Elddis Accordo 120

I'm afraid this is not untypical of UK vans, especially small ones. and buying gas in such small quantities will prove mightily expensive....yet will require regular changing, not wholly satisfactory??

if I had to have the 120, I'd be looking to fit an underslung refillable tank of say 25-50 ltrs (and be looking for some decent discount to pay for it) and use the gas locker for some other storage, as it's pretty useless as a gas locker, I'm afraid....

decent access is also another perennial issue....Lord knows why it's so difficult to make the door as large as the locker.

however, it can be done, this in my own 6.4m van.....room for two 11/13kg bottles and easy access, to boot...

Clearly not joined up thinking through design, practicability & usability by Elddis - am I surprised?

Hardly makes the van suitable for all year use

I've got a Majestic 125 which is based on the Accordo. My locker, rear offside corner, will take two 6Kgs. although I have one  10Kg Safefill in it. Although I could just about get two Safefill's in there, the door is so small, the only way to get the bottle in is to turn it on its side to insert it, thus precluding a second bottle. If the door was installed vertically, it would at least be possible to put two in there albeit, sequentially.

CY, we had this issue on one of our Boleros....the locker was just about high enough to get a 11kg Gaslow in but the door was so tight for space, access was a nightmare.......it's one of my pet hates.....

i know many uk vans have small external lockers but when the entrance is further reduced by fitting an even smaller door bemuses me....why?

you see it in kitchen cupboards, the door is only about 70% as big as the cupboard, thus negating some of its usefulness.....

Another reason for choosing an Auto-Sleeper; it has a built in lpg tank so no humping of cylinders.

well, an underslung refillable gas system could be after market fitted to many different vans....a manufacturer providing one as std kit is a nice to have but wouldn't necessarily be the driver for a purchase.

id rather have a van that ticked other boxes and then fitted the gas system afterwards than choose a van with an underslung system despite if not being the van we wanted....

there are many things about other folks van choices that wouldn't necessarily meet our own requirements (and vice versa) but the gas side wouldn't be something at the top of the list as it can be fitted later....

have you ordered your van yet, Q?

BTW, I've just looked at the AS Stanton spec and are you aware that the std chassis is only 3200kg, not the usual 3500kg?

this gives only 350kg of payload with no Mrs Q or water or gas (that's at least half of it gone) before you put anything else on board.....be very careful....I would have thought the dealer would upgrade for free?

Thanks for that BoleroBoy.  Yes I am aware of the weight issue.  In fact the Merc with autobox (essential) means that the GVW goes to 3500 kg.  There are not many vans built on Mercs and we would not consider any other vehicle for reasons too numerous to mention.  The main difficulty is the lack of a decent auto transmission on other vehicles.  We wouldn't choose a Peugeot car nor a Fiat so a motorhome built on either has no appeal for us.  Plenty of other people are happy with these manufacturers so I suppose we are fussy.

We have not been able to order yet as I have recently had three blue light journeys to hospital and - eventually - a pacemaker; there are medication challenges as well.  Now it is a question of wait and see how the recovery goes and hoping that I will be fit enough to resume touring in due course.

good luck, Q...

I drove Audis (Avants) for the past 20 years and OH 2-seaters, then we realised that, with the MH we didn't need three vehicles....

the last Audi was 'too big' for OH to park comfortably, the 2-seaters didn't do a great job for getting two folk and golf clubs around, so we settled for a tiny Fiat 500 which, just about fits our requirements, incl golf clubs..

in fact, for such a small, cheap car the Fiat is incredibly well built (though quite basic) with not a single rattle...cheap to run, reliable and easy to drive and park....

the Fiat base on the MH is also very solid, rattle free, reliable, fast enough and a dealer 'on every street corner'....all over Europe.

my brother's latest Merc estate is nice, but IMHO not as good build wise as the Audis....

obviously, there's a new Sprinter due imminently, but perhaps as good a choice might be the latest VW Crafter with the 8 speed torque converter auto box....FWD, RWD, 4WD

i can think of a few converters who have recently started using this base...IH for the UK rear lounge lovers, Westfalia for the 'hewn from the rock' quality and Knaus for all round terrific build and design...

home converter Hillside have two layouts I think, so choice of base and transmission widening all the time...

good luck with the health issues

Well Bolero Boy you are a mine of information indeed!  Perhaps you have an honorary post as ambassador to the motorhome industry!

I have not come across a Fiat with the parallel lounge layout which we want but perhaps that is a paucity of research on my part.  As my school reports said almost 70 years ago, "Could do better.".

We did have an astonishingly good VW back in 2000 for a couple of years.  A 6 speed manual TDI.  The acceleration was mind blowing and it returned 50+ mpg all the time.  We loved it.  The only VW motorhome offerings I have come across are PVCs rather than coach builds and we don't think we can live with either the lack of width or loss of overhead locker space.

I am not sure but almost certain that neither Knaus nor Westfalia offer a parallel lounge.  Most if not all the continental vans seem to be built with what my wife calls - rather rudely - pub type seating behind the cab seats.  That it is an option which is definitely not for us.

Thanks so much for your help in this.  It does not surprise me as I think you mentioned that you live in Somerset.  I know that God's own country is Yorkshire and we did live there for several years but retirement means that I hope we never have to leave home base again as sunny Somerset is best.

mine of info....possibly...I just read (obviously thoroughly) the two MH mags I get sent each month...

as you say, width (lack of) in PVCs will undoubtedly make opposing sofas 'cosy'....they are even when in the rear....add in the sliding door and that adds to the complication...

i can think of plenty of producers of something that you seek (Swift, Autotrail etc) but not in a Merc...

the Craftor lends itself well to PVCs but may not make it to the coachbuilt market....price being one issue as you will have realised with the AS Merc differential...compare the Stanton to the Nuevo..

no, a shortish twin sofa front lounge on a Merc is pretty much the domain of AS currently ....

BTW, I didn't realise you were from Somerset..