MAN/Crafter & Sprinter Campers
Discussion
Bit of a thread resurrection, but given I couldn’t find much info on these, thought I would post that I’ve just paid a deposit on a brand new Knaus Boxdrive 600XL on the MAN TGE 4.180 4x4 chassis, which im collecting next week.
Went to see it for the first time last week and was delighted with the build quality and fit & finish of Hab area but also the quality of the MAN TGE cab.
We’re coming from a T6 California which was too much of a compromise for camping following my previous experience of owning and living in a Concorde Charisma. That said, we wanted to keep this van on the drive so had to compromise on length as well given it will be used occasionally as a second car.
Think all in all it’s a good package for us and can’t wait to take delivery. Also because it’s the first time I’ve ever bought a brand new vehicle!
Did consider a Hymer Grand Canyon S as I like Sprinter chassis but one of the other issues with the Cali was the pop top and how compromising that is in winter or during bad weather or wild camping if needing to make a swift exit. Prefer having the family under one (non-canvas) roof, warm, dry and safe.
Went to see it for the first time last week and was delighted with the build quality and fit & finish of Hab area but also the quality of the MAN TGE cab.
We’re coming from a T6 California which was too much of a compromise for camping following my previous experience of owning and living in a Concorde Charisma. That said, we wanted to keep this van on the drive so had to compromise on length as well given it will be used occasionally as a second car.
Think all in all it’s a good package for us and can’t wait to take delivery. Also because it’s the first time I’ve ever bought a brand new vehicle!
Did consider a Hymer Grand Canyon S as I like Sprinter chassis but one of the other issues with the Cali was the pop top and how compromising that is in winter or during bad weather or wild camping if needing to make a swift exit. Prefer having the family under one (non-canvas) roof, warm, dry and safe.
Edited by Spuffington on Tuesday 16th May 17:29
Spuffington said:
Bit of a thread resurrection, but given I couldn’t find much info on these, thought I would post that I’ve just paid a deposit on a brand new Knaus Boxdrive 600XL on the MAN TGE 4.180 4x4 chassis, which im collecting next week.
The new van looks great Spuffington - congrats!I plan to retire by the end of the year and then want to buy a motorhome or campervan to go travelling into Europe (predictable, I know
) so I've been reading a LOT of threads in this section of PH. I've obviously seen your epic threads about living in the Hymer and then swapping to the Concorde which you said was a lot to do with it's better winterisation. I know you're not living in your new campervan but I wondered what you thought about campervans in the colder months compared to motorhomes? As someone who's 'been there, done that' do you think it's worth considering a campervan if I'm planning to go into Europe during winter? I do like the compactness of a campervan (it's just me and a couple of dogs) and all of the benefits that go along with that but I don't like the thought of potentially freezing my tits off when not hooked up so a small, well winterised motorhome is more sensible?
Bought a Boxdrive from the same dealer beginning of March, I came from a Corinium Duo, was a superb drive back down to deepest rural Essex, so much better than the drive up in the Peugeot based Duo.
I have put a Gaslow cylinder in mine with a very discreet external filler, I've also fitted a couple of Avtex smart TV's and a method of holding my Coopop (small electric monkey style bike) in the back whilst travelling.
I'm also going to fit a Thule rail on the drivers side (attached to the sill so I can fit a Thule Windslip to stop our two dogs from getting under the vehicle when we are parked up.
I have put a Gaslow cylinder in mine with a very discreet external filler, I've also fitted a couple of Avtex smart TV's and a method of holding my Coopop (small electric monkey style bike) in the back whilst travelling.
I'm also going to fit a Thule rail on the drivers side (attached to the sill so I can fit a Thule Windslip to stop our two dogs from getting under the vehicle when we are parked up.
@nagsheadwarrior - thanks mate. Looking forward
to this one. I pretty much stumbled upon the van whilst looking at Grand Californias. Much prefer the fit & finish and quality of this over the VW.
@mids - difficult one that. I’ve heard that PVC’s, although warm enough, tend to have some surprises below the trim. Particularly behind the rear doors where even Hymer it seems doesn’t insulate the rear doors on the Grand Canyon. Ive read the Knaus is only “rated” down to minus 10. I think that test is the ability to hold +20degs in the hab area at that temperature. Either way, it’s the coldest
I would ever consider doing these days. And I’m sure with the blown air heating, it would feel less than perfectly comfortable.
The best insulated tend to be A Classes and those with double floors (most these days IMO but Nagsheadwarrior will know better than I).
All vans are compromises. I’d love another Concorde and it’s pains me that my £100k would buy me a nice used example but we simply don’t have the space to store it and got fed up with storage yards an hours round trip away. The Knaus is hopefully going to be great for spontaneous trips away for 2-3 days but if I were living in a van, I’d want slightly more space. Pushing 7m in all honesty. But depends how hardy you are and how much time you think you’ll be spending in it rather than being out and about.
Those are my initial thoughts.
@wilksy61 - I have to say I’m getting very excited about the trip back to Essex in our case too (Saffron Walden for us). Collection confirmed for Thursday next week. Booked to go to the Norfolk Coast for BH weekend, then Kelling Heath the following weekend and wife has just told me she’s away the weekend after that so I’ll drag the kids out for another trip with me then! Can’t wait.
We’ve booked an AirBnB for a week in August near Caen so now decided to spend a couple of days each end of that week camping along the coast before getting to Normandy. Going to be cool!
to this one. I pretty much stumbled upon the van whilst looking at Grand Californias. Much prefer the fit & finish and quality of this over the VW.
@mids - difficult one that. I’ve heard that PVC’s, although warm enough, tend to have some surprises below the trim. Particularly behind the rear doors where even Hymer it seems doesn’t insulate the rear doors on the Grand Canyon. Ive read the Knaus is only “rated” down to minus 10. I think that test is the ability to hold +20degs in the hab area at that temperature. Either way, it’s the coldest
I would ever consider doing these days. And I’m sure with the blown air heating, it would feel less than perfectly comfortable.
The best insulated tend to be A Classes and those with double floors (most these days IMO but Nagsheadwarrior will know better than I).
All vans are compromises. I’d love another Concorde and it’s pains me that my £100k would buy me a nice used example but we simply don’t have the space to store it and got fed up with storage yards an hours round trip away. The Knaus is hopefully going to be great for spontaneous trips away for 2-3 days but if I were living in a van, I’d want slightly more space. Pushing 7m in all honesty. But depends how hardy you are and how much time you think you’ll be spending in it rather than being out and about.
Those are my initial thoughts.
@wilksy61 - I have to say I’m getting very excited about the trip back to Essex in our case too (Saffron Walden for us). Collection confirmed for Thursday next week. Booked to go to the Norfolk Coast for BH weekend, then Kelling Heath the following weekend and wife has just told me she’s away the weekend after that so I’ll drag the kids out for another trip with me then! Can’t wait.
We’ve booked an AirBnB for a week in August near Caen so now decided to spend a couple of days each end of that week camping along the coast before getting to Normandy. Going to be cool!
Congratulations. We're considering a selling our T6 conversion for a similar van. Something that can live on the drive and be used occasionally for family duties when not camping. We took a look around the Grand California last week and liked the layout and size although not the £94k price of that one!
Have you got any interior shot of yours? I'm off to google now...
Have you got any interior shot of yours? I'm off to google now...
I’m afraid the pricing isn’t too far off. I’ve just dropped £97 big ones on this incl the uprated electrics for offgridding and some TransporterHQ headlights. Like everything currently, they’re not cheap.
I was going for factory order one but Premium can’t guarantee prices for next year and dealers only get small allocations so prices will continue to rise.
Harbour Creek has a couple but only on 3.5t (but can be uprated).
A few pics..
[url]
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/bkDm6VXB.jpg[/img]|https://thumbsnap.com/bkDm6VXB[/url] <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/epBbggz2" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/epBbggz2.jpg)
I was going for factory order one but Premium can’t guarantee prices for next year and dealers only get small allocations so prices will continue to rise.
Harbour Creek has a couple but only on 3.5t (but can be uprated).
A few pics..
[url]
Edited by Spuffington on Thursday 18th May 10:32
Wildax have just shown off their new Altair RS on the MAN TGE. Diesel heating/hot water and induction hob i.e. no gas at all. Possibly over-selling the MAN comparing it to a S-Class
https://youtu.be/rSUWIl9YmC0
https://youtu.be/rSUWIl9YmC0
I agree, comparing it to an S class is a bit far-fetched, but after nearly 400miles under its wheels, I can say the TGE is a pretty amazing machine. I've always been a Merc Sprinter fanboy as far as motorhomes are concerned, but this vehicle is superb. I picked it up with 17miles on the clock and it was tighter than a tight thing. The engine didn't want to rev and the auto gearbox was reluctant to do anything other than mooch in 3-8th gear. But with a few miles now under its belt, it's loosening up and is a very comfortable, refined and capable tourer. The steering is very direct without being twitchy and the suspension seems to soak up the bumps but remain firm enough that cornering isn't some terrifying affair. It's very compliant, not shuddery like the Ducato or soft and wallowy like the Sprinter can be at times. So far averaging 28mpg which isn't bad given it's AWD, still running in and will ultimately weigh close to 3.9t all up.
On the hab side, one big disappointment - the Truma heater packed up on the very first test of it when back home. It was working on EHU the dealer, but proceeded to throw multiple fault codes whilst the diesel pump sounded like a machine gun going off. It eventually lunched itself and locked itself out. Truma have provided a replacement unit to Premium and I will be taking the van back up there next week for it to be fitted. In the meantime, we stayed on EHU at West Runton campsite for the weekend and used a small Kamper 1 and 2kW fan heater to keep warm when needed and will be doing the same in Canterbury this weekend for another trip away.
It's obviously still a small van in terms of footprint, so storage is a bit of an issue. However, the fact you can use cubbyholes above the lockers for additional storage of soft items is very clever and we managed to pack everything we needed for the weekend away including some very bulky kiddy gear like framed rucksack in which to carry my 2yr old on hikes. The only thing we need to do is to think out the garage storage better so as to organise the things we need potentially in the rest of the van at certain times but then store away under the bed when not needed. Otherwise love it. Can't wait to get the boiler fixed so we can venture a bit more offgrid.
A few upgrades we're looking at - it's missing the Lighting Pack to give us subtle LED strip lights for indirect lighting. Thinking of getting the dealer to retrofit. It also astonishingly came without locking wheelnuts, so they're en route to me. I took delivery of a set of genuine MAN TGE (or Crafter) rubber cab floormats and fitted those this morning. I'm upgrading the appalling fabric concertina windscreen cover with a Remis V proper framed and built in unit, which should be arriving soon - £500 is not cheap but at least will match the side windows. Then there's the LED headlights from TransporterHQ which Premium couldn't get to work. I've got my local Auto Electrician coming soon to sort those out. Hate the look of the halogens and even less impressed with the idea of using them during evening drives. Otherwise it's just optimising storage and getting out and using it!
On the hab side, one big disappointment - the Truma heater packed up on the very first test of it when back home. It was working on EHU the dealer, but proceeded to throw multiple fault codes whilst the diesel pump sounded like a machine gun going off. It eventually lunched itself and locked itself out. Truma have provided a replacement unit to Premium and I will be taking the van back up there next week for it to be fitted. In the meantime, we stayed on EHU at West Runton campsite for the weekend and used a small Kamper 1 and 2kW fan heater to keep warm when needed and will be doing the same in Canterbury this weekend for another trip away.
It's obviously still a small van in terms of footprint, so storage is a bit of an issue. However, the fact you can use cubbyholes above the lockers for additional storage of soft items is very clever and we managed to pack everything we needed for the weekend away including some very bulky kiddy gear like framed rucksack in which to carry my 2yr old on hikes. The only thing we need to do is to think out the garage storage better so as to organise the things we need potentially in the rest of the van at certain times but then store away under the bed when not needed. Otherwise love it. Can't wait to get the boiler fixed so we can venture a bit more offgrid.
A few upgrades we're looking at - it's missing the Lighting Pack to give us subtle LED strip lights for indirect lighting. Thinking of getting the dealer to retrofit. It also astonishingly came without locking wheelnuts, so they're en route to me. I took delivery of a set of genuine MAN TGE (or Crafter) rubber cab floormats and fitted those this morning. I'm upgrading the appalling fabric concertina windscreen cover with a Remis V proper framed and built in unit, which should be arriving soon - £500 is not cheap but at least will match the side windows. Then there's the LED headlights from TransporterHQ which Premium couldn't get to work. I've got my local Auto Electrician coming soon to sort those out. Hate the look of the halogens and even less impressed with the idea of using them during evening drives. Otherwise it's just optimising storage and getting out and using it!
Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 31st May 17:03
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