Our home – Dave the Hymer
A little bit of information about our home for the year:
Name: Dave the Hymer motorhome (named after the last owner’s cat’s nickname)
Type: Hymer B544 1993 on a Fiat chassis
Engine: 2.5L turbo diesel, probable 25 to 30MPG, around 100,000 miles before the trip starts, FSH (including lots of German and English bill receipts)
Steering: Left hand drive, power steering, no cruise control
Size: With the bike rack around 6m long and 2.5m wide (feels like 10m and 4m respectively)
MAM: 3100Kg (which we were just below when we went to the weighbridge before we left)
Heating: Blown air Truma heating system running from LPG. Hot water system running from the 100 litre fresh water tank (located in the van to avoid freezing). 100 litre grey water tank (strapped under the van, will freeze in cold weather)
Cooling: Roof-mounted aircon system, yet to be tested cooling ability!
View to the front cab
Cooking: Three hob LPG cooker, no oven or grill. 12V slow cooker. LPG-powered gas BBQ
Electricity: 110Ah leisure battery with 100W solar panel and 300W inverter, 230V hook-up
Gas System: Fixed LPG tank
Sleeping: Drop down over cab double bed with memory foam mattress (other beds can be made up but we’re not likely to use them)
Washing: Cassette loo, wet room with shower, hatch to allow outside shower, sink with hot and cold water for pot washing
Seating: One long bench (which Charlie seems to have decided is his preferred observation point) and two short benches with a ‘semi fixed’ table, plus a couple of camping chairs and camping table for when we’re on sites
Security: Secondary locks on all doors, dog-based motion detection
Magic pull down bed (don’t worry there are curtains all around it!)
Entertainment: Radio/CD player in cab, surround sound speakers, games, books, eBooks, dog walking/playing and oh yes, hopefully entertainment in the local area, which we can explore with our bikes and pooch-chariot
Why we bought this van:
#1 reason: the van’s bed is just genius. It drops down from the roof on hydraulic struts, and gives you a good deal of head room when all the way down. Takes about 1 minute to drop down and the same to put it back up. Ideally we think we’d have a fixed bed at the back of the van for long-term comfort and avoiding the sanity-sapping process of making up a bed each night. However, a fixed bed means a large van, and (a) we couldn’t afford one and (b) we wanted to keep the van size down to make it easier to drive and park. There are plenty of vans with over cab beds, but Ju found them claustrophobic.
#2 reason: Hymer’s are not the prettiest of motorhomes (my humble opinion). However, they do have a reputation for excellent German build quality, especially the older ones. They’ve got a good amount of storage too.
View of kitchen from cab
#3 reason: we traded off age of van versus the cost. At £10,500 the van wasn’t cheap, but for the type of van we have it is a good price. It means we have a high mileage machine with around 100,000 miles, but we’ve mitigated the risk of breakdowns by buying a van with a FSH, and by having a contingency fund and ADAC pan-European breakdown cover.
And finally a few thoughts on what we’re expecting to learn about the van as we travel:
- How many miles it actually does to the gallon, and how much driving style can influence it
- How reliable it is
- What it’s like to drive, especially on the smaller, poor quality roads
- What it’s like to shower in
- How the solar panel and leisure battery combo work in practice
- How hard it is to find LPG, and where do our adapters work
- Whether we really need to buy and carry snow chains (at the moment we’re thinking we’ll avoid the cold countries in winter, but I’m thinking we might need some for mountains, even in warmer months)
Toilet / Shower
Update: Dave stayed with us for nearly three years, two of which were on the road touring Europe and North Africa. A couple of years after he was sold, we bought his younger brother Zagan, a 2001 Hymer B544.
New to motorhome life,
planning your own motorhome adventure or
looking for the perfect gift for the motorhomer in your life?
Check out our OurTour range of books.
hi cousin admire what your doing i am not brave enough, for me a tour of england with my tourer is my limit.
if your wondering who i am i am sylvia,s son.
i,ll be keeping an eye on your movements.
good luck to you both
gary tindal
Hi Gary. Great to hear from you. Hey, we’re not brave, just desperate for some adventures before we die! Have you got a motorhome? What type is it? Do you get out much? Cheers, Jay
Followed you out of Conil or there abouts this morning you were heading to Vejer/Algeciras. Happy travels.
Dave @ Barbara
N+B Flair if you see us
Hi Dave! Was that you who turned off just before I accidentally cut up the oil lorry? :) We’re waiting for the ferry to Tanger Med at the moment, are you guys heading to Morocco or another route? Cheers, Jay
mate, what is that noise in the background? were you chewing gum while filming? Unpleasant whatever it is
Hi Steve. Just listened to it again and argghhhh! I can hear it too, it’s horrible. We’ll do another video, thanks for pointing it out mate. Jason
What a great blog. We too are planning a trip. June 2013 for the 100th Tour De France then some other areas of France, into Italy, Spain, Portugal and then back to Spain for the ideal place to maybe buy a home. So I am excited to read your trip details and was unsure on Morroco but may now consider this. I saw your link after placing a blog called Europe Trip on MMM, please read it as would welcome your comments especially re the 6 month time limit but doubt you have encountered this. We also will have to return home after 1 year due to MOT van etc and then poss sell it due to time limit however your older van looks great condition inside so will look into this if can get one with rear garage. Will continue to read and sure I will have a few questions for you in time. I like the on a budget idea and free parking in places ie Lidl as heard some gassing horror stories which you have proved wrong but I must read on incase of any nasty surprises but all looks good so far. Keep enjoying and hopefully your blog will teach me how to set something up similar. Big thanks.
Sorry blog forum called Europe Travel on MMM not Europe Trip
Hi Simon, would love to read it, but can’t find it. Can you send us a link to it? Cheers! Jay
I guess that you have discovered that you can leave the bed made up by now. We are enjoying your blog as we have the same motorhome and desire to travel. Recently achieved 32 mpg at 55 mph constant on autobahns. Very impressed with the quality of the Hymer and learning to love her looks. Can’t wait until our next trip.
What is FSH?
Hi
It’s an abbreviation for Full Service History. Useful as you can get a vague idea of how well a vehicle has been looked after.
Julie
Hi Guys,
Really interesting to read about all your travels and I’m ploughing through all of your hints and tips and frantically making notes. We’re almost decided on a year through Europe next year and we’re in the info – gathering stage, so it’s all proving really useful.
I did have a question for you: Do you think you could have coped in a *much* smaller van without a shower & toilet? We have a Mazda Bongo, which really is tiny compared to Dave! We love it but I can’t help thinking that it’s just too small for a year’s trip. Would love to know what you thought, though!
Best wishes,
Frank and Kerry
Hi Frank and Kerry
Go for it! It’s one hell of an experience!
Before we had Dave there was Harvey (the RV, dreadful, I know), a Talbot Express-based Autosleeper Harmony panel van. Harvey’s bed had to be made up each night from various cushions plus the driver’s seats. The storage space was half taken up with bedding. 2 week holidays nearly saw us divorced (I exaggerate) as we’d be knackered and pulling about the bed parts drove us to distraction. We needed a fixed bed if we were going to live in a van, or a drop-down one like Dave’s. The panel van would have been smaller and a bit easier to get through tight spots, but we’d have never made it through all these months.
We find the loo and shower are just fabulous, we’re completely self-sufficient and free camping isn’t just financially beneficial, you can stay in some truly wonderful places where there are no facilities. Today we’re overlooking Ancient Corinth from the castle car park 500m up, it’s just beautiful. My own view is you need a toilet, it’s been essential for us, if not a shower. Dave’s been the perfect size for us, less than 6m so he fits in lots of car parking places at marinas and the like.
You could contact Ellie (search ‘wherever the road goes’) as those guys did a long tour in a small VW camper without a loo (I think) they’re likely to have a completely take on it.
Cheers! Jay
Had a Volkswagen Transporter out for hire last year for a camping
trip and it really was incredible, by far one of the more dependable
vans I have driven. Since that time I can not quit
thinking about getting one of them