My name is Paul. I have put together this site.
I have always wanted to own a campervan or motorhome. With our small budget, we bought a quality motorhome with a lot of years under its belt. When you purchase a motorhome there is a steep learning curve, I never realised just how steep.
We bought an old Hymer 644 from the year 1990 based on the Fiat Ducato. It has high mileage and had been a bit neglected by a few of the previous owners. It is over 6m long (18feet), It has a rear lounge, can sleep 6 people more easily than expected and goes pretty well.
The number of things that you have to learn and find out can be completely overwhelming. You have the habitation problems as well as the mechanical problems. But really its all good fun. The benefits outweigh the problems, most of the time.
This site was created to share our experience with you to help you decide if this is what you would like and to try and put together a source of information covering some of the difficulties we have faced and how we got around them. This will hopefully cut out the hours of research and money we put in to find this information.
We are learning every day and by sharing the information hopefully, it will help some of you who are keen to hit the road in one of these amazing vehicles. From this site, I hope to learn from you as well. Everyone has something to share and I will try to leave the site open as possible.
Even though we have a Hymer most of the information will be relevant for most motorhomes as they tend to have very similar accessories and base vehicles.
Enjoy
May 28, 2020 @ 07:56
Hi Paul,
Great site and lovely to see pics of your old motorhome. So much useful info for older vans here. We have a ’92 VW Cree Autotrail who’s still going strong. Your tips will keep her on the road for a while yet!
We’ve got a page on our website of vintage vans we’ve seen out and about.
Keep up the good work and let’s hope we’re all able to get back on the road before long (once this virus situation has settled down).
May 31, 2020 @ 20:32
Hi Gav and Trudi
Your van looks great. It’s amazing how tough these old vans are. Hopefully, we will be back out on the road soon and get to enjoy them.
July 18, 2020 @ 20:19
My partner and I have just purchased a 1990 Renault Trafic Ranger Holdsworth motorhome. We have called her Mavis and she needs a lot of work but we love her.
August 13, 2020 @ 12:06
Thats a great motorhome. Good luck with all the work so you can enjoy using her in all her glory. Fantastic!
August 4, 2020 @ 10:26
Hi Paul really enjoying your site and all the helpful information. This gives me some confidence that I have not made a bad choice in purchasing a 1999 Pilote A-Class with high miles and a few problem areas but wonderful living space, light and airy interior with high quality fittings that have aged well over the last 20 years making it a modern classic in my view. I will follow the site and your adventures while making my own and will look to contribute with my own useful info and upgrades.
Regards
Dean
August 13, 2020 @ 12:14
Hi Dean
The Pilote A-classes are great motorhomes. We were considering one before we got the Hymer.
It would be great to see contributions from yourself and hear about your upgrades and adventures.
Kind regards
Paul
August 16, 2021 @ 22:18
Hi Paul,
I’ve just bought a 1990 vintage Hymer Citroen 2.5ltr diesel LHD. I’ve been watching your videos and I’m spooked because you are so handy. Makes me think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. Absolutely magic and down to earth clips with a wee bit banter chucked in – love them. I’m in Falkirk, I’ve been on the Hymer forums – we need to get a classic Hymer meet up!
Cheers,
Mark
August 21, 2021 @ 17:16
Brilliant Mark – sounds just like mine!
It can seem a bit daunting, there is always plenty to do but just deal with it one job at a time. These machines are tanks – a little bit of care and they will go for many years – they are already more than 30 years old!
As I get through the jobs there is less and less to do.
My channel and website seem to concentrate on the work but there is also fun involved – that’s why I do the work. These machines can take you to places, in comfort, you would never normally get to. It’s brilliant. Just concentrate on that when you have a lot to do.
A Hymer meet up would be great
February 20, 2022 @ 10:32
Great blog.. we have a ford transit based Horizons van. The single post table was ok but it limited movement around the van. ie. You cant swing it out of the way… There are many swing table fittings.. buying one is easy.. deciding where to fit it is more challenging. If you would like I can do a short article about how we approached the issue and with some photos. Happy to do it for the blog just to share our experience.. not looking any reward except maybe some thanks😌
June 4, 2022 @ 19:33
Hi Paul!
We’ve just bought a 1992 B644 motorhome and May I ask you to contact me as soon as you can? We have some problem to rewrite the vehicle and I saw a picture in your blog which could help me a lot.
The authority said the VIN number plate in the gas compartment should not be mounted with screws thus the originality check failed. Currently I’m trying to find evidences, that this was the factory way at that time and I saw a picture where your VIN number is also screwed exacltly the same way then ours. So please contact me to discuss about it a few word. Thank you very much. Very useful videos and blog content btw, like it so much!