# Carthago Chic 151



## neah (Mar 20, 2007)

Hi everyone,

We have been to the NEC and were very taken with the Cathargo Chic I 51KRH. The one we looked at was on an Iveco chassis with twin wheel axle and rear wheel drive, but with the option of having a Fiat tag axle front wheel drive instead. Has anyone got a Cathargo (or any other make) on an Iveco chassis, and if so, did you feel the need for the optional pneumatic suspension on the rear axle? this option is now £2072.00 and we are wondering if it is neccessary.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Neah
We have the Chic I51 KRH on a tag picked it up last December 07 and we love it.
The pneumatic suspension is I think a good option we didn't go for and I wish we had. The reason being the tag is built on a supper low chassis and with such a long overhang can bottom out. one pub we tried to get into with the combined effect of the road camber and the rise onto the pub forecourt made it impossible to drive in. We haven't been on a ferry yet but next Sunday we are off to Holland so I hope there's no problem with the ferry. George Pennells has the same model but on the Iveco chassis he runs> [email protected] His model has the pneumatic suspension fitted so he would be best able to advise on its merits.

Since taking delivery we have had a couple of problem, the tec tower fridge wouldn't work on gas Dometic fixed that very quickly, a sun visor fell of fitted that back with longer screws my self, and the diesel filler hose leaked oil when filling up Lowdham sent me a replacement and I fitted that myself, saved me driving up from Kent.

There is another small on going problem that I hope to resolve soon and will tell you about that later.

So far we are very happy with our purchase, its a lovely vehicle to drive with (considering its weight) lots of power We are getting 22 mpg but with only 1400 ml on the clock I think that may improve a bit.

Vanbitz fitted our alarm, Tracker, sat nav, sat tv, and solar panels They were great and I would highly recommend them (promise them a plug)

Regards Wobby

If you want more info on the MH "PM" Me


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## shackman (May 6, 2007)

We were also at the NEC yesterday and were so taken with the Carthago Chic I51, we ordered one! Expecting delivery around June/July, pretty dammed exciting business this! Can't wait, the little worm of impatience and excitement is already wriggling away.....

However, it will come with the Fiat Alko TAG axle so I am interested in the previous comments on this post. The bit about the worry of bottoming out is a new concern for me. I did notice the option of pneumatic suspension on the Iveco chassis but not on the Fiat TAG. Do any of you TAG owners, especially Carthago, know of a similar system that can be fitted?


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi,----- Rob must be rubbing his hand with glee--

I am not sorry I bought the tag as it is a very stable drive even in cross wind but as I stated it is on a very low chassis. However all is not lost as there is a company who fit air suspension to Tags

www.as-airsuspension.co.uk

If I have any problem with the ferry then that's what I'll go for, hopefully I won't have any trouble, I will report back in a couple of weeks.

I'm going to Holland to get hydraulic levelling jacks fitted as no one in the UK is up to the job.

Wobby


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## shackman (May 6, 2007)

Thanks very much for that reply. When we were considering the I51 a few weeks back, we spoke with southdowns motorhomes regarding the hydraulic jacks but they reckoned that as yet, because of the low chassis, they could not yet fit. I'll be very interested in your Holland trip. Have you had a quote?

Yes, Rob was happy, but we made him work....

I'm also looking forward to joining the Carthago users club and to meeting up with y'all.


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## ruthiebabe (Aug 16, 2005)

Hi we have a Chic I47 bought new in July 06...Iveco 3.0L auto base, but not with suspension mod. Not a problem to us but George Pennel reckoned it made fitting snow chains easier..we had to modify our wheel arches to fit them. 

We love the van, barely any problems, superb design and quality...pretty un beatable all round.

You shpould not be disappointed...and as said before hope you join the club and come to the meet.

ruth


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## drmjclark (Feb 19, 2006)

hi all ,

i,ve got a mondial on the iveco with the pnuematic rear - it really is very very good , it seems to stabilise the ride very well - despite the v large height of the van ( same height as the mega liner )

One little thing that doesnt seem to have got a mention is the levelling aspect of the system - I have been on some seriously sloping pitches ( ravenglass in the lakes ) and recently a not so sloping site in home county of lincs - but I only carry two fiamma chocks and sometimes by using the air rear to lower or raise the rear of the van.you can be very very level ( which I happen to like ) just by using the air alone - 
I havent used a ferry with it but to be honest wouldnt worry now with having the air - we also tow my wifes quite heavy car on a fairly heavy twin axle trailer and this is brilliant with the air as it sorts its ride height out itself by pressing one button!!!

carthago in general - 

faults on mine - 
1) mains hookup used to trip randomly / frequently - fixed
2) some missing silicone - fixed 
3) bust "ram" on entrance door - fixed.
4) stupid amount of power consumption with lights on- need to fit leds but shy of spending £250 on led bulbs!!! why on a van this dear arent they standard?
5) missing roof rack system promised with order ( now nearly 6 months on ) - still not delivered
6) missing cab mat - not crucial but I've paid for it!!
7) silly underslung mains hook up system which I have to grovel in the dirt to hook up - modded by lowdhams and now much easier but still to me in a stupid place where it will break due to road dirt .
8) creak in bullkhead behind me when i drive which bugs the hell out of me - not sorted yet.
9) had fault on towbar wiring which iveco turned up on site in lake district and fixed - top service.
10 ) blown pipe off intercooler - fixed by iveco but had been going on some time as I thought it was clutch !!!! 

so all in all pretty good really when you read other peoples groans about their new loved ones of different makes. - can I think of anything else I would like more - NO!!

lowdhams - 

van was delayed by nearly 5 months due to aluminium side shortage - but was lent a FOC van twice so I still got my planned holidays , rob v good to deal with about this.
after recent visit to lowdhams to get little probs fixed - went in with pristine carpets ( my wife has never allowed shoes in it ) and came back with dirt / oil splashes etc etc on carpets - pretty annoyed about this but lowdhams have agreed to foot bill which is fair enough - still annoyed it happened though - their second hand vans get immediate plastic stick on cover to save em money - why didnt my pride and joy get the same? ( my wife thought I was very "anal" as I insisted on a drop off handover to agree internal and external condition!!!! ( workmen dont feel the same about our vans as we do!!! ) - good job I did!! ( this was a MHF tip I read!! )


all in all - we love it, the quality is amazing - more like a work of art than a knocked up laminate concontion by an apprentice joiner - like some we have experienced - ( and no locks drop off it all the time like an italian motorhome we had loaned as well - )

I doubt once little bits sorted you will be disappointed. If you want any more bits on the air then pm me.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*neah-erly there*

Hello there,

My preference would without question be the Chic I44.

Is this model too small for you?
Payload to small?

Trev.


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## drmjclark (Feb 19, 2006)

we just loved the mondial due to the space and having two kids it has been a boon - too big for some I'm sure, but for us we feel it is just right after our kontiki 635. Yes its not as manouverable in small parts as the chic due to its height ( in fact we were going for a chic with fixed bed and rear garage , but then carthago changed the options and didnt produce the master bathroom layout which we wanted - and had ordered = but lowdhams "encouraged" us onto the Mondial and to the honest we have not regretted it at all.

we love the corner settee , the improved comfort of not including the cab in the hab space, the seperate kitchen , and the big toilet door which gives you a fantastic private "dressing room" area with space to shower , dry and get dressed without having to it with your arms pressed agains your sides!

We prefer the overcab luton just because of its incredible useability - and yes the payload was very important to us as was towing capacity - our iveco is on the 6.5 ton chassis. - I doubt even with all the junk we stick in ( boats / outboards etc etc ) we will run out of capacity ( I hope ) - its right for us but would probably be very wrong for some as well - 

the first ever mhome we drove was a hired burstner 747 and the mondial is a very sim layout to that - our initial foray into mhoming surprisingly showed us the way, for us!!!!


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## rongob (Apr 30, 2007)

I have had a chic 151 tag for over 2 years and been on numerous ferries without any problems with bottoming out also no problems with the van whatsoever.


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## neah (Mar 20, 2007)

*cathargo Chic*

Hello and a big thank you to everyone who has replied to my original post.
We have decided to go with the Iveco chassis but are still not sure about the suspension, mainly because it seems we can have something done afterwards for about a third of the price which will achieve the same result. Can't profess to know too much about this, hence the sketchy outline but would be interested to hear from anyone who thinks they may know what I am talking about.

Van Bitz have also been extremely helpful and spent a long time with my partner discussing all our queries regarding extras like reversing cameras, air conditioning etc, and whether it would be better to have these things done during manufacture or not. Very impressed to talk to someone more interested in what is best rather than how much money can be made.

Thank you also to George for his helpful Email, and yes we would love to join the Cathargo owners Club.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

rongob said:


> I have had a chic 151 tag for over 2 years and been on numerous ferries without any problems with bottoming out also no problems with the van whatsoever.


That's nice to know as I'm on the Sunday ferry from Harwich to Holland and that was one of my concerns.

Wobby


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

*Re: cathargo Chic*



neah said:


> Hello and a big thank you to everyone who has replied to my original post.
> We have decided to go with the Iveco chassis but are still not sure about the suspension, mainly because it seems we can have something done afterwards for about a third of the price which will achieve the same result. Can't profess to know too much about this, hence the sketchy outline but would be interested to hear from anyone who thinks they may know what I am talking about.
> 
> Van Bitz have also been extremely helpful and spent a long time with my partner discussing all our queries regarding extras like reversing cameras, air conditioning etc, and whether it would be better to have these things done during manufacture or not. Very impressed to talk to someone more interested in what is best rather than how much money can be made.
> .


I have had a lot of work done by Vanbitz (alarm, Tracker, sat tv, sat nav, and two solar panel) and I highly recommend them Very professional and a pleasure to do business with

Wobby


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Just got back from Holland were we had a brilliant hydraulic levelling system fitted by:-

EP Hydraulics (Pierre Blom) Tel 0031653750529 speaks good English

www.ep-hydraulics.nl

Email [email protected]

Wobby


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## ruthiebabe (Aug 16, 2005)

Interesting Wobby, may ask you more.

Now are you going to the meet?? Do tell...


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Ruth.

Afraid won't be at the first one we are off on our travels very soon but will be going to the one in Germany if it's still on. 

Wobby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

*Cathargo spares*

On May 22nd 2008 we became the proud owners of a Chic i44 which took 8 months to deliver. On June 20th (sunday) very srong winds ripped off the wind up roof light along with the fly screen and sun blind. The dealer ordered one the next day but over a month later nothing has happened.
Cathargo has very bad customer back up. Enjoy your new van but do not break anyting.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Jebby;

That was a bit of bad luck, having said that we had problems with ours too. I had to take the whole thing apart to repair it, working OK now but I never open it if its windy Its not very robust. The small ones work ok in winy conditions but if its raining close them as the rain bounces off the roof up under the glass an into the van damaging the blinds.

I have also found that the blinds on all the window after just 8 months are showing pin holes on the creases, does that mean holes in a couple of year.

Word will be had when I get to there factory this Oct. 

Wobby

Best of luck with the MH its really a great van all in all


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

*spares*

Thanks for the reply, the window was properly shut at the time and the van parked at home. i reckon that the wind gusted to 70mph. The roof windows have wind deflectors at the front but not at the back, something that i will rectify if it does't invalidate the guarantee. When you get to Germany ask why it takes them forever for them to send spare parts.
Don't enjoy yourselves too much, it could be habit forming.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Jebby;

Will do along with a lot of other questions, my near side mirror adjust has just stopped working!

Wobby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

Hi wobby,
I believe that you have had hydraulic levellers fitted in holland.
could you answer a couple of questions if poss?
1 Why did you go to Holland for them instead of southdownsmotorcaravans ?
2 do they make it possible to change a wheel without using a jack?
3 what is the weight of the system fitted ?
if the answer to the first question is indiscrete do not incriminate yourself. 
i wish to have them fitted to my van but cannot go abroad for them as the wife will not go with elderly dogs to look after. No dogs no wife, no wife no travel with out a divorce.
Yours 
Jebby


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Jebby;

I did go to Southdowns to have jacks fitted left them my MH, booked into a Hotel and that evening got a call to say they couldn't fit the system to my Alko chassis because it was too low! They then held my deposit of £500 for a further month whilst they messed about and eventually returned it with a £50 voucher to spend in their spares shop, 200 ml round trip to spend £50?

I then searched the net and came up with the Manufacturer in Holland, a very nice guy who had heard all about my saga and had been trying to get my telephone number to contact me. He was not amused with Southdowns performance as he supplied them with all the equipment. However he assured me that it was 99% possible to fit their system, the rest is history.
We are very pleased with the hydraulic jacks to date and can set the van level automatically or when thing are really out of level manually. With an extra small block under the jack/jacks the van can be raised quite high up. On the question of spare wheel access (isn't it in a daft place) you can easy access it when the van is up on the hydraulic jacks, which I believe are a lot safer than the Fiat jack

I was told by the Manufacturer in Holland that after doing my van they would be instructing Southdown's so they could undertake future work.

Wobby


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Air Suspension for Alko*



wobby said:


> Hi,----- Rob must be rubbing his hand with glee--
> 
> I am not sorry I bought the tag as it is a very stable drive even in cross wind but as I stated it is on a very low chassis. However all is not lost as there is a company who fit air suspension to Tags
> 
> ...


If it helps anyone, the owner of the Warrington Franchise of AS Air suspension has fitted Air Assisters to his own Tag Axle Fiat, a Burstner I think. So if you give him a call he will be able to advise you well.

Trev.


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

Thanks a lot for the information, i will let you know how i get on.
jebby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

*headlights abroad*

does anyone know if beambenders are required on new carthagos if going into europe?


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

What's a beam bender??

Wobby


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Just tumbled what you mean, having a senior moment  
and the answer to your question is no you don't in fact as far as I know you can't fit one.

At the back of the headlamp bulb holder there are 2 mounting screws one on each side and they are in slots these screws have to be loosened but NOT removed. At the top of the lamp is one locking screw that has to be remove. The lamp holder is then twisted to the opposite end of the slots and the locking screw is replaced into a newly revealed screw hole. 

Its not an easy job to do so have a good look with a strong lamp before you start.

Best of luck Wobby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

*headlights*

Thanks, very helpfull i will give it a go.
jebby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

Adjusted the headlights as you said and it worked great, and and now is easy to change. Just got back from Holland after having legs fitted at e&p hydraulics. Well impressed with the service and it worked out £200 cheaper including the ferry. It had to be a flying visit as the wife threatened to cut a vital part of my body off if i didn't get back quick. but unfortunately they found that the front springs are not up to the job so i will have to have them replaced. E&P are a great company to deal with and will recommend them to anyone thinking of having legs fitted.
Many thanks for you help


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Great to hear that it all went well for you, will you be at the Christmas bash in Lowdham? so we can have a chat and exchange idea's.

Wobby


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## 114662 (Jul 21, 2008)

don't know, whats the christmas bash? i haven't heard anything.


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