Given this is our first Moho it soon dawned on us that its a whole new world out there with so much to learn! Not only about layouts, berths, build types, manufacturers etc but also more technical stuff about weights, payloads, MTPLM plus all the associated jargon and with only a couple of friends who owned one, we were left with speaking to dealers and the researching most things online ourselves.
Layout
So, for us we spent a good few weekends visiting dealers to find a layout that suited. It’s not until you see different layout types that you will find yourselves being drawn to a particular format. However, the more you see the more that may change.
We initially wanted to go for a U-shaped rear lounge, or at least have a sofa each at the back (Largely because we like to lie down and chill) but we also wanted not to have to make the bed everyday. Initially this meant a coachbuilt with a bed above the cab, but then we tried getting into the bed and imagined clambering over each other to get to the loo.
Then we found the A-class type body where there is a double bed on a frame that pulls down over the folded drivers seats, meaning we could push it away without making it each night. Perfect.
Budget
As it turns out – A class Moho’s are far more expensive than other body types for a number of reasons.I wont bore you by going in to them. We thought we had found the perfect layout . A rear lounge with a bed over the cab that we wouldn’t have to make every day. The only problem was that it was over £50K and neither me or Lorraine were willing to fork out that much (I say us both….) and rear lounge layouts are fairly rare….So back to the drawing board.
We continued our search looking both privately and at dealers until we found our Hymer B544 SL on Ebay. It was a 2007 model and had most of the upgrades we would have looked to install already.
Depending on whether you are buying privately or from a dealer and the type of upgrade on board you can expect to pay somewhere between £35-£45K
Buying Privately
As it was out 1st Moho, we were heavily reliant on ‘life experience’, talking to dealers about what to look out for, internet forums and hoping that the sellers were honest.
To give us some comfort, we paid for the Moho to have a habitation inspection and for a local mechanic to check over the engine and the driving side of things. You would be surprised that it’s VERY difficult to find a one-stop-shop that does all of this. Its either habitation or mechanical, not both. Anyway this lot cost us about £300
Once we got the reports back, we negotiated the price down a little to cover the obvious needed repairs. Before we knew it, we were the owners of our first Moho. Our 2007 Hymer B544 SL.
Here are images used to advertise it. It doesn’t quite look the same inside now.
So there you have it. If you are keen to see more why not check out our YouTube channel interior and exterior van tour videos.
You can also see our upgrades page by clicking here.
