American Forest River or Hobby 720 KFU
Hi,
Today we have viewed 2 American Caravan Dealers and a Hobby Dealer. The Amercian is a River Forest Surveyor 247BHS and the Hobby is a 720 KFU
Both are approx the same money - £27k.
Both are 8m
The American has air conditioning and outside cooking / fridge on the side with large beds and 2 slide out hydraulic sides.
We have 3 springer spaniels which would benefit from air conditioning....
I called DVLA and on both our licences we are able to tow a vehicle upto 3500KGs and a trailer upto 3500kgs.
I am undecided as to which one to go for.......
Both are in stock and available, delivered in 4 days....
What other considerations should we be thinking of............any ideas welcome.
Kind REgards
Karen and Andy
Comments
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What do you plan to tow with?
Have you checked the actual external body sizes of these vans? That will determine what spec of tow vehicle you will need to stay legal in UK.
Max body length for towing with what I would call a " normal car or 4x4" is 7 metres.
Air con can be fitted to most caravans.
How will having slide outs impact on staying within the spacing requirements on a site? Will it limit your choice of site?
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You do realise that as both have a body length of over 7m they will require a towcar with a plated GVW of over 3500kg to be legal in the UK and such a vehicle would require a category C1E driving licence? That virtually means that they can only be towed by a van of suitable size (even most Transit variants are too small) or an uprated US pickup (normal pickup trucks imported from the US are also below 3500kg).
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You will then hit the problem that your tow vehicle will be over 3500Kg and you will need a C1 licence. Your photo suggests that you aren't old enough to have that category by default on your licence. Only us old wrinklies used to have it.
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How do you intend using them? Are you intending to tour or pitch up permanently? Given the size of both of them you might struggle to find sites that can accept units of that length. Neither will be particularly easy to manoeuvre on some sites. If air conditioning is important to you that can always be fitted as an extra.
David
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We rang DVLA to check both our licenses and they said as long as the towing vehicle was under 3500kgs and the towed trailer was under 3500kgs there was no limit on length. (we have read that 7m is the max.) so we asked her again and she confirmed it was weight and not length.
She checked our licenses and we both have C1E as I passed my test in 1987 and Andy passed in 1984, There was no restriction or limit on length - which contradicts their website!
Does this mean that because we have this category on our license that we can tow these caravans? The Hobby is 2,200kgs and the American one was 2,500kgs
In terms of leisure activities we plan on going to CLA Game fair at the end of July, booking local approved sites around Devon, Dorset and doing short trips locally and maybe next year going down through France for a month.
I will call the Insurance company tomorrow and maybe speak to DVLA again as the last thing I want is to be stopped by police!
We may need to view some smaller models!
Thank You guys, much appreicated!
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What do you plan to tow with, this will dictate your limit on the weight of van you can tow.
85% of your tow vehicle kerb weight is advised, especially if you are new to towing, but it is only advisory.
I would never contemplate a van that is actually heavier than the car, that is why the spec of the tow vehicle is so important. Engine power is another factor.
All mainstream UK made caravans will be legal to tow in UK, but you still need to match van and car.
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We will tow with a Ford Ranger truck, it has commercial vehicle insurance, After speaking with the DVLA there was no limit to length only weight.
FORD RANGER spec
2.2 Duratorq TDCi (150PS (110kW)) 4x4 Automatic
Payload Net 1062kg
Payload Gross 1137kg
Front Axel Plated Mass 1480kg
Rear Axel Plated Mass 1850kg
Gross Vehicle Mass 3200kg
Kerb Weight 2063kg
Rear Axel Ratio 3.73kg
Maximum Trailer Weight braked/unbraked 3500kg
Max GTM 5950kg
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If you plan to get a large van, often that will be a twin axle.
You mention going to France, be aware that some French sites will not accept twin axles (as these are commonly used by "travellers"), others will offer to take you then charge you three times the going rate, while others are happy to accept you.
Until you turn up you will not know, unless you ring or e mail ahead, and even then you may get a different response when you actually get there!
However, do not let that put you off too much, there are plenty of sites out there. It's just wise to be aware of what can happen. It is only France, in our experience, where this may be a problem.
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We are both experienced at towing as I have towed horses for years in my own trailer and I did have a large Eurocargo 3 horse lorry and Andy is a builder and tows plant machinery through his contruction business. So not adverse to towing, or nervous......just wanting to make sure we buy the right van and keep it legal!
Thanks Guys!
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https://www.gov.uk/towing-with-car/weight-and-width-limits
The government take on things.....
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I would also think that your vehicle is possibly a bit under powered for a very heavy van.
Our van is MTPLM 1900kg, we had a Volvo XC90 184PS, which was fine, but it felt a steep hill.
We recently changed to a VW Touareg with 262PS and I really notice the difference.....no problem on hills now.
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Firstly I would not consider the Hobby (unless you own Fort Knox) as the bad boys would be onto it in a flash.
An acquaintance of mine has a large American tag axle van which he sites semi permanently and manages 1 trip abroad each year due to the unsuitability of touring in the UK. Think about some road weight restrictions.
Having brought it he wishes that he had purchased a fifth wheeler which he reckons would be easier to tour with.
Whatever you decide to go for, enjoy and have fun.
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Two aspects, of the American would worry me
Firstly the build quality as far as I understand some of the US build methods are pretty archaic I have reviews from the USA for example getting very excited about plastic double glazed windows and cassette blinds. Are the all the electrics ok in the UK. I believe this is not just the voltage but possibly the frequency as well
Noseweight a lot of US trailers seem to have the wheels set a long way back makes for a stable tow but check the noseweight for suitability for a Ranger.
In my mind I would probably go for the hobby but both of them are going to be very large caravans, maybe too big for touring.
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Have you used the Club matching service? I tried it recently when a salesman tried to sell me a Mitsubishi ASX and the result was not suitable unless I was an experienced tower - which I am but I don't want to drop from the good match with the Outlander I have. Too much pull from overtaking vehicles if it's borderline suitable which doesn't make for a relaxed journey.
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One point to remember when buying is repairs and spares for whatever you are towing. The main dealer for Hobby I think is at Ambergate Derbyshire, although you may get repairs done in France better than an American van. Also you will be over 100% with your towing vehicle. We tow 1900kg with the large shogun and find that to be very safe towing.
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Insuring a Hobby could be a headache, they are very attractive to a certain section of the population. Even the slightly smaller ones.
Also, there are some sites(not Club) in UK that will not accept Hobbys.
I too would worry about the availability of spares for an American van.
The Hobby would use very similar parts to UK vans, but bodywork could well be an issue.
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But would you want to?
Actually I think you need to take a step back. In reality vans of the size you are talking about tend to be permanently sited because they are so big to tow. If you are happy towing that then fine. But the risk is it becomes so stressful you use the van less than you would with something smaller and more manoeverable.
Regarding spare parts I don't know anything about Hobby's but we have had 3 Hymers over the past 12 years or so and we have had absolutely no problem with obtaining specific parts and as KjelNN states most of the other parts will be fairly standard.
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It will indeed depend on how you feel about towing.
Does not bother me, I like having the fixed bed and OH loves the large shower room and the big fridge.
Ours has done almost 40k miles from new, in the 9 years we have had it, and other than at one site in France and one in Switzerland, the fact it is a large T/A has not been a problem.
Being retired, we have 3-4 months away in total every year and have traveled as far as the south of Italy and North Cape in Norway.
We look at new vans now and again, but have not seen one we like as much as the one we have.
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Although ours is a single axle but at 8m total length x 2.4m wide and 1900kg it is not the smallest in the world and I do think that width as much as weight and length plays a part in the real world. It does come down to what you are comfortable with. Perhaps what I am trying to say is a big van is something I would want to build up to rather than leaping in and getting burnt.
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OK, going to look at some UK caravans, what manufacturers in UK would be similar to a Hobby? I like the luxurious finish and fittings.
I think you're right about being too eye catching for a certain community and even though we have a safe gated property, if they want it, they'll get it! I had a quote for Insurance off CC for £348 which isn't too bad - the American van is £500 per year.
I thought of an Adria or Buccaneer - but not sure as I haven't been to many UK dealers.
I would like to buy new and my max budget is £27k, we would like it for 28th July as I have paid for my pitch at the Game Fair in Herts!
Thank You!
Karen
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CK, now you've invited the 'anti Brit Van' crowd in to rail at the dire level of damp proofing. . . .Good luck Girl
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I think the idea to try before you buy is a great one especially with the Game Fair looming. Do something in haste....? I have some friends very experienced MHs who went from a "normal" sized one to something I dubbed a Motor Castle and they found it too big for the roads and campsites so they downsized fairly quickly. When I restarted caravanning I spent £750 on a nice old van to be sure I was still capable and quickly upgraded!
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