Elddis180 buying 2nd hand anything to watch for?
hi all. We have found one of these. Five years old and looks great. Anything we should watch for before we take the plunge?? Layout is just what we want and yes aware of the water tank size. More interested in any mechanical or technical problems to watch
out for...
thanks all
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this is a six berth MH on a 3500kg chassis.....
if there will be more than just two of you, then lack of payload (risk of being overweight) will be a real possibility....
i assume you will be travelling as a family....Otherwise, why go for a six berth....?
weigh the van prior to purchase.....either
a) totally empty......pr
b) with everyone and everything on board, including full water tank and gas, bikes, chairs, tables, clothes books, gadgets etc, etc, etc, ....
if weighing empty and the van weighs more than 3000kg.....walk away....500kg is unsuitable for a family and all its kit and caboodle....
if weighing full...i hope you can be under 3500kg....
good luck....
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Yes, payload can be an issue with motorcaravans, but if your intended use can remain within the constraints this is, by all accounts, a good van but you really could do with an owner's comments here about the 'workings' of the van itself!
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Hi smudger, I have the smaller 100, same shape.
I would advise that you do, or get done, a thorough damp check, paying particular attention to the front right corner area of the luton (remove the mattress), also the floor around the rear wheel arches, these areas are known bad spots.
Check the date of the tyres, you dont want to fork out £600 for tyres when you have bought it. Recommended life is six years.
If the Mhome is five years old, then make sure that all habitation checks have been carried out annually and within the time scales, if not it may impart on your warranty.
If payload is a problem for you, then you should be able to get an upgrade of at least 250kg from a firm called SV Tech.
I would advise having a habitation check by a qualified mobile service engineer (£150 to £200) before purchase.
Check all service documents for the motor side making sure they are all up to date, also any recalls have been done. There is a battery upgrade which may apply to you. Also an upgrade for the spare wheel carrier may be applicable to your model(it is for mine)
If no gas bottle is included, then I would advise getting a safefill cylinder, Your leisure battery will be checked by the service engineer during the habitation check. As will your EHU cable and water fill pipes and adaptors.
If you decide to take theM'home, then make sure that you see everything working and understand how to operate them.
We have had our smaller one for five trouble free years and find it more than suits our needs even when taking three grandchildren away with us. I hope that you have the same, if you have any more questions then please ask and I will do all I can to help you..... Happy times.......
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"If payload is a problem for you, then you should be able to get an upgrade of at least 250kg from a firm called SV Tech."
this might be useful but.....
in general, those buying six berth vans do so because they have young(ish) children.....
in general, those with youngish children arent too old themselves and may not have passed their driving test before Jan 1997 and, as such, will be limited to a maximum of 3500kg MTPLM.
if this is the case, then, even if SV Tech could provide a technical solution to uprate the chassis (usually to 3650 or 3850) your license might not allow you to drive it......
check your licence and weigh, weigh, weigh the van......i cannot stress this enough....
it is perfectly feasible for folk to buy a van, load it up and then not be legally able to drive it.....caveat emptor....the wrong van can turn out to be a very expensive mistake.....
good luck....
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Make sure the paperwork is in order otherwise you may finish up with a costly repair as above.
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Edit sorry
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You're welcome smudged, hope we helped, keep us informed...
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Really appreciate the advise all. Wish me luck
how many of you will be travelling together?
if kids too, what ages (weights....)?
do you have the license groups for over 3500kg?
have you considered the storage areas in this van.....this type of design is usually pooly supported with external access, often meaning bulky and dirty items being brought through the van to be stored....eg boots, wet coats etc.....or
even not being able to be stored at all in the van while its being used....eg bikes...this, in turn, leads to folk turning to an awning to use as a storage area, but the awning itself is large (and heavy!!) and will need to be stored inside the van......
just another part of MH life to be aware of.....
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Lots of us store our things inside the van, don't worry about that as long as you feel you have enough space for your own needs. Looks as though you'll have plenty of space for two of you, we manage with a lot less in our smaller van.
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There is one 3 year old and us two adults. Not the largest family either at 70kg for me and 55 for the wife. The dog is also tiny....
No young kids driving so weight should be okay, but i will double double check....
Write your comments here...Will your 3 year old not grow any bigger and thus heavier!!
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Take a look at the story section, the Meek family of four have a 180 on loan from Elddis and are touring France and Spain just now.i wonder if theyve weighed it 'all up'?
however, to the OP....
a new 180 has a MIRO of 2985kg.....so an apparent 'payload' of 515kg.....no worries there, then....?
however, Elddis, as is becoming the norm when advertising to 'enhance' payloads, states the MIRO allows for 20kg for gas bottles.
wonderful, except that it should also allow for a 90% fuel tank (going on 100kg), 90% fresh water (another 100kg) driver @75kg....
so, 275 'lost' straight away....now down to 240kg before you start to load.....the essentials.....
OH @55, plus dog @10, plus child @10....now down to a paltry 165kg before you even put anything in it....
does the van come with any extras....?....awning, bike rack, sat dish, twin batteries, aerials....all these take up ever more payload.
as this is a used van, the MIRO may be different from that quoted on the Elddis website (probably higher as more included, so less 'payload') but id definitely get the dealer to allow you to get it weighed with all four of you in it.....then make sensible
allowances (additions) for fuel and water, around 200kg (no doubt these will be empty or nearly empty....) this will give you your 'true' baseline weight....ie a weight that you will only reduce by travelling with less fuel or water....but you dont want to be thinking about payload when you pull into a fuel station, or when taking on water for the next leg of a journey, you just want to fill up....
remember, these numbers are BEFORE you put anything in the van that most folk travel with....bikes, food, clothes, books, boots, leads, hoses, water carriers (if used), levellers, kitchen pots/pans/utensils, crockery etc, etc, etc....
so.....if this baseline brings you even remotely close (within 100kg) to my figure of 3335kg (ie 165kg payload).....then you will need to think VERY carefully as to the viability of this model as a family van.....as this has to acommodate
aal the items named above and more.....this is not a post intended to 'scare' you in any way, merely to illustrate how easily it is for those new to MH-ing to forget that storage (and its mass) is not infinite in a van....especially for those who have to stay under 3500kg and for those who travel
with more than two people.....you come into both categories, hence my efforts to raise your 'payload' awareness.....
weigh it and then (hopefully) breathe easier......
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