Change from VW GC 600 to Hymer

[Eber123]

Hello,

I thought that there should be a finale (last) update of the camper vehicle change. Maybe it is from interest for some people who are in the same process of changing the camper.

After about 3x weeks, a few nights and 2,000 km I feel there are so much pros and cons and differences between the vehicles that it is difficult to report all of them or the review them in a structured way. So let me start with the positive side of the Hymer B-MC T 680:

Driving
Yes, the Hymer is bigger and heavier but the driving experience with the Sprinter is very good. Is it much better than the Crafter? - no, but it is very smooth and relaxing. Happy with that.

Storage
Here the Hymer shines. In the GC 600 I struggled to find space for the most important things, but in the Hymer there is certainly more than enough of it.
The Garage is brilliant. At the moment I get the 2x folding e-bikes in it. In the New Year I will see that I can add a shelf for 3x or 4x Euro boxes, space for the spare tire and all the other necessary equipment. The good thing is that in the garage everything is locked away and alarmed.

Hymer build
In my opinion the workmanship is good. Everything is working as it should be.

Sleeping
We always slept well in the GC 600, but the length wise beds are better - no doubt about that.

Weight
With the GC 600 we always struggled with the weight. On longer tours we were always heavier than the 3.5t.
Now we have a Total Mass of 4.5t, which is more than enough. Even when I fill up the freshwater tank (180l) and put everything in (for instance the e-bikes) we still won't reach the 4.5t.

Now let's talk about the things that maybe aren't that good:

Weight
Even though this is an advantage, it is also a disadvantage. Obviously it has impact in where we can go (for instance roads not allowed over 3.5t), Maut, speed etc. Well, there is no such thing as a free meal, I guess.

Mercedes
As to be expected there are a few niggles.

• The passenger side seat heating didn't work. That was fixed by Mercedes
• The Mercedes key is most of the time not recognised , not fixed by Mercedes
• And here is the most annoying, but not important thing, the Traffic Sign Assist won't work in ROI.
  It works in Northern Ireland, but not at home. The dealer updated the MBUX software, did some checks, but they don't know why it won't work.
  Mercedes Ireland said the reason why it won't work is because the MB Sprinter came from the UK and because of this the Traffic Sign Assist does not work in Ireland. That might be, but I struggle to believe that. From where does the MB Sprinter knows that her home is now in Ireland? Does that mean that all the MB Sprinters that travel from London to Amsterdam, Hamburg, Paris etc won't have a working Traffic Sign Assist in those countries? My wifes VW T-Roc's Travel Sign Assist work in ROI (well, of course because we bought it here), but it also works in Northern Ireland.

Coming back to the Hymer

We are happy with the layout and design of the Hymer inside, with one exception and that is the toilette.
My wife and I were enchanted by the thought of the separated toilette and shower and the possibility to setup a combined "bathroom". The shower is ok (actually the shower won't stop after 30x as in the GC 600), but the toilette is to small. For an elderly, every so slightly overweight male ( ) it is to small. Full stop. Ok, it is possible to setup the little bathroom which gives more room, but I think it is not practical all the time.
So if you plan to change to a different camper .. check out the toilette and / or bathroom.

Overall the change was a huge journey for us, with a positive outcome. If somebody plans something similar and has questions that they believe I can answer please don't hesitate to contact me.

Hazel (Hymer)
Eberhard

 

[kurienp]

I thought that there should be a finale (last) update of the camper vehicle change.

Why last? Please do continue to update this thread with your experiences. Will be a good knowledgebase for reference for anyone considering.

Glad to know that you're enjoying the Hymer!

 

[markusschork]

Hello @Mehdime ,

I am a wee bit frustrated with the camper insurance companies in ROI.

In 2017 I signed the contract to buy the VW California Ocean. Never spend a though about problems to get insurance for the California, because I thought any of the companies will insure it. Oh, was I wrong. It took me several days to get the insurance sorted.

Dolmen was the only company, at the time, able to offer insurance. Have I said that the first year was expensive (about EUR 880). Why I can't remember. The following years it got cheaper.

When we bought the GC 600 I was more sensitive about the issue, but Dolmen was still the best option. But have I said that, we had problems with the "small print". They could not get their head around that we use the camper as much as possible year round. They loved to see using the campervan for a few weeks a year. Only in the last 2x years we got it sorted. I must admit the last payment was about EUR 350 or so. Not bad.

No we bought the Hymer. In my inocence I thought I pay EUR 350 for the GC so double the price of the Hymer I pay about EUR 750 to EUR 850 for the Hymer.

Ha, was I wrong!

I don't want to go into details of the price of the Hymer, but there are only 2x companies in ROI even willing to offer a quote. Both quotes are so high that it could be a randsom for a king.

Of course it is up to the insurance companies what they charge, but after a week of looking up webpages and talking to people, it feels to me that I must be ashamed to buy a more expensive motorhome than usual. It feels to me that the insurance companies say if they can affort an expensive camper they also can affort the expensive insurance. Yes, the risk is higher for the insurance company, but to charge 6x or 7x times more for the Hymer than for the VW GC is exxesive.

Never the less we have no option then to chose one. At the moment there is only one outstanding query with Dolmen and if that comes back with a result we need we will stay with Dolmen. I hope that the the premium will come down with time.

I spoke to some motorhome dealers in ROI about this. If you check the webpages of motorhome dealers campervans cost in average EUR 100K and a motorhome easily EUR 200K. Potential customers might be discouraged to purchase a motorhome if the follow up costs are so high. There might be well off people out there who don't mind spending a lot on the motorhome and insurance, but other people, like us, saved years in order to finance our dream.

Well, it is what it is. We are still looking forward to our Hymer. We will meet the motorhome dealer in Birmingham as well and I hope to talk to Moving Intelligence, because we have to have an alarm, tracker and monitored Thatcham certified motorhome alarm. My good old Pandora Camper Mini won't do it anymore.

From a wee bit frustrated Hymer
Eberhard

I had similar issues in the UK and decided not to upgrade our 6.1 for a MB Hymer earlier this year as the insurance quotes I got we just a joke..
I get it is a high value, but they were just taking a p@&s with 8k+/y.. (parked on street in central London with EU license )

 

[kave]

Thank you for your report, I would love to see updates here.

 

[Trebor]

We went similar route in February Eber . After 9 years California 4 motion 180 dsg traded for Hymer BMCI 580 . I would like to have kept both but SWMBO didn’t agree !

 

[kave]

It would be nice to know the reason to choose a part integrated veichle instead of a fully integrated like Trebors above. Since a BMC is as wide on 65% of it's lenght the improved insulation etc should weight over to the fully integrated?

 

[Eber123]

Hello @kave,

You asked a good question.

Was there a sophisticated and well thought through reason to choose the part integrated version of the Modern Comfort 680 - no.

Looking back I believe the price, configuration and availability were the reasons to go for this particular motorhome.

Price
It was expensive, full stop! But it was our retirement dream so we went for it. The integrated version would have been even more expensive.

Configuration
Stepping in the Hymer we felt it was the right motorhome for us. The smell of the leather seats, the space, the abandons of storage space etc. Also we agreed to a few extras included in the price that made it even more desirable for us.

Availability
I can't remember, but I don't believe that there was an Integrated version of the Modern Comfort available at the time, or we didn't look for it. Yes, we could have ordered a Hymer motorhome exactly the way we wanted, but to wait for about a year or so was (and still is) no option.

Design
Everybody has their own taste of course. We preferred the part integrated to the integrated version. Yes the fully integrated version has advantages, but the part integrated as well. But we loved the dark grey driver cab with the silver coloured design of the camper part.

At the end all went well, with some small glitches. Would I import a motorhome again? Well, maybe not. Mercedes Ireland is ok, but in comparison to my VW dealer they keep themselves "low key".

We drove about 2,500 km since we got it and slept several nights in it. For instance over New Year we stayed in Wexford on a campsite. The weather was terrible, storm and terrible rain. But we had no problems with the Hymer (3rd brake light is all I am saying). Everything is working from the Hymer side. From Mercedes side I need to get the "Traffic Sign Assist" sorted. It simply won't work in ROI. I don't understand why.

Next week we are off again traveling to Northern Ireland. Thompson Leisure has a kind of "Motorhome Show" on the 4th, 11th and 18th. We will pop in on the 11th, just for fun. On the 30th I have an appointment to get some items installed (for instance safe, back stabilizer, TPMS sensors from Hymer etc.

What is left to do is the planning, ordering and installation of the garage. That will take a while. And then it is finished. No more changes, just usage.

Regards,
Eberhard