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lesjax

We are thinking of buying a sundance 630L from new
Does anyone have one? Are they OK?
Is there anything to look out for?
We also are thinking of adding some beanie boxes or under skirt storage. Does anyone have any recommendations?

philjohn

Have a Sundance 630 L, had it for ust over a year, have no complaints at all, taken it down to Greece and all over the rest of Western Europe without any problems, however as you have already spotted it lacks outside storage and Beeny Box's are excellent.

PhilJ

Enodreven

Hi,
Is the 630L the new one with the rear lounge area, if it is, it looks like a great MH the only thing i thought was that the actual rear overhang from the centre of the rear axle to the rear of the van looked very long, I actually think they lengthened it from its previous model ?? and somewhere on this site there is some mention of the length of overhang must not be more than 60% of the wheelbase (or something like that) if I am correct then it may be worth checking as it looks like you may not be able to put any bike racks on the rear ? ?

I could have been looking at a different MH ??

Brian

pauwilson

I have an 04 plate 630L, the older style with the door at the front instead of the middle, I would recommend it. - plenty of living space but the back lounge is a bit tight, the 05 onwards have the longer body (around 2ft extra if I remember correctly) and this gives a far bigger rear lounge. As someone said before no outside storage, but I think 05 onwards you get an outside locker on the N/S/R giving you access under the couch.
I would check out the overhang, I have no problems with mine and I have a bike rack but I think it must be on the limit. We have never had an issue with grounding on ramps but I dont know what the extra length would do on the newer models.
Payload is good, being the 3850kg chassis I get nearly 600kg in running order and thats fully loaded with water, gas,TV, utensils etc all in. Only problem is most of the spare capacity is over the front axle where the least storage is, I would put your beanie boxes as close to the front axle as possible to avoid overloading the back.
Get a swivel fitted to the passenger seat, it give you a lot more lounging space and makes a very comfy recliner chair , well it does on the older style, unsure about newer ones with the kitchen being up there.
Only issue we have had is some water ingress at the rear window but that was sorted out straight away by the dealer and no further problems have arisen. He said he had never seen this on a swift before.

Paul

teemyob

Hello there,

We don't own one but looked used one and looked at around 50 or so new and used before we decided against it in favour of our Eura Mobil.

You can get these in several forms:

Sundance 630L SWIFT
Bessacar SWIFT
Suntor 630L (Brownhills Group)
Firebrand (Barrons Group)

Similar other models and forms are available though, I can't recall them at the moment.

You don't state if you are buying new or used?

*If used* as per the other replies there is the older 630L with small rear lounge and the 2003/4 Onward with the extra bolt on chassis that gives a much more useable lounge. Some models may have been specified without blown air heating.

*If new/late model* Look out for dealers selling Pre September 2005 models ! These models do not have the now standard fit ABS. Many of the dealers do have these at first sight they may seem to be great prices. However, they are EX demo, pre registred and in some cases EX Hire. In my humble opinion you would be better off spending the extra and going for the models with ABS

For:
Great layout
Full Size cooking gear
2 Lounges
2.8 Engines
Very nice interior decor
Comfortable
Good tank sizes
Good height in overcab bed

Against:
Poor Payload
Low Towing weights
Poor Build quality in some areas (bed slats for example)
Little outside locker Stowage Space
No winterisation
Basic Van Suspension (leaf springs)

The reason we did not go for one in the end.........

I wanted

Rear wheel drive
4 Rear wheels
High Payload
2 Tonne Tow capability
Prefered merc chassis - despite leaf springs
More powerfull Merc engine - did not want to tamper with Manufacturers settings by tuning Fiat engines
Winter Van

Other than that the 630L is a fine n dandy unit.

Hope this helps
Trev

phoenix

We've got the Marquis Lifestyle 630L, 55 plate.

We had bike rack fitted by dealer before pick-up, had no troubles.
Yes, its longer than the older 630L, but just takes a little more care driving, you soon get used to it.
Has got the outside locker, long thin door giving access under one seat at rear, its big enough to fit in chairs and small table.
Haven't yet felt the need for beeny boxes - in 30 years of motorhoming!!
Although happy with the m'home, both of us feel that build quality has deteriorated since we bought a swift 600s in 2002. Guess cheaper build is versus even more expensive motorhomes... Crying or Very sad

Only 'modification' so far, we fitted electronic ignition on the fridge. Amazing how caravans, at half the price (!) already have this fitted on their fridges but its not even considered on motorhomes!

Lyn and Malcolm

TravelBug

We brought one last week, an upgrade from a 5 birth and have already been away in it for 4 nights, and have to say we love it! It's the 2003 model with the door at the front, but are finding the layout works really well for us. Only problem we've had so far is working out what connection we need for the waste pipe so if anyone has any suggestions please help!

We also have a bike rack on the back and it's about 2 ft longer than our previous model but we've not had any problems and finds it fits into two spaces in the car park quite comfortably. My poor dog though can't work out where to sit! i.e. should it be at the back where he can watch everyone following us or at the front where he can see where we are going...poor confused thing.

Ours has a large skylight over the main living area which is great in the mornings as we don't have to rush and get dressed before letting any light in, we just open the blind on the roof skylight. Would definetly recommend this to anyone, only downside is lack of exterior storage space, but there is plenty of under seat storage which makes up for it. Also took us 24 hrs to realise the loo rotates round so we don't have to sit with our knees against the wall!....but bathroom is well laid out.

Rapide561

Hi

What are beeny boxes?

Rapide561

Malc

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