5/5 stars: BILSTEIN B6 Camper Advanced shock absorbers impress “Auto Bild Reisemobil” magazine editors
Camping fans are all too familiar with this: camper vans and motorhomes tend to roll a lot when cornering, in crosswinds or during evasive manoeuvres. What’s more, bumps and road potholes are generally poorly damped. With the BILSTEIN B6 Camper and the even more powerful BILSTEIN B6 Camper Advanced, we have called off the battle against poor handling and thus significantly increased ride comfort and safety. This has now also been confirmed by the editors of the magazine “Auto Bild Reisemobil”.
These are the BILSTEIN B6 Camper and the B6 Camper Advanced
With the BILSTEIN B6 Camper and B6 Camper Advanced, we have developed two street legal shock absorbers for camper vans that set new standards in their segment. The reinforced shock absorbers significantly reduce body roll in corners and crosswind sensitivity, resulting in much safer and more precise handling. Compared with camper vans with standard suspension, the dampers have an immediately noticeable increase in roll stability without compromising comfort.
The BILSTEIN B6 Camper Advanced: Alternative to air suspension
The B6 Camper Advanced goes one step further and offers a driving experience that is usually only known from premium passenger cars. The Advanced uses the patented BILSTEIN DampMatic system, which we developed in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. The core of this technology is the automatic damping force adjustment, which works purely mechanically and therefore does not require expensive electronics. It enables two different characteristic curves: The shock absorber generally damps very comfortably, while at the same time providing high damping forces when the situation demands it. In the case of slow road excitations, it thus maintains stability. Very fast excitations – bumps, for example – it smoothed out automatically.
The editorial teams confirm enhanced comfort and driving safety
Most recently, “promobil,” Europe’s largest motorhome magazine, and “Reisemobil International” had already confirmed that the shock absorbers specially developed for motorhomes and camper vans offer a significant increase in comfort and driving safety. Now the editors of “Auto Bild Reisemobil” (May 2023 issue) could experience the camper shock absorbers for themselves.
In our workshops directly on the grounds of the “ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg” test track, the editorial team’s Malibu van receives our Camper dampers. We fit BILSTEIN B6 Camper Advanced shock absorbers to the front axle. At the rear, we install BILSTEIN B6 Camper shock absorbers because the space available in the rear of the Malibu’s light chassis is too tight for the Advanced version.
But no problem: “You can combine both variants,” explains our shock absorber expert Oliver Drees. “At around 1,400 euros for the Advanced variant, the BILSTEIN dampers are definitely affordable,” notes test editor Jenny Zeume.
Auto Bild Reisemobil test editor Jenny Zeume “Hard to believe, but the new BILSTEIN dampers make a huge difference! Clear buy recommendation!”
Challenging test program
After just a few hours of rebuilding, it’s off to the test tracks of the “ATP”. The editorial team has created a challenging test program. During the slalom, the reaction to steering inputs and load changes as well as grip, role behaviour and steering precision can be tested in particular. So-called bad road sections are a real tough test for the shock absorbers.
The test program was tough, but the findings were clear – especially when it came to the innovative BILSTEIN B6 Camper Advanced shock absorbers with DampMatic technology: “This sophisticated system not only ensures better handling, less body roll of our Malibu in crosswinds and better damping, but also ensures that the vehicle makes significantly less noise.”
Accordingly, test editor Jenny Zeume’s final test verdict, awarded with five out of five stars, is positive:
Auto Bild Reisemobil test editor Jenny Zeume “Hard to believe, but the new BILSTEIN dampers make a huge difference! The upgrade is quick, and in relation to the price of a new motorhome, they don’t cost a lot. Clear buy recommendation!”
