Advice on which Motorhome to buy.

they are both British so both likely to leak

When we had caravans SWIFT made theirs a little bit narrower to save weight and it did seem a big difference though as you say only a few inches, of course both being coach built they will feel more cramped at the front than an A class.

Mmm!? Italian or French ..... 🙄🙄

Having had a larger motorhome for six years about 18 months ago we started to look for something smaller, although not quite as small as you are looking at. We did seriously consider a van conversion but in the end went for another coachbuilt, a Bailey in our case. The advantage of a van conversion is that people say they are a go anywhere sort of vehicle, easy to park and generally less possibility of water ingress. You are right that a coachbuilt will give you more internal room as even the narrowest ones are several inches wider that a van conversion and of course they are straight sided where as van conversion tend to be slightly narrower towards the roof line. It might be down to how and where you intend to use your new motorhome. If all you are intending to do is to visit Club type sites then the coachbuilt will offer you more. Whereas on the other hand if you want to do the NC500 type routes then a van conversion might be more flexible. Good luck with the decision.

David

I've got a Marquis Majestic 125 which is the fixed rear bed over a garage version of the Accordo. It hasn't been entirely trouble free. The burner on the water heater split and had to be repaired. Last year I had significant damp in the floor under kitchen area sorted under warranty and a couple of weeks ago my water pump packed up and had to be replaced. Having said all that, we like the layout with the big garage that takes all the odds and sods plus two folding bikes. Nice small footprint, 2.14 x 5.99

I've had two 120's and found the size/layout to be ideal. When you've ended up somewhere far too narrow you'll really appreciate the lack of excess width. I looked at van conversions but found they wasted so much space compared to coachbuilts, but would be almost guaranteed to be dry. With very similar external dimensions the coachbuild gives far more internal space. The later SOLID Accordos are much better designed but not always put together properly. The main failings seem to be in the floor and wheelarch areas, but these can often be prevented yourself with a tube of black mastic underneath. You MUST go round the van thoroughly yourself with a damp meter, especially low down and near the floor edges. If you go for the 2018 one, make sure the hab sevices have been done and documented or Elddis won't cover the warranty. Elddis generally use fairly standard appliances and pumps etc and these won't fail any more than in a much more expensive van.

One is a van conversion the other coach built.

the 120 is wider by a little but does feel a lot more roomy. I’d personally go for the 120

We must have looked at 200 motorhome yes 200 if not more all mainly within the 50 mile area over 12 months. After considerable thought by both of us we both agreed we wanted a rear lounge, we had tried both types of fixed beds in caravans, single and doubles but in the end went back to the traditional 2 berth vans front lounge. We looked at front lounges in the motorhomes but they didn't give us the space in the rear for storage. so it was rear lounge we decided on. We looked at all models Bailey, Elddis, Auto sleeper and Auto Trail she really liked the Imala 625 high line, it was just a little out of our reach so we decided to wait a year until May this year but still kept looking on the internet, just by chance we saw 2015 Autotrail Tribute 625 high line this was last July, which had a few extras from the usual entry level MH. We decided to do recky but because it was in Nottingham (Oaktree Motorhomes) l decided to go on my own and take a few videos and sound out a deal, has result we bought it.

            We have never looked back,for 12 months we looked and thought there wouldn't be one out their for our layout and budget, don't just jump in for the first one really make sure it's what you want and haggle we got £1000 more for our car than at home we also got outside aerial and Sat connection and the big plus they fitted a reversing camera all in the deal. The motorhome came with an underslung lpg gas tank bike rack and thule orminster porch awning plus an electric step. So if you are patient l am sure you will find the MH for you

Hi,

We are in the consideration stage of moving from caravan to motor home after 40 years of two wheels.

No decision yet on van conversion or coachbuilt but conflicting advice from a few dealers which I find bizarre.

In my mind the cab width is the same whether its a chassis cab for the coachbuilt or the front end of a van. However the comments form some dealers is that the two front cab ends are different thereby affecting the width. I can't see that unless the coachbuilt have bigger mirrors.

To my way of thinking the difference in width is purely down to the body be it coachbuilt or van.

Any comment please.

You are right ,the base vehicles  have the same cabs, some of the big Hymer type wll have a wider cab as the are built on the same width running gear but  "wider bodied"

Agreed, R&J. Coachbuilts are usually wider due to the more bulbous hab unit on the back. Consequently the mirrors often have longer arms thus making the cab wider if you include the mirrors in the measurement.

Otherwise there will be no width difference at the cab between, say, a Fiat Ducato used to carry a massive built on hab unit and one that is a van conversion. The exception might be if the coachbuilt version includes a overcab extension adding to the width.

If width, or lack of, is important to you, I’d opt for a van conversion which will also provide more robust side panels for dealing with hedges in narrow country lanes.