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We bought our Burstner 748 in July last year and, although we haven't been able to get away that often, we have both been 100% happy with our choice....until last week.
We have spent the last 2 weeks in the Lake District and all was well until Wednesday evening when, buoyed by our succesful trip through the Wrynose Pass, we decided to take a short cut through the fells. Unfortunately we did not know about the 1 in 4 gradient on a very tight bend. Suffice to say we got stuck with no traction on the front wheels and were unable to go either forward or back. Fortunately one of the locals forced to stop due an 8m motorhome blocking his path knew the local farmer and, due to lack of phone signal, drove the mile and half to get him and his tractor to tow us up the hill. Blushes and many apologies later we were on our way.
Anyway this incident has made us doubt whether we have made the correct choice of vehicle. We like to visit the out of the way places and prefer the small CLs and CS's. We are also keen to visit the Alps next winter and are now worried that the 748 may not get us to the campsites especially with the Fiat front wheel drive.
Although we love the luxury and space of the 748, as there are only 2 of us and 2 dogs, do we really need to consider other vans to meet our needs, or are there always places that we will be unable to get to with any motorhome.
Any comments would be really appreciated as we are in a big quandry.
Dont give up on the van its obviously the one you enjoy. What you have to do is plan your routes a bit better. We tow a little car behind our 7.5m Bessacarr to reach those out of the way places that are inaccessible such as the narrow lanes of cornwall & wales or the isle of wight. Park up the motorhome and go exploring. The RV owners on the forum have a more difficult job than we do just needs a bit of planning in advance. You will regret it if you give up your spaceous van just to save a few hassles. I know what you mean about front wheel drive. I got stuck on a slippery steep concrete farm road once and had to wait for a friendly farmer to bale me out with his landrover, its all part of the fun.
No we were going up hill and with the gradient and the camber there was no traction on the front wheels. When the farmer towed us up I was outside watching and I reckon the drivers side front wheel was off the ground by over a foot. Very alarming!!
Sally
PS I agree it is a great van but does it call for too many compromises on the places we can visit or do we just need to regain our confidence?
If it was Hard Knot pass you got stuck on I would not worry too much as many people would not even take a 6meter M/H up it. Hard Knott is definatly the worst (or best) pass in the lakes. I would just make sure you studdy a map if you think the route might be iffy.
Why not just put this incident down to experience, as it probably won't happen again. The more adventurous you are with your MH in the way of access to different locations, the more confident you become with it.
We have been in and out of some really tight locations with ours, especially in France, but there was only one occassion when I looked at the access, and decided there and then that it was a "no goer".
There are only two of us also, in our 8mtr MH, as like you, we enjoy the space and luxury.
As long as you and the vehicle are well prepared for winter driving, there shouldn't be a problem.
Hop this helps.
Jock.
______________________________________________________________ For "Our Mavis."
Hi Richard
Not Hard Knott but a small road running parallel and about 5 miles south. But as I say we had already travelled Wrynose, the pass before Hard Knott, with no troubles. We like to be able to travel all these roads and be impulsive - I wonder whats down there etc. Would hate to feel that we had to plan every mile of our journey. Or is that necessary even with a smaller van.
Sally
In my opinion there is no such thing as the perfect motorhome,RV,or campervan specification.You have to decide on what aspect is most important to you and choose accordingly but invariably there will be a compromise to be made.
If you use bigger commercial type sites with good road access then a larger vehicle with all the extra space and comfort is the best choice.If you prefer to tour more inaccessible places off the beaten track and use small CL's and CS's then a smaller campervan would be a better choice,but then you sacrifice the extra living space and comfort.
Probably the best solution for your type of touring would be to tow a small car with an A frame behind the Burstner,use the larger sites and then go off exploring the 'off the beaten track' places in the car.Alternatively you could buy a small campervan conversion and use an awning to increase the living area.
There are drawbacks to both of these suggestions-not everyone wants to tow a car or bother with the hassle of erecting an awning,so again it comes down to compromise.Personally I would go for the largest vehicle that would get onto the smaller sites ok and use it for touring the places that you prefer,and not bother with a towcar or awning.Whatever size vehicle that is only you can decide.
Steve
______________________________________________________________ cheers Steve
Could you not tow a small car for your your perilous forays and leave the motorhome all nice and safe at a site .I think we have done all of the passes and Hard knot scared the cr*p out of us ( i ended up in the passenger footwell as i hate heights at the best of times )
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For "Our Mavis."
