Review of the
Bennimar Eurable WAV Motorhome
It's summer in the Lake District and here we are road testing the newly designed Eurable WAV motor home based on a Fiat 2.0 ltr. diesel. This vehicle has been built from the chassis up by Bennimar of Barcelona. Motorhome dealers have had many enquiries from people with disabilities for a motor home that can accommodate the wheelchair user. After consultation with various disabled people, Benimar came up with the vehicle we tested here.
We
took delivery of the motor home which was fully equipped with almost everything
we might require for our week away. On first impressions, the vehicle seemed
to be ideal for the wheelchair user - these thoughts were soon dispelled
on arriving at the picturesque Camping and Caravanning Club Site set at
the side of Lake Derwentwater, Keswick in the Lake District. Firstly, we
found that the Ricon tail lift did not work - it would neither release or
come down electrically, so we had to resort to using the manual handle to
get my power-wheelchair out of the vehicle. Not a particularly good start
to our time away !
The Eurable came with no user manual which, to someone who has never been away in a motor home, would have been more than useful. We attempted to fill the on-board water tank only to find that however much water we put in, the same amount was pouring from beneath the vehicle - quick phone call to the dealership confirmed that the 'dump plug' must be open . . ." what the hell is a dump plug ?" I asked. When told, all became clear, except it wasn't where I was told, it was a different colour to what I was told and it was a 'lever' not a 'knob'. All was not going too well, and we had only been pitched some two hours.
Due to adverse weather conditions (it always seems to rain in the Lake District) the campsite had to be evacuated in the middle of the night becuase of severe flooding.
Now several things spring to mind - although the original idea is good, there must be lots of people with disabilities that would just love a WAV motor home, this concept vehicle left so much to be desired, I find it hard to be positive about the Eurable. The biggest problem was that when my wheelchair was stored inside the vehicle, there was no access to the toilet/shower area as it was impossible to get past the wheelchair. No matter where the chair is put, it effectively blocks access to every part of the motor home. A standard wheelchair width is approximately 63 cm, yet the overall clearance of the aisle was only 75 cm's. This means that either a power wheelchair has very little room to maneuver or anyone in a manual wheelchair would get grazed knuckles !
The
television sits on a shelf so high, the only way to watch it is either from
the top bunk bed or getting onto the roof of the vehicle and watching the
television through an open skylight ! Very badly thought out. The electrical
control panel was situated over the side access door and even an able-bodied
person would have difficulty in reaching it.
The seating area in the main cabin was extremely uncomfortable with the backrest completely upright and not too well upholstered. The galley area was well placed with work tops at the correct height, as was the cooker and oven unit. The lighting was good overall with plenty of accessible switches.
To sum up, the Eurable has the potential to be a useful vehicle but needs to be designed around the individual to be successful - as a standard WAV, I doubt many users will find it value for money, at 39,995 UK pounds (VAT exempt), it's a lot to pay for a motor home that offers such a poor level of equipment.
I
would have preferred to see a cassette type wheelchair lift which could
be fitted to the underside of the vehicle. This method would result in more
space being made available inside the motorhome allowing access to the toilet
and shower area without the intrusion of the Ricon tail lift mechanics
Finally, somewhere to store a wheelchair which would not have blocked access to the rear of the vehicle might have been a really good idea!
Overall score, a very poor 4 out of 10
Review by Andy Zadora-Chrzastowski.
View the Photo Gallery here
