We are changing from caravaning to a motor home, we will purchase one in the next month or so maybe at the Melbourne show coming up.
A 26ft motor home either Avida Esperance, Sunliner Twist, Jayco Conquest or ?
The Fiat FWD verses the Iveco 50c 17 RWD or Mercedes V6, the most inexpensive being the FWD but I have concerns if we wish to add a trailer with a small vehicle on it would be the towing ability.
Hence the question which is the best for towing and overtaking up hills etc, 4Cyl Diesel RWD or FWD both 400nm,
is the RWD rough to ride in?
has anyone experiences in this matter or advise would me much appreciated.
Hi Willops,...........here is a cut and paste of my reply on another forum re Fiats...................We have now travelled 63500 ks in almost five years of faultless travelling.Replaced the battery at four years old .Apart from the usual tyres and servicing the Fiat has performed very well.We tow a trailer with a Suzuki Alto hitching a ride and average 15 litres per 100 ks,which I'm happy with as we used to get 19 litres per 100 ks with a Pajero and 21 foot van.Our Fiat has only been serviced by Southern Euro in Dandenong who give great service and know the product.Although our configuration is different to the other posters(dual rear axle) we like the ride,quietness and handling of the Fiat and auto/manual transmission is great to use.Some people don't like front wheel drive,but we have found it to be ok and have had no problems.Even though our motor home GVM is totaling 5000kg the engine performs effortlessly on the open road and in the suburbs.The only thing that I occassionly get wrong is the indicators and wipers being of european design.Peter If I was to buy another motor home it would more than likely be a Fiat.... ....It took us almost three years to decide on our motor ,taking into account the handling,layout,comfort and power.Our Fiat is a 3 litre turbo .atm diesel ,hope this some help,take your time looking,looking at all the pros and cons of each motor home you look at,but don't rush it.cheers Peter.
-- Edited by 2foot6 on Monday 26th of January 2015 02:42:11 PM
I have an Iveco Daily 2.3 liter diesel RWD. Fiat in Italy make the Iveco, the engines are identical with parts interchange. I can't advise you about towing a car & trailer. My Gross weight is around 3500 kg, and I am more than happy with the performance.
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We have a Sunliner motor home had it for six years 2008 model fiat ducato and tow a Suzuki swift had no problems at all other than new battery at five years and tyres have now done 47000 KLS rides like a car and does 11.2 per 100 towing our car
I don't know where you usually drive,but I use the road way(black stuff),it generally works better for me.. After 65000 ks of driving and towing with the trailer and car,I haven't jack knifed or being bogged (YET) cheers Peter.
-- Edited by 2foot6 on Monday 26th of January 2015 08:14:54 PM
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We have a Jayco Conquest on a Fiat, FWD, and yes they don't like wet grass etc., but we have not had any problems, except new battery and water pump. Tyres of course, as we are on the road full time, that is to be expected.
We have just started towing a small car on a two wheel trailer, and very happy with the performance of the motorhome.
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Weight in the front is carry over from cars.. Its not totally an issue with heavy long wheel base truck type vehicles..
Why I didn't buy one..
Was concerned about FWD durability. traction.
Euro vehicles don't have good rep on auto trans ..
If your staying on the black stuff or gravel ? I can see there's no issues..
I would never use a front drive to tow anything; xxxxxx delete a bit here JC & to get stuck on a bit of wet grass& mud.
Agree with JC here folks.
Fiat front wheel drive last year got bogged in very easy conditions and we had to tow it out,,, not enough weight / traction on wet grass and nearly got bogged again. 2WD cars were driving through there OK so conditions not that bad really.
The bit I deleted from JC's post is about jacknifing,,, I think he meant you could drag the rear axle side ways in slippery conditions when cornering and actually straighten up rather than jacknifing. Same problem with semis in slippery conditions and cornering, especially slow speed and inclines.
Just my thoughts.
-- Edited by Baz421 on Monday 26th of January 2015 09:52:16 PM
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Hi. We have an esperance on a 50c18. It has a towing capacity according to the handbook of 3500 kts, braked.
we tow a car trailer and a little suzuki jimny. The Iveco is very reliable with its rear wheel drive. It does not seem to bounce around. Pulls well up hill.
it does 14 ltrs 100klms unhitched and hitched about 17. It depends on how you drive it. I drive ours as a manual.
hope that helps.
p.s. I would recommend you tell the dealer to change the tyres from pirellies as they are s##t. Everyone seems to have problems with them. I have changed 4 so far. Due to blow outs. Tyres were well in date. They delaminate, or run out of tread within 20,000 ks.
good luck. Enjoy.
-- Edited by Lozza1956 on Tuesday 27th of January 2015 12:43:27 AM
Front or rear wheel drive I have seen both stuck on wet grass when it may look flat. If you have a highway rear tyre on the rear of a truck with an open diff you are going nowhere.
Thanks Peter for the information really appreciate your comments especially about taking our time to have a good look around at the different Motor homes available.
We have a pretty good idea of most aspects but still seem to be a little confronted with the fact we will not be able to fit a similar amount of stuff as we had in our 24ft van.
Thanks again for the info will keep you advised as to our progress .
Re (but still seem to be a little confronted with the fact we will not be able to fit a similar amount of stuff as we had in our 24ft van.)
Would also check the GVM and towing capacity of the vehicle, Mercedes B may/maynot have higher figures than say Fiat, and later units maybe higher GVM than older units.
I would never use a front drive to tow anything; xxxxxx delete a bit here JC & to get stuck on a bit of wet grass& mud.
Agree with JC here folks.
The bit I deleted from JC's post is about jacknifing,,, I think he meant you could drag the rear axle side ways in slippery conditions when cornering and actually straighten up rather than jacknifing. Same problem with semis in slippery conditions and cornering, especially slow speed and inclines.
Just my thoughts.
-- Edited by Baz421 on Monday 26th of January 2015 09:52:16 PM
Incorrect on that one Baz, You will never get enough traction in the wet to do that;;
Its the opposite , when you deaccelerate you have NO engine braking on the rear wheels so in the right situation you end up with the rear end trying to overtake you, particualy with cars, then add a towed car/trailer pushing you as well.
Owned a couple of fwd cars when I was young & lived on dirt roads; soon learnt not to back off into a corner, needed to keep the power on or do 360's. Try that with something in tow.
JC.
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On your motor home searching ventures,have a look at the Jayco Optimum,it has plenty of storage bins on the outside.There is six storage doors ,five for storage and one is for the gas bottles...and wait there is more....plenty of storage inside ........................just a thought............Cheers Peter.
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We have the Jayco Conquest with a Mercedes 3 litre V6, auto diesel. It has a towing capacityof 2 tonne and has duel rear wheels and rear wheel drive. Jaycoare great with their warranty. The unit is very comfortable on road and hasgood traction. Fuel economy varies between 15 to 16 litres per 100km. Absolutely love the motorhome. My wife dragged me into it kicking and screaming from our Jayco caravan due to my bad back, (CANT HITCH) but now I love it. Very pleased with the merc, and the Jayco house. Hope this is of some help. Good luck with your purchase whatever it is and have a ball on the road.
Cheers Phil
