Hymer Aktiv Archives - Folksblogen

We just found out that Hyme in German roughly translates to a place (ie. house or a country) where one usually lives. (Thanks to our German friend Michael for sharing this translation!) So, suddenly Home Sweet Hymer makes perfect sense as a moniker for our new van.

We had an appointment at Erwin Hymer Group North American headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario on October 30th at 8am. Since Kitchener is a three-hour drive from Amherstburg we decided to drive to Kitchener the day before and camp overnight in their parking lot. Fortunately Hymer provides a reserved spot with access to shore power for this very purpose. We spent a comfortable night in the van enjoying leftovers for dinner accompanied by local beer from Abe Erb Brewery and a seasonally appropriate Netflix show.

: Cheers!

: Local brewery, Abe Erb.

: Shore power provided for us.

: Essential Hymer info.

: One of several evening walks.

: Making the bed, side one.

From the moment we entered the building at 8am we were welcomed by Liz and Matthew, offered coffee, tea, water, a Discount rental car, accommodations at the Radisson Hotel and a tour of the plant by a character named Tupper. This plant, it turns out, is one of five in the Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph triangle. It comprises roughly 8 acres of land. We were unfortunately not allowed to take photos during our tour of the plant. Tupper’s explanation of why not was something to do with flash cameras of days goneby. That was a bit lame. We wondered if it had to do with sharing proprietary processes though we were not witness to any such processes on the tour. It would have been great to be able to document the scale of this enormous facility and the volume of production. We saw the painting department, the water testing department, woodworking, plumbing, electrical, upholstery, to name a few. We were able to see not only Hymers in production but also Roadtreks like the Mercedes Sprinters SS Agile and CS Adventurous, the Chevrolet 190 Popular, the Ram Promaster Banff, and the Touring GT trailer. The Erwin Hymer Group North America currently has 25 different offerings in their portfolio.

: Duff was right at home.

: Our tour guide, Tupper.

: Liz, a very friendly witch!

: Willkommen!

We made the trip to Kitchener to have two warranty issues addressed:

The moisture issue in the bathroom. The moisture issue was resolved very quickly. Turns out it required a new seal along the back wall. ✔︎
The intermittent Sony radio/ head unit. The Sony radio/DVD/head unit which allows us to use our back-up camera was replaced. Now we have dependable use of the back-up camera! ✔︎

New Sony radio!

While touring the plant we met the person who supplies all the upholstery and mattresses for the Hymers and Roadtreks. We asked him what he would recommend since the mattress length interferes with the back screen to which he replied, ‘I will just give you a new one. We remedied the length of the mattress since your Aktiv left the plant. It is now 1.5” shorter and will not interfere with the back screen.’ ✔︎

Making the bed is so much easier now. And pulling down the back screen is a pinch.

While we there they offered to winterize the van for us. With winter rapidly approaching and no plans to head south until the new year we happily accepted their offer. This meant draining the water system – fresh, gray, Truma hot water, cassette – and then filling the system with a non-toxic pink RV anti-freeze. This means that while we remain in temperatures of zero degrees Celcius or colder we are unable to use the water. We have noticed that other owners of Hymers have found a work around for winter camping: they rinse the kitchen sink and cassette toilet using the anti-freeze in the system and keep a container of fresh water available for things like brushing teeth, boiling water, washing dishes (just like being in the VW). ✔︎

: It was easy to entertain ourselves in Kitchener.

: A walk in the park.

: The leaves are big here.

: Follow the colourful steps to the market.

: The Hymer Family Portraits.

: Suggested head protection when driving a Hymer.

Prior to the plant visit we were feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse. We found ourselves comparing the Hymer to the simplicity of the VW. The Hymer, after all, has all the bells and whistles whereas the VW is pretty rudimentary. The problems with the VW are strictly mechanical whereas the Hymer’s problems are potentially myriad based on the nature of the chassis and the RV and how they work together and separately. We had, after all, just bought a brand new campervan that had issues from the get-go. However….our experience in Kitchener quickly changed feelings of buyer’s remorse to gratitude. The Hymer family not only addressed the warranty issues we brought to them but also a few more AND made sure we were comfortable while they did so. More than anything we found it extremely helpful to see how the vans are built. We would recommend a tour of the plant even prior to purchasing one of their vans! Guess you could call us Happy Hymer Campers!

: Happy Hymer dog.

: Happy Hymer owner!

We received a Hymer pun challenge from our friend Patrick!

Most of us in North America are raised to follow the same recipe for life: get an education followed by a good job, buy a home, get married, raise children, work until retirement at 65 taking regular vacations. We weren’t really any different than this except that being self-employed we didn’t think we’d ever really retire.

We’ve never been big at planning. Change happened organically every five years or so since we started working together in 1990. When we sold our home and printing equipment in Toronto in 2014 we couldn’t have foreseen the trajectory our life would take: living largely (punctuated by stints with friends and family and Airbnb rentals) full-time in an old VW campervan for three years and part-time for one year; buying and renovating a small co-op apartment in Toronto and then selling it a year later; inheriting Julie’s dad’s dog, MacDuff; choosing to move back into a van and then deciding to upgrade to something more comfortable; stumbling upon an apartment in Julie’s hometown and deciding to rent it on the spot. Ask us where we’ll be five years from now or one and you’ll hear crickets. When we rented the apartment in Amherstburg the owner told us they weren’t really lease people and asked if that was okay. We both replied, ‘absolutely.’ There’s comfort for us in knowing we can make a change at any time. And renting is perfect for us right now. We find ourselves wondering if we’ll ever own a (non-rolling) home again. Maybe we’ll try renting in different places every couple of years. Anything is possible!

After selling the apartment in Toronto on July 26^thand making way too many commitments we began driving long, un-air-conditioned distances in record-breaking temperatures for a solid month. We darted from destination to destination in extreme discomfort while dealing with a single ongoing and seemingly impossible to diagnose mechanical problem with the van. We were towed twice, grateful both times for CAA+ coverage. In four plus years in the van we were never so hot or so frustrated. This ultimately lead us to purchasing a new, more comfortable, bathroom-equipped and air-conditioned van with a six-year transferrable warranty – the 2018 Hymer Aktiv. We had actually been researching van upgrades for about a year, however, August in Ontario provided us with the motivation to act on our desire for a more comfortable vehicle particularly since it would be our full-time home, studio, kennel for the foreseeable future.

: Pick up day, CampOutRV

: The 2018 Hymer Aktiv

: The new and old vans

: The kitchen. Lots of storage. We added a photo sticker to the backsplash using a photo we took in Duncan, BC in 2015.

: Bench seat with folding table. Front seats swivel.

: Pull down screen at rear keeps the bugs out and the breeze in; Murphy Bed in stowaway position.

: Three piece bathroom with wet shower, cassette toilet and folding sink.

: Cassette toilet is accessed outside of the van.

: Dumping the cassette toilet is easy.

: Murphy Bed set up for a comfy night’s sleep.

Just after purchasing our new home-on-wheels we stumbled upon a beautiful apartment, smack dab in the centre of the river front park in the town of Amherstburg. This is the town in which Julie was raised and where her dad still lives. We’ve been spending more and more time here these past few years supporting Bill as his Alzheimer’s Disease progresses, so the apartment seemed like a great solution, for now. It will allow us to continue to travel and live in our new van and while stationary provide comfortable support for Julie’s dad. It’s large enough to accommodate house-guests including Julie’s siblings when they visit Bill and we have a dedicated office/studio space which is something we haven’t had since selling the house and studio in 2014. Sometimes things just feel right. We have learned to trust those gut instincts. The apartment is on the second story of the old town newspaper building, the Amherstburg Echo. It’s kind of neat to be living in a building that was once a printing office given our own printing career. When Julie was 10 years old she skated her first solo in the ‘Our Town’ ice show. Her title was ‘Little Miss Echo.’ These kind of coincidences always bolster our decision making.

: The Amherstburg Echo Building. Our apartment is the top floor.

: March 6, 1974 edition of the Amherstburg Echo.

: Julie as Little Miss Echo in the Our Town Ice Show.

We have yet to decide if we’ll sell the Volkswagen. We are currently contemplating potential businesses. Plus, it’s still mighty fun to drive. If you have a hankering to travel in a super sweet VW and want to buy one that has been lovingly maintained and restored give us a shout. It’s got a lot of life left in it.

Here’s why we bought the Hymer:

it has a three-piece bathroom with a cassette toilet, sink, shower and amazing two-way fan (we have yet to test the shower!)
a great kitchen which includes a sink with hot and cold running water, AC/DC bar fridge with a freezer compartment, two burner propane cooktop and lots of pantry storage (we love being able to wash our fruits and vegetables and our dishes in the van)
air-conditioning and heating in the cab and in the living area (having AC means we can carry on a conversation or answer the phone while driving)
250 watts of solar on the roof (constantly charging)
400 amp hours lithium battery (charges while we drive and by solar while stationary)
the solar and lithium battery will allow us to camp off-grid and enable us to charge all of our devices
fresh and gray water holding tanks
lots of electrical and USB outlets
a comfortable full-size murphy bed with an actual mattress (feels like a king size compared to the VW)
table seating for four
front swivel seats (a bit of a workout to get them to swivel but we can use it)
blinds and screens in all the windows and retractable screens in the side and rear doors (keeps the bugs out and the breeze coming in from all directions)
built in sunshade in front window plus magnetic window covers for the front three windows
LED lighting throughout
An electronic awning with LED porch light which we would never leave on all night! Best thing about it is that the lighting is on the inside of the awning so illuminates where it is needed
Bonus features: an LED television, microwave and Sony GPS/DVD player/radio, cable hookup, spare tire, cup holders galore

This van is a VERY comfortable space in which we are able to work, cook, live and move around in all kinds of weather. This is not something we can really say about our beloved Volkswagen.

The thing we were looking forward to most of all was a maintenance-free vehicle. But, let’s be real… is there really such a thing? Regardless of age! Since picking it up the battery has been replaced and the tire pressure adjusted. As of this morning we now have heat in the cab! On the 30^thHymer is going to have a look at a moisture issue in the cassette holding area and a malfunctioning back up camera. It is fortunately all covered by the extended warranties but we seriously hope that’s it for maintenance for the next little while. Funny thing is that the dealership where we bought it kept it for two weeks to allow for enough time to thoroughly test the vehicle and, ‘make sure it was perfect.’ Makes us wonder what testing was actually done or their definition of perfect.

In the meantime we moved all of our belongings out of storage (yay!!) and into the apartment. One thing we’ve learned in the past few years is how to get comfortable in a place fast. We could be somewhere for a few days, a week or a couple of months and we can feel ‘at home’ from the get-go. We are surprised just how ‘at home’ we feel in this apartment. We’re enjoying everything about it including our office, the kitchen, which is perfect for entertaining family and friends (old and new), the ensuite laundry (oh how we’ve missed that), the living room complete with a sofa and just having space in which to spread out. We continue to support Bill and attend to his health, take him to appointments, manage his care, finances and insurance issues, etc. And, of course, the warranty issues on our brand new van. Life. We sure are looking forward to hitting the open road and experiencing some new peaks, valleys and switchbacks before too long.