# Kentucky Camp Motorhomes



## 90688 (May 1, 2005)

Hi, been sort of off line for a few weeks, so just read your post. Hope I'm not too late?
We recently bought a new Kentucky Camp Estro 5, back in October past. It is on the new Ford Transit 350 chassis, 2.4 litre ,137bhp tdci , twin rear wheels.
Originally went out to buy a motorhome on a merc Sprinter 316 , 5cylinder 2.7 tdi , 156bhp.
We saw the Kentucky Estro 5 sitting close by the merc at the dealers , looked at it and simply fell in love with it. 
I did my homework and talked to the commercial trade folk, and my cousin and uncle who have worked for Ford all their lives, same result" buy the Ford." 
It seems the merc common rail diesels aren't the be all and end all you can be led to believe by the advertising, they can give serious grief to your bank manager it seems .
I also was responsible at a time for a fleet of over 50 commercials, we ended up then late 80's , with all our van fleet becoming Ford Transits, no other makes could stick the work load. So I have inside knowledge I suppose.
The other way I look at it when the warranty runs out and anything falls off , I'd rather foot the bill for a Ford part. Talking to transit owners , some had older transit vans with a hard life and almost 500k miles under their belts, I heard nothing but praise for this new engine and chassis. 
So we bought it. 
We were away for 10 days over Halloween , mostly up the N W coast of Scotland, and we really love this Kentucky. The 6 speed manual box mated to this engine is brilliant, engine performance. gear,effortless, even in 6th fully loaded, 2 up plus a terrier. Fuel consumption very good as well. 
A joy to drive, in fact it is nicer to drive than a lot of modern cars, but then transits were always a favourite with their drivers, storming up and down the length of Britain on motorways. The twin wheels give unbelievable handling and stability
This particular Kentucky came with all the extras listed, already fitted, the only time you need the generator is for the wife's hair dryer. Or the Air con , but we didn't need that at Halloween did we?
I'm happy to say we didn't use or need a camp site the whole 10 days, this is a first for us, and I have to say we really won't use a site again unless absolutely necessary. 
There is not a lot of info on the net about the brand.
If I had a fault , it would have to be the scant owners manual for the caravan section, the cab manual from Ford is in English of course.
You can buy the same layout from Rimor for about £7K less. 
Check out this web site from the importers. Feel free to contact me, if I can help I will be more than happy to do so.
Will post the stopovers locations in the next few days.

BentAxle

www.kentuckycamp.co.uk/coach/


----------



## 88726 (May 9, 2005)

hi bent axle, just noticed theres another transit van fan thread going here also,got to say again i love the transit base if you can find them.


----------



## ingram (May 12, 2005)

Quote "but then transits were always a favourite with their drivers, storming up and down the length of Britain on motorways."

Hmmmm, someone has never had to drive a c.1970 'Mk1' diesel then ........... akin to being inside a steel dustbin with 100 Zulu beating on the lid with spears ................  

H


----------



## 96410 (Sep 30, 2005)

Was there much choice which van you drove in the early 80s? Didnt Mercedes once make a quality car!!!!!


----------



## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Well Thats An Interesting one !Ford V Merc*

Hell all

Tommorow I collect my Eura 716hb on a Merc 4 ton chassis with the 156bhp 5 cyl engine.

I hope form past experience I have made the right choice.

I ran a fleet of the olderMerc Vito vans 80 & 110bhp, both they and the Dealer service were nothing short of crap. Examples being 50% Alternater failure at low miles (though out of warranty £500), £900 for glow plugs (apparently required the removal of cylinder head for re- threading) and 100's of othe faults.

Along side this we ran a smaller fleet of Sprinters with the old engine and the new CDi, one with 1/4 million miles under its belt with no breakdowns, drove like new and only need general service.

I now run a small fleet of VW T5's with the 5cyl 174PS engine. Better to drive than the New and old Vito but fraught with quality issues to the extent that one has been replaced under warranty.

So in my search for a MobyHome I had the usual Seville Sisters, Ford Transit and the Merc. However, I wanted twin rear wheels with rear wheel drive I chose the Merc over the Ford simply because the transits I tested in the past felt nothing short of Agricultural, though in fairness I havent tried the new TDCi engines.

I had consulted the opinions of fellow MH's and fleet owners and all seem to fall greatly in favour of the Merc.

Can I ask why I need to consult my Bank manager for owning the Merc?, what do you base this on?

Well Fingers crossed, if you see a MB Eura broken down with hazards flashing on on the M6 Hard Shoulder tommorow, then erm do offer your help.

Trev


----------



## 90688 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Trev , 
The "Bank Manager" bit was a quote from quite a large commercial service repair outfit. They work on all makes of vans/trucks. This one guy had just done a homer on his mates 316 cdi 2.7 Sprinter, cost over £3500 for the parts alone, and of course it had just happened out of warranty. Mercedes didn't want to know. The mechs words to me were consider yourself fortunate you went for the Transit.
Can't remember the problem for the above , but have read owners posts that the common rail fuel injection pump (made by Bosch) has a nasty habit of exploding, and this on it's own costs mega bucks to replace, with another Bosch !!!!!.
Funny thing is , the bigger commercial Mercedes trucks, Arctic's and such are all going back to the plain TDI diesel injection system. This was told to me by a commercial sales firm whom I asked advice, so if it's wrong don't blame me.
Also have friends who have bought Merc , BMW and VW cars , all 04 or 05 models, and are plagued with faults. My own Father is one of them ( Merc) He won't touch one again, and he was in the car trade 30 years ago. 
According to these folk all long term German Car enthusiasts. The Manufacturers don't build them like they used to. I remember one buying a new Merc S class back in 83 and it was trouble free. 
Not my idea, and in no way am I running down mercs or vw, just quoting what I found out with a bit of research from owners etc:
In the past I have had major troubles with vw bases, and my best mates vito was a heap of heartache, I didn't really want the seville sisters again either , although had little trouble, but hated the driving position on a longish run, even in an A Class with aftermarket swivel Seats.
Always hankered after the Sprinter base as the older mercs in my opinion all handled like a wet sponge. When I drove them , I knew I wouldn't want to sit behind the wheel for 50 miles never mind a summer month on the continent and the prospect of 4500+ miles. Friends said they were very sluggish and drank diesel like a dipso drinks Buck Fast! But were a reliable plodder. So I have always opted for the Fiat or the Peugeot base, as I suspect a lot of folk do as they are a heck of a lot nicer to drive.
This transit is new territory as far as the base for a camper goes. I was advised to stay clear of front wheel drive transits and the smaller 90 + 110bhp outputs, as they are known to be fond of diesel and wheel spin with a load in the back.
If this Ford Transit does give trouble I will post the faults on this forum, so far It's only covered 3400 miles , so it's early days , and all I can say it's been a revelation and a driving pleasure thus far. 
You will find the sprinter is definitely not sluggish, won't notice hills, sips diesel, and I hope your mechanicals give you sterling service. One last thing , I hope it's got a manual gearbox not the sprintshift!!!!!

try www.carsurvey.org for the good the bad and the ugly

All the best ,
BentAxle


----------



## Steptoe (Nov 8, 2005)

interesting comment regarding the commercial boys going back to TDi's, a motoring forum which I view suggested that secondhand CDi cars should be avoided as it is impossible to tell if they had been misfuelled and quickly put back in the market place.

I mustn't keep harping on about my life as a service engineer but it did teach me many valuable lessons;

Ck's No. 2 law ( I've forgotten what No. 1 was  )

Never be in a rush to purchase the latest fad/technology; stick with the run-out model; all the mods and redesigns have been done, it will also be cheaper as most folks will pay a premium to be able to say they have the latest gizmo.


----------



## sailor (Aug 23, 2005)

Hi,

I notice Bentaxle is in Ulster, - in england when I was researching vans before buying, I ruled out Kentucky Camp because the only place I could find where they are sold was in reading, way too far from where I live for my comfort and ongoing servicing! (Cheshire). I was personally happy with Fords but there was no other ford based motorhome that suited us.

Re the pro ford and anti merc sentiment, on another thread on this site there are some anti - transit views. This is because whilst parked up for a month or two the transit discs pitted and had to be replace at significant cost. Ford claimed it was lack of use and didn't want to know even though the van was still in warranty. This raised a question in that thread about whether the transit is suitable for normal motorhome use. 

In my view fords are Ok and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. But my van is a 2.7 merc, no problems at all so far (but its only 4 months) and a delight to drive. I have a friend who has had the same merc motorhome for 12 years with no probs other than service items. He would not have anything other than mercs having driven merc commercials for years - including just short of 1 million kilometers in one of them.

So, you pays your money and you takes your choice!

Regards


----------



## joe2369 (May 1, 2005)

having driven fords for years for the largest fleet runner of them all BT and being on 1st name terms with fleet manager i bought a new 55 merc 316 cdi non sprint shift having dorve trannys box luton etc I am happy with choice overjoyed in fact hope and pray it serves me well I could have had the above on tranny for 1k yes 1000 pounds less the 3 pointed star won me over


----------

