Heidi the Hymer came about, after months of researching about motorhomes and camper vans, on the internet (ebay, autotrader) and motorhome magazines. Our previous van was a long wheel base Orange VW T5, it wasn’t fully campered out and had no toilet, sink, shower or heating.

After 5 years and lots of fun, camping with the VW T5 and the new arrival of our puppy (Mylo) space was beginning to be a premium. We started to look at other options for us and our ever expanding family, kit requirements for the kitesurfing adventures. The thought of having heating, been able to stand up, sit down on a toilet for winter trips started to become appealing, especially after going on adventures with friends who had proper motorhomes. We would find ourselves hoping they would want to be sociable that night so that we could be in the warmth otherwise it was the three of us cuddled up in bed and lights out until the morning.

Then the search began! I have seen many motorhomes, looked round loads. Luckily I worked in Somerset at the time, where there happened to be a few big motorhome dealers to go and have a look. At first I was overwhelmed with the sheer price of theses things (ridiculous)! The more I looked at, the more one thing became apparent, as with most things in life it’s about quality. It doesn’t matter how old something is as long as it was well made in the first place and subsequently looked after, it will last for years and it will still be quality.

I looked at lots of vans ranging in price from the ridiculous (out of my price range) to the cheapest. I finally narrowed my search down to three motorhome manufactures Hymer, Burstner and Autotrail. In my opinion these motorhomes seem to last the test of time well compared to the other manufactures of similar age. Ultimately the decision was made to go for an old Hymer A class thanks to Ali’s (my wife) uncle Roger who is a old Hymer enthusiast; he showed me his lovely example of a 1994 B  class. I was sold! I knew then that I wanted a Hymer A class 1994 or newer 4-6 berth as it gives the better space we desired.

So the search continued scouring Ebay and Autotrader. Eventually I found one on Ebay in my price range, a 1995 Hymer B654 based on a Fiat Ducato chassis.

The pictures looked good and the description sounded okay, so next stage was a phone call to arrange a viewing. Only problem it was in Sheffield, Yorkshire and we were in Bideford, North Devon. As I had done a lot of research and the vehicle checked out online all that needed to be was actually test drive it and view it to verify it was what it said it was.