Message Forums

Quote: Originally posted by JTQU on 24/2/2007

---

Could not agree more, they are in a class of their own quality wise, just need to sack the interior designer!

---

Interested, what don't you like?

For our part, we like the "German Issue" ones, but detest the ones that Lowdhams are now selling with the door etc on the "right side"!

Quote: Originally posted by JTQU on 24/2/2007

---

Susa,
Now this is a personal area and open to disagreement but as you asked:-

We like the initial show room impressions, light, Teutonic style, much-improved door, lowered awning rail, etc of the new 545; it’s the more fundamental design that for us is wrong.
We need a van to live in for several weeks not for weekending, so it involves long evenings , significant meals and showering.
We think changing to the UK side door is a mistake for several reasons. With it on the wrong side, it’s ideal for use on UK sites as it compensates for the lounge being at the back. Put the van in hitch first, lounge then looks out and awning is the right side for the row of vans. We also don’t travel long enough in the UK for lay-by stops, but we do on the continent where the door is in the correct place. Our carport suits the continental location of the door; entry is in the dry.

Couldn't agree more. Ours is a 2004, and whilst (as with all vans) there were some things that we thought could be improved upon, changing the door to the other side certainly wasn't one of them. We too use ours for several weeks at a time in Europe, and in any event, on UK sites, with a mover it isn't an issue to position it where we want.
In our 545, and up to two years ago the TV went in the divide enabling its use for the lounge or bedroom by simply turning it to face one or other way. Now it involves moving the whole lot from by the door cabinet to into the bedroom, buy two TVs or read a book.

Again, concur. One problem as I see it with moving the TV from the cabinet by the door is that the hole they have provided is for a German sized plug, and the UK three pin won't easily slot down. The shutter door round the tv cabinet between bed/living area is ideal in that the TV can be safely shut away. I can only presume that they have moved the TV point to accommodate the new flat screens which can't all be seen when viewing from some angles. However, help may be at hand! Take a look at this: http://www.hymer.ag/medien/pdf/1156492071-Caravan_07_D.pdf

You may need to scroll through to the Nova pages. and there is a good illustration on page 39. They have incorporated the TV into the wall between sleeping and living area.

The kitchen work surface areas are now not as practical as it was; a veto point from management this aspect.

Agreed! The cover which went entirely over hob and sink was very useful - whereas the flimsy glass covers are useless. See page 40, maybe they have dealt with this issue too?

The shower cubical has not been modernised, it retains curtains instead of screens and has even lost the window to hang the wet curtain out of. Also a "wood" unit has appeared in what is a wet space, really a naff idea! No place for the shampoo and to hang up my little girly puff thing.

They have moved the curtain to a rail round the roof which is better, but the loss of the window is silly. The problem here I think is that in the main, the Germans don't have a shower on-board preferring to use the site ones. Alas, the one illustrated in the German Mag. shows an awful lot of "wood"!

They desperately need to go and look at Knaus’s equivalent model, before too many other people do.
If the Knaus had the Hymer body we would have changed already, but we are sold on the Hymer’s construction and quality
We have hung in and waited, first for the 2006, then the 2007 models hoping that they sort it, and have decided to give them yet another year before buying somewhere. Rumour has it that it will so for us its daft to change until we see what is coming.

We are exceptionally pleased with ours but we would like a newer one. We like many of the advances and generally lighter colouring but not at the price of usability as we spend so much time using it.

The other area we don't like is the fact that by changing the sink layout they have reduced the floor area considerably, a real issue when you have two labradors!

We too would like a new one, but I think the best way is to do as Gary has done, buy from Germany direct and stipulate the "extras". At the end of the day, the servicing issue really isn't an issue, as we could in reality get it serviced when we are in Europe. We sent for a German brochure, and the choice that is available is astonishing.

Incidentally saw three Hymers all pulled by Discoveries when we pulled into Guines on our way back at the end of September last year, a popular combination!!

---

I think that there are a number of issues here firstly are Lowhams under a legal obligation then probally not.

but they are in this case a bit more than a dealer they are Hymer's representitive in the UK so I think that they have some sort of moral obligationin that respect.

Specificaly what happend to us was that we had our van broken into 4 days before we went on holliday the door was damaged but fortunetley usable. As we were going to Scotland from North Wales we arranged to have the van look at by Lowdhams in Huddersfield on our way back home this meant a considerable detour we got there and they then refused point blank to look at the van.  I was cool and calculated.  fortunately my Wife had a screaming fit and refused to leave the dealershio until something was sorted and the conclusion was they agreed to book us into Nottingham who did the work.  So what annoys me is that they wasted my time

Did they do a good job?  Not really when we came to collect the van the door was in such a state that the seal pulled out ever time you opperated the stable door and we had to tell them how to sort it.

I am sure some of you are saying serves you right from not buying from a deal well if you want that extra security that's fine. But remember that if you have to trade from the suppplying dealer then your trade in value is going to be poor as he has got you over a barrel.

But in conclusion our Hymer the entry level van is superbly screwed together and well designed.  Spare parts are easy to get as we have found out as we have done our best to destroy the van and the parts for a 6 year old van are ready in about 2-4 weeks including delivery  from Germany. 

I was seriously looking at Hymer vans as a replacement for our ageing Swift.  I want a van that doesn't leak and/or get damp, with a door on the UK side, no flowery fabrics, an oven (yes I do use it), loose fit carpets over a floor I can keep clean, not fussed about shower cubicles...never use our on board shower anyway (everyone to their own)... with sufficient space to sleep 4 (2 adults, 2 teenagers) comfortably, and a nice awning on the side.   The Hymer with the fixed singles at the rear looked great but having read the above, it has put me off somewhat.

Why on earth has Hymer only got one approved dealer in the UK?  Their vans are obviously far superior and if they had a good dealer network, I'm sure they would sell a lot more.

The other thing that puts me off is what the person above said about buying direct and the price difference between here and Germany...what a rip off!!!   No wonder Lowdhams don't "encourage" people to have their German bought vans serviced there - if it were that easy, everyone would do it and Lowdhams would lose out on the business. £7,000 on every van sold - quite a profit margin. 

Hi Patches

Well, we still have our 2003 Hymer 545DB, and its still used throughout the year. Its still by far and away the best van that we have ever seen, both in terms of layout design, quality, warmth and strength.

Ours has the smaller Smev oven, but it comes complete with rotisserie and grill, and is more than big enough. No damp, no flowery fabrics, carpets that we can take out if its hot, or to clean.

This business of the Hymer agency in the UK shouldn't put you off. We bought our van privately almost new, but whenever we called Lowdhams they always asked "did you by it from us" as if that made any difference at all. We buy the odd small parts from Lowdhams - cupboard catches and little plastic curtain retainers, but we get the van serviced locally, and apart from the odd little ding and a few stone chips on the front, its as good as when we bought it. No damp, everything works as it should, and we have been away in it winter and summer, in temperatures of 30 and minus 10. Its so well insulated that it keeps cool in summer, and warm in winter, has onboard water tanks which I haven't seen in UK vans, so you dont have to keep wrapping the water container up to prevent freezing.

Alas, the price advantage of buying direct from Germany has vanished with the £/Euro rate falling, but it looks like th epound is on the way back up. Howeverm you can always buy a second hand German Hymer without a shower(Germans tend to always use the site showers too)  for a very reasonable price, so maybe take a look on line at German dealers.

You do however need a hefty vehicle to tug it, but as you have a LR Freelander, you wouldn't have a problem.

Can thoroughly recommend, and not sure what it is that was said above to put you off. Whatever, don't let it, you wouldn't regret buying a Hymer, of that I am sure.

A Hymer with an Isabella awning is just about as good as it gets.

Quote: Originally posted by arc systems on 13/2/2007

---

The possible problem as I see it is does the privately imported van meet NCC/UK requirement?

Has it got fire retardant foam?, is the mains electrical circuits to UK standard?, has it got full earth bonding for instance? Might there be some issues with the gas setup? Are there other less important but nevertheless required standards to be met before a UK dealer could or would to get involved. After all if he sees an unsafe situation he has to do something about it, it's not an option for him to ignore it!!

---

Wonderful Stuff! - being a bit of a traditionalist, I always like to see old chestnuts being roasted

Make no mistake, these are classic objections - straight from the 'Frightened Little Englander' handbook of  101 reasons not to buy a German caravan!

The first is a corker! - 'Not approved by the NCC'  LOL!!!      No, they don't 'approve' - but does anyone with two functioning brain cells actually *care* what these well paid UK caravan industry hirelings 'approve' of?

They 'approve' of whatever their Masters tell 'em to approve of - which is why they've approved of shoddily built UK caravans for decades.

If the UK industry told them to 'approve' a caravan without a roof, the NCC would duly oblige.

Let's not forget the other tasty sizzler's here ;) - 'Has it got fire retardant foam'?.  are the electrical circuits up to UK standards?', 'Will the gas explode and kill my entire family and anyone else within a fifteen mile radius?....

Now, we all know that the Germans are *the* most casually laid-back people on the planet - and that they have a reckless approach to safety that makes a Brazillian taxi driver appear a model of circumspect caution.

That's why it's almost impossible to visit the shower block on a German caravan site without stepping over the bodies of, literally' dozens of German campers who have killed themselves the night before by electrocuting themselves, blowing themselves up, and inhaling toxic fumes from their dreadfully unsafe upholstery..... it's a well known fact that no German caravanner books for more than one night because of the very high probability that he will be dead by the next morning ........

They might *think* that their own exceptionally  tough TUV quality standards will save them from such disasters - but, obviously, they are mistaken.

And the NCC agree....

 

Returnee - I love it! You have cheered me up considerably after a gruelling afternoon sorting out VAT!

You are quite right of course. The German TÜV organisations are one of the leading testing, evaluation and certification organisations in the world and was founded 130 years ago by German boiler operators as a private-sector regulatory body with the objective of 'protecting man, the environment and property against the adverse effects of technology'. I lived and worked in Germany for several years, and it was their attention to safety and detail that drew me to the Hymer in the first instance. We have a book that was given to us when we bought ours, and at each stage of production a quality control certificate was produced and signed, which then went forward in order to be granted the final certification. Now I don't know if anything similar happens in the UK, but there is no comparable organisation here, that I do know.

I'm now furiously surfing the net looking for a second hand Hymer (with the door on the UK side) but can't find one in my price range.   I'll keep looking and eventually find what I want but I am now determined that the next van I buy will be something that is properly made.  This should not be difficult.  It's a tin box on wheels with beds etc. inside.  All it needs to do is keep out the weather and provide a comfortable living environment ... it's not rocket science. 

It saddens me to say this because I have always made an effort to try to buy British made goods but the UK caravan industry is just a joke.   Surely it is not beyond the realms of possibility to build a caravan that will keep out the weather for more than a couple of years before it starts to fall to bits.  It seems the Germans can manage it, if what I read on here, and elsewhere, is anything to go by. 

I have to say that as soon as you walk into a Hymer van, you can "feel" the difference straightaway...or is it just me?  I know they are quite expensive but so are the so called top of the range Swifts, Lunars etc. and the Hymer is going to last (and it seems hold its resale value better). 

Also like like the look of the Geist range but can't find a layout that suits.   I understand they are good quality vans too.  Oh well, back to searching the net.

Patches, a couple of places to try;

http://www.caravanfinder.co.uk/caravan_hymer.htm

http://www.caravanselecta.co.uk/

Look in the classified ads section of the caravan club magazine, and there are also a few on e-bay.

Good luck

I've been looking to get a second-hand German van but there are none more than a few years old - is this because the owners don't want to sell or because they don't last long enough? Only kidding on that last bit....

But seriously, I only have an £8k budget for a 5/6 berth and there are very few German vans available for that price (in fact, I can't even find one!!)...and they do have some strange layouts - who wants 2 permananet single beds in a van?

My ideal is a Geist 495 or Dethleff 520 but they must be relatively new (?) because I can't find any below £10k....

Any good?

http://www.caravanselecta.co.uk/advert/Display-Touring-Caravan-For-Sale.aspx?id=44871

or this:

http://www.caravanselecta.co.uk/advert/Display-Touring-Caravan-For-Sale.aspx?id=29366

 

 

---