Hymer Aktiv?

[markopolo]

Here's a cropped photo of the show floor from RT's facebook page:

show photo Roadtrek Facebook.jpg

I'm guessing there's more than one Hymer model there.

Are the rear windows on the Promaster in the center, just above the Chevy, typical Roadtrek or would that be Hymer windows?

[gregmchugh]

Davydd has posted some Aktiv photos on the Class B Facebook group if you want to see them...

[wincrasher]

those are hymer windows. we've been discussing in on facebook and have some close-up pics.

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

Good point. I wonder if Hymer has plants in Australia and New Zealand or if they ship all their RVs already built. Vehicles are much more expensive in these countries so its feasible to ship them. The NA market is very different. I assume labor force is cheaper in Canada than in Germany but you have to invest in a new plant. I doubt it could be worth for low volumes of vans. To implement totally different systems (110v for ex.) in a manufacturing process is not easy. Concerning the chassis, Sprinters are build in Germany, so its easier to have vehicles with NA specs sent to the Hymer plants but the ProMaster is a different story.

Hymer tried to sell Motorhomes and Caravans in Australia, with little success.NA Sprinters would need to have US Tier pollution regulations. Ironically Diesels meeting the US regulations,cannot be sold in Australia and New Zealand, as they have to be modified to meet Euro V or the coming Euro V1 regulations.
A confusing world

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Here's a cropped photo of the show floor from RT's facebook page:

Attachment 3257

I'm guessing there's more than one Hymer model there.

Are the rear windows on the Promaster in the center, just above the Chevy, typical Roadtrek or would that be Hymer windows?

I think only one Hymer but a lot of Zions...

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

Hymer tried to sell Motorhomes and Caravans in Australia, with little success.NA Sprinters would need to have US Tier pollution regulations. Ironically Diesels meeting the US regulations,cannot be sold in Australia and New Zealand, as they have to be modified to meet Euro V or the coming Euro V1 regulations.
A confusing world

The difference here is they are building them on a NA spec'd van, in NA, with "cheap" Canadian labor. Their pricing is on the high side, but I think they have room to adjust that and make them a more attractive offering.

[Davydd]

The LaMesa Super B show had a Zion SRT, Zion, Simplicity and Hymer Aktiv in the Promaster lineup in the Roadtrek area. The Simplicity is just a simplification in spec of the Zion and had the bifold sofa to bed.

The Hymer Aktiv is much like the previously shown Grand Canyon. Differences or name change I didn't discuss but clearly this one will evolve especially in the plumbing areas and they already know that. I doubt they are going to try to convince Americans to like cassettes.

[markopolo]

I was wondering what the squarish thing on the side of the van was ....... I forgot about the cassette

cassette.JPG

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

I was wondering what the squarish thing on the side of the van was ....... I forgot about the cassette

Attachment 3262

Cassette access?

[GeorgeB]

It's interesting that they named their european camper after an american emblematic site and decided for an euro/german sounding name for the NA market. Not sure it's wise if they want to appeal to some of the "europhobic" US customers.

Maybe they wanted to be able to trademark the name of the van and they didn't want to have copyright issues with the National Parks Service. Feds fight over who owns national park trademarks

Also the marketing of EHG is done 100% by Roadtrek. Nothing on the Hymer USA FB page or their website. Just read JH comments on the RT Group FB page.

[gregmchugh]

Hymer gets the 3,000,000 Sprinter to convert to an RV...

https://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/mo...e-manufacturer

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by booster

Cassette access?

That was the cassette access. It was locked and they couldn't find the key when I was there.

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

The difference here is they are building them on a NA spec'd van, in NA, with "cheap" Canadian labor. Their pricing is on the high side, but I think they have room to adjust that and make them a more attractive offering.

People were not impressed with some flimsy aspect of construction. They did not last long here

[eurovanman]

Note the VW Eurovan in N. America is called the VW California in Europe. Seems like standard naming practices.

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

It's interesting that they named their european camper after an american emblematic site and decided for an euro/german sounding name for the NA market. Not sure it's wise if they want to appeal to some of the "europhobic" US customers.

Maybe they wanted to be able to trademark the name of the van and they didn't want to have copyright issues with the National Parks Service. Feds fight over who owns national park trademarks

Also the marketing of EHG is done 100% by Roadtrek. Nothing on the Hymer USA FB page or their website. Just read JH comments on the RT Group FB page.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Davydd has posted some Aktiv photos on the Class B Facebook group if you want to see them...

Why doesn't he post them here?

[GeorgeB]

All the available photos and links of the Hymer Aktiv aka Hymercar Grand Canyon on Kampervan FB !
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...2388992&type=3

[markopolo]

I'm a proponent of publicly available information when discussing things like Class B Vans. To me, the private groups are like information black holes. What you post in there will never be indexed by a search engine. Your efforts to provide information on a subject will have a very short shelf life when hidden away in a private group. It won't help someone in a months time let alone in a year or ten years.

That's why I describe it as an information black hole.

I understand the technical reason for making groups private. Facebook is setup to share everything you do with friends and family. That's great but your friends and family would quickly get bored with the minutia we get into about Class B vans. The reaction is to make the group private. The response should have been to find a better platform for the discussion group.

The manufacturers probably love that you keep those discussions private and hidden from search engines. I doubt very much that the goings on in private groups warrant the need for such privacy.

That's just my two cents ..... I've tried to make as much info about Class B's public as I could over the last decade so please understand my disappointment on the decisions to hide and bury information in private groups.

[GeorgeB]

The problem with our desire to access unavailable public info on the class B industry is exacerbated by the poor marketing skills of companies like RT and unfortunately the Erwin Hymer Group seems to be learning from them. It's unbelievable that EHG is launching a new product and doesn't even have one picture to post on it's FB page. Reminds me of the launch of the Link. It reflects the pathetic culture of this industry, that doesn't seem to value innovation and doesn't want broad media reactions on it's products. Why? It only wants to sell one imperfect vehicle at a time? It doesn't believe it's worth the effort? Maybe it's just too small. Thankfully, the few who can access the products on site are there to report on what's happening!

[markopolo]

It would interesting to find out if there are any differences to the Grand Canyon model.

It looks like it will make for a good rental unit and could be a real money maker for the rental companies. Europeans would feel comfortable with the brand.

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

The problem with our desire to access unavailable public info on the class B industry is exacerbated by the poor marketing skills of companies like RT and unfortunately the Erwin Hymer Group seems to be learning from them. It's unbelievable that EHG is launching a new product and doesn't even have one picture to post on it's FB page. Reminds me of the launch of the Link. It reflects the pathetic culture of this industry, that doesn't seem to value innovation and doesn't want broad media reactions on it's products. Why? It only wants to sell one imperfect vehicle at a time? It doesn't believe it's worth the effort? Maybe it's just too small. Thankfully, the few who can access the products on site are there to report on what's happening!

Well, I think you look at it as if any of these folks are in the "big leagues". The whole RV industry is small potatoes compared to autos, marine and aircraft. So it's not really surprising that marketing and everything else is 20 years behind what's going on in those industries. I'm amazed we get some of the innovation we've seen the last few years, but it was mostly a long time in coming. All of it should be considered on a shoestring budget.

Just to give some perspective, WGO is the largest US RV producer. Their revenues for the entire year are $1 billion across their entire product line. GM will budget $3 billion just to develop one car! Their revenues are in the hundreds of billions per year. Even their websites can be clunky and missing the latest information.