My Dethleffs and Me
This page is for one member per month to show us around your Dethleffs. You know how everyone....come a little closer...likes to look around other people's houses.
Well, the same goes for caravans and motorhomes. If you want to be our first brave soul to show the world then we are after in and out photos and a short list of answers to our questions. the questions will include your favourite location, what your Dethleffs means to your family, the best thing and the worst thing about your Dethleffs etc.
Old or new, grande or bijou, our Dethleffs can allow such freedom that we want to tell people about it.
Well, go on then !! Picture shows a DOC Member at the recent factory visit weekend.
John , Gill Windwood and family are perhaps celebrity first 'Me and My Dethleffs ' contributors. In September's Motor Caravan magazine, this article caught my eye. John, and Motor Caravan Magazine have allowed us to re-print the article which is available in full as a pdf with photos.(click the link to see it)
READER TEAM
The good: The Windwood’s love the Dethleffs' big windows . Comfortable and relaxing to drive, very well equipped for an older van.
The bad :Somewhat dated front end styling and limited bonnet access
NAME John, Gill, Alex and Ellie Windwood
OCCUPATION Sales manager and homemaker
HOME TOWN Walsall, West Midlands
Our advice to you If you are thinking of buying a
Dethleffs I6842 Comfort...
We would recommend always getting the most powerful
engine that you can afford in a van of this size. Also, it’s
better not to fear the left-hand drive option, as you will soon
overcome the blind spots and you won’t have to pay any
more insurance in many cases.
READER TEAM
Dethleffs I6842
MODEL YEAR
1996
PURCHASE PRICE
£20,000 in 2006
VALUE TODAY
£17,500
PLACE OF PURCHASE
Bought privately
BASE VEHICLE
Fiat Ducato 2.5 TDI Maxi
chassis (left-hand drive)
BERTHS
6
MTPLM
3500kg
PAYLOAD
700kg
GAS
2 x 6kg Propane
BATTERY
2 x 85Ah
FRESH WATER
150 litres
WASTE WATER
150 litres
FUEL ECONOMY
30mpg
INSURANCE
Adrian Flux – £300. Both
aged 40, stored on drive.
About Us
It has always interested the
Windwood family that these
features are written by couples,
often heading for retirement.
Following a family discussion, we
decided that it might be interesting
to put forward the family’s points
of view concerning our beloved
van, hence the addition of all our
names as authors of the article.
Our Dethleffs is the third motor
caravan we have owned. We
began (as many people do) with
a Volkswagen camper, and soon
progressed to a coachbuilt as the
children increased in size. We then
bought a Volkswagen T4-based
Karmann Gipsy, which was our
first left-hand drive vehicle, but
following a rather cramped family
holiday in France, it was obvious
we needed more space. Having
spotted the Dethleffs, we looked
at the layout and decided it was
the one for us.
After the rather asthmatic
performance of our non-Turbo T4,
I was certain that I needed a more
powerful base vehicle. The Fiat 2.5
TDI chassis is vastly superior in
terms of power, torque and
comfort, and seems ideally suited
to the weight of the van.
I must say that one of my initial
concerns was the width of the
van, being an A-class. Having
driven it, however, I would say that
it is much easier to drive than our
previous coachbuilt due to superb
cab vision and seating height.
Width is a doddle to estimate
because if the nose will go through,
so will the rest of the van. It is a
lot longer than I was used to, but
this is not a problem following the
fitment of a reversing camera.
I know that some would hesitate
to buy a left-hand drive vehicle,
but I have to say that it is much
easier than people think – any
blind spots are eliminated with the
placement of a couple of extra
driving and blind spot mirrors. It is
also worth remembering that lefthand
drive vehicles are usually
much cheaper to buy, and often
have no insurance penalty.
A surprise inside
The van has an ideal layout for us,
featuring three good-sized (and
very comfortable) double beds.
There is a fixed rear bed with a
great deal of storage underneath,
the typical pull-down bed over the
cab, and an easy-to-make double
on the Pullman dinette.
Re-upholstering and
replacement of the tired foams
have improved comfort and it is
nice to have a van where all three
beds can be in use, and there is
no problem with access to the loo!
Lounging might not be as
comfortable as a van with settees,
but as the passenger seat swivels
to join the dinette seating, we
have no problems fitting us all in.
The rear bed also comes in handy
for a lie down, or for the kids to sit
and read or play games on.
Dining is equally easy, as the
dinette and table extend to give
three seats either side. The kitchen
opposite is reasonably well
equipped with a three-burner hob
and a large fridge. We don’t really
miss an oven or grill, and the lack
of these fitments gives a lot more
storage space in the large
cupboards and drawers. There is
also a very good worktop area for
food preparation without having to
resort to the dining table.
We are lucky in having a doublesized
washroom in the rear corner
with a basin and separate shower.
The shower has a curtain as well
as full-screen doors to shut off the
rest of the bathroom while
showering. The tap on the sink can
also be used as an external
shower, as it pulls out on a hose
and passes through the bathroom
window – very handy for clean up
after the beach! The toilet is a
Thetford-bench cassette type.
Overall, we have all been very
impressed with the build quality
of our Dethleffs. There is a high
standard to the fixtures and fittings
and it wears well considering that
when we bought the vehicle, it had
clearly led quite a hard life with the
previous owners.
It is very well equipped with
halogen lighting (eight spotlights
alone) and daytime lighting has
been improved by the fitment of a
Heki 2 roof light over the dinette. I
am also currently removing the
other standard roof lights and
replacing them with the mini-Heki
type – an easy and worthwhile
improvement.
Most of the other jobs I have
done on the van have been purely
to do with its age, such as
resealing the cab area, replacing
the water pump and taps, and
… as Ellie tucks in generally tidying up fraying edges
Three-burner hob comes in useful
Gill, Alex and Ellie at the side dinette where the table extends for extra space
on the cabinetwork. As is common
on most older vans, I have also
spent a while correcting the
previous owner’s DIY mistakes!
Fun for everyone
The children love the van because
even on a wet day, there are
different areas within the living
accommodation where they can
get some privacy. On our last
holiday in Cornwall, Ellie was lying
on the bed reading while Alex was
in the cab playing with his games
console. Meanwhile, my wife and
I were stretched out on the dinette,
enjoying a thoroughly well-earned
cup of tea after all the fixing we’d
done to the motorhome.
We all appreciate the vast
amount of cupboard space, and
the locker under the fixed bed
swallows vast amounts of chairs,
tables, cricket sets, kites and all
the other essentials of outdoor
living that can really get in the
way sometimes.
In stark contrast to most newer
vans, there is a good compliment
of large windows, equipped with
fly screens, blinds, and a stabletype
entry door with two separate
locks. There is also a driver’s cab
door, and very unusually, both side
cab windows have winding
mechanisms rather than sliders,
making them much more practical.
I have a few jobs that need to
be done as time and various
holidays allow. We have recently
bought a wooden dashboard kit,
which will integrate the dashboard
into the living accommodation.
Later on in the year, we will
need to get a new carpet set
made in order to replace the tatty
removable set this van has. Then
there are the rest of the roof lights
to replace. It’s a neverending
process but one that we love.
It’s part of the lifestyle.
We want to hear all about your motor
caravan – the good and the bad. MOTOR CARAVAN September 2007