Seven metre integrated Hymer motorhome tour : B-MC 580

This Hymer motorhome is the B580, a seven metre long motorhome on a Mercedes base. This video was filmed at the Hymer showroom and was designed to show Hymer equipment.

The Hymer BMC580i motorhome was launched at Caravan Salon 2018. It uses the new SLC chassis, this is the Hymer B Modern Comfort 580i. It is based on the Mercedes. The chassis means that payload and space available is much greater than with previous vehicles. The vehicle is seven metres long.

There are various different versions of the Hymer B class Modern Comfort, all around seven metres in length and I would have to say that if anyone wanted to give me a motorhome and I could choose anyone I wanted then this would be one of the contenders.

The vehicle is on the Mercedes Sprinter base and it has an SLC chassis which was developed between AL-KO and Hymer. Maybe rather than say Sprinter base, I should say Sprinter cowl, as only the front two wheels, the engine and the front of the van are from Mercedes, the remainder of the chassis is from AL-KO. In January 2019, I was at the Al-KO factory and filmed how these chasses were manufactured and you can see more there. Benefits of this chassis include optimised weight distribution and as most of the technical equipment is moved into the lower part of the van, then more storage becomes available. Another good point is the very light weight of the vehicle so that one of these motorhomes with a full tank of fuel and the driver could still weigh less than three tonnes. The ride comfort of the motorhome is also said to be better with this chassis, personally I have not noticed much difference but then maybe I am not delicate enough to notice.

The width of the motorhome is 229 cm and height 296cm which gives plenty of standing height inside.

The vehicles can all be placed on a 3.5t basis but could be on a 4.5t basis if required which would leave a huge 1,500 kilos payload. A useful thing you could then stock up on is water, I always like to carry plenty of spare if I can as I do mainly wild camping. This motorhome has a 180 litre fresh water tank and 150 litre waste water tank. The waste water can be disposed electronically, via a button so one’s hands are kept clean.

Another great feature of the motorhome is the 36-cm-high double floor. It has a through-loading function for those wanting to store long things like skis. The double floor below means also a flat floor within the motorhome. And another really good point is the extra insulation it offers – I am a big believer in the double floor. The double floor can be heated and has various thermal compartments for the fresh water, waste water and electrical equipment.

On the subject of insulation, the vehicle has what is called by Hymer PUAL which is a polyurethane foam which is commonly used as insulation where a flexible approach needs to be taken. It is effective at keeping out the cold, and heat, due to non connected micro cells. Obviously the better the insulation, the less gas you will need to keep yourself warm in winter. In January 2016, when the outside temperatures fell to minus 17C in southern Germany, I was out in a Hymer motorhome and I must say how warm I was. That week of very low temperatures absolutely convinced me.
The polyurethane foam is enclosed within a aluminium sandwich construction, so there is an aluminium wall on both sides of it. There are better insulating materials which obviously are more expensive but this is one of the best.

The floor of the vehicle is made of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) and protected with extruded polystyrene insulation.

If you buy the van new then you get a choice of engines starting with a 143hp, if used then you will get what is available! It has a 65 litre diesel tank and 22 litre Ad Blu tank. It has a keyless stop start button – I know there are problems with this although I don’t feel qualified to talk about it.
It comes with a white cab and white bodywork as standard. Of course, other paint finishes are available as an option.

I mentioned the storage in the double floor, it is worth also mentioning the garage which as two large doors on either side and plenty of space for a couple of bicycles plus lots more.