adult if possible.
Ideally diesel with toilet/shower and a double bed.
Table for eating and drinking, cooker, fridge and front seats that twist around 180 degree to provide more seating would be a nice touch
Price under 25k, reliability and holding value a must.

KoNiT wrote: »

Most Campers are fiat based, nothing wrong with that, the vans drive forever.

Could do with more info tbh...

3-4 berth for couple? or family with 1-2 kids - ages?
How much money do you want to depart with?
How big or long do you want it to be?
Also what are you looking for in the camper?

• Bunk Beds << younger kids won't mind a sharing a double bed?
• U Lounge or Garage?
• A Class or C class (Alcove)
• Basement:eek:

or what are you not wanting?

Come back with more info & we'll see what we can do as different makes can cater for different styles of life..

stapeler

parkmoy wrote: »

Until, that is, you try to reverse it uphill when it judders, burns out clutches and wrecks gearboxes.

Have a read of http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=12560&posts=998 if you like horror stories.

It still wouldn't put me off Fiat. Some vehicles affected and problem is possibly exaggerated a bit. I'm sure the problem will be resolved at some point. Personally I'm not one for reversing uphill on a daily basis.

parkmoy

It still wouldn't put me off Fiat. Some vehicles affected and problem is possibly exaggerated a bit. I'm sure the problem will be resolved at some point. Personally I'm not one for reversing uphill on a daily basis.

You pays your money and you takes your chances:D By the sound of it, it doesn't take much reversing to burn the clutch out. Lots of owners don't want to admit to the problem because they're worried about the effect on their resale value, but now that Fiat are reluctantly admitting a problem they're starting to come forward to register a problem. Of course it's not just motorhomes affected. Commercials on that platform have the same problem.

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole until the problem is sorted which, the way things are going, might be some time. I would urge anyone thinking of buying a Fiat with the 2.3 engine to read the thread before deciding to buy. It could save them a lot of grief.

SHIFTER

I LOOKED AROUND ALOT OF MH THE BEST I FOUND TO BE WAS THE FIAT DUCATO 2.8 JTD SWIFT KONTIKI 645

ianobrien

parkmoy wrote: »

You pays your money and you takes your chances:D By the sound of it, it doesn't take much reversing to burn the clutch out. Lots of owners don't want to admit to the problem because they're worried about the effect on their resale value, but now that Fiat are reluctantly admitting a problem they're starting to come forward to register a problem. Of course it's not just motorhomes affected. Commercials on that platform have the same problem.

I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole until the problem is sorted which, the way things are going, might be some time. I would urge anyone thinking of buying a Fiat with the 2.3 engine to read the thread before deciding to buy. It could save them a lot of grief.

The problem is that Fiat had a lower reverse gear available as an option, and manufacturers didn't specify it when ordering chassis for conversion (to reduce costs)

I was talking to my local Fiat Mechanic who told me this. He also reckons that the 2.3 is underpowered for the larger vans, and he also says that he HATES A-Classes with a passion, as they're a disaster to service due to poor access.

yardeyar

Hi we've had two A class Rapidos and I think there an excellent van, first one was on a Fiat 2.8 and present one is on a Fiat 3.0, its very lively for a motorhome. Good luck. YEAH!

denisor

Rapido also do A class on the Mercedes Sprinter Chassis ......

Bessa

Hi you asked about the best type of Motorhome, it depends whether you want to ride around in a mobile coffin , that is what i call the interior of some Motorhomes. I personally like a bright interior, which you will find in the Swift Motorhome group. Take a look at their web site.