Chausson 798 Anniversary Line motorhome

Celebrating 45 years of innovation in motorhomes…

Chausson has been making motorhomes since 1980 and, to celebrate its birthday, it has announced a special Spring Collection model that offers a little bit more – more space, more equipment – with a classic island bed layout. 

The anniversary logo talks of 45 years of innovation and indeed this French Trigano brand has often wowed us with things we haven’t seen before – centre kitchens, habitation doors on both sides, drop-down single beds, whole side walls that open, his and hers washbasins, a wardrobe-cum-changing room that becomes a garage… 

So, we were expecting something that had a built-in jacuzzi, a snooker table that became a triple bed and self-cleaning carpets. We were mildly disappointed then to find that the 798 Anniversary Line is little more than the existing 788 layout stretched by 20cm. This is a classic island bed model with a Smart Lounge (side settees that convert into forward-facing travel seats with Isofix). And now it’s 7.39m long.

But hold on, you can’t blame Chausson for building something that it knows is popular, rather than launching an untried concept in uncertain times. And more space and more spec are always going to add to the appeal.

The spec

Basis is the latest Fiat Ducato with 140hp motor, white cab, a leather steering wheel, air-con, ESP, Traction+, Hill Descent Control, 16in alloy wheels with four-season tyres, front fog lamps and colour-coded bumper.

The Eco Pack (stop/start, smart alternator and electronically controlled fuel pump) and Connect Pack (DAB radio with Bluetooth, steering wheel controls and reversing camera) are both also included as standard. You can switch from the standard manual model to an automatic for £3,001, but note that this saps 55kg from the payload.

The Arctic Pack is a £2,571 option and adds a heated/insulated waste tank, external cab screens, upgraded (6kW) heating, underfloor heating and an electric boiler. Note that it also adds 33kg to the vehicle’s weight.

The exterior

Externally, the 798 is a handsome motorhome with unfussy modern graphics, a very large overcab sunroof and framed habitation windows. More unusually, its rear garage has a door on the offside and a large top-hinged hatch in the rear wall, while headroom can be increased with Chausson’s manual Easy Bed system that lifts the mattress to increase garage space.

Storage here doesn’t extend across the full width because the gas locker intrudes on the nearside. There’s room for one 13kg cylinder, which should be plenty as the heating is diesel-fired.

Other features include an awning, solar panel, cab blinds and a flyscreen on the habitation door. Water tanks are 105 litres for fresh and 100 litres for waste. 

The interior

Inside, the front lounge gains a useful extra 10cm in length compared with the existing 788 model, while retaining the fold-in-half table and swivel seats in the cab (where the floor is slightly higher).

An electric drop-down double bed – a Hideaway bed in Chausson’s lingo – is available as the only other factory option here, priced at £851, but, as it takes 45kg off the payload, it’s only really viable if you upgrade the gross weight from the standard 3,500kg.

More important, then, is the rear bedroom, where the island bed is 1.90m by 1.60m (Chausson’s figures – note that the mattress narrows towards the foot). The bedroom also gains 10cm in length so, for once in an island bed layout, there’s plenty of room to manoeuvre yourself around the mattress and get undressed.

The washroom adopts the typical split format with the toilet (rather high) and basin on the offside and shower on the nearside. And, while the kitchen doesn’t benefit from the extra size of the 798, UK spec already includes a Thetford Duplex cooker with oven/grill, two gas rings and a mains hotplate as well as a 141-litre automatic energy selection fridge.

A spacious, well-equipped and well-priced option in the popular 7.5m island bed category but be careful when considering options as the payload is quite tight.