Auto Trail - Water Ingress

apart from theni tegrity of the vehicle, what layouts are ypu looking at...

rear lounges, end bedrooms, garage versions? number of passengers?

these, to a degree, will dictate which brands can provide what you want.

some designs may limit you to UK only or Euro only....

if looking at a 2014 Savannah, you have a reasonable budget to play with.....with a little more info there might be some more advice forthcoming...

Why " fix it if it ain't broke"!!

Is it a fashion thing ?

All makes of motorhomes suffer from damp/water ingress. It's just that some are worse than others and some, especially owners of British vans, have the courage to admit they bought a damp 'un.

I had two Swift motorhomes in the late 90's, both leaked and both were repaired under warranty. In 2000 I bought a Niesmann & Bischoff Arto [they weren't upper class then], and two Hymers since. No damp in 17 years. My experience is not unique. 

If you want to minimise the risk of damp, buy a motorhome which does not use unseasoned wood in its construction, that is bonded together and not screwed together, and that has closed-pore polyurethane foam side walls - Hymer call their's PUAL. Some do leak because of after market fittings but the polyurethane foam gives the water nowhere to go. Oh and Hymer now keep the damp check records for each van on its computer whilst in the past, you had stickers for the first six years.

I'm not recommending Hymers or Artos because they won't suit everyone but they are worth looking at below the skin to see what is possible and where, in the past, some other makes have fallen down. You can download a brochure off its website - PUAL has been about for a long time.

Thanks for the info, very helpful indeed.  I'll take a look at those 2 makes.  I'm no expert on the construction aspects of motorhomes but your comments  have added to my fairly meagre knowledge of what to look out for and what questions to ask.

I definitely want a full-size fridge/freezer

fixed double or 2 single beds,

only need 2 seat belts

don't want over cab bed

shower separate from loo, 

Good garage space

well. id hardly say the Savannah had good garage space.....yes, it has a locker that runs under the rear beds but (usually) the word garage is reserved for rear storage areas are taller than 1m high, to provide a 'garage' for a scooter or bikes etc.

in general, it will be continental vans that have beds (singles or transverse double, or even island beds these days) over garage sized storage.

the down side for you might be that the lounges are likely to be of half-dinette style to accommodate two extra seatbelts.

opposing sofa lounges are more the preserve of Brit vans....

i think Swift have garage/single bed/sofa lounge version of their Kontiki but has only been around a year or more....

some brands like Rapido have made 'sofa' lounges to go with other rear end garage designs in an attempt to combine the best of both markets.

the savannah is a pretty large MH and an equivalent might start to feel cumbersome should you wish to use it for getting out and about.

we have electric bikes (definitely worth thinking about, with that garage) to get us about upto 20+ miles radius from a site, but we've also downsized to a 6.4m van (still with garage) but, crucially, only 2.12m wide which makes a world of difference when travelling between (or off of) sites.

 I have exactly the same problem with my 2015 Apache 632.  One would have thought Auto-trail would have rectified this defect that must be costing them a fortune in warrantee claims.

Hello to all

This is my first post on this forum. I have a 2016 Dakota. When not 1 year old water ingress was found in similar place to previous listings . It was supposed to be repaired, but just found damp paperwork which was left under the seat , I can’t believe that a van now not 2 years old require such major repairs. I am totally disgusted that this appears to have been an ongoing problem for several years. Can anyone tell me how they got it resolved as I now have no confidence in Autotrail