# Hymer S820 740 650 what to look out for



## Forestboy

We've recently sold the RV and are currently without a motorhome. We are off to USA in a few weeks for a 10 week tour which will complete our USA adventure as we will have visited all 48 states so will be selling our RV and Jeep in the USA as well.

The next chapter of our travels will be touring Europe including Scandinavia to the top of Norway, so we've decided to forget about RVs and get a European van.

We had a shortlist of 2nd hand vans;
Concorde Charisma (to expensive did'nt really like layouts on shorter ones)
Carthargo Liner (did'nt like layouts or looks of van)
Hymer S820 (came the closet to satisfying our needs)

I shortlisted these 3 because rear wheel drive, good payload, good thermal qualities the ability to use all year round, as we do like to spend time in ski resorts and the mountains and our trips are normally minimum 3 months

We've pretty well made up our mind to go for the Hymer S820 Merc 616 chasis about a 2002 to 2005 low mileage as these models seem well built. We've looked at a couple and will decide which to go for on our return. 

So my question is to any S820 or S class Hymer owners are there any inherent faults with this motorhome that I should look out for when buying? The ones I've seen are all under 40000 miles which I think is low for that engine am I correct? What is the payload left in travelling set up I'm told its very good but would like to hear it from an owner( we do tend to travel with fullish water as we do wild camp if possible)

Thanks in advance just hope we pick the right van as we would like to keep it a good few years and really make it suit us.


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## coppo

Hi Forestboy
I think the s820 is a cracking vehicle, (far superior buld quality to the new models), especially on the merc 616, you can uprate to 6400kg.

So well made, bullet proof chassis.

They are quite complex, especially the heating systems and you hear of people having trouble with them and having to get repaired,(not like our blown air system  ) apart from that, nothing i can think of.

Paul.


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## Forestboy

Hi Paul
Thanks

The wet heating system was another reason I picked this model. Spoke to Peter Hambilton Hymer Direct who recommended having the wet heating system overhauled at that age as apparently the circuit board can play up.


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## coppo

No probs,Lets have some piccies when you get one Forestboy.

I drool about the old s820, one day :wink: We would want one with front cupboards instead of bed. 

Looks like they'll last forever.

Paul.


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## Glandwr

Hi Forest boy, could be worth changing the title to include the S740 and S650 as well, because as far as I can see they are ssentially the same machine apart from the lenght. S740 sigle bed in rear and 650 no rear bed. Apart from that they seem to be same spec.

Dick


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes

I have an absolutely gorgeous B544SL LHD 2007 done 11000 miles, superb for cold climates and full timing

Don't know your budget but its on the website if interested.

Peter


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## androidGB

The payload of around 1300Kg is one of the joys of owning these vehicles, you really don't have to worry about what you put in it. Also of course there is masses of storage 

You also have a good water capacity around 170 litres I think.

One thing to look out for is a diff lock, you may need this to get out of boggy ground as this is quite a heavy vehicle.

My own has the three heating systems the Truma blown air, the underfloor system which works off gas or 240v or both. A separate blown air system at the front which I've not yet found the need for. With the exception of the need to bleed the wet system I have had no problems.

Some of the early ones were on the 416 chassis, which I would avoid like the plague.

The only other thing I would say is that with an all up weight of 6 Tonnes they are somewhat underpowered with 156 Bhp, I have a Van Aaken smart box which up the power to 185bhp, and also increases the torque.

Please feel free to PM me with any specific questions


Andrew


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## coppo

androidGB said:


> The payload of around 1300Kg is one of the joys of owning these vehicles, you really don't have to worry about what you put in it. Also of course there is masses of storage
> 
> You also have a good water capacity around 170 litres I think.
> 
> One thing to look out for is a diff lock, you may need this to get out of boggy ground as this is quite a heavy vehicle.
> 
> My own has the three heating systems the Truma blown air, the underfloor system which works off gas or 240v or both. A separate blown air system at the front which I've not yet found the need for. With the exception of the need to bleed the wet system I have had no problems.
> 
> Some of the early ones were on the 416 chassis, which I would avoid like the plague.
> 
> The only other thing I would say is that with an all up weight of 6 Tonnes they are somewhat underpowered with 156 Bhp, I have a Van Aaken smart box which up the power to 185bhp, and also increases the torque.
> 
> Please feel free to PM me with any specific questions
> 
> Andrew


Good post Andrew.
I often wondered about the power aspect if loaded near the MAW, our merc 316 cdi was 3800kg although we have just taken this to 4000kg, still 2 tonne less.

Paul.


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## hymerbeliever

lovely vans the S820s...will get one one day (with the dishwasher option). Dont buy this one tho!:

http://www.salvagesparefinder.co.uk/HYMER+S820+MOTORHOME-1651.htm

Think John Cross has an 820 for £36K. You do see them as low as £32K and a friend bought a nice 650 for £23K


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## teemyob

*S820*

Only thing I can throw in is that on 616's The tow weight is around 2000kG on manual gearbox versions.

But bear in mind it is usually, only 750kG on Automatic versions. SprintShift was never available on 616 Chassis.

TM


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## androidGB

hymerbeliever said:


> Think John Cross has an 820 for £36K.


That's a 2001 S650 on the 416 Chassis, different animal all together.

Be lucky to get a S820 on a 616 chassis for £32K

Andrew


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## JockandRita

Hi Rory,

You already know my views and opinions on your choice of MH. A great choice.

We Hymer owners cant all be wrong. :wink: :wink: :wink: 

Cheers,

Jock.


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## jonandjules

We have a 2004 S820 (616 chassis) with 30000 miles on it. We bought it earlier this year for full timing and love it.

We have done about 4000 miles and not had any trouble.

I put it on the weighbridge with full tanks, all our gear etc and it was about 5400kg. Our vehicle is fitted with 5.5m awning, sat system, air con, tow bar and some other factory options.

Ours in the manaul transmission and I find that it has enough power to maintain an 'appopriate' speed for the size and weight of the vehicle.......having said that, I would like to know a bit more about some of the aftermarket 'upgrades'.

We seem to travel at about 60mph on larger roads and about 40 on smaller roads. 

We average about 20mpg or 18 when towing a smart car on trailer.

Ours has an air operated handbrake and I have noticed that the rubber gaitors on the brake actuators have perished - other than that the chassis looks very good. It has been well looked after by the previous owners.

The chassis does give a firm ride....our previous van was a 6m, 3850kg Knaus on a Fiat chassis. The S820 is A LOT BIGGER and requires a more sedate driving style.

Ours has the drop down bed as well as the rear king size - in truth I would rather have the front cabinets in place of the bed for reasons of headroom, extr storage and a slightly larger view through the windscreen.

Last week I noticed that the wiper blades were about to fail and expected special order replacements......but no.....I dropped into a tiny petrol station on the Isle of Skye and they had a set of the correct Bosch blades - about 7 pounds each.

I put new tyres on (Michelin) as the origonal tyres were over six years old, (they had so much tread they looked new) I noticed that the inner of the two front tyres were worn - not sure if that's a problem??

The underfloor heating system is great as it works on electric. It keeps a nice 'back ground' heat through the van. The blown air system is needed to get the van warmed up from cold. When cold, we tend to sleep with the blown air system on the lowest setting and the underfloor heating off - the underfloor heating is a little noisy......I understand they are all like that. With the blown air on low is keeps the van at about 17C through the night.

We have a bulk gas tank fitted (its quite small) which lasts a solid two weeks in cold weather with electric hookup. We have two 6kg bottles - I have not found it possible to fit the larger calor propane bottles in the gas locker.

Any questions please just ask!


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## Forestboy

Hi jonandjules

Great reply thanks very much answered most of my questions.
We would prefer the layout you described with cupboards and tv in cab area rather than overcab bed, only two of us 95% of the time but it gives a feeling of much greater space which we feel we need coming from 5 years in RVs. We dont full time but most of our trips are 3 months minimum and long distance. 
5400 loaded, that means that even fully loaded you still have nearly 600kgs of payload left to play with which is amazing far more than any 7.5 ton RV.
Thanks again
Rory


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## jonandjules

Here's a very nice looking example - 2006 year http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2006-HYMER-S8...mpers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item3a5ac869af


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## karterjim

Hi
I have a 2006 Hymer S820 616 RHD / 5 speed box with 34,000 mile on it and I love it. It's the model with the cream leather bench seat on both sides and has the swing out oval table with the 2 swing out leaves under the table. I have owned a 2005 Euramobil integra 810 with the 2 single beds over garage which was a nice motorhome. I also owned a 2010 Knaus Sunliner 700 which also was a nice motorhome but the Hymer S820 beats them all. The problem with the L shape living diner in the other two I had, is that it is hard to get round the back of the table. We ended up taking the table out of the Euramobil and putting a folding one in the wardrobe, when down nothing to put your cuppa on. The knaus 700 dining area was also tight to get into, but a nice quirky looking thing. The Hymer S820 drives just like my Nissan X-trail and I love that too.


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