Knaus BoxDrive 600XL - MAN TGE 4x4 4.180
Discussion
Well, work is slowing down a bit and having just returned from a long weekend away, the BoxDrive is high in my thoughts. It's not quite a full year (only 7months in fact) but a little round-up as we move towards the end of the calendar year!!
I bought my campervan in May this year, brand new from Premium Motorhomes in Doncaster. It wasn't 100% to my spec; it was missing Knaus Light Pack, but otherwise had most of what I was looking for, but most importantly of all, was on the 4x4 transmission and increased weight pack (3.88t). If I'd have ordered from factory, I'd have gone one step further and ordered the 4t variant with rear air suspension, but having got it on a weighbridge, I've got 500kg of payload even me in the drivers seat, full camping gear onboard and full 100l of water. Plenty for a family of four and their luggage.
I was coming straight out a T6 California Ocean, which I really hadn't gelled with over the previous 15months of ownership. Having owned motorhomes prior to that, the campervan was too much of a compromise and a recent trip in Jan 2023 to Skye for a week solo had cemented in my mind that the Cali offered me nothing more in terms of driving than the massive compromise it was for camping. It was just too cramped and compromised. I've never had any issues with size of rig when doing the NC500, SW England or Alps, nor do I have a problem locally with 2m height restrictions, so back to a full-blown van it was.
The major restriction we did have though, was the space in front of our house. Having had to put the 9m Concorde in storage, that rapidly turned into a major headache each time we had to collect it and drop it off. A 1hr return trip ate into weekends and was a major faff. We have a slightly grey area in our Deeds about what vehicles are permitted in the Estate; caravans are a no-no, as are boats and trailers. Commercial vehicles over 2.8t for the purpose of carrying tools of the trade are also banned, but to me the campervan is exempt. In spite of one neighbour who thinks it looks like an Amazon delivery vehicle (I've told him to get his eyes tested!
), it's been nothing but huge praised heaped upon the van and yet another example to me of how exciting van life is for so many people and how large swathes of the population are dreaming of owning these things but can't afford them or simply put them off.
Anyway, the purpose of this thread was more to put up some gratuitous pics of our travels. We collected it with 17miles on the clock - my newest ever vehicle. The first 1k miles was a bit of a struggle - it was very tight (mainly the auto gearbox) but it's loosened up nicely and pretty perky with 177bhp. It's not the most efficient thing - it'll do an easy 32mpg at 56mph, but that's not the point of a campervan IMO. I tend to do 60-65mph on an easy cruise when I have no time pressure (c. 28mph) but more likely just to pop it at 70mph (or 80mph when in France) and suck up the fuel economy in the mid-20's. The 4x4 system, even on summer tyres, has got me out of a few very saturated campsites where other FWD vans were being pulled out by tractors and it's very confidence inspiring to know that you're unlikely to get stuck. The MAN TGE cab, chassis and drive are impeccable and I can quite see why Peter Vaughan of MMM calls it the best base vehicle on sale currently. I love it, even being a previous Sprinter fanboy.
As a family of 3 or 4, from our base in Cambridge/Saffron Walden, we've done trips to Norfolk a few times, Canterbury, two weeks in Normandy and I've done several solo trips to Lake District (as a base for hiking & mountainbiking) and most recently, last weekend, a long weekend solo in Northumberland and N Yorks.
We had considered selling the van a few months back as we found out we were welcoming a 3rd child to our brood and the van only has belts for 4, but we have since rolled back on that idea. The rationale being - my daughter at 11yrs old is only with us 50% of the time. Both her and her younger brother (now 3) love the van and are heartbroken at the idea of it going. For the next 18months or so, with a newborn, we're unlikely to be travelling much at all anyway and perhaps it's better I take the older two for some focussed time together without their youngest sibling on occasion. We can then use it a bit like a caravan for local jaunts - it does sleep 5 - so we can take the kids in the Discovery and use the van to sleep in. Suboptimal but a solution. And then the rest of the time we can do trips with the two boys when our daughter isn't with us and most importantly.....(!).....I can still do my ad hoc solo trips.
The decision to keep it makes me so happy as this really has been the culmination of so much hard work - getting back on a good financial footing after the devastating financial impact of my divorce 6yrs ago and realising the dream of having such a lovely multi-purpose vehicle (which also serves well on the school run). If I'd have sold it, it would've been replaced with a Porsche of some kind. Equally impractical in a lot of ways, but interestingly, less exciting to me than keeping the van!
Anyway - here's some pics......if anyone has any questions on the van, please feel free to ask.......
Edited by Spuffington on Wednesday 20th December 15:33
Oh and I forgot to say - offgrid (for me at least without the kids) is of major importance. When I bought the van I had them fit a solar panel (unfortunately only managed to squeeze 100w given the size of roof and various openings), 2000w pure sine wave inverter, DC to DC charger and a 90aH LifePo4 battery. I was slightly concerned at the size of the battery (it was part of the deal with Premium) but they assured me that based upon my solo patterns of driving every day between activities or park ups, the battery would be topped up 100% and manage with heating on fulltime in winter as well as running fridge/lighting/charging etc.
It certainly did so on my most recent (cold) trip to Northumberland where the heating was on all the time. The Nespresso machine used 2-3x per day and lights from mid-afternoon through until bedtime and early in the morning again.
The only downside is that whilst the battery is then topping up, it clearly places a big load on the alternator/engine as my mpg drops through the floor when it's pulling 50amps with the initial stage of charging. I find I'm averaging 23mpg versus 32mpg for that first 20-30mins driving. However, the fact I can be so self-contained and the heating runs off the diesel tank, means I can go pretty much anywhere. And 100l of water is good enough for one person for nearly a week including showers. As usual, off gridding is limited mainly by toilet capacity, but like I've done previously, I have a spare toilet cassette in the garage so that I'm always one step ahead of having capacity before being really up against it on emptying.
It certainly did so on my most recent (cold) trip to Northumberland where the heating was on all the time. The Nespresso machine used 2-3x per day and lights from mid-afternoon through until bedtime and early in the morning again.
The only downside is that whilst the battery is then topping up, it clearly places a big load on the alternator/engine as my mpg drops through the floor when it's pulling 50amps with the initial stage of charging. I find I'm averaging 23mpg versus 32mpg for that first 20-30mins driving. However, the fact I can be so self-contained and the heating runs off the diesel tank, means I can go pretty much anywhere. And 100l of water is good enough for one person for nearly a week including showers. As usual, off gridding is limited mainly by toilet capacity, but like I've done previously, I have a spare toilet cassette in the garage so that I'm always one step ahead of having capacity before being really up against it on emptying.
C69 said:
A great-looking van.
Having owned a T6 California, did you ever consider replacing it with either of the Grand California models?
Thanks. I did indeed consider the Grand Cali - it was actually that which sent me down the track of finding this. I don’t love the look of the 600 variants of both the GC and the BoxDrive (680 looks much better resolved) but I am getting more fond of its looks over time. The thing was, we were always going to be limited to the 600 as the 680 are two or three berths at best.Having owned a T6 California, did you ever consider replacing it with either of the Grand California models?
When I looked at the GC though, I was really unimpressed with the length of the top bunks (small kids only rather than two adults in the Knaus) and the very sterile interior. I’m also not convinced on how well resolved the fit out is and how the gas and heating situation fits together.
Knaus have a really good reputation in the Motorhome world and to me that shows through versus the GC. They’re very similar layouts but the BoxDrive is that bit better resolved IMO.
Spuffington said:
It's not the most efficient thing - it'll do an easy 32mpg at 56mph, but that's not the point of a campervan IMO. I tend to do 60-65mph on an easy cruise when I have no time pressure (c. 28mph) but more likely just to pop it at 70mph (or 80mph when in France) and suck up the fuel economy in the mid-20's. [/footnote]
Why 80mph in France ? you realise its a lower limit for vans over 3.5tnne? its one of the things that put us off the larger vans. How did you get on with the tolls do the toll booths pick up that its over 3.5tnne & hit you for the higher costs?
Obviously you're right. The interesting thing is, this vehicle looks like its 3.5t sibling and only those in the know would see the 4.180 badging on the wing and understand the 4 means 4t. The usual vans are badged 3.1xx depending on PS output.
This served us both in terms of cheekily driving a bit quicker than we were allowed at times and at the toll booths. In spite of it being >3m high, we only once got charged at the higher rates. I don't know whether this is because it's short and therefore the laser measurement devices I'm led to believe there are weren't tripped at the back end. Either way, it was the perfect van for France. I'd say if you're driving a larger motorhome, it'd be more difficult to slip under the radar like this.
This served us both in terms of cheekily driving a bit quicker than we were allowed at times and at the toll booths. In spite of it being >3m high, we only once got charged at the higher rates. I don't know whether this is because it's short and therefore the laser measurement devices I'm led to believe there are weren't tripped at the back end. Either way, it was the perfect van for France. I'd say if you're driving a larger motorhome, it'd be more difficult to slip under the radar like this.
Letstryadifferentcareveryyear said:
How did you get on with the tolls do the toll booths pick up that its over 3.5tnne & hit you for the higher costs?
We are close to 5t and use a Bip&Go tag and have never had a problem. I'm sure if there are many/any actual weighing places at the toll booths tbh.Gassing Station | Tents, Caravans & Motorhomes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff