# Smart Car Garage



## Littlebt (May 19, 2012)

Currently Towing a Smart on a Trailer.

Would be very interested to hear from anyone with experience of a van with a car garage as it is something I am considering.

Please, no comments on towing with trailers or A Frames.

There are these Vans out and about but I have never met anyone with one to ask about the upside and downside of having a car on board.

Thanks


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

I love the idea, with Spain and France clamping down on A-frames, but the price of a new or nearly-new German SG van is horrific :-(

Watch payload other than the car. It is very difficult to get a decent large van, payload and a Smart under 7.5t. Concorde Charisma is the best compromise for me, but silly money new.

Dave


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## Valian (Sep 25, 2008)

Hi
We seriously considered getting one before we settled on the Liner. Anything under 7.5t was disregarded on payload grounds as once the car was aboard that would be about all you could carry; I also worried about all that weight behind the back axle.
The 990G Concorde Liner, equivalent of our 990M, was OK on payload but we still chose the M and trailer option. The G would not have had enough storage space for our stuff other than the car, and the bedroom is seriously compromised in order to create extra garage headroom for the car; steps up, less headroom and more difficult to access the bed and storage at the back.
Like all things it's pros and cons, but for us the advantage of having the car inboard is outweighed by the other things I've mentioned.....it may well be different for you. Some of the less well known German makers like Vario and Phoenix have been making car-garage motorhomes for longer than Concorde, so there are less expensive ones about in Germany if you're prepared to buy older.
Hope this helps
Ian


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## Gazzer (May 1, 2005)

DABurleigh said:


> I love the idea, with Spain and France clamping down on A-frames, but the price of a new or nearly-new German SG van is horrific :-(
> Dave


What's this about France clamping down on A frames Dave?


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Just my impression, with things like this:
http://www.ffcc.fr/actualites/310/0/voiture-attelee-a-un-camping-car-quelle-reglementation.aspx

and anecdotes of Gendarmes increasingly stopping them. Nothing definitive.

Dave


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

Best place to see these is the Dusseldorf show in Sept

another to consider is the Frankia Royal it used to be on a MAN chassis but now appears to be based on an IVECO

Frankia 2013 catalogue


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*mann*



trek said:


> Best place to see these is the Dusseldorf show in Sept
> 
> another to consider is the Frankia Royal it used to be on a MAN chassis but now appears to be based on an IVECO
> 
> Frankia 2013 catalogue


Just beat me to that one!

I prefer the idea of the Frankia IQ garage, and an IQ car over the Smart.

Some old stock MAN here


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## Camdoon (Sep 21, 2012)

How do you manage to get out the Smart when it is in the garage? Having owned one I know the doors are relatively large.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

You winch it in and out, standing outside controlling it remotely.

Dave


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## frankly (Mar 17, 2012)

DABurleigh said:


> You winch it in and out, standing outside controlling it remotely.
> 
> Dave


ah, I've thought about doing that with a box trailer but wondered how you'd keep the wheels straight when reversing it out...no steering lock on a Smart...


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## VanFlair (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi

I think the idea of Smart car garage is great if you are looking for and happy with that size and weight of vehicle BUT when you really think about it and as Ian has already said all your storage is taken by the car so it is a big compromise.

I like the idea but would not have one.

Martin


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## Christine600 (Jan 20, 2011)

frankly said:


> [
> but wondered how you'd keep the wheels straight when reversing it out...no steering lock on a Smart...


On a Concorde the wheels go in tracks of aluminium. I have chatted with a German lady while she was loading her car into her Liner. Looked easy enough.
Unfortunately my German and her English wasn't good enough to allow us to discuss to much pro and con but she said she loved to bring the Smart car with. I belive their Liner was a MAN so still much room and capacity for luggage. I could see that they had camping chairs and a table stored in the Smart garage - fixed to the side walls.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

This one holds a Smart................................... Ray.


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## Gazzer (May 1, 2005)

raynipper said:


> This one holds a Smart................................... Ray.


If I was only ten years younger......... :wink:


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## Waggys (Jul 15, 2008)

Only a comment but have you looked at RS motorhomes?? Have seen them at the shows and they do look good!


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

You won't get a Smart garage in an RS Motorhome under 7.5t, if that is important to you.

Ray, what RV is that? I SO wanted to go the smaller RV route with a Tiffin, but the fuel consumption turned out much higher than the literature and dealers initially claimed, and would absolutely put the mockers on planning trips.

Dave


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## Littlebt (May 19, 2012)

Thanks for the info everyone, I think RS do a very good product but apart from the Elysian I don't like the Truck type style.

Concorde, Carthago or Frankia are the obvious choice but as with the initial post it would be nice to hear from an owner.

I have to say the new Frankia looks superb.


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## builder (Apr 27, 2008)

I have a concorde liner plus 1090iq, on a 12ton chassis. They do make a 7.5ton chrisma on a iveco chassis. However, there is one very big problem on all these garage models - there is very little room for anything else! Also, when the car is in the garagei I've had to have a tow bar fitted to support a bike rack. I would think carefully before purchasing a motorhome with a garage. It is even a struggle to find the room for table & chairs, and with most of these cars being very small. There is limited room for extra storage in the car.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

builder said:


> I have a concorde liner plus 1090iq, on a 12ton chassis. They do make a 7.5ton chrisma on a iveco chassis. However, there is one very big problem on all these garage models - there is very little room for anything else! Also, when the car is in the garagei I've had to have a tow bar fitted to support a bike rack. I would think carefully before purchasing a motorhome with a garage. It is even a struggle to find the room for table & chairs, and with most of these cars being very small. There is limited room for extra storage in the car.


I can understand the problem. There used to be a few three-wheelers around, based on motorcycles - the old tandem Mescherschmit, and the side-by-side Isetta. Are there any equivalents available now?

If so they would give a lot more storage space in the garage area.

Geoff


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## Littlebt (May 19, 2012)

*Smart car garage*

Yes, back in the sixties they produced theses little vehicles and yet today when leisure is now affordable and enjoyed by millions worldwide a simple small get me from A to B vehicle isn't available?

A business opportunity, surely?

I'm ready to put down a deposit.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

*Re: Smart car garage*



Littlebt said:


> Yes, back in the sixties they produced theses little vehicles and yet today when leisure is now affordable and enjoyed by millions worldwide a simple small get me from A to B vehicle isn't available?
> 
> A business opportunity, surely?
> 
> I'm ready to put down a deposit.


How about the development capital of 100?k

Geoff


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## Littlebt (May 19, 2012)

*Smart car garage*

100k is very little money today particularly at a commercial level,if they can sell "Smart Cars" at 12k plus, a small basic vehicle that sold at say 3/4k with a return on cost of 1k would still produce a viable investment and the numbers would probably stack up.

I think a retail price of 5k+ would still work as its the product "a bacis vehicle" that fits the bill that you are looking for, buyers at this level are not looking for value for money.

Food for thought.


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## Christine600 (Jan 20, 2011)

I guess a quad bike would fit in the garage. Some seat two persons. Do they come with roofs?


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## Annsman (Nov 8, 2007)

Quad bikes are very heavy on juice. My mate has one on his farm and he only gets 10 mpg on the road and it's down to 7-8 on the fields using 4WD.


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

Two years ago we were on a site in Sicily with our trailer-toad Smart when we were approached by very excited couple with a Concorde. 
Was our Smart a new or old style?
New, we said.
Damn (in German), they said, we want an old one. Our garage in the Concorde won't take the extra 3 inches of the new Smart and our old Smart has died - so we need a new old Smart!!!

Beware if buying second hand...

Patrick


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## Christine600 (Jan 20, 2011)

On this website you can see storage accessories for the Smart garage and also how much room there is around the car:

http://idea-regale.de/idea/all_pages/Einbaubeispiele.asp?MEN=4&MEN2=14&MEN3=0&MEN4=0

Scroll down a little.


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