Perfect Motorhome to See Europe! Fiat Ducato Burstner Motorhome

Рет қаралды 58,803

6 жыл бұрын

Our amazing motorhome, Gunter.
Summary here www.rvch.net/euro-road-trip-su...
Apologies for the dark footage of the van, but true to London form, the sun hasn't been shining for some time - even at midday when this was shot. Inside is usually much lighter, with large windows letting plenty of natural light in.
He's a 1993 Fiat Ducato chassis, with a Burstner build.
He's LHD (originally from Germany), so ideal for driving on the continent - though, not a problem driving in UK/London.
He's small/light enough to be compliant with the strict London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that restricts larger vehicles of this age. He's also small enough to park in a regular park, at only 5m long.
Inside has all the comforts that you could want. There is a bathroom with a shower, a full kitchen, with gas burners, a gas/12v/240v fridge, a sink, and loads of storage.
The dining table doubles as a lounge and a single bed, with a full double bed over the cabin. We've pimped him a little, with a giant screen to watch movies/TV in the downtime.
And, even though he's quite a small van (as far as motorhomes go), there is loads of space inside. I'm 192cm (6'3") and I can comfortably stand inside. There is loads of cupboards for clothing and sporting gear, and a double bike rack on the rear.
We also added a small lockable safe, large enough to fit 15" laptops, as well as passports, spare cash, and camera/drone gear.

Пікірлер: 39

@stephenhockley 2 жыл бұрын

I'm buying my first vehicle, a 1989 fiat ducato burstner tomorrow. So excited!

@pakderws6485 3 жыл бұрын

I travelled across Europe 10 years back in one of these. I couldn't be sure whether it was a Ducato instead but anyhow it was an unforgettable experience (in a good way). We travelled thousands of kilometers acorss many countries, and the big trucks were always stuck behind us on the slow lane, trying to "push" us to go faster. Of course we couldn't, it was already top gear and the engine already sounded it was pulling a boulder. I really wish I can do it again.

@djjokerolo 4 жыл бұрын

Molte grazie per la tua precisione e per aver condiviso la tua bellissima esperienza. Ne farò tesoro. Grazie ancora.

@jimbun4847 5 жыл бұрын

Really like your video and you've obviously done some great travelling...good luck to you on all your journeys.

@nopretribrapture2318 4 жыл бұрын

glad for this vid, ive just bought an oldie,1991 fiat ducato 2 berth, few weeks after purchase it leaks water in when rains and can't find where from,so it's best to just seal everywhere i suppose, sky lights,ladder area,roof seals etc? Cheers

@trevortrevortsr2 4 жыл бұрын

That's inspiring - Just picked up a Peugeot boxer Altostratus - was wondering if the 2.5 none turbo-diesel was enough though after seeing this 86hp on a similar size rig should be fine - thanks fo posting

@Curlykidlife 6 жыл бұрын

Hey bro, Awesome video! I've recently bought a 1992 Fiat Ducato motor home, I was a bit sceptical getting around Europe due to the size of it but after watching your video you've sold the idea. Where were some of those shots taken?

@rosscole-hunter7322 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! We found ours the perfect size - enough space to be comfortable inside on rainy days, but still possible to park in big cities. Is yours bigger or smaller than ours? Footage is from all over the place, beginning in Wales, Corsica, Central Italy, London, Monaco, Corsica, Sardinia, more Corsica, and Norway. Here's a full list of places that we visited: www.rvch.net/euro-road-trip-summary/ Enjoy!

@Curlykidlife 6 жыл бұрын

Ross Cole-Hunter awesome bud. Ours is a little bit bigger, I'm having some issues with damp at the moment, so I will be stripping it out and getting it water tight before I hit the road. Was your a petrol or diesel? Also, do you have any plans to get out on the road again?

@rosscole-hunter7322 6 жыл бұрын

Oh, sorry to hear. Thankfully ours was completely dry. It was a 2L diesel (non-turbo), so decent economy, but could use some more power on the motorway and mountains. I'm living in San Francisco now, so hoping to get another one next year and see North America. Pretty excited to see the national parks here.

@Curlykidlife 6 жыл бұрын

Ross Cole-Hunter yours is a little smaller than ours so definitely more economical. Looks like you went to some nice sights. Where was your favourite spot, and how long were you on the road?

@rosscole-hunter7322 6 жыл бұрын

We spent around 8-months on the road all up, which was not enough time to see all of Europe - not even close. I had so many favourites, it's really hard to list. Italy was amazing, so were the Balkans, and also Norway. I made a list here: www.rvch.net/euro-road-trip-highlights/

@Gladki007 4 жыл бұрын

Hey man, Ducato 1987 Hymercamp owner here :) I got it in may last year for like 1000 euros, shortly after I run across this video and your blog when I was looking for more information about my motorhome, it was a true inspiration :) I was a bit worried taking my camper to norway but reading your blog gave me hope, yours was probably in better shape than ours but risked it and ended up driving around 3000km around Norway (Romsdalen being my absolute favorite as I'm a base jumper). Some uphills were a bit stressful but we always got to our destination. I'm planing to renovate it a bit during winter and use it more often next summer. I remember that you had a whole blogg post about the car but I can't seem to find it and I really tried hard few times, did you delete it or am I blind?

@RossColeHunter 4 жыл бұрын

Hey, that's great you also picked a cheap older motorhome and got to go see Europe - and that it made the trip safely. Norway was absolutely stunning, and have heard all the stories about base jumpers in Romsdalen from a friend that grew up there. I miss mine, and can't wait to get another now that I'm living in USA. I thought I had a post that talked about the renovations and work we did in the interior, but I can't find it, either - only posts from the construction of the vans we travelled Japan and Australia in. Though, to be honest, the renovations we did were pretty minimal on this van, with simple re-upholstery over the original fabric, swapping out the lighting to LEDs, putting in a safe/centre console, and wiring up a mini theatre. There wasn't much need to do more, as the motorhome was in decent shape inside - just a little out of date aesthetically.

@Januloooo 6 жыл бұрын

Hello, thanks for the video! Can you please tell me, which engine do you have and what is the fuel consumption? Thank you very much!! :)

@rosscole-hunter7322 6 жыл бұрын

Hi, Jan. It was the 1.9L non-turbo model, and it averaged around 10.6l/100km. If you're interested, there is a full breakdown of the fuel prices, economy, distances etc in our blog post here: www.rvch.net/euro-road-trip-summary/

@Januloooo 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, this is exactly what I was looking for! Amazing math! :)

@jeronimoalbertodelor9943 6 жыл бұрын

I have a pretty similar one. I can't make the potable water run on the inside. Can anyone help me with this? The 12v seems to work OK.

@rosscole-hunter7322 6 жыл бұрын

Hi, Jeronimo. I'm sorry, I didn't see your message earlier. There could be many things that are wrong with your tap - I've got a few suggestions, but it could be many other things. Do you hear the pump run when you open the tap? Do you hear the switch 'click' when you open the tap? What if you connect the pairs of the wires directly to each other (create a short circuit), does the pump run then?

@robayre482 5 жыл бұрын

Do you find the engine reliable and strong enough?

@rosscole-hunter7322 5 жыл бұрын

Hey, Rob. The engine was bullet proof - but it was very agricultural, making about 55HP. It was enough power to cruise at 80km/h on the motorways, unless there was a headwind, or hill. That said, it took us all over Europe, through some very steep hills in Italy - just slowly in 1st/2nd gear. The fuel economy we got was exceptional - but if I purchased another, I would probably want a little more power with the 2.5Td

@robayre482 5 жыл бұрын

Ross Cole-Hunter Iv always assumed these vans would just fall apart nowadays.. quite nice to hear otherwise

@rosscole-hunter7322 5 жыл бұрын

@@robayre482 We picked Gunter up at about 180,000km. I changed oil/filters every ~7,000km, and the timing belt at 200,000km. Other than a bearing that failed on the driveshaft, and a loose connection on the starter solenoid, it chugged along perfectly. I guess it's a light truck, and built to do high mileage. It's the simplest car I've ever owned, and there were no electronics, so that might also play into the reliability - or I might have gotten lucky with a van that was treated well by the previous owners.

@robayre482 5 жыл бұрын

Ross Cole-Hunter did u do timing belt yourself? Everything easy to get to? You could of just changed my plans lol

@rosscole-hunter7322 5 жыл бұрын

@@robayre482 I didn't - I didn't have access to a workshop, or proper tools, so I had it done professionally in Slovakia while we were travelling. It looked like space wasn't too tight. There aren't many auxiliaries in the engine bay, and the motor itself is pretty small. I believe it only took the mechanic a morning to replace the tension bearings/belt - but we had to wait longer for some other routine maintenance replacing park brake cable that had to be custom made. It was a good reliable van/motor - you just couldn't be in a rush, because it just doesn't have to power to go fast on the motorways. We just got used to sitting in with the trucks on the continent.

@MrHomerJSimpson55 5 жыл бұрын

What's the fuel economy approx?

@RossColeHunter 5 жыл бұрын

Hey, Randy. We got about 10.6L/100km - averaged over the course of the journey. If you want a more detailed breakdown, we kept statistics here on the blog - www.rvch.net/euro-road-trip-summary/