Buy a Hymer, they said...
Discussion
..Cobblers, I said. How much better can they really be?
We're taking next year off to go fulltime travelling, UK and europe. We had looked at all sorts of motorhomes, and had settled on a 2003-06 model AutoTrail Chieftain. Exactly the layout we wanted and seemed fairly sturdy and the stock seems generally well looked after. Looked at a few, almost bought one. I honestly couldn't understand how something could be better quality than this.
Then we looked at a 2004 Hymer B774 yesterday.
My word. When people say that you should look at the top end Euro makes, especially Hymer, over a British built motorhome; they really do mean it. I hadn't grasped just how much better it could be. The quality of materials, the fit and finish is just exceptional. This one has been well used but it's practically brand new compared to an AutoTrail of the same age. It's like every component has been picked out of the other end of the catalogue price list compared to what AutoTrail use.
So, somewhat unsurprisingly we're now the owners (well, deposit down) of a rather rare RHD low garage, no front bed, Hymer B774.
There's a few jobs to do, mainly converting the rear single beds into a double, but that doesn't look especially difficult. I'm not dead keen on how low the front suspension sits so it might get treated to a set of stronger springs. Also the fresh tank level sensor is duff.
We'll also get the weight plated up to 4850kg which is apparently just a paperwork exercise for one of these. It's 3900kg "empty" now according to the seller, weighed with 1/4 tank of fuel, no water, but garage full of the tables, chairs, ramps etc that stay in it.
We're taking next year off to go fulltime travelling, UK and europe. We had looked at all sorts of motorhomes, and had settled on a 2003-06 model AutoTrail Chieftain. Exactly the layout we wanted and seemed fairly sturdy and the stock seems generally well looked after. Looked at a few, almost bought one. I honestly couldn't understand how something could be better quality than this.
Then we looked at a 2004 Hymer B774 yesterday.
My word. When people say that you should look at the top end Euro makes, especially Hymer, over a British built motorhome; they really do mean it. I hadn't grasped just how much better it could be. The quality of materials, the fit and finish is just exceptional. This one has been well used but it's practically brand new compared to an AutoTrail of the same age. It's like every component has been picked out of the other end of the catalogue price list compared to what AutoTrail use.
So, somewhat unsurprisingly we're now the owners (well, deposit down) of a rather rare RHD low garage, no front bed, Hymer B774.
There's a few jobs to do, mainly converting the rear single beds into a double, but that doesn't look especially difficult. I'm not dead keen on how low the front suspension sits so it might get treated to a set of stronger springs. Also the fresh tank level sensor is duff.
We'll also get the weight plated up to 4850kg which is apparently just a paperwork exercise for one of these. It's 3900kg "empty" now according to the seller, weighed with 1/4 tank of fuel, no water, but garage full of the tables, chairs, ramps etc that stay in it.
Sale is still in progress (service, MOT etc), so I'll spill the beans price wise once it's safely on my drive.
I'm pondering a blog type thing, so here may well be the easiest way of doing that. I don't care for a lot of PH these days but this little corner of it seems really rather pleasant, and a damn sight nicer than most dedicated motorhome forums.
Here's a few pretty rubbish inside photos from the original advert. I'll get some better ones once it's home.
I'm pondering a blog type thing, so here may well be the easiest way of doing that. I don't care for a lot of PH these days but this little corner of it seems really rather pleasant, and a damn sight nicer than most dedicated motorhome forums.
Here's a few pretty rubbish inside photos from the original advert. I'll get some better ones once it's home.
It's a compromise. To have enough space to not go insane, we might not be able to get down some tiny lane or through some narrow village. We should be able to get to most places though. If we can't get somewhere then we'll stop where we can and walk or cycle up to wherever.
There seem to be cutoffs for various things at 6 and 8 metres. That's an advantage of this over the AutoTrail as it's 7.7m rather than 8.4 which should save us a lot on ferries. The double axle restriction mostly affects caravans not motorhomes.
Plenty of people could do this in a VW camper, but that's just not us.
We also needed to consider that we'll be living our normal life in the UK in this for a good 6-8 months in total either side of being away (6 weeks before, and long enough to find and buy a house afterwards), so a bit more space will really help.
There seem to be cutoffs for various things at 6 and 8 metres. That's an advantage of this over the AutoTrail as it's 7.7m rather than 8.4 which should save us a lot on ferries. The double axle restriction mostly affects caravans not motorhomes.
Plenty of people could do this in a VW camper, but that's just not us.
We also needed to consider that we'll be living our normal life in the UK in this for a good 6-8 months in total either side of being away (6 weeks before, and long enough to find and buy a house afterwards), so a bit more space will really help.
Well it's here. Got dropped off yesterday. Got it levelled up on the drive and have started attacking the jobs list today.
First job is to empty out all the kit it came with. The previous owners have left all their camping gear in it, which is mostly great, but we'll have a good go through it all and get shot of the things we've already got or just don't need.
Next up is the fresh water level sensor. What an utter b
d of a job this is. An incredibly tight plastic nut inside the tank, that took me the best part of an hour to get undone and off the threads. Sadly it doesn't look to be a nice easy "just descale the sensor" fix, so I'll be trying to get hold of another one. No so easy when there's absolutely nothing on the sensor in the way of a part number.
Noticed there's no 12v to the fridge today. This worked when we bought it, so hopefully shouldn't be too hard to fix.
First job is to empty out all the kit it came with. The previous owners have left all their camping gear in it, which is mostly great, but we'll have a good go through it all and get shot of the things we've already got or just don't need.
Next up is the fresh water level sensor. What an utter b
d of a job this is. An incredibly tight plastic nut inside the tank, that took me the best part of an hour to get undone and off the threads. Sadly it doesn't look to be a nice easy "just descale the sensor" fix, so I'll be trying to get hold of another one. No so easy when there's absolutely nothing on the sensor in the way of a part number.Noticed there's no 12v to the fridge today. This worked when we bought it, so hopefully shouldn't be too hard to fix.
Given the choice, I'd have Mercedes. But there isn't really a choice. You choose the layout and size you want and the base van is dictated by that. There's nothing really wrong with the Fiat vans. At least I wont spend my entire time worrying about the injector seals.
We wanted something big so it's tag axle Fiat, or nothing; or something utterly ridiculous like an S820 (which manage to feel tiny inside despite being huge).
We wanted something big so it's tag axle Fiat, or nothing; or something utterly ridiculous like an S820 (which manage to feel tiny inside despite being huge).
Meanwhile, back in the studio.
We've got our teeth well into the bed conversion. We're going for a plywood base rather than slats, mainly as it's much easier and also a lot cheaper. We've been told to be concerned about condensation, but I'm not entirely sure that'll be a problem as the garage below is heated, and the boiler is under the front side of the bed too.
If need be I can always get my hole saw kit out and put a few vents in the base.
Got hold of some genuiine pleather, to cover a plywood sheet headboard in roughly the same colour as the leather of the rest of the furniture.
We're going to be reusing the single mattresses transverse to form the top two thirds of the bed. The hymer mattresses are quite nice, foam outer with spring inner. Then we will get a block of mattress foam to make up the foot end, and a few inch slab of memory foam to go over the whole thing.
Then we'll end up with a bed slightly over 2m x 2.1m. Aside from being lovely, it's also quite practical as it enables us to sleep in any direction to suit whatever slope we might be on (you can't level out on some municipal parking abroad).
We'll need to do some reconstruction on the overhead lockers, as the wardrobe in between the two singles was structural, but that looks simple enough.
The hardest thing of this whole lot has been making it all reversable for when we come to sell it on. It may well as-is but we'll need to offer a refit of the single beds as an option.
A few other jobs around the place, new fresh tank sensor, a few new cupboard hinges. New TV bracket to get it out of the way of the sofa.
Had a chap round to give it a habitation check (it's not had one for ages). All declared fine, no damp (despite my several dreams about it being damp). Only real problem is some really crappy hose routing on the AluGas that's led to the filler hose perishing on a really tight turn.
So, a trip to Dave Newell booked in for next month. A huge jobs list; Cambelt, Aux Belt, Brake Fluid, Gearbox Oil. Plus a load of hab side things. He's very well recommended and surprisingly reasonable on price.
Next step is my class C test next week, so maybe this thing might leave the driveway sometime soon.
We've got our teeth well into the bed conversion. We're going for a plywood base rather than slats, mainly as it's much easier and also a lot cheaper. We've been told to be concerned about condensation, but I'm not entirely sure that'll be a problem as the garage below is heated, and the boiler is under the front side of the bed too.
If need be I can always get my hole saw kit out and put a few vents in the base.
Got hold of some genuiine pleather, to cover a plywood sheet headboard in roughly the same colour as the leather of the rest of the furniture.
We're going to be reusing the single mattresses transverse to form the top two thirds of the bed. The hymer mattresses are quite nice, foam outer with spring inner. Then we will get a block of mattress foam to make up the foot end, and a few inch slab of memory foam to go over the whole thing.
Then we'll end up with a bed slightly over 2m x 2.1m. Aside from being lovely, it's also quite practical as it enables us to sleep in any direction to suit whatever slope we might be on (you can't level out on some municipal parking abroad).
We'll need to do some reconstruction on the overhead lockers, as the wardrobe in between the two singles was structural, but that looks simple enough.
The hardest thing of this whole lot has been making it all reversable for when we come to sell it on. It may well as-is but we'll need to offer a refit of the single beds as an option.
A few other jobs around the place, new fresh tank sensor, a few new cupboard hinges. New TV bracket to get it out of the way of the sofa.
Had a chap round to give it a habitation check (it's not had one for ages). All declared fine, no damp (despite my several dreams about it being damp). Only real problem is some really crappy hose routing on the AluGas that's led to the filler hose perishing on a really tight turn.
So, a trip to Dave Newell booked in for next month. A huge jobs list; Cambelt, Aux Belt, Brake Fluid, Gearbox Oil. Plus a load of hab side things. He's very well recommended and surprisingly reasonable on price.
Next step is my class C test next week, so maybe this thing might leave the driveway sometime soon.
Also, now we've emptied all the stuff out of the lockers; I'm taking the 3900 running weight with a big pinch of salt. We filled two whole rooms in our house with the things that were in this. Tables, chairs, crockery, awning curtains, things we weren't entirely sure what they were. All sorts of.... STUFF.
I suspect we've shaved a good 150KG off the starting weight just by moving on the things we won't want to take.
I suspect we've shaved a good 150KG off the starting weight just by moving on the things we won't want to take.
Yes, even on our relatively well kept example, there's an awful lot of bits and pieces that need fixing if you want it to be 100%. Put new hinges on a couple of the cabinet doors this week, also fixed a broken window handle.
Iv'e stripped out all the extra 12v lighting as I wasn't too keen on the workmanship. It's not dangerous in any way, just a bit strange in how it's been done, and I'd like to do it properly. I've ordered a load of LED rope light to go above the cupboards all round the lounge and bedroom. I'm surprised how poor the lighting is in this, even with a few added extras.
Got the roof clean today:
(spot the installer who didn't want to cut the satellite cable to length)
Also repainted the satellite dish with some leftover BMW spraypaint:
Tomorrow's task is to clean, polish and wax the whole thing. It's a bit dull and streaky at the moment, plus I'm hoping that a good coat of wax will make it easier to clean while we're away.
Iv'e stripped out all the extra 12v lighting as I wasn't too keen on the workmanship. It's not dangerous in any way, just a bit strange in how it's been done, and I'd like to do it properly. I've ordered a load of LED rope light to go above the cupboards all round the lounge and bedroom. I'm surprised how poor the lighting is in this, even with a few added extras.
Got the roof clean today:
(spot the installer who didn't want to cut the satellite cable to length)
Also repainted the satellite dish with some leftover BMW spraypaint:
Tomorrow's task is to clean, polish and wax the whole thing. It's a bit dull and streaky at the moment, plus I'm hoping that a good coat of wax will make it easier to clean while we're away.
Rewe said:
Wow, good job on the satellite dish!
Mine's the white one. Previous owners got it painted in Morocco, but frankly having a sattelite dish at all is a bit OTT for me, let alone one with a massive bloke painted on it. If it was just the desert scene, I'd've been tempted to keep it but back to standard it went.
So, what's new?
I passed my class C (rigid HGV) license last week. MUCH harder than I expected, but only got 6 minors on the test so I'm happy with that. As usual the hardest thing is just driving "properly" again, rather than actually driving the truck itself.
So that meant that Saturday was roadtrip day. It's not really in a state to go and stay in overnight at the moment, my wife is in the middle of refurbishing all the blinds, so other than the front screen there's no window coverings at all right now.
First off we took it to the local skip hire place to get it weighed. Comes out at 3820KG all in, with 1/3 tank of fuel, 170KG of humans, and no water. That's with a 4500KG maximum. 1740KG of that is on the front axle which leaves us 90KG off the axle limit, so we'll need to keep an eye on that. As we load the garage it should take the weight off the front though.
The rest of the day was a couple of hour round trip to Malvern to a caravan bits shop to get a folding table to replace the ridiculous fitted table in the lounge.
The motorhome drives really nicely. WAY better than I expected, rides OK despite being on standard springs. Surprisingly nippy (there's a mystery "ecu chip" in the history), and handles really quite nicely.
The clutch is a bit elderly though. It's not slipping yet, but it's biting really high and just feels like it's on its last legs. We'll get that done before we go away.
Next up is to refit all the restrung, redyed blinds which are a real surprise. It's taken her ages but my wife's done a great job on them for the price of some new string and a bottle of fabric dye. A couple of them are like new almost, and the others are a lot less knackered than they were.
We're replacing the bedroom skylight with a miniHeki as the existing one is crap and the sealant is shot.
I've fitted a load of LED rope light around the lounge. Daylight in the gap between the top lockers and the ceiling, and warm white under the top lockers. I'll wire these in at the weekend, now I'm acquainted with the bonkers wiring colours (12v live=blue neutral=brown).
Exchanged contracts on the house today. No going back now!
I passed my class C (rigid HGV) license last week. MUCH harder than I expected, but only got 6 minors on the test so I'm happy with that. As usual the hardest thing is just driving "properly" again, rather than actually driving the truck itself.
So that meant that Saturday was roadtrip day. It's not really in a state to go and stay in overnight at the moment, my wife is in the middle of refurbishing all the blinds, so other than the front screen there's no window coverings at all right now.
First off we took it to the local skip hire place to get it weighed. Comes out at 3820KG all in, with 1/3 tank of fuel, 170KG of humans, and no water. That's with a 4500KG maximum. 1740KG of that is on the front axle which leaves us 90KG off the axle limit, so we'll need to keep an eye on that. As we load the garage it should take the weight off the front though.
The rest of the day was a couple of hour round trip to Malvern to a caravan bits shop to get a folding table to replace the ridiculous fitted table in the lounge.
The motorhome drives really nicely. WAY better than I expected, rides OK despite being on standard springs. Surprisingly nippy (there's a mystery "ecu chip" in the history), and handles really quite nicely.
The clutch is a bit elderly though. It's not slipping yet, but it's biting really high and just feels like it's on its last legs. We'll get that done before we go away.
Next up is to refit all the restrung, redyed blinds which are a real surprise. It's taken her ages but my wife's done a great job on them for the price of some new string and a bottle of fabric dye. A couple of them are like new almost, and the others are a lot less knackered than they were.
We're replacing the bedroom skylight with a miniHeki as the existing one is crap and the sealant is shot.
I've fitted a load of LED rope light around the lounge. Daylight in the gap between the top lockers and the ceiling, and warm white under the top lockers. I'll wire these in at the weekend, now I'm acquainted with the bonkers wiring colours (12v live=blue neutral=brown).
Exchanged contracts on the house today. No going back now!
Bit of lighting done this afternoon. The more I work on the 12v electrics, the more I want to just rip out every non-factory piece of electrics. It's all just so badly done. I replaced the internals a strip light with LEDs today, and the cables to the light had red as neutral and black as live. Lots of other nasties around the place, nothing dangerous; but not done properly which seems a shame given how well this thing is made from the factory.
Right then, you want pictures? Here goes.
On the day it arrived, looking oddly dorky sat on the drive:
It is almost as wide as the house...
Some progress shots of converting it from old fogey spec into Bigger-Than-Super-Kingsize spec:
First proper bit of duff Hymer design, heater under the bed. Should make for a nice peaceful time...
We have since finished the bed, but no photos yet as my phone is flat out on strike now. I'll fire up the tablet and get something taken soon.
On the day it arrived, looking oddly dorky sat on the drive:
It is almost as wide as the house...
Some progress shots of converting it from old fogey spec into Bigger-Than-Super-Kingsize spec:
First proper bit of duff Hymer design, heater under the bed. Should make for a nice peaceful time...
We have since finished the bed, but no photos yet as my phone is flat out on strike now. I'll fire up the tablet and get something taken soon.
AND FINALLY!
You know that bodgetastic wiring I mentioned? Well...
As I found it:
Yeah, let's just open the crimp terminal, jam this extra wiring in and put the terminal back in the plug.
Yes, that's brown and earth colours for the 12v feed, white and white-with-red-tape for the lights. Oh and it was all stuck down with silver duct tape which had in no way turned into a slimy manky mess.
You know that bodgetastic wiring I mentioned? Well...
As I found it:
Yeah, let's just open the crimp terminal, jam this extra wiring in and put the terminal back in the plug.
Yes, that's brown and earth colours for the 12v feed, white and white-with-red-tape for the lights. Oh and it was all stuck down with silver duct tape which had in no way turned into a slimy manky mess.
V40TC said:
Any Pictures of the Table you chose ?
Just a bog standard folding one for now:https://www.caravanstuff4u.co.uk/furnitures/3601-q...
V40TC said:
Bed base I would recommend some ventilation holes in the Ply to avoid any sweating and damp build up.
We've got a layer of space fabric under the mattress, which should hopefully provide some ventilation. If it gets really bad then we'll put some holes in the ply too. http://www.baltex.co.uk/spacerfabrics/
House sale completes on Friday. No going back now.
Not a great deal has changed on the Hymer itself. Had a trip up to Dave Newell for a lot less of the to-do list than I was expecting. Still, it had all the belts, brake fluid, gearbox oil changed; and the AL-KO axles greased and the fridge serviced. Oh, and the dreadful bolt on DRLs taken off too. The air filter was replaced too as it was minging, despite it having had a service before I bought it. A quick insight into the previous maintenance regime there I think.
The only mechanical thing left is the seized bonnet pull cable, but TravelWorld don't stock it and frankly I don't fancy paying £350 or whatever mental price it'll be for a genuine Hymer one anyway. I'll probably end up replacing it with a generic length of something similar.
The rest of the list is mostly 12v electrics so we'll get a local auto electrician round to sort that in the next couple of weeks. Still need to drill a hole for the 4G antenna, but I'm not brave enough so I'll have to find someone for that too.
We're staying on a local campsite from Friday until after Christmas now. Dog needs two vaccines, a month apart, and the first is this Friday; so we'll be leaving properly on something like the 8th of January.
Not a great deal has changed on the Hymer itself. Had a trip up to Dave Newell for a lot less of the to-do list than I was expecting. Still, it had all the belts, brake fluid, gearbox oil changed; and the AL-KO axles greased and the fridge serviced. Oh, and the dreadful bolt on DRLs taken off too. The air filter was replaced too as it was minging, despite it having had a service before I bought it. A quick insight into the previous maintenance regime there I think.
The only mechanical thing left is the seized bonnet pull cable, but TravelWorld don't stock it and frankly I don't fancy paying £350 or whatever mental price it'll be for a genuine Hymer one anyway. I'll probably end up replacing it with a generic length of something similar.
The rest of the list is mostly 12v electrics so we'll get a local auto electrician round to sort that in the next couple of weeks. Still need to drill a hole for the 4G antenna, but I'm not brave enough so I'll have to find someone for that too.
We're staying on a local campsite from Friday until after Christmas now. Dog needs two vaccines, a month apart, and the first is this Friday; so we'll be leaving properly on something like the 8th of January.
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