Hagrid The Hymer! 1994 Hymer B544, RHD, only 77,000 miles

Hagrid the Hymer…

– Hymer B544, U.K. spec Right Hand Drive
– Fiat Ducato base, 2.5L TD engine
– 77,114 miles
– Manual 5 gears plus reverse
– refillable underslung gas tank, reversing camera, oven/grill, 3 x gas hobs, kitchen sink, extractor fan, gas heater, thetford cassette toilet, hot water boiler, bathroom with shower and sink, 3 way hymer fridge with freezer compartment, fiamma ultra box top box on roof rack, 12V tv, 4 seat belts, sun awning, stoplock steering wheel lock
– 2 x 120W solar panels with victron 500W inverter
– 2 x double beds and 1 small single
– Gearbox has just been fully rebuilt with a two year warranty for any gearbox related issues, and new clutch fitted, drives great
– Engine mountings have recently been replaced
– Replaced the timing belt and full service in May 2021
– MOT till 5th march 2023

We are very sad to be letting him go, but due to a change of career for my wife who no longer have the long holidays of the academic year we won’t be using him enough going forward to justify keeping him on. We purchased last March from a couple who looked after him very well over many years. Since then we have had an amazing family holiday travelling around Cornwall, been up to Scotland and done many a local camping weekend in the South of England. Our 6 year old daughter sleeps on the long sofa seat, our 13 year old son sleeps in the double bed that is converted from the space where the table and chairs are in day time use, and we take the double bed that pulls down above the driver and passenger’s seats.

Since owning him we have replaced the timing / cam belt, fitted 2 new 120W solar panels, 20 amp Victron MPPT and Victron 500W inverter, the system uses a 115Ah leisure battery installed by previous owner. This work was done by MMC services (professional caravan/motorhome tech). This means a mains plug socket is available for use when going off grid as well as when the van is on hookup and keeps the leisure battery nicely topped up in between drives, when the alternator will charge the leisure battery as well.

On the vehicle side he startups first try every time no problem, drives great, can easily do 70mph on the motorway, but being the very heavy vehicle it is we stick to 60mph max. Happily managed up and down some very steep hills in Cornwall. Last summer we began to find the gears became stiff to change to 2nd and third at times. In the course of investigating this we had the linkage checked and lubricated, the engine mountings, which were worn, replaced with new parts at a cost of £900 and ultimately, had a fully reconditioned gear box fitted, with a new clutch. This is totally fixed the issue and the work comes with a two year guarantee for anything gearbox related, there is a cost to transfer this guarantee to the new owners which we will absorb with the sale price. Our long time trusted mechanic for our family car who replaced the cam belt and did a full service for us soon after we purchased him commented on how everything looks to be in very good shape engine wise, as did the garage who replaced the mountings, once those were done.

The fridge is great, gets very cold when on electric hookup. Hot water boiler works well and provides a decent shower. The 3 x hob with extractor fan is a great option for cooking indoors. There is a bike rack fitted to rear of the van, we have not used this but appears to be ready to use for two bikes. Since purchasing the van I also bought a Fiamma ultrabox roof box that was fitted to the existing roof rack. Although there is a surprising amount of storage space in the van – overhead cupboards, underseat storage space, and a compartment by the driver’s seat that is a good size for camping chairs, for a family of 4 we still found the extra space handy, although I would advise not to load up the top box with heavy items. There is a large roof vent/skylight in the middle of the habitation area and two smaller ones at the back of the van (one in the bathroom) that can be opened along with the large side and rear windows. The oven/grill works great and has done us toast and pizzas. A small ladder provides steps up to the overcab bed and can also be clipped onto the bottom of the ladder on the rear of the van to provide access to the roof. Windows have insect nets and blackout blinds, cab windows are blacked out from outside with insulating screens provided. The previous owners had a microwave securely fastened in one of the overhead cupboards in habitation area- we removed this to create extra storage space but still have the microwave should you wish to reinstall it. We also have a backup used 3 way fridge that the previous owners passed onto us. 3 sets of keys.

Downsides/issues:

Being an old boy, he has some wear consistent with age but is on the whole in great condition bar these issues which we have not gotten around to making good yet:

– Has some cosmetic interior damage that we never got round to repairing in front of passenger side door. When we purchased we inherited some damp in this area and below one window. The offending seals around the windows in question were re sealed by MMC services, and the areas have completely dried out. The ply below the front passenger window is now exposed, has dried out, but needs re covering
– The kitchen tap micro switch needs fixing – very recently stopped working so have not yet fixed, it can be operated by running the bathroom tap at the same time which will engage the water pump as a workaround, there is some info on the classic hymer technical facebook group around repairing these – it may be a simple loose connection or at worst it may require a new tap fitting.
– The bathroom lights work intermittently – and it seems to be down to a loose connection in the wiring somewhere – after being up on the top of the van and walking around on the roof, the lights have come off / on – currently are not turning on so this needs investigating.

Viewings welcome and happy to answer any questions