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Old 06-17-2015, 03:57 PM   #41
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Of course you could always get one of these and not worry about a dinghy or dolly...just a site large enough to accommodate.


Volkner Mobil Car-Carrying Motor Home Could Be Yours For $1.2 Million

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Old 06-17-2015, 04:43 PM   #42
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Of course you could always get one of these and not worry about a dinghy or dolly...just a site large enough to accommodate.


Volkner Mobil Car-Carrying Motor Home Could Be Yours For $1.2 Million
I am actually thinking of buying one next year...

the Mini, not the motorhome.

Although my Pontiac Grand Am tows fine, I would like to downsize to a mini. Not so much due to lighter weight, but the coolness factor of having a convertible.

A sports car is on my "change-of-life" wish list. While it can be debated whether or not a Mini is a sports car, I want the convertible version, which is sports-car enough for me.

Although there is no official word on whether or not the Mini is towable, the manual transmission version appears to be, and I found several websites that claim people are towing them without any issue. I plan on buying used anyway, so any voiding of the warranty will not be a problem.

The automatic version of the Mini is a CVT, so that is probably not 4 down towable.
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Old 06-17-2015, 04:56 PM   #43
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Like the Mini Cooper too. Ever since I saw The Bourne Legacy years ago. Like the convertible even better.
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Old 06-17-2015, 05:23 PM   #44
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How about a Miata?

Towing a Miata four wheels down
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Old 06-17-2015, 06:04 PM   #45
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Of course you could always get one of these and not worry about a dinghy or dolly...just a site large enough to accommodate.


Volkner Mobil Car-Carrying Motor Home Could Be Yours For $1.2 Million
Very cool. Seems much simpler when garage is behind rear axle with front- or mid-engine motorhomes.

I'd settle for more US RV companies offering compact motorhomes like one pictured which has rear garage large enough for motorcycle, scooter, tandem, or multiple bicycles.

It's easy enough to design and build, so there must not be enough demand in US. And that honestly is hard for me to understand. We go from no garage at all to full-blown toy haulers. No middle ground at all that I've found.
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Old 06-17-2015, 06:18 PM   #46
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Talk about slide out problems. Can you imagine what it would be like with that million dollar baby?

Yeah, I suppose the middle ground demand just isn't there.
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Old 06-17-2015, 07:04 PM   #47
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If your suspension can handle it, you can add a motorcycle lift to the exterior of your coach. I believe there are several different companies that make them:




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Old 06-17-2015, 07:11 PM   #48
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....cut....

Yeah, I suppose the middle ground demand just isn't there.
Yet most Euro Class As have them -- at least large enough for bicycles, which is a much more popular sport in Europe. My wife and I are into cycling and I prefer to keep our bikes protected and out of sight.

Euro MHs are also smaller and with floor much lower to ground, so they have little or no storage along sides. They seem to consolidate all the exterior storage into one large garage (compared to an Axis/Vegas 24.1 for example).

I'd like to know if companies like Thor do market research as to whether buyers don't want a tall Mega Storage rear compartment, or if buyers just don't want the rear bedroom with little headroom that is common to these Euro Class As. Obviously the large compartment comes at expense of bedroom headroom.

Personally, I don't have an issue with going up a couple of steps on way to rear bed(s), but expect most American buyers would. Still, the lack of many/any Euro-style motorhomes is puzzling.
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Old 06-17-2015, 07:41 PM   #49
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Yet most Euro Class As have them -- at least large enough for bicycles, which is a much more popular sport in Europe. My wife and I are into cycling and I prefer to keep our bikes protected and out of sight.

Euro MHs are also smaller and with floor much lower to ground, so they have little or no storage along sides. They seem to consolidate all the exterior storage into one large garage (compared to an Axis/Vegas 24.1 for example).

I'd like to know if companies like Thor do market research as to whether buyers don't want a tall Mega Storage rear compartment, or if buyers just don't want the rear bedroom with little headroom that is common to these Euro Class As. Obviously the large compartment comes at expense of bedroom headroom.

Personally, I don't have an issue with going up a couple of steps on way to rear bed(s), but expect most American buyers would. Still, the lack of many/any Euro-style motorhomes is puzzling.
Having spent a few years in Europe on a couple of different tours I will tell you that one reason for the smaller motor homes in Europe is due to the high cost of fuel and the limited size of secondary roads. Most roads are narrower and some within villages are more like cobblestone sidewalks rather than roads. My family, on my mother's side, still resides in Germany and you could not get a Ford F250 crew cab dually around some of those roads without doing numerous 3 point turns just to get around curves.

The motorhome manufacturers in the states do market research as does the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (a trade group for RV manufacturers and dealers. The manufacturers are not going to open a production line on a model that only promises to sell 3 or 5 units nationwide. That is the reason why the custom RV industry is relatively large over here they make a fortune on meeting the demands of the onesy twosy market.

Have you checked with the European manufacturers to see if they can build one to US safety specs and then ship it to the states? More than likely their market research is telling them their units won't sell on this side of the pond.
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Old 06-18-2015, 12:56 AM   #50
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There will be a new car in production early next year. According to the info you will be able to flat tow it Around 82 miles per gallon looks very interesting for a toad.. new cost will be 6800.00 comes std with AC cruise and power windows. Called the Elio, Will be produced in the old Gm plant in Sherveport La
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Old 06-18-2015, 01:21 AM   #51
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There will be a new car in production early next year. According to the info you will be able to flat tow it Around 82 miles per gallon looks very interesting for a toad.. new cost will be 6800.00 comes std with AC cruise and power windows. Called the Elio, Will be produced in the old Gm plant in Sherveport La
I saw that. Not sure how you can flat tow a three wheeled car though. The thing basically looks like a Can Am Spyder with a top.
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Old 06-18-2015, 12:36 PM   #52
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Having spent a few years in Europe on a couple of different tours I will tell you that one reason for the smaller motor homes in Europe is due to the high cost of fuel and the limited size of secondary roads. Most roads are narrower and some within villages are more like cobblestone sidewalks rather than roads. My family, on my mother's side, still resides in Germany and you could not get a Ford F250 crew cab dually around some of those roads without doing numerous 3 point turns just to get around curves.

The motorhome manufacturers in the states do market research as does the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (a trade group for RV manufacturers and dealers. The manufacturers are not going to open a production line on a model that only promises to sell 3 or 5 units nationwide. That is the reason why the custom RV industry is relatively large over here they make a fortune on meeting the demands of the onesy twosy market.

Have you checked with the European manufacturers to see if they can build one to US safety specs and then ship it to the states? More than likely their market research is telling them their units won't sell on this side of the pond.
Hymer is very large in Europe, if not largest, and is expanding into US. Their first and only offering at this time that I'm aware of is a Class B based on ProMaster. They call it the Grand Canyon I think.

A couple of years ago I saw a compact Hymer Class A at the Grand Canyon North Rim exit filling up. I liked it's size a lot. It was similar to one pictured below.

I would not consider ordering anything special. That goes against my KISS policy about most anything, but specially RVs. I enjoy traveling and camping, not working on stuff that is any more complicated than necessary, or that I can't find parts for, etc.

Regarding marketing research, I don't doubt they do it, but I'm not sure how they analyze the data to see new or changing opportunities. Until recently there were no compact Axis/Vegas for a generation or two, yet they seem to be successful. Who's to say that slightly smaller or simpler versions wouldn't find their niche also?

I know most people want big, spacious RVs with many slides. There is no doubt about that. But if some, say 10 percent of buyers, are interested in something simpler, or smaller, easier to drive, cheaper, more environmentally friendly, or whatever, why ignore that market?
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