Sometimes, changing your predetermined route has you discovering CCs, and they could be really outstanding, as is the case here. The other day I was arriving to work through a different street than unseal, and that HUGE box-shaped classic was unavoidable.
Obviously, this is a new import into Israel, as such European-sized motorhomes were never sold here – there’s no demand for this kind of vehicle in a country roughly 550Km long by 100Km wide, for obvious reasons. But I guess someone with an old dream had new money and decided to import a really unique classic, and I say – good for him. Weird and out-of-place classics is just the thing to refresh the parade of Corvettes or Mustangs.
As you’d expect, I had to back up considerably to take this photo – that thing is BIG. Note the small round cover lower right – I think that’s a CNG fueling port. Many people using old commercial vehicles add this alternate method to overcome the atrocious fuel consumption (most Vandura/Savanna owners do this).
Round to the back, and I absolutely love that bubble rear window. Quite wisely, the owner added a reverse camera clearly needed with this kind of vehicle. That storage metal, er, closet, at the very rear of the camper looks like an after-thought and not something that came out of the Hymer factory, but who knows. It looks shallow, until you change view once again:
Not so shallow, is it? This gives a new meaning to the word “overhang”. Just visible is a roof opening (above the front cabin), and notice another CNG port available for refueling on the camper’s other side.
Moving further towards the front, I notice how Hymer set up the mirrors on long struts, so that they could be adjusted for various drivers – cleaver. Folding steps under the door and rolling-out shade canopy are mandatory, of course.
Last photo is a peak inside where, after all the laughs I realized how much space they achieved by extending this camper’s body to all directions as much as legally possible – that shelf behind the dashboard \ instrument cluster is holding two folding chairs! I didn’t notice that at first.
The Hymer camper-van company is still going strong after more than sixty years, as you can see here. Their products are well known to Europeans, Germans in particular – obviously on a smaller scale than the American more-bus-sized RVs, but it makes sense on Europe’s mostly smaller roads. My research has me determine this Hymer-Mobile as a 550 model, one of the smaller campers the company offered back in the early-to-mid Eighties, and based on the well known and widely popular Mercedes-Benz TN series, either the 309D or 409D.
Last credit has to be given to this page, dedicated to old Hymers – I got a lot of info from it, and some more laughs; Have a look at the catalogues 1984 to 1987 for some expressive photos outlaying the campers’ bedroom, bath and shower amenities.
I am embarrassed to say that in the US this would not be considered as big, the word that describes it here is compact.
In North America, a modern version of this would be branded as an “UltraLite” and be advertised as being appropriate for 2 people maximum.
I’m a fan of smaller trailers and motorhomes, but the majority of today’s “campers” seem to disagree.
If you need a big screen TV, full sized fridge, and a propane fireplace to sit in front of in your leather recliner, maybe you just need to get a hotel room or simply stay home.
I’m happy with a real campfire, a lawn chair, and a beer.
Me too. I’d be totally happy with a Class B – for those who don’t know, that’s a van conversion with maybe a small stove and a shower/sink combo. Yes, you can shower while you brush your teeth in the morning.
I suspect, because that is what I would do, that the locker overhang holds a scooter or motorcycle for getting around without using much fuel. It’s either that, a jato pack wired in series for extra passing power or a Mr. Fusion unit.
I’ve pictured my favorite RV below:
That is very interesting. I kind of like it, although I am not sure I would like it as much during merging onto a busy U.S. interstate highway. I suspect that the diesel powerplant is no Chrysler 440. However, it will also not have the appetite of a Chrysler 440, so there’s that.
That beige/brown color combo really dates this one. That is one retro-era of color I am not a fan of.
I’m not quite ready to dismiss the CNG theory. The rear compartment could be housing a few bottles and the associated filling hardware. There’s a yellow hose coming out of the compartment. Could just be propane for the stove/fridge, I’m not very familiar with CNG conversions.
One of those may well be for propane. In the US, propane tanks are required to be outside of the body, typically underneath. And the fillers look rather different. In any case, it’s not CNG to fuel the engine, as these Mercedes motorhome chassis invariably used diesels. I’m quite certain there were no gas engines even available in them.
I’m sure it is a diesel engine, but CNG dual fuel systems are available to retrofit many different diesels to run on either/both depending on the system.
http://ngvus.com/ngvmotori/?page_id=13756
Yes, I’m aware of that. But the kits start at $8k, and although I didn’t check, I doubt there’s one for a Mercedes this old. The economics would not pan out for an old rig like this.
Anyway, I still am not very convinced the white plastic round thing is a CNG filler. In the US, the tanks are external, and permanently mounted. In Europe, large steel bottles are commonly used. Having a gas filler on the side of the coach somehow doesn’t look right. It could also be a shore power inlet, to plug in an AC cord.
No, the white plastic ports are almost certainly more to do with the water/waste tanks visible immediately underneath the ports.
I get your point about the cost, though I doubt they cost that much back in the day. On the other hand, that rear compartment looks significantly newer than the rest of the rig. So yeah probably just propane.
Does anyone know if the yellow dot in front above the driver signifies anything?
LOL on the bathroom pics in the brochures. A different time and place for certain. Let’s just say those pics wouldn’t come from any company from Indiana, even in the 70s.
Naked breasts in an RV brochure? You bet.
Check out: http://oldhymer.com/wp-content/uploads/1987.pdf.
Those crazy Germans! Gotta love it.
https://www.macktrucks.com/powertrain-and-suspensions/engines/cummins-natural-gas/
There’s a lot of CNG big trucks by me-lots of garbage trucks are CNG powered, and the semi trucks used by a local(ish) company “Menards” (think Lowe’s or Home Depot, but from Wisconsin)
http://www.wqow.com/story/20100903/local-business-opens-first-cng-station-in-eau-claire
So I suppose a CNG motorhome is possible, but I’d defer to someone with more knowledge of motorhomes…
This is not a diesel. You cannot import old diesels – not even as collectors vehicles – into Israel, and I vaguely remember the owner specifically looking for a gasoline fuelled vehicle when he posted on an FB Group I’m a member of. I even linked to adds in German and Austrian sites of gasoline engined ones – I cannot remember whether this was of the vehicles in question anymore though… Having imported it he is now offering it for sale at INS 120K (roughly $33K).
Ah-ha, the inside scoop. Thanks for clearing it up a little. As for the asking price…maybe it’s old enough to be cool again?
I still have my doubts as to those two white plastic ports being the fueling ports for a CNG conversion for the engine, as it seems somewhat unlikely that they would route it through the body and then down into the tanks, which must be underneath or in the rear compartment addition. It would take some doing to tear apart the inside of the coach to route the fuel line through it. It would of course be drastically easier to have the filler come out somewhere else; anywhere else.
See my comment below; I’ve unraveled the mysteries.
I believe I have solved the questions regarding this Hymer and the ports on both sides at the rear.
Yes, the Hymer Yohai shot has apparently been converted for the engine to run on CNG, and in the upper picture, its large round CNG tank is quite visible hanging down below the chassis in the forward red box I added. In regular Hymer 550s, as in the lower image, there is nothing there, except the engine exhaust, which was obviously re-routed for the conversion.
The Hymer in Israel has apparently had auxiliary large water tanks added to the underfloor area at the very rear. They are quite visible in shots of both sides of the motorhome. The standard 550 came with fairly modest-sized built-in fresh water tank mounted inside the bathroom (above where the CNG tank is, on the driver’s side). The filler for that basic small tank is quite visible there, on the side wall.
I suspect that the large underfloor water tanks were added, perhaps because in Israel fresh water is not so readily available in some of the remote areas, or because the previous owner wanted them. There is no doubt in my mind that these are fresh water connectors, as they are common and look just like that. see image in next comment below.
Here’s a typical European water intake; a combination of a screw on lid inside the big mounting ring, and a smaller nipple in the center to attach a hose for a continuous pressurized hookup.
I’m guessing there’s one on both sides because either there’s two tanks back there, or more likely they wanted the flexibility to hook up water on either side,depending on the where the water source is.
CNG fillers need to be more robust than these, and are either behind a door flap, or in this case quite likely down there next to the tank.
Perhaps there are more answers in these factory brochures….
http://www.fh1402.de/download.htm
Answers to what? A CNG conversion isn’t going to be in there, nor auxiliary water tanks most likely added later.
I’ve already perused them; the link was given in the post.