SpuffingtonMe
Lifetime VIP Member
So, this is a follow-on from a previous thread I posted on a Bürstner Argos which I was supposed to be acquiring back in January and led to that process being aborted (by the Dealer no less!). I posted it up and although there was initially some push-back as to why I should be posting, there were far more interested and encouraging comments about wanting to know more about how things go with the "great white", so here we go! Hopefully even if it's not helpful to anyone in terms of anything they're interested in buying themselves, hopefully it is interesting nonetheless as I am still just an outdoorsy person at the end of the day who values being in nature, exposing my kids to it and getting closer to the outdoors than you can in a hotel! I have a long back catalogue of NC500, Skye, Lakes, Northumberland, Austria, Germany and France where we've snuck into some of the most fabulous park-ups and offgrid locations even in 9m long units, so I hope to show another side of what's possible.
I was thinking about writing up something on each trip - particularly the big ones we've got planned in 2025 - Ireland Wild Atlantic Way (April), Holland (May), Austria (August) and Skiing in February 2026. Nevertheless, if the overwhelming opinion is that I'm imposing on an exclusively VW Cali forum then I'm happy to desist.
So why post today? Well, I’ve settled the full invoice amount for our brand new MY25 Dethleff’s XL Family A7872-2, six belt, six berth motorhome and we’re over the moon. With the invoice settled, insurance paid and Tracker subscription paid, the only thing left to do is to collect next Saturday 8th March from the dealership, Erwin Hymer Centre - Travelworld up near Stafford.
This will be my sixth leisure vehicle and in some ways the hardest to nail down. As Motorhome Monthly Magazine confirmed in their most recent issue, the market for vehicles of this spec and capacity to haul around six people (belted and berthed) is hugely limited. I’d been racking my brains to work out whether we’d missed anything, but MMM confirmed the only option they see is the other van we were going to buy; a Bürstner Argos 747-2 which is only available on the used market. Phew! Nice to know, I got it right!
The reason for searching out this particular vehicle amongst the sea of other 6-7berth motorhomes is specifically around a mixture of both internal space (most others are around 7m in length and very compromised internally), luxury & comfort (I’ll get to the specifics on that later) and winterisation (how adept/prepared a vehicle is for major sub-zero temperatures and all year round comfort).
The obvious compromise to each of those items comes at the expense of i) potential drivability, ii) price and iii) price!
So what is it in detail:
Dethleffs XL Family A7872-2 - a brand new model for Dethleffs for this model year but closely associated with a “Trend” they used to make but with more equipment as standard and a general higher level of quality associated with the fit-out. The Trend for example had cheaper caravan-style windows and blown air heating as standard. The chassis was also subject to equipment choices and a lot of folks chose manual and low specced cabs. The -2 in the model name of this denotes the double-floor; critical for insulation and the A = Alkoven which is the German word for Luton overcab which is where the bed lies. The vehicle is 8.6m long, 2.3m wide, 3.3m tall and weighs in around 4t empty, therefore giving ample payload of 1.4t.
As a base vehicle, it comes well specced and is priced at £115k. Ours is fully loaded with every extra from factory, which adds £20k to the list price. We then added c. £12k of dealer-fit options. Discount was relatively de minimus as supply is thin on the ground. This is only the 3rd into the country with the bulk of them destined for Summer/Autumn so it was a case of buy now and use it in 2025 or wait until next year, which wasn’t really an option. Total OTR price £143k.
Factory Spec:
- Fiat Ducato 5.4t tag axle chassis, 2.2litre, 180bhp, 9sp ZF auto;
- Fully kitted cab - ESP, ASR, Xwind Assist, Climate Control, Cruise Control, CarPlay etc;
- Technic Pack - incl. ALKO hydraulic levelling rams, Habitation Aircon & 360degree cameras;
- Electric Awning (6m x 2.4m);
- Rear Corner Steadies (although not sure of the purpose given it’s on hydraulic rams!);
- Towbar (up to 1.8t towing capacity but importantly provides 250kg of garage loading capacity);
- Satellite Receiver & 22” 12v TV in living room;
- Electrically heated overcab/Luton bed;
- 160l fresh water, 150l grey water, 19l Thetford Cassette toilet;
- 2 x 95aH AGM leisure batteries.
- Cat1 Alarm & S5 VTS Tracker;
- 2 x 11kg Gaslow refillable LPG bottles;
- Compact Pro Flex 5G WiFi;
- 2 x 150w solar pv modules on roof;
- Victron Multiplus 2kW inverter;
- Additional 12v socket in garage, additional 240v socket in living area;
- Low level lighting in living area & kitchen as nightlights for kids;
- ClearIQ water filter system (to give us confidence in drinking water directly from tank);
- Thule Elite 4-bike rack for external carriage of bikes;
- Dometic LED strip light under external awning;
- Thetford Fridge Vent kit (to aid cooling of fridge during height of summer);
- Diamond Brite Ceramic Coating to exterior of vehicle.
We also want to investigate wiring a 12v inverter kit to the habitation air-conditioning so that it can be run whilst driving. Ordinarily it’s powered by AC when on Electric Hookup but Travelworld was unwilling to look into this, even though I know it’s available elsewhere.
Otherwise I can see us upgrading the TV to a 32” in due course. It’s ironic really - we’d never have ordered the satellite dish and TV pack if it were our spec from factory as we prioritise family time over TV in the van. Nevertheless, now it’s in, the 22” version looks small and we can see there might be times when a bit of downtime is required or it’s a rainy day when it might be good to have. Let’s see, but it’s another £500 on top of everything else which is not required right now.
Preparations:
Well the main thing was getting the Knaus sold, which was done privately and yielded me an additional £7.5k on the trade-in price. Then it was insurance - £900pa, VED is included in the OTR but is £165pa, Tracker subscription - I could have chosen cheaper but ended up with the Lifetime price of £585 as a one-off since it will save >£1k over 5yrs, which is the minimum we’ll keep the vehicle for.
I’d already paid for the storage yard for the year - £860pa.
And just when I thought I was all set to collect on 7th March, I get the news I need to be in Frankfurt on business that day, so instead I’ll be collecting on 8th with the family in tow, which is both good and bad!
Rationale behind the purchase:
Aside from the fact it appears leisure vehicles are now in my blood(!), first and foremost it’s about investing in the family. With a disperate group of ages to accommodate and time seemingly running faster than ever, it was about having the ability to travel with the kids whilst they’re all together (my daughter will leave home in 6yrs) so having her together with us and her two brothers (4yrs & 11months) whilst we can is incredibly important.
I’m not getting any younger and at 46 this year, I’m sadly seeing too many of my peers departing or getting sick at too young an age. There’s no guarantee I’ll get to spend my tax free pension lump sum on something like this in the future - life is for living now!
Then the practicalities - we’re a family of 5. Life has just got a whole lot more expensive when you step outside the uniform family unit of 4 which the hospitality industry is designed around. Flight prices but particularly hotel rooms (we need either a large suite or two rooms) have gone through the roof since Covid-19. We have been staring £7-10k in the face for a fortnight in a moderately nice villa in France during summer, driving down there. Our ski holidays in Austria have gone from £6k up to £12k, which meant trying to do everything we wanted has taken a back foot. Even though this is a chunk of money, the way we’ve financed it (mixture of savings & mortgage extension) means we’re spending c. £1k pcm on owning the van. Add a bit more for maintenance in future, insurance and storage and we’re still “only” around £15k for the year.
We’ve already booked our summer holiday (2wks of which 8days in Austrian Alps and 8days there and back). That holiday will cost us c. £4k for fuel, ferry tickets, overnight stays, campsites. And we’ll do a similar amount on a ski holiday next year for a week including ski hire, passes & lessons for the kids!
Suddenly what looks like an extraordinarily expensive “toy” starts making sense. And that’s without taking into account the fact we’ll likely use it at least once a month for weekends away during winter and longer periods during half terms.
So coming back to square one in terms of why we got this one:
- Winterisation- we will be skiing in it down to -20C. This has:
- Alde Wet Central Heating which extends to the cab aswell with both radiators & heated carpet mat;
- Alde Heat Exchanger which allows for central heating to be heated by engine circuit during the drive but materially the other way around to prevent engine circuit from freezing or being pre-heated by the central heating before starting the engine! I have real world experience of this in St Anton back in 2018 when the Concorde I was in saved itself but using the heat exchanger to warm the engine block as it had frozen overnight in -26C!;
- Double (40cm) floor to separate exterior from interior. This area is also heated to ensure minimal cold-bridging;
- XPS insulation; and
- Heated Luton bed.
- Space - privacy for everyone, including growing teenagers but also parents looking for some solitude! Additionally, having hoop-loads of space in the enormous garage and underfloor storage areas, together with immense amount of payload, fits what we want to do/take with us, with the kids;
- Warranty - getting one new allows us to rely on the manufacturers to sort any issues for the first couple of years and bear any financial burden. We can also be assured of how it is maintained (both by ourselves & dealer);
- Longterm purchase - I have a car obsession which those who know me will know long-term is not something I normally can stick to (18m is about my best!), but this motorhome will be in play for at least 5yrs but potential 10, which is why we’ve gone for new. It’s our home away from home and we’re so excited!
Otherwise watch this space for collection day next week! Thanks for reading, I know it was a bit longer than anticipated!
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