Model: Neismann+Bischoff Flair 8000iL
One thing that must be said about the Iveco is that is a “true commercial” engine and chassis and by that I mean everything appears over engineered. With service cycles of 40,000 kms – that’s 25000 miles, it is over twice that of a passenger vehicle. With a 6000kg MGVW it leaves plenty of payload available for personal items even after all the factory or dealer fit goodies have been added. We didn’t want to be caught out again by discovering we had run out of payload before we had even put a pint of milk in the fridge. We still find it incredible that manufacturers of motor homes release models with user payloads of less than 200kgs. For photographs of our Flair please see the Gallery tab and by clicking on each the photos will enlarge. Or click here Flair Photos
Year: 2005 Oct ( 2006 model year)
Chassis: Iveco C60 -17 6 tonne twin wheel Belted Seats: 4
Steering: Right Hand Drive Engine: 3.0 ltr Diesel
Mileage: 65,000 approx Gearbox: Manual 6 speed
Payload: 1475KG (before any extras) MGVW: 6000kgs
Layout
L shaped front lounge with centre kitchen, full width bathroom with separate shower and fixed transverse rear bed. Swivelling front seats. There is a front drop down double bed. The centre lounge/dinette table also drops down to provide additional double bed if required.
Standard Specification:
Alde Wet central heating Central locking kitchen drawers
Electric folding steps Top hinged garage door with support struts
Double sink with two large waste bins built in. Built in laundry basket
200 ltrs fresh water 150 ltrs waste water
Fully winterised Central services locker
6 in total external lockers
Factory fitted options
Tow bar
Cab aircon
Electric front blind
Electric sun visors (2)
Electric Dometic sun roof with automatic rain closure
Extractor Fresh air fan in kitchen with automatic rain closure
Diff lock
Cruise control
Radio and CD player with iPod connections
Mobitronic rear view camera
Additional N/S garage door
Factory alarm system
Central locking system (locks/unlocks all external doors excl gas locker) – also extends steps and turns on exterior light
External hot and cold shower unit fitted inside garage
External BBQ gas point (lockable)
SOG system
L seating group
Rear axle supports
Fog lamps
Roof rack system
Omnistor 6mtr Electric Awning (remote control)
Oven incl grill
Additional leisure battery (replaced with 3 x 220AH – see below)
Engine heat exchanger including engine pre-heater (uses engine coolant water to heat entire living area) In winter the Alde central heating can be used to keep engine warm and assist with cold starts.
Automatic Energy Selection (AES) Fridge/freezer 150 ltrs
Mineral material (corian) surfaces in kitchen and bathroom
Alcanta upholstery fittings in blue/grey
Gas system regulator heater to prevent icing up in cold weather
Options fitted by N+B UK
85 cm Oyster Vision 2 sat system
Humax Foxsat HD Freesat receiver
19 inch flat screen Avtex 193D High Definition TV (12 volt) with built in DVD player.
Additional 240 volt sockets (giving total of 10)
70 ltr gas tank with contents display in cab
Microwave oven
3 x 220AH Carbon Fibre Maintenance Free AGM’s
1 x Sterling Battery Management Control Monitor
1 x 1000W Inverter (replaced in 2010 with 2500w Sterling Inverter – 5000W peak)
2 x 130W Kyocera solar panels fitted with Morningstar Duo regulator
2 x 87W Kyocera Solar Panels with Steca 30A regulator
Remote monitor added for monitoring solar charge rate.
Additional 100 ltr LPG tank with regulator and central filling point. (giving 170ltrs in total)
Additional Extras.
Snooper 7000 7 inch Sat Nav with European coverage, vehicle height and weight warning.
TyrePal 6 wheel tyre pressure monitor unit with alerts for high/low pressure or temperatures.
Spare set of bound winter carpets
Special Features
Curtain rail and curtains added to habitation area to close off drop down bed for easier night time use and privacy.
Added a 2000kg electric winch with remote control to assist in loading and unloading transportation. This also includes a 285kg SWL aluminium ramp.
Cycle rail added to garage to secure cycles during transit
TP 5000 digital control for Alde heating system (allows remote control and auto frost protection in addition to timer control) You can program the heating system to come on or switch off at pre set temperatures up to 6 times per day
All lounge lights, bedroom lights, kitchen lights and spotlights have LED bulbs
SECURITY
The central locking system and vehicle alarm is operated by remote control. The remote has buttons to unlock either side lockers, extend steps or switch on exterior light.
Central panel interior turns off or on internal motion sensors and locks external doors and sets alarm. With alarm on there is a red warning LED on the front dashboard.
The alarm system monitors all external locker doors, habitation door and motion sensors monitor the inside of the whole area.
Electric Circuits
My aircraft engineering background comes to mind here as we always viewed aircraft systems with both backup and fail safe systems in place. The Flair follows that same philosophy. We wanted to explore more remote areas we decided that we would make maximum use of solar power and also beef up the battery banks fitted as follows.
Bank one (Engine Starting)
Type 1 x 125AH Lead Acid
Use: Exclusively for engine starting and chassis related electrics.
Charged by: A) Engine alternator and B) automatic battery to battery from Bank 2
C) EHU or D) via generator
Bank two (Leisure Batteries)
Type: 3 x 220AH Carbon Fibre Maintenance Free Batteries (Elecsol)
Use: Habitation lighting, water pump, fridge and heating pump and all 12 volt systems and linking to an Inverter for all 240 volt appliances.
Charged by: A) Engine alternator; B) 2 x 130W and 2 x 87W Solar panels through Morningstar.and Steca controllers; C) 30A charger when on EHU; or D) generator
Mains Electric is supplied by 2500W Sterling Inverter to supply 230v for Kitchen appliances, microwave, Omnistor 8000 awning and sockets in bathroom, lounge and external sockets.
Note:
Electric Hook Up is rarely required as 434W of solar panels caters for all requirements for at least 10 months of the year. There may be occasions during Dec/Jan with prolonged spells of bad weather when the camper is parked for over 10 days in say a wild camping spot when there may be a need to use either generator or EHU. In our case we simply cut back on 240 volt usage and use gas to boil a kettle or use the grill to make toast. We have not resorted to EHU in over 6 years and neither have we used our generator. In fact we no longer carry our generator.
Heating System
Alde wet central heating radiators feed the habitation area. This is controlled by the TP5000 controller that allows automatic control of temperature and timing for up to 6 times per day. In addition there is a heat exchanger fitted that uses engine cooling water to heat the central heating system during transit. This maintains the heat in the habitation area during journeys and saves LPG. This feature can be turned off during summer periods.
There is also a feature that allows the rear bedroom area heating to be turned on or off for those that don’t like heated beds.
In severe weather the Alde heating system can also be used to heat up the engine cooling water to assist in cold starting and so reduce strain on engine battery and starter and improve fuel consumption. This also assists in defrosting the windscreen if necessary.
The Alde system has radiators in the rear garage to prevent freezing and keep warm items in the garage. There are radiators in the double floor to ensure that the water tanks and waste tanks and pipe work are frost free during winter.
Fully loaded, including driver, full fuel and fresh water tank, extra batteries, awning, solar etc. and personal items the Flair weighs approx 5525kgs giving a further 475kgs additional payload if required.
