Change from VW GC 600 to Hymer

[Eber123]

Hello,

Well, something has happened what I have not seen coming - we changed our camper.

Now that my wife has retired also, we plan to spend more time out and about. And even if we are very happy with our GC 600 we were missing a wee bit of space and a wee bit more comfort (yes, I know that sounds spoiled).

So we spoke about this and tried to weigh the pros and cons of a different camper, in other words can we accept the cons of a bigger and heavier camper? After a long decision process we decided that we can live with the cons.

What do we believe we gain?
We looking forward to more space. Space for the bikes (folding e-bikes), other things we believe we have to bring with us, more space for us (eg. separate shower / toilet to living area). No issues with weight (we will have about 1t left, that should be enough even with my big belly).

What will we lose?
The new camper is a motorhome 7.39m long. I used the GC 600 many, many times for normal drives (shopping, visiting etc.). The new one is a wee bit too big for that. The total weight is 4.43t. Of course this comes with a huge disadvantage (many roads are forbidden for vehicles over 3.5t, C1 license ((which I have)), higher cost for maut, etc.)

What are the challenges of change?
In order to change my wife and I agreed that if we change it has to be better as the GC 600. And that is a problem, because the GC 600 is a very good campervan. To get something better is automatically very expensive.
With the high price tag I run into a hiccup with Irish motorhome insurance companies, because they don't want to insure a camper with this value. So far I only have 1x offer, which is far more expensive as I expected.

What did we buy?

• Hymer B-MC t 680.
• Year = 2024
• Overall length = 7.39m
• Width = 2.29m
• Weight = 4430kg
• Transmission = Automatic
• BHP = 170
• Engine = 2.0

A few changes needs to be done (eg. install awning, change battery from AGM to Licium). We hope we will collect the motorhome at the end of this month.

Of course there are still questions. If there a warranty cases with the Sprinter, how will Mercedes in Dublin work with us? If there is an issue with the living area, we have to travel a good distance to the dealer. All this was very easy with the GC 600, because our VW dealer was close by.

But beside all this, we are really looking forward to get our new Hymer (her name will be Hazal by the way). We believe it will be a good companion on hour tours through Ireland and Europe to provide the space and comfort we are looking for. Also I can't wait to drive the Sprinter. People say it suppose to be better than the Crafter. I can't imagine that, because the Crafter is superb.

If you wish keep an eye on this thread, because I will from now on update the journey of changing camper vehicle in ROI (eg customs, VRT, insurance). Also I will start to build back the GC 600 and I believe there will be some parts available to purchase which might come in handy for other Grand California owners.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Jimmylondon07]

We love our GC to bits but in your circumstances I wouldn’t hesitate to change up. Wishing you many years of happiness in the new van and I’ll miss your GC related posts on here

 

[Eber123]

Well, I hope I may be welcomed in the forum even after I went over to the "dark side" .

There is still a lot to talk about traveling, camping, campers etc.

For me is the VW California Club an important part of my hobby.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[SpuffingtonMe]

Congratulations on the new van. I’ve been looking at something similar myself. I’ll probably end up with something even bigger in due course as I’ve got 3 nippers to seat & sleep in addition to me and the wife.

But that’s a cracker and all the downsides you mentioned are actually very few in reality. Having owned big motorhomes previously, I’ve rarely encountered any of the oft quoted issues from Campervaners and when I have they’ve been relatively immaterial.

Good luck with it and please keep us updated. I wish you many happy miles and memories!

 

[Eber123]

So, I started to prepare the GC for handover to the motorhome dealer.

I thought it will take half a day, but working through the afternoon it was clear to me it will take at least 2 to 2 1/2 days. There was / is so much in the camper, everything to make camping experience better, easier or make the camper nicer.

I hope the weather will be ok tomorrow so I can continue. Wednesday we are in Birmingham to the Motorhome and Caravan Show. I really looking forward to it.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Are you sure it is big enough? We went from a T6 Beach to fully Integrated A Class, haven't regretted it one bit. What are you going to keep in your garage?

 

[Mehdime]

From beach to A-class - now that’s going straight from one extreme to another @secret lemonade drinker I’m not sure an A-class would even fit in Ireland (although I do sometimes come across the odd Irish-reg A-class on the motorway. I wonder where they go).

Congrats @Eber123 - that looks class. We’ll be looking forward to the interior pics. What insurance quoted you? I had a similar problem with my Cali - it seems that only one insurer in the entire country will cover a campervan used as a main and only vehicle. So I’m now stuck with Dolmen and ever increasing annual premiums and can’t do the usual annual dance of switching insurer to keep premiums low. The joys of living in a tiny country with no competition.

Hope you have a wonderful time in your new van.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

From beach to A-class - now that’s going straight from one extreme to another @secret lemonade drinker I’m not sure an A-class would even fit in Ireland (although I do sometimes come across the odd Irish-reg A-class on the motorway. I wonder where they go).

Congrats @Eber123 - that looks class. We’ll be looking forward to the interior pics. What insurance quoted you? I had a similar problem with my Cali - it seems that only one insurer in the entire country will cover a campervan used as a main and only vehicle. So I’m now stuck with Dolmen and ever increasing annual premiums and can’t do the usual annual dance of switching insurer to keep premiums low. The joys of living in a tiny country with no competition.

Hope you have a wonderful time in your new van.

Perhaps next year the UK registered A class on the Irish motorway could be me

 

[SpuffingtonMe]

I’ve done Ireland in my 9m, 7t Charisma A class. Not a bother. Wouldn’t hesitate in taking another over.

 

[Eber123]

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

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

My Insurance company insisted on a S5 Tracker, because of the value, it is a FIAT chassis, however the Mercedes has the MBUX system which if you have all the connected Mercedes Digital Services includes a Tracker, Alarm and Immobiliser monitored by Mercedes and works seamlessly with the Mercedes Me App, is your insurance company aware of this?

 

[Eber123]

Hello @secret lemonade drinker

Pandora Camper Mini has very similiar functionality than Mercedes as you pointed out.

I am not 100% sure, but it feels to me that in ROI there is no camper insurance that you deal with directly. All camper insurance are over a broker.

I am with Dolmen insurance since 2017, but they are a broker too. We negotiated since I signed the sales contract of the Hymer. To all fairness they managed to get a better price for me saving hundereds of Euros. But brining over the point that Pandora or Mercedes has similiar functionality as a Thatcham certified alarm, is a task on its own, which I am relcutant to do at the moment.

Never the less, they send me a list of queries and demands from Axa before they insure me. I am glad that I can fulfill their "wishes".

At the moment I am glad that I found an insurer, for a price lower than the first quote.

Almost insured Hymer
Eberhard

 

[Mehdime]

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.

I hear you. I love Ireland and will definitely stay here for the foreseeable future. But yes, being different here or daring to own something that could be considered luxury (apart the “acceptable” luxury items like a big BMW that you’re expected to have to show your neighbors and colleagues that you’ve made it) can be tricky.

But hey, it’s all worth it in the end

 

[Eber123]

Yesterday I contacted Dolmen of how many days we are allowed to stay in Europe. Many motorhome insurance allow 30x, 45x or 60x (only one 90x) days.

This is important to us because we plan to stay for about 6 to 8 weeks traveling on the continent each year.

Dolmen got back to me and confirmed in writing that their (Axa) policy has no restrictions / limits at all.

Hey, at least something positive, straight away, without negotiations and long discussion.

Regards,
Eberhard

PS
From this morning 9 am until now I continued to bring the GC to its "normal state". I am almost there. Thursday I will start to clean.

 

[Eber123]

Wednesday's trip to the Motorhome & Caravan Show in Birmingham was brilliant.

We met our motorhome sales team at the Hymer stand and talk 2 hours about the final configuration of our new motorhome. Also we agreed about the next steps that needs to be done to import the camper into ROI.

With all respect the motorhome sales team and Hymer sales were very supportive and patient with us. Now we are even more excited to get our new camper. Will it be the 29/10/24, I am not sure, but I hope it will only be a few days delay. If there is a delay, it is my fault because I continue to ask questions and change specifications.

The rest of the day was very informative, visiting the different campervan and motorhome manufacturers and saw a few very new vehicles I only saw on Youtube or magazines.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Jem033]

Congratulation on the new Hymer purchase Eberhard, Its a beautiful looking vehicle and I hope you have many years of traveling and enjoyment.
james

 

[The Merle]

I’ve done Ireland in my 9m, 7t Charisma A class. Not a bother. Wouldn’t hesitate in taking another over.

Easy to drive in Ireland, now back roads of wales maybe more of an issue.
Ireland is bliss to drive

 

[Eber123]

Hello,

I just thought to give a wee update of the new camper.

Last Friday we collected the Hymer from Thompson Leisure in Northern Ireland. Almost everything was done, the import to ROI was done, tax and VRT paid. Thompson Leisure looked after this for us. All extras that we negotiated were installed (well, with one exception).

We thought we could go for our first overnight the following day on Saturday, but we changed our plans. There was so much to setup and organize it felt as we move into a new house.

But Sunday we went of to Northern Ireland and stayed a night just over the border. In short everything went well, everything is working. Quality of the furniture is very good and so far all installations seems to be solid and working.



The beds were very comfortable. We never slept bad in the GC, but those beds are a wee bit better, wee bit longer and the matratze is a wee bit thicker. Also if somebody needs to get up during the night the other won't have to get up too. Nice.



Not only is the fridge bigger, but easier to fill and store the items. But have I said that it is a absorption fridge with all its disadvantages. I can imagine we will change it with a Thetford compressor fridge after Christmas.



The seating area is bigger and a wee bit more comfortable. The camper came with leather seats, which actually smell very nice.



The kitchen area has so much more storage space, even if we have lost 3x drawers because of the oven. But the camper came with the oven and we are actually quite glad to have it.



As an extra Thompson Leisure installed an Avtex 32" TV, which has a nice picture.




This how it looks from the outside. The grey cabine with the silver habitation area looks very well. It stands out a wee bit from the crowd.



The Dashboard is ok. I think that the GC / Crafter had better storage solutions in this area. But we will get use to it.



The garage is huge. The plan is to get the following it:

2x electric folding bikes (bike rack from Hymer already installed)
1x shelf with 3x Euro boxes
1x spare wheel
2x chairs
1x table

But in the way it looks like I will tackle this next year.



The Hymer Connect is working well and provides information accessible from remote. I decided to ignore the Truma control for the moment and use the Hymer Connect.

Mercedes MBUX is a different beast, which I need more time to get use to it. I think I will need to go to Mercedes and ask for some advice.

Now driven about 1,000 km I can say it is different to the GC 600.

The GC 600 feels a bit more powerful and "sporty" in comparison. But the Hymer is "smooth", that is the only word I have for the experience. Yes, I feel it is a much bigger vehicle buth the camper drives so well, the automatic is even better than with th Crafter. The engine is silent, powerful enough, the seats are a dream (yes, much better as from GC 600).

So far so good.

Eberhard

PS. Here name Hazel.

 

[colintfcolintf]

That looks great!

You’ll soon get used to it. I also drive an XLWB Sprinter and it’s no worries parking in supermarket car parks etc, takes 2 spaces but such is life.

 

[Billylou]

@Eber123 beautiful van and welcome to the other side. In respect to your 3 way fridge. Before you think about replacing it I’d suggest you live with it for a while and see what you think. We have one in our Frankia and it’s been fine. I initially thought I’d prefer a compressor but to be honest it’s not let us down and therefore we’ll keep it. We are at the end of three months away and it’s been faultless. We hardly ever use EHU but as we have a 3000w inverter we switch between gas and electric to run the fridge whilst the solar tops up the batteries. Personally I’d use your fridge money for an inverter and as much solar as possible as it’ll be better used. Enjoy your new van, I know you will.

 

[Billylou]

@Eber123, not sure if you’ve seen this but it might give you a few ideas.

Modding the Hymer ML-t 580 4x4

Inspired by LennyHB … I thought I’d start a post to details various mods and upgrades. I have a brand new Hymer Mlt 580 sitting on my drive waiting for a DVLA to assign a registration number. In the meantime, of course I’m going to take take it apart, fettle and modify it ….. Firstly …. Hymer...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[The Merle]

Hello,

I just thought to give a wee update of the new camper.

Last Friday we collected the Hymer from Thompson Leisure in Northern Ireland. Almost everything was done, the import to ROI was done, tax and VRT paid. Thompson Leisure looked after this for us. All extras that we negotiated were installed (well, with one exception).

We thought we could go for our first overnight the following day on Saturday, but we changed our plans. There was so much to setup and organize it felt as we move into a new house.

But Sunday we went of to Northern Ireland and stayed a night just over the border. In short everything went well, everything is working. Quality of the furniture is very good and so far all installations seems to be solid and working.

View attachment 130942

The beds were very comfortable. We never slept bad in the GC, but those beds are a wee bit better, wee bit longer and the matratze is a wee bit thicker. Also if somebody needs to get up during the night the other won't have to get up too. Nice.

View attachment 130943

Not only is the fridge bigger, but easier to fill and store the items. But have I said that it is a absorption fridge with all its disadvantages. I can imagine we will change it with a Thetford compressor fridge after Christmas.

View attachment 130944

The seating area is bigger and a wee bit more comfortable. The camper came with leather seats, which actually smell very nice.

View attachment 130945

The kitchen area has so much more storage space, even if we have lost 3x drawers because of the oven. But the camper came with the oven and we are actually quite glad to have it.

View attachment 130946

As an extra Thompson Leisure installed an Avtex 32" TV, which has a nice picture.

View attachment 130947
View attachment 130948

This how it looks from the outside. The grey cabine with the silver habitation area looks very well. It stands out a wee bit from the crowd.

View attachment 130949

The Dashboard is ok. I think that the GC / Crafter had better storage solutions in this area. But we will get use to it.

View attachment 130950

The garage is huge. The plan is to get the following it:

2x electric folding bikes (bike rack from Hymer already installed)
1x shelf with 3x Euro boxes
1x spare wheel
2x chairs
1x table

But in the way it looks like I will tackle this next year.

View attachment 130951

The Hymer Connect is working well and provides information accessible from remote. I decided to ignore the Truma control for the moment and use the Hymer Connect.

Mercedes MBUX is a different beast, which I need more time to get use to it. I think I will need to go to Mercedes and ask for some advice.

Now driven about 1,000 km I can say it is different to the GC 600.

The GC 600 feels a bit more powerful and "sporty" in comparison. But the Hymer is "smooth", that is the only word I have for the experience. Yes, I feel it is a much bigger vehicle buth the camper drives so well, the automatic is even better than with th Crafter. The engine is silent, powerful enough, the seats are a dream (yes, much better as from GC 600).

So far so good.

Eberhard

PS. Here name Hazel.

Great to hear it’s started better than the GC did you deserve some smooth sailing (or should say driving/camping).

 

[kurienp]

Hello,

I just thought to give a wee update of the new camper.

Last Friday we collected the Hymer from Thompson Leisure in Northern Ireland. Almost everything was done, the import to ROI was done, tax and VRT paid. Thompson Leisure looked after this for us. All extras that we negotiated were installed (well, with one exception).

We thought we could go for our first overnight the following day on Saturday, but we changed our plans. There was so much to setup and organize it felt as we move into a new house.

But Sunday we went of to Northern Ireland and stayed a night just over the border. In short everything went well, everything is working. Quality of the furniture is very good and so far all installations seems to be solid and working.

View attachment 130942

The beds were very comfortable. We never slept bad in the GC, but those beds are a wee bit better, wee bit longer and the matratze is a wee bit thicker. Also if somebody needs to get up during the night the other won't have to get up too. Nice.

View attachment 130943

Not only is the fridge bigger, but easier to fill and store the items. But have I said that it is a absorption fridge with all its disadvantages. I can imagine we will change it with a Thetford compressor fridge after Christmas.

View attachment 130944

The seating area is bigger and a wee bit more comfortable. The camper came with leather seats, which actually smell very nice.

View attachment 130945

The kitchen area has so much more storage space, even if we have lost 3x drawers because of the oven. But the camper came with the oven and we are actually quite glad to have it.

View attachment 130946

As an extra Thompson Leisure installed an Avtex 32" TV, which has a nice picture.

View attachment 130947
View attachment 130948

This how it looks from the outside. The grey cabine with the silver habitation area looks very well. It stands out a wee bit from the crowd.

View attachment 130949

The Dashboard is ok. I think that the GC / Crafter had better storage solutions in this area. But we will get use to it.

View attachment 130950

The garage is huge. The plan is to get the following it:

2x electric folding bikes (bike rack from Hymer already installed)
1x shelf with 3x Euro boxes
1x spare wheel
2x chairs
1x table

But in the way it looks like I will tackle this next year.

View attachment 130951

The Hymer Connect is working well and provides information accessible from remote. I decided to ignore the Truma control for the moment and use the Hymer Connect.

Mercedes MBUX is a different beast, which I need more time to get use to it. I think I will need to go to Mercedes and ask for some advice.

Now driven about 1,000 km I can say it is different to the GC 600.

The GC 600 feels a bit more powerful and "sporty" in comparison. But the Hymer is "smooth", that is the only word I have for the experience. Yes, I feel it is a much bigger vehicle buth the camper drives so well, the automatic is even better than with th Crafter. The engine is silent, powerful enough, the seats are a dream (yes, much better as from GC 600).

So far so good.

Eberhard

PS. Here name Hazel.

Awesome. Good to hear that it has been a smooth start to the journey with Hazel! (Nice name)

Thank you for the report. I am sure we will get more updates in due course.

I also have my eyes on a Hymer, but sometime later in life.

 

[Eber123]

Hello @Billylou ,

Thank you for the feedback about the absorber fridge.

The absorber fridge is a mystery to me. It seems to be installed in many motorhomes, even very expensive ones, almost liner ones. But I am afraid that the disadvantages of the absorber fridge will haunt us:

• Cooling effect of the fridge suppose to deteriorate if it gets hotter then 30 degrees
• If the motorhome is parked a wee bit crucket the cooling effect can also deteriorate
• The use of gas to cool the fridge will have some impact of how long we can heat the motorhome

We planned to visit Finland at some stage again. If we travel it will be mid May / end of May. At this time of the year I expect that we still need the heating over night. Unfortunately there are no LPGstations in Finland. So how much will the usage of gas from the fridge impact on the overall gas usage?

This year we plan to go to Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. We will leave here at the beginning of May, but I can imagine even in mid May the temperature might be high. Will this impact the fridge? If we keep the absorber fridge we need to install at least the fan system.

Also according to the handbook, the vents of the fridge should be covered if the temperatur falls below 10 degrees. OK, but the winter vent covers did not come with the motorhome. So I try to locate the correct ones to order it. But so far I failed to find out the excact Thetford winter cover size.

We got a 2000 watt inverter and 2x 150Ah litihum batteries. I never thought that the fridge can be powered by the inverter. I need to check this tomorrow. But if it is possible, I was reading that an absorber fridge uses so much more power connected to 230v then a compressor fridge. So if the absorber fridge can be power over 230V over the inverter, how long will the 2x batteries last?

I am sure I am overthinking this issue. Maybe I am totally unfair to the absorber fridge. If they would cause so many issue as pointed out by me, they wouldn't be installed in so many camper vehicles.

Ever so slight cooled Hymer
Eberhard

 

[Billylou]

Hi @Eber123, I’ll try and reply to your note below based on my experience and not necessarily from a technical position. Some of what I say I’d suggest you already know so please don’t think I’m trying to teach you how to suck eggs.

The absorber fridge is a mystery to me. It seems to be installed in many motorhomes, even very expensive ones, almost liner ones. But I am afraid that the disadvantages of the absorber fridge will haunt us:

• Cooling effect of the fridge suppose to deteriorate if it gets hotter than 30 degrees.

• Correct but if you are parked away from the sun or with your awning out it will be OK. Think you know that.
• If the motorhome is parked a wee bit crucket the cooling effect can also deteriorate. It has to be quite a bit before the performance is effected. We have installed E&P levelling so it’s not a problem. Recommended
• The use of gas to cool the fridge will have some impact of how long we can heat the motorhome. Have you considered an underslung tank and one Gaslow tank. We have that set up along with a 13kg Calor bottle. Lasts a long time.

We planned to visit Finland at some stage again. If we travel it will be mid May / end of May. At this time of the year I expect that we still need the heating over night. Unfortunately there are no LPGstations in Finland. So how much will the usage of gas from the fridge impact on the overall gas usage? The Hymer installation should be good enough so you don’t need the heating on all night, I’d guess?? Don’t forget that when you are driving the fridge will run off the 12v and I’d guess you would be doing quite a few miles. Plus get an external windscreen cover from Polar Screens.

This year we plan to go to Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. We will leave here at the beginning of May, but I can imagine even in mid May the temperature might be high. Will this impact the fridge? If we keep the absorber fridge we need to install at least the fan system. I had fans installed during the build and I’m sure they’ve helped.

Also according to the handbook, the vents of the fridge should be covered if the temperatur falls below 10 degrees. OK, but the winter vent covers did not come with the motorhome. So I try to locate the correct ones to order it. But so far I failed to find out the excact Thetford winter cover size.

We got a 2000 watt inverter and 2x 150Ah litihum batteries. I never thought that the fridge can be powered by the inverter. I need to check this tomorrow. But if it is possible, I was reading that an absorber fridge uses so much more power connected to 230v than a compressor fridge. So if the absorber fridge can be power over 230V over the inverter, how long will the 2x batteries last? We have 400ah of lithium, 700w of solar and 3000w inverter. We always switch the fridge to run off the inverter for a few hours a day, in the morning, and let the solar top up the batteries. This has worked well.

I am sure I am overthinking this issue. Maybe I am totally unfair to the absorber fridge. If they would cause so many issue as pointed out by me, they wouldn't be installed in so many camper vehicles. I don’t think you are overthinking it at all. I’ve read a lot of accounts where people replacing their fridges with compressor fridges. This tends to be after they’ve installed a lot of lithium, which you have. Whilst I’m happy with my fridge and enjoy the flexibility it gives me I can totally understand why you would want to make the change. Constantly checking on how much gas you have is no fun.