What to Buy ?

Bare Rambler · Veteran Member

What to Buy ?

JRH · Guru

Bare Rambler wrote:

Hi .. We are looking to buy our first (small) Motorhome. Does any one have any advise regarding Coaster v Mazda T3500 v Nissan Civilian ? We are initially just looking at short weekends away. Thanks in advance.
Geoff

G'day Geoff,

Welcome to the forum, whilst I am unable to help with your query I am sure you will get quite few replies from those who own motorthomes.

Best Regards.

John

dave06 · Guru

Hi geoff welcome to the forum, my brother had the nissan civilian for a short period, wasnt impressed by it sold it off pretty smartly, the mazda "T" series are a good unit and are a very reliable and capable unit but in my book the coaster is unbeatable, they are used by all government departments around here for schools and also hospital buses, also private bus companies, so thats got to count for something

I used to volunteer as a bus driver for the port pirie special school, we had a mazda t3500 first up which was pretty good and very reliable never had a problem with it, it was changed over for a coaster after two years of very good service,

the coaster was fantastic a very good and capable vehicle, cant sing it's praises high enough, in due course it was changed for an iveco, well a bigger heap of sh.....ttt I have never seen, body twists constantly and you cant open the doors, developed oil leaks from every orifice within a week non stoppable, rear door inoperable within a month, flat batteries for no apparent reason, just shocking

so either the mazda or the toyota would be a very good choice, my final would be toyota but I have very good reasons for that

VK3FEMT · Senior Member

Bare Rambler wrote:
Does any one have any advise regarding Coaster v Mazda T3500 v Nissan Civilian ? We are initially just looking at short weekends away. Thanks in advance.
Geoff

Geoff I'm with Dave on this one, HAIL THE MIGHTY COASTER!
Okay as I own one I am biased :)

Seriously though as Dave said, as busses they were the ducks guts for that size range, and as motorhomes they are even better, you get to choose who you take :))

I brought mine decked out ready to roll, while its no show stopper to look at inside its very well laid out and accommodated, plenty of cupboards, stove/oven, 3 way fridge, rangehood etc etc.

Easy to drive mate, if you can drive a car, you will have no issues with these, just a little longer in the arse thats all.

I did a roadtest of the oven last night down the lake fishing, and ended up with no fish (nothing unusal for me) but had a damn nice roast hehe.

You see coasters pop up a fair bit on ebay and the trading post etc, but definately do not buy without seeing it in the flesh first, and better still taking it for a spin around the block.

There are heaps on here with heaps of experience, much moreso then me, I am just a virgin :)

Bare Rambler · Veteran Member

Thanks Dave and Stew for your advice. Geoff

twobob · Guru

Geoff
My take on this topic is two fold, but I am bias to the Tojo. When travelling, expecially when the vehicle is your home, reliability is the key. Not saying to get one that does not fail, but one that can be repaired quickly WHEN it does.

If travelling mainly in cities, this does not matter that much, as a dealer is always available. Further out this may not be the case, and those garages that do the work, may not be experienced in all vehicles.

Tojo's are like holdens, you can practically get parts off the side of the road, and most repairers know them

Some times $price will determine what you eventually get, but this also comes back to haunt you when it comes time to sell. Buy cheaply, use the money saved to "do it up" for reliability, and not a problem no matter which you choose

For me, the Tojo every time

VK3FEMT · Senior Member

Geoff;

Just a little more on the Coaster thing.
I did my first real trip in it over the weekend, and overall apart from a few things I need to modify and fixup (I brought it secondhand) it run like a dream, very good on fuel which made me happy. Mine has a 4 cyl petrol donk in it, I cant remember the actual size, something like 2.1 or 4.1, I will ask my dad next time I talk to him, I am mechanically challenged.

I am going to re-wire the 12v electrics in mine for the lights etc, and put some extra switches and 12v sockets in, just replace whats there with heavier wiring, as its just that thin speaker wire thats being used, not a real good choice of wire in my mind. And just generally tidy things up, its a work in progress and I will do bits and pieces over time as the money becomes available to do so.

Only thing I found was the front suspension on a hot day developed some squeaks, a bit of wd40 between the leaves soon fixed that problem, if you happen across this, spray between the leaves from the outside of the vehicle inwards, wd40 on your brakes wouldn't be a good thing!

Try and get one with an aircon if you can, they get bloody hot, I think I lost 10 kilos sweating like a wild bore on hunting day. Mine has no aircon so I am going to eventually get a portable compressor job when I can afford it.