DuoMobil - a motorhome for a couple

Hymer DuoMobil is the embodiment of two more and more clear trends in the design of camping vehicles. Well, manufacturers are more and more willing to prepare campers for couples, but also more and more often they ask the users themselves for help in designing.

Motorhomes for four, six or eight people? These will probably never disappear from the market, but they are losing their popularity today. More and more often , customers want comfort for themselves , and this is difficult when many people have to fit in one car. Hence the new trend to create camping vehicles for couples who want to travel without children. This approach forces a new way of designing space - it is no longer about squeezing as many packages and sleeping places as possible, but that practical solutions should go hand in hand with the comfort of use.

Retirees-designers

Hymer decided that this time he would design a vehicle for a couple traveling together. However, the idea was not to create one more of the many interior variants, but to devote as much attention as possible to only one layout. Therefore, the manufacturer invited a couple to cooperate - Heidi and Lothar Schleinkofers , who "ate their teeth" during caravanning.

Schleinkofers love caravanning, and since retiring in 2007, they have started to think more intensely about the concept of a motorhome perfect for a traveling couple. They put their concept together in 2009 and presented it to Dethleffs . She listened to their ideas and in 2011 exhibited the Alpa show model at the fair, in which many ideas of the retired couple were applied.

The motorhome was noticed by the media and potential customers as evidenced by the fact that it took second place (in its category) in the poll for the motorhome of the year organized by the "Promobil" magazine. Following the blow, Dethleffs put the Alp into production and sold around 300 examples of the vehicle. This is quite a good result!

The Schleinkofers, however, wanted to develop their project and at some stage decided to look for a new partner. Finally, they found their way to the Hobby company, which decided to change the concept used by the competitor and implement the idea of a car for a couple on the basis of a fully integrated vehicle (Alpa was a semi-integrated model).

The basis for the DuoMobil model was the Hymer B-class , equipped with a 2.3-liter engine with a capacity of 140 HP . Traditionally, the bodywork is based on Fiat Ducato.

1001 ideas in the interior

The Schleinkofers' marriage did not interfere with technical solutions, but had a huge impact on the interior layout and lots of clever storage solutions.

The interior is accessible through a 70 cm wide door . Already on the left side of the entrance you will find a very comfortable set of cabinets and shelves. There were, among others hooks for small items and two shoe cabinets .

Opposite the entrance there is a kitchen with an unusual, arched shape (with a comfortable recess). The heating plate is placed obliquely, deeper into the worktop. There is a fan in the ceiling above the kitchen.

The bathroom is located in a very unusual way - it is located to the right of the kitchen. A separate shower cubicle of similar sizes to the domestic ones is located opposite the toilet. To the right of the toilet and shower part there are wardrobes and many other storage compartments, incl. three comfortable drawers for underwear and additional shoe compartments (supposedly it can fit up to 12 pairs!).

The bed was suspended above the driver and passenger seats. They can be lowered very low, leaving a meter of space above their heads . The bed itself is also surprising - you can lie on it both crosswise, treating it like a double sleep, but you can also lie down along it, leaving the center with an indentation free. In this arrangement, the bed gives the impression of two single sleeping places.

Facing the kitchen, the seating area is on the left side. The spacious sofa around the swivel table may have rounded corners (at an additional cost). But what is especially interesting we can find between it and the panoramic window. In the corners there are two illuminated bars , and between them a large table top with 4 230 V sockets. You can connect a toaster, kettle and use them while you dine at the table.

But it is not everything! In the center of the top there is a deep, closed compartment for laptops and chargers, with another 4 230 V sockets and 2 USB outputs. There are 18 230 V sockets and 4 USB outputs in the entire motorhome.

Several compartments are located in the floor. One of them functions as ... a chute for dirty linen , which lands immediately in a suitable container. A double floor was also used in the wardrobe. More precisely, the bottom of the wardrobe is below the floor level , giving the wardrobe a height of 228 cm.

There are many more interesting facts, including an electrically retractable shelf with a coffee machine , the ability to transform two sofas into full-size seats with belts for two passengers, electric shutters and a garage with a height of 121 cm, from which bikes can be pulled out on a "tray" (wheels are placed in special slots).

The price of the DuoMobil model with basic equipment in Germany is 109,990 euros . Whether the clever amenities prepared with the participation of a retired couple are worth the price, everyone has to judge for themselves.