# Whats going to happen to values as they get older



## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

After watching the motor home channel it got me to thinking 

They showed a new Chausson with a drop down electric bed , all very flash and practical, but do you think it will kill the resale value as they get older because of the costs of replacing parts etc

and also does it mean more and more owners will HAVE to use dealers to repair them? :surprise:what does the panel think


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

daffodil said:


> After watching the motor home channel it got me to thinking
> 
> They showed a new Chausson with a drop down electric bed , all very flash and practical, but do you think it will kill the resale value as they get older because of the costs of replacing parts etc
> 
> and also does it mean more and more owners will HAVE to use dealers to repair them? :surprise:what does the panel think


I have a 'friend of a friend' who is a salesman for a motorhome dealership. I was really impressed with these drop down beds and told him so. He chuckled and said "be very careful with these beds, we've had problems with them on display. They've got to be dead centre level to work and if they are off a few degrees they wont come down, but yes, they look marvellous when you see them at a show on a concrete floor which is dead level"

So how would I get on wild camping with a drop down bed?

"You wont" was his reply.

Not sure how true this is, but he had nothing to lose either way as he knows I've got a van I'm happy with and he's trying to sell motorhomes with this style of bed.

I think they look fantastic. I was really impressed when I saw them at the shows last year. There's several firms making them and they do cut down on the length of the van with compromising that double bed.

Daffy,

You know if I got one, I'd have it in bits on the first week just to see how it works 

I do think if you had a drop down bed that didn't drop down you might well struggle to sell it privately. Dealers will know it's repairable but may well low ball the offer if you don't understand the mechanics.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

First owners will pay a fortune in depreciation, so plan on buying secondhand and privately.

Or convert something like a 6-tonne Mercedes bus....:grin2::grin2:

Peter


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## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

Great point I hadent thought about the ramifications of it not being absolutely leval 

another minus then :crying:


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

daffodil said:


> Great point I hadent thought about the ramifications of it not being absolutely leval
> 
> another minus then :crying:


I'm not sure to be honest. It does make sense that if they use some form of ratchet to go up and down then if it wasn't dead level the ratchet would snag and the motor should (hopefully!) stop before it burns out or causes damage.


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## Brock (Jun 14, 2005)

Hymer have been installing from down bed for decades, or so it seems, and Hymers keep their value well. There may be an issue with the motors used for powering the beds because the motors may fail in time. 

What matters is the quality of design, build and installation. Corners will be cut to keep down costs. However, if you buy a new low cost motorhome, I reckon you are more likely to have bigger problems in time than the drop down bed.


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

Brock said:


> Hymer have been installing from down bed for decades, or so it seems, and Hymers keep their value well. There may be an issue with the motors used for powering the beds because the motors may fail in time.
> 
> What matters is the quality of design, build and installation. Corners will be cut to keep down costs. However, if you buy a new low cost motorhome, I reckon you are more likely to have bigger problems in time than the drop down bed.


I nearly bought a Hymer so know the front bed set up very well. The Hymer works with pistons (not unlike the boot lid on a car) Very robust. Very simple. Very practical. Almost indestructible. Very German! There's a lot of forgiveness in the Hymer set up, if its not dead level you just need to give it an extra tug to bring it down or getting on the bed should bring it down into the rest position.

These new beds are a lot more complicated. I don't think the issue will be the motors, it will be the ladders (or ratchets) the cogs travel up and down. If they aren't dead level the cogs will mis-align and the motor should (in theory) stop before it causes damage to the ladder or mechanism.


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## mgdavid (Nov 27, 2014)

my simple answer - buy a MH with a manual dropdown bed. Saw the electric ones at NEC when we were looking for what to buy, immediately thought 'over-complex, unnecessary, expensive, heavy junk' and passed on.
I put this in the same category as electric handbrakes on cars.


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

mgdavid said:


> my simple answer - buy a MH with a manual dropdown bed. Saw the electric ones at NEC when we were looking for what to buy, immediately thought 'over-complex, unnecessary, expensive, heavy junk' and passed on.
> I put this in the same category as electric handbrakes on cars.


But if they work they're an amazing space saver, or should I say 'length saver' All the comfort of a double bed and no faffing around setting it up every evening.

I must admit, I was very excited when I saw them at the shows. Can you imagine a twin axle van with a drop down bed! that is my idea of heaven  ...I know Hymer do them but I mean a proper bed that comes down with space under it to do other stuff in the daytime.

The idea has loads of potential and I really hope they have (or do) get it sorted. I think the idea is fantastic.


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

I have French friends with a large Chasson and it has a motorised opening side, opposite the hab door. It is always breaking down and draws lots of battery power. Chasson no longer make this model. It was discontinued after one year! It looks great and really brings the outside in, but it does not work. Our friends wish they still had their previous Hymer


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

Grath said:


> I have French friends with a large Chasson and it has a motorised opening side, opposite the hab door. It is always breaking down and draws lots of battery power. Chasson no longer make this model. It was discontinued after one year! It looks great and really brings the outside in, but it does not work. Our friends wish they still had their previous Hymer


Haven't our American cousins sorted this problem? All of their RV's have 'slide outs' as standard.

There's a lot to be said for standard vans, but I do like a bit of new technology as well  ....as long as it works and I'm not going to be the one parting with 50k to find out!

*Has anyone on MHF got one of these vans with the electric drop down bed?*


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## 113016 (Jun 5, 2008)

It was not a slide out. It was about a 6 feet section of the side of the van, hinged at the top and opening out and upwards. It gave shade from the sun


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I am dreading this to be honest. At some point I will have to upgrade our aging Kontiki which is 19 years old this year. The last thing I want is a load of electronics, fires that have to use the battery to work, hosts of electrical gauges or electrically controlled devices.

If I could get a newer version of the same van I would without any bells and whistles. There is a battery meter and water gauge on ours neither are digital and a just a rough guide and thats it. 

The more technology and expensive gizmos the more stuff I can break and of course I will. Keep it simple.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

The trouble is that this is still new(ish) technology, there are certain to be teething problems. I have no doubt that some people will have "issues" Look how many people have problems with water pumps/ contents gauges/water heaters/space heaters/solar panels etc etc. 

Anything that's mechanical has the potential to not function as it should. Motor Homes have all sorts of systems which will sometimes play up. 

I am a practical chap and take pride in finding out how things do what they do. That way I can usually figure out what has gone wrong when it inevitably does and effect a repair myself. However not everyone is similarly mechanically proficient so end up having to pay someone to sort out their problems. 

I have not yet looked at any of these electrical drop down beds, personally I would prefer a wholly mechanical system that has a counter balance/handle or cranking system to raise and lower the bed, but others want something that they just press a button for. It's called progress apparently !!


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## mgdavid (Nov 27, 2014)

david-david said:


> But if they work they're an amazing space saver, or should I say 'length saver' All the comfort of a double bed and no faffing around setting it up every evening.
> 
> I must admit, I was very excited when I saw them at the shows. Can you imagine a twin axle van with a drop down bed! that is my idea of heaven  ...I know Hymer do them but I mean a proper bed that comes down with space under it to do other stuff in the daytime.
> 
> The idea has loads of potential and I really hope they have (or do) get it sorted. I think the idea is fantastic.


Sorry that you misunderstood my post.
I agree entirely about the practicality and usefulness of dropdown beds, we have one in our Carado.
My point is that manually operated ones are simple, and longterm likely to be far less trouble than electric ones.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

First time buyers may not lose that much

It really depends on when you sell
If it suits
Then that's in the future
Maybe many years down the line
However the hound from hell is for sale 

But there is a strict limit on much I'm willing to pay
To the lucky winner

Aldra


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