Live at the NEC Motorhome & Caravan Show 2018
Is anyone visiting the Motorhome & and Caravan Show this week? If so we would love to hear from you!
Why are you visiting, what are your show highlights and did you manage to leave without buying a new caravan or motorhome?!
For us poor folks not able to go this year, let us know all about it. 
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Yes,watched Matt and Arthur Bostrum alias Crabtree in allo allo.Was not in the market for new van but motorhomes areas very well attended.Looked at the new Laser range from Coachman as well.Towsure area rammed,making it one way would have helped.Did manage to get what I need though.
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We went today, as I mentioned elsewhere. Principally to compare a couple of Bailey Motorhomes. Still think the original Advance model is the best choice compared to the new Alliance, both exactly the same size and layout. Did look in on the Club stand but very busy and nothing there I needed so concentrated on looking at the motorhome stands we were interested in.
David
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Fantastic! - congratulations on your new caravan David. Glad you also enjoyed the Club stand.
Sorry I wasn't there this year to say hello.
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I went today, bought a few minor items, some as presents. Popped into both Club stands, learnt a bit more about costs of Glamping on the C&MC stand and how to cook better on a Cadac on the C&CC stand. Had a very useful chat with one exhibitor about the down sizing options from my current 6.5 ton van. Got us really thinking more seriously about it.
It's a couple of years since I last went to the October show, it seemed larger than ever and very motorhome orientated.
peedee
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We went today, to look at the Motorhomes. Specifically one of the lighter weight Hymer models. I think we have pretty well decided we will get one in the new year, it seems to have everything we are after. The model, in question is the Exsis-t 588 on the Fiat Ducato base. Twin single beds and garage capable of taking 2 full sized bikes.
Not overly large at 6.94 but well equipped and a reasonable amount of space. There was an almost identical model 50 cm shorter, however that seemed a bit cramped and the driving position leg room poor. Payload on the basic vehicle is 730 kg on a max 3.5 tonnes. So even after the optional extras we should be left with a sufficiently high figure.
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So I understand. However, it is as much the layout has everything on our list and we can buy it locally, as going for a specific make. Bailey, the make of our current caravan, don't have anything that comes close.
Getting out of the show circa 3pm was very quick. However, getting in at just after 10am took an age. The traffic management didn't seem very well organised at all, they needed a few more feet on the ground.
Also a fact I found interesting. Passing the Alde stand I picked a bottle of antifreeze, from amongst many on the display shelf, and took it to the desk. Oh we can't sell those said the rep, they are just for show. If we want to sell anything from the stand it costs us an extra £5000 and we just would not sell enough. So the stand is purely for promotional purposes. He did give me a small sample bottle of the fluid though.😀
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We spent 2days at the show and 3nights on the club temp site.we thought it was an excellent show.spent some time on the club stand listening to a couple of discussions with Matt.watched Morello launch their new Palace Motorhome .On the spending side we were good this year and bought an Isabella windbreak ,a combined salt and pepper mill and a dustpan and brush. Really enjoyed it .
Brian & Jo
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Went to look at how different manufacturers fix ladders to beds as Hymer want £450 or so for one of its ladders [very well made]. Now we know what we can get for c£80.
Also looked at PVCs as our next van but found them either low quality on design and build or over specced. Bilbo's Lezan was a good option for a 'day van' as it had the necessary toilet and headroom. We did like the new Mercedes Sprinter cab so maybe we'll move away from Fiat.
Too much to see in the five hours we were there. We spent nowt!
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We went to browse motorhomes and were quite keen on the Adria and also the smaller Hymer Exsis 474(both integrated and coachbuilt). Unfortunately we didn’t do our homework beforehand so didn’t look closely enough at the right models. Our nearest Hymer dealer is 80 miles away and there is no guarantee that they would have the model we are interested in. NEC is definitely the place to see everything. February maybe?
One comment I would make that seems to apply to many manufacturers and that is the “extras”. With Fiat and Peugeot, cab air conditioning is an “extra. Can you imagine buying a decent car without air con? I have the list of Hymer extras and it is eye watering. I guarantee it will add £10-15k to the base vehicle price just for the essentials. The other point is that you can always negotiate away the standard “luxury” or “comfort” packs at around £3k e.g. air con, awning, alloy trims, but much more difficult if you are trading in another vehicle.
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apart from the cost of extras/options there is the issue of their weight.
As Hitch says there are usually several 'packs' of extras, and some of these will be virtually mandatory.....in that there won't be vehicles ordered without them....
when we bought our first Carthago the weight of the options, packs and dealer added 'stuff' was around 350kg.....'twas 'fully loaded' but we could still have added auto box at another 40kg ish....
so, even in Steves post, where he mentioned 730kg payload, a few choice options as above might have lowered this to (say) 380kg.
fill the fresh tank with water (-100kg or more) and add Mrs L in the passenger seat (-75kg, 'official' allowance, may be a bit less
) you're now down to 205kg which isn't very much at all, for food, bedding, tables, chairs, tools, electrical gadgets, hoses, cables, crockery, cutlery, kettles, pots and pans etc, etc....the middle and both ends of it is that it can be 'challenging' to run a nnear 7m van at 3.5t whatever the brochure appears to say...
so, my advice (and it certainly worked for me on the purchase of our 3.5t van last January) is to weigh the actual van, if buying from stock, or write in some 'weight' clause into the sales agreement if ordering from factory.
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Good advice on weight, particularly with a model like the Hymer where spare wheel, oven (if you want one) and some other items are all extras which are included as standard in the MIRO on other makes. Makes a nonsense of the 700 kg payload. By the way, the oven weighs 33kg and spare wheel 25kg. Even something daft like the wooden shower slats weigh 3kg extra (and cost £130). Great outfits though!
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I agree BB the options are a bit of a minefield. Hymer do at least publish the weight penalty of the options, which isn't always as large as expected, as they replace something that was included. I have totted up all the extras we want, plus a few we might like and it comes to 262 kg. That does inc a solar panel but only one battery. It does seem a little ridiculous that the base weight does not include for a spare and only incs for 15 inch steel wheels, which they don't even sell it with. We could if we wanted uprate it to 3.85t for £240, although I would prefer to stick with 3.5t. I think it sound advice to get the weight checked before purchase.
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Steve, I realise you are getting quite savvy on evaluating the right things for your prospective purchase, but here's another 'weight' tip.
if you are happy running a vehicle at over 3.5t (based on your 3.85t comment) bear in mind that this does not uprate the 2000kg rear axle limit on the light chassis...
.it merely adds together the maxima of both, 1850 front and 2000 rear....
So, to 'enjoy' the full advantage of the 'extra' 350kg it would need to be distributed perfectly across the axles based on their original spare capacity.
with a 7-7.5m rear garage, longish overhang van, it will inevitibly be rear biased....so, unless you can find somewhere up front for the extra weight, the 'upgrade'won't help much as the rear axle will be close to its limit, they always are in a van of these proportions.
however, the tip.....
rather than spending on an upgrade to 3850 which won't help much, you could order a new van on the heavy chassis as this gives a much more healthy 2400kg loading in the rear axle.
even if you decided to have the van down plated at 3500kg (possibly further down the line for 'age/medical' reasons) you'd still have the extra capacity in the rear axle, even at 3.5t...
IMHO, a much better way of making a 'tight' van work well, even at 3.5t and of a rear biased layout.
the other point to re,ember is that brochure figures (including the MIRO) can be +/- 5%, for example a van with. MIRO of, say 3000kg, payload 500kg might actually weigh upto 150kg more.
now, 500kg is, IMHO, actually quite tight for a touring couple as it's unlikely to include any water or perhaps 20 ltr, nor certainly the passenger....
so, without any other loading of the van we might have...
payload 500, minus 150 = 350....minus (say) 100 for water and 75 for passenger...now 175 and you haven't put anything in it.....
this is the reason I weighed 'my' van....the one I actually bought, which meant I didn't use any brochure weights....
i knew what my other 'extras' weighed prior to fitting and all my 'kit' including bikes etc which was all in my garage at home...
when all done, dusted and weighed in touring trim, I was within 20kg of my predicted total weight, in my favour...
good luck.
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I see that it is first week in September next year. Certainly worth considering. Perhaps a new discussion thread on how to get there, where to stay etc.?
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i knew what my other 'extras' weighed prior to fitting and all my 'kit' including bikes etc which was all in my garage at home...
when all done, dusted and weighed in touring trim, I was within 20kg of my predicted total weight, in my favour...
good luck.
Thanks BB.
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Steve, one more tip.....
there will be a percentage of these mid sized vans that get built on the heavy chassis as a matter of course, so it's perfectly possible for some of the dealer 'stock' vans to be thus equipped.
if one of these suited your spec requirement (within reason) it would usually be possible to negotiate a significant discount in price and/or a stack of extras.
i got my previous van new registered Jan '15....it was a 2014 stock van.
this van registered Jan '17....a 2016 stock van.
i knew the dealer had a 'sale' every autum, as the new season vans came in...a 'healthy' discount on both.
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, ,to join the American Dream? as they now own the Hymer group
