C'mon Happy Autotrail Owners. (1 Viewer)

[Dawn B]

Door hinges, mmmm - since previously owning a 22yr old Swift Kon-Tiki I will let you into my secret for keeping all external hinges working as they should.

Due to the hinge post being steel and the majority of the female parts of the hinge, the parts that turn on the post (ahem) being of aluminium, there is an incompatibility once water and road salt gets in and corrosion takes place.

I always drill a tiny hole on the inside of the female part through to the post, then squirt in my secret solution (GT85 & engine oil) whilst working the hinge - never have any problems with the hinges then. If you drill the holes on the inside (as when opened) then the hole is not directly open to the elements, but when I've finished I always put a small blob of grease on the hole to seal. Has always worked for me and no doubt it will extend the life of the hinges and the area directly next to the hinges.
:thumb:

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Trikeman.

Ouch

 

[knokinonabit]

Door hinges, mmmm - since previously owning a 22yr old Swift Kon-Tiki I will let you into my secret for keeping all external hinges working as they should.

Due to the hinge post being steel and the majority of the female parts of the hinge, the parts that turn on the post (ahem) being of aluminium, there is an incompatibility once water and road salt gets in and corrosion takes place.

I always drill a tiny hole on the inside of the female part through to the post, then squirt in my secret solution (GT85 & engine oil) whilst working the hinge - never have any problems with the hinges then. If you drill the holes on the inside (as when opened) then the hole is not directly open to the elements, but when I've finished I always put a small blob of grease on the hole to seal. Has always worked for me and no doubt it will extend the life of the hinges and the area directly next to the hinges.
:thumb:

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Trikeman.

Spookily enough I was planning on doing just that, but as I am still "in negotiations" with the dealer about various things, I thought I had better wait . Just in case they decide it invalidates my warranty.

 

[Trikeman]

Ouch

I tried my best to write this in engineering terms, but alas found it difficult without my mind wandering and dreading the innuendoes that may fall out.


Trikeman.

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[Spenders]

My Autotrail.....

We have an 06 Scout on the Merc 316 chassis. We got it in February this year at which it had done 16,000 miles. We've taken that up to nearly 30,000 so far and plan to wear the wheels off it!

We've had some small problems with it, mainly due to us not knowing how to work some of the systems on it: not the Autotrail stuff particularly, more the optional extras that the original owner had fitted but failed to provide instructions as to how to use! It has the Merc alloy wheels which I have had new camping tyres fitted to and they keep going down (Jims flashy things keep telling me!!)..... I wish it just had plain steel wheels!

I love driving it and using it, and love the Scout layout. The upholstery seemed a bit garish when I first went to view it, but I don't notice it now.

Simon
:thumb:

 

[buckby]

We have a 57 plate cheyenne 840D we love it we had a 04 cheyenne 660se before that as for judder in reverse personally I dont do many miles backwards so it dosen't realy bother me the 3 litre pulls as well with or without the car on the back. I drive a vauxhall vivaro for a living and I prefer the motorhome to drive any day double arm rests and good mirrors.

 

[Ed Excel]

Autotrail Excel 600

More happy campers. Under 6m, feels much bigger. Goes like a train, anywhere we like. Found nothing better at this year's NEC show but hey, we are in love.

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[speed080]

We have a scout on a sprinter 312turbo 2.9 ,it is fantastic ,auto box,air rides,aircon solar,loads moregoodies and it pulls like a train.with no fancy electronics it will run happily on bio with no power loss .on the habitation side,lhave replaced a cracked shower try, changed all lights to leds and replaced a bottom hinge on hab door.this van is a 1998 vintage now 46k and have looked at newer vans,not just autotrail but the biuld quality is not as good,very pleased with ours and will keep it a long time

 

[beachcaster]

Ive got an 09 Cheyenne 696 G 3 litre Fiat auto with a very large garage.......and two double beds......one for me one for SWMBO.

Drives a treat....I love the auto...It's not perfect.........but we like it.
The bad points for me are the radio..............useless when driving. Silly fridge locking mechanism designed by an idiot....and the fact the roof gets dirty....but I cant blame Auto trail for that.( cant really blame them for the fridge either)

Overall its been really good ! And for me it looks good too.

barry

 

[petrol tin glyn]

autotrail

:thumb::thumb:yep we love ours 05 chieftan good honest van does what it says on the tinmind you i look after her/himi only park in upper class areas

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[Carreraboy]

2009 696g - first motorhome so nothing to compare it with but very happy and no problems after 2 years - (except absolutely crap radio/aerial reception). DAB radio next add on I think.

 

[163phil]

We have an Apache 600 on an 03 plate Ducato. Our first motorhome, and we're loving it (still definitely on the learning curve). Only a 2.0L, but remapped and it pulls a bike trailer well enough. Not sure I'd want to take it over the Alps though, as the brakes and clutch don't feel like there's much redundancy built in, but I guess that's more down to Fiat, and not Autotrail.

 

[Southampton]

We have the Comanche on a 62 plate, love it to bits. Have a charging problem with the Solar but most of the problems have been due to a poor dealer. Now moved it to their head office and feel confident the problem will be solved. We have the 3.0ltr auto and have been to South of France, Italy and Croatia twice this year. A great van that suits us perfectly.

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[Moodybrook]

To steal Pappajohn's thunder I can't get my head that far up my arse either

 

[MHVirgins]

We traded in our Elddis 180 in the summer, it was 2 years old and we bought a 2008 Dakota, so far we are really happy with the comfort of it and with the 3 litre engine it's a joy to drive. We had looked at several makes of vans but prefer the layout of this with the two long settees........it's just the two of us and we've plenty room in it.

We had an initial problem with the fuel filter seal leaking just after we bought it, but this was promptly rectified by the dealer (Oaktree Motors) Awsworth, near Nottingham.
The only niggley problem we're experiencing at the moment (like Trikeman), is the problem of the screws being too short on the bathroom door. I've just taken off both door handles and filled the holes with wood filler, so here's hoping this might do the trick when I re-fix the handles.
We've spoken to many motorhome owners that we've met and there's always been something that's given them cause to have a moan about their vans, be it Swift, Rapido, or Elddis. So, I don't think Autotrail are unique with having problems, perhaps it's just that a lot of people don't like to admit to having a problem.

Just one other observation, that on initial "start-up" only there is a clunk from the underside of the front seats.......there seems to be various thoughts on this on the internet, one being gearbox mountings.
Any thoughts on this please?

Regards, Bill

 

[autoswan]

We have a Cheyanne 632SE and had it for 21 months, it had 18k miles on it and was a bargain, the 2004 model and has been good to us so far .

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[knokinonabit]

We have the Comanche on a 62 plate, love it to bits. Have a charging problem with the Solar but most of the problems have been due to a poor dealer. Now moved it to their head office and feel confident the problem will be solved. We have the 3.0ltr auto and have been to South of France, Italy and Croatia twice this year. A great van that suits us perfectly.

Glad you love your MH but could you expand please.
"Have a charging problem with the solar but most of the problems have been due to a poor dealer. Now moved it to their head office"

Which problems have been due to a poor dealer ?
It sounds as though there is more than the solar not charging, if so, what are they ?
Who's head office, the dealers or Autotrails ?

Any answers you offer may help me with my quest to have ours put right :thumb:

 

[joner8888]

My turn,
Autotrail Scout 1997 and 40k miles

I have worked on motorhomes and caravans for years then decided to get one when it came along at a bargain price.
After colour coding various parts and servicing everything it has worked a treat for 2 years now:thumb:
I often look at bigger , later models but I think I will keep it for a while yet.
It is stored inside all year and is pampered.

 

[gibbon]

Autotrail Hinges

Door hinges, mmmm - since previously owning a 22yr old Swift Kon-Tiki I will let you into my secret for keeping all external hinges working as they should.

Due to the hinge post being steel and the majority of the female parts of the hinge, the parts that turn on the post (ahem) being of aluminium, there is an incompatibility once water and road salt gets in and corrosion takes place.

I always drill a tiny hole on the inside of the female part through to the post, then squirt in my secret solution (GT85 & engine oil) whilst working the hinge - never have any problems with the hinges then. If you drill the holes on the inside (as when opened) then the hole is not directly open to the elements, but when I've finished I always put a small blob of grease on the hole to seal. Has always worked for me and no doubt it will extend the life of the hinges and the area directly next to the hinges.
:thumb:

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Trikeman.

Before we bought our Cheyenne we had a 92 hymer camp. Every single hinge on all outside doors had a grease nipple on it! Remember them?

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[Southampton]

Glad you love your MH but could you expand please.
"Have a charging problem with the solar but most of the problems have been due to a poor dealer. Now moved it to their head office"

Which problems have been due to a poor dealer ?
It sounds as though there is more than the solar not charging, if so, what are they ?
Who's head office, the dealers or Autotrails ?

Any answers you offer may help me with my quest to have ours put right :thumb:

The solar panel was not giving a charge to the batteries and I had it in for repair on about six or seven occasions to Freeborn Southampton. The last occasion they had it eleven weeks and I was continually told they are waiting for a new panel. The service manager left the company a couple of weeks ago, and the new service manager informed me that they had not been working on the van and no job card had been raised, it had been sat at the back of the compound. I had it transferred to their Guildford branch and they found two solder joints faulty under the panel. They fixed it within two days. There were a couple of other minor problems (faulty TV coax, dodgy LED connector) that were quickly rectified.

I put my experience down to a poor dealer due to the fact that had the Southampton branch identified the problem as quickly and efficiently as the Guildford branch then I would of put them down to teething problems. I appreciate you do not expect problems on a c£74K purchase but it is a fact of life on a complex vehicle system, and had it had a more thorough PDI they would probably have been sorted before I took ownership.

We love the Comanche and the build standard, we could not of picked a better van for us. The mistake we made was, unbeknown to us, picking a poor local dealer for after sales support. However, the Guildford branch were excellent and I would have no hesitation in recommending them or an Autotrail.

 

[knokinonabit]

The solar panel was not giving a charge to the batteries and I had it in for repair on about six or seven occasions to Freeborn Southampton. The last occasion they had it eleven weeks and I was continually told they are waiting for a new panel. The service manager left the company a couple of weeks ago, and the new service manager informed me that they had not been working on the van and no job card had been raised, it had been sat at the back of the compound. I had it transferred to their Guildford branch and they found two solder joints faulty under the panel. They fixed it within two days. There were a couple of other minor problems (faulty TV coax, dodgy LED connector) that were quickly rectified.

I put my experience down to a poor dealer due to the fact that had the Southampton branch identified the problem as quickly and efficiently as the Guildford branch then I would of put them down to teething problems. I appreciate you do not expect problems on a c£74K purchase but it is a fact of life on a complex vehicle system, and had it had a more thorough PDI they would probably have been sorted before I took ownership.

We love the Comanche and the build standard, we could not of picked a better van for us. The mistake we made was, unbeknown to us, picking a poor local dealer for after sales support. However, the Guildford branch were excellent and I would have no hesitation in recommending them or an Autotrail.

Thank you for expanding on that. :thumb:
Although there were other "minor" faults with yours, and yes, I accept it is a complex vehicle, but I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "Had it had a more thorough PDI they would probably have been sorted before I took ownership".
Autotrail state that their quality control is very thorough and everything is tested before it leaves the factory, which it obviously isn't. The dealer PDI should check everything out prior to handover and then the customer should be shown how to work everything and see everything working. It may take a little time but it would save an awful lot of bad feeling and sort out problems before they occurred with the customer, who in the end, is paying for all of this.

Incidentally, I never leave mine with the dealer. I tell them that I am waiting for it, even if I have to wait all day, as it is my only means of getting home.

 

[Chris]

Thank you for expanding on that. :thumb:
Although there were other "minor" faults with yours, and yes, I accept it is a complex vehicle, but I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "Had it had a more thorough PDI they would probably have been sorted before I took ownership".
Autotrail state that their quality control is very thorough and everything is tested before it leaves the factory, which it obviously isn't. The dealer PDI should check everything out prior to handover and then the customer should be shown how to work everything and see everything working. It may take a little time but it would save an awful lot of bad feeling and sort out problems before they occurred with the customer, who in the end, is paying for all of this.

Incidentally, I never leave mine with the dealer. I tell them that I am waiting for it, even if I have to wait all day, as it is my only means of getting home.

The last paragraph of your post might be why this is still ongoing to be honest.

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[Stewart J]

Saw the start of this thread yesterday and decided to give it a day to develop in case it went pear shaped.

We are now on our second new AT, the first a Tracker and our first foray into the wonderfully zany world of motorhoming after many years tugging. Then after 30 months up-sized to a Mohawk (a long story involving helping care for our grand-daughter and needing extra belted seats and more room).

Our Tracker was beset by manufacturing problems from delivery, most should have been picked up prior to leaving the factory and the others by a competent dealer pdi. The same dealer has I must state improved workshop practices and after sales in the last couple of years.

I actually started sorting out what problems I could myself on the premise being my property I would be more thorough and certainly more particular than some of the examples of bodging that was returned to me from fixes in their workshop. (I was a Chief Engineer in the Merch so can turn my hands to most things which is an advantage many other owners don't have)

I did contemplate other marques and looked at many in dealers and shows but up here in the NE of England dealers are few and far between and I had no wish to suffer long out of pocket journeys to return a van for warranty work to be carried out. It seems that as others have said poor workmanship and the desperate urge for most manufacturers to turn out vans piecemeal to boost profits results in shoddy workmanship and a degree of faults that would not be tolerated in any other manufacturing industry.

So we went back to the same dealer for our latest purchase who offered us a deal no-one else could come anywhere near and took delivery in March of this year.

For the most part we are delighted with the van in saying that it has many "snags" as they say in the trade, many I've fixed myself others we saved up and returned the van for works to be carried out a couple of weeks ago, they still have it and I expect to pick it up later this week early next.

Again many of these snags should have been picked up during inspections prior to leaving the factory others have come to light due to poor preparation/workmanship. For example I went for the sportline pack, the dark blue grey looks great until the decals on hab legs, cab doors and bonnet started to blister and peal, also a rather long gel coat coat (12-13 inches) on top of luton and the totally useless piece of chinese unbranded crap that is the so called media centre in dashboard (freeview, sat nav, radio etc all in one) went belly up, not alone on this one many others have had multiple replacements 7 in a year for one poor customer). Plus 15 other problems beyond my fix-it skills. Hence the lengthy time they required it.

I was recently at the dealers open day promoting the launch of the 2014 model range and managed to buttonhole the AT rep whom I put all my concerns and suggestions to, gave me a lot of the usual brainwashed manufacturer crap but to be fair listed to my complaints and suggestions for future model improvements.

The so called modern materials now being used for weight saving (read cheapness) for the furniture will not stand the passage of time and use as have earlier models, that said overall we are well pleased with the van, dealer service has markedly improved over the years to the point were I would not be worried about recommending to others.

In 3-4 years I'll be changing and slightly down-sizing before my 70th, will I buy another AT, probably.

My 50 pence worth.

 

[knokinonabit]

The last paragraph of your post might be why this is still ongoing to be honest.

Or it could be stood in the corner of the dealers yard for 11 weeks not being worked on. In which case I couldn't use it at all.
If the dealer says to me that we must have it in for x amount of days to put this right then they would have it for x amount of days. To date they have never offered any kind of time frame or even requested to have it for more than a day. They know the type of repair that it is going in for and how long it is going to take, approximately, so they should be telling me how long they need it.
I don't think that the fact I wait for my property to be repaired has any bearing on the competence, or otherwise, of the dealers ability or willingness to carry out the repairs.

 

[Chris]

Or it could be stood in the corner of the dealers yard for 11 weeks not being worked on. In which case I couldn't use it at all.
If the dealer says to me that we must have it in for x amount of days to put this right then they would have it for x amount of days. To date they have never offered any kind of time frame or even requested to have it for more than a day. They know the type of repair that it is going in for and how long it is going to take, approximately, so they should be telling me how long they need it.
I don't think that the fact I wait for my property to be repaired has any bearing on the competence, or otherwise, of the dealers ability or willingness to carry out the repairs.

I wasn't having a go. I just think if you say " here is the van sort the shit out in one week" , you will have a better chance than saying " here is the van , sort the shit out while I wait/watch what you are doing"

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[knokinonabit]

I wasn't having a go. I just think if you say " here is the van sort the shit out in one week" , you will have a better chance than saying " here is the van , sort the shit out while I wait/watch what you are doing"

I hope I didn't give the impression I was "having a go" at you.
If I did I can assure you it was not meant to come out like that and I am extremely sorry.

I take your point and understand what you mean, but I don't sit over them. They have a reasonable café and a large shop that costs me a fortune every time I go there. Usually things I want rather than things I actually need. I also wander around the showroom and all the other MHs and caravans, talk to staff etc. and try to be nice. The only time I speak to the workshop side is when they contact me for information as I try not to pressure them, because I want them to get it right.

 

[knokinonabit]

Saw the start of this thread yesterday and decided to give it a day to develop in case it went pear shaped.

We are now on our second new AT, the first a Tracker and our first foray into the wonderfully zany world of motorhoming after many years tugging. Then after 30 months up-sized to a Mohawk (a long story involving helping care for our grand-daughter and needing extra belted seats and more room).

Our Tracker was beset by manufacturing problems from delivery, most should have been picked up prior to leaving the factory and the others by a competent dealer pdi. The same dealer has I must state improved workshop practices and after sales in the last couple of years.

I actually started sorting out what problems I could myself on the premise being my property I would be more thorough and certainly more particular than some of the examples of bodging that was returned to me from fixes in their workshop. (I was a Chief Engineer in the Merch so can turn my hands to most things which is an advantage many other owners don't have)

I did contemplate other marques and looked at many in dealers and shows but up here in the NE of England dealers are few and far between and I had no wish to suffer long out of pocket journeys to return a van for warranty work to be carried out. It seems that as others have said poor workmanship and the desperate urge for most manufacturers to turn out vans piecemeal to boost profits results in shoddy workmanship and a degree of faults that would not be tolerated in any other manufacturing industry.

So we went back to the same dealer for our latest purchase who offered us a deal no-one else could come anywhere near and took delivery in March of this year.

For the most part we are delighted with the van in saying that it has many "snags" as they say in the trade, many I've fixed myself others we saved up and returned the van for works to be carried out a couple of weeks ago, they still have it and I expect to pick it up later this week early next.

Again many of these snags should have been picked up during inspections prior to leaving the factory others have come to light due to poor preparation/workmanship. For example I went for the sportline pack, the dark blue grey looks great until the decals on hab legs, cab doors and bonnet started to blister and peal, also a rather long gel coat coat (12-13 inches) on top of luton and the totally useless piece of chinese unbranded crap that is the so called media centre in dashboard (freeview, sat nav, radio etc all in one) went belly up, not alone on this one many others have had multiple replacements 7 in a year for one poor customer). Plus 15 other problems beyond my fix-it skills. Hence the lengthy time they required it.

I was recently at the dealers open day promoting the launch of the 2014 model range and managed to buttonhole the AT rep whom I put all my concerns and suggestions to, gave me a lot of the usual brainwashed manufacturer crap but to be fair listed to my complaints and suggestions for future model improvements.

The so called modern materials now being used for weight saving (read cheapness) for the furniture will not stand the passage of time and use as have earlier models, that said overall we are well pleased with the van, dealer service has markedly improved over the years to the point were I would not be worried about recommending to others.

In 3-4 years I'll be changing and slightly down-sizing before my 70th, will I buy another AT, probably.

My 50 pence worth.

Would that be Tyne Valley Motorhomes by any chance ?



.

 

[Mousy]

If you want to buy an auto trail in Wales, try clvwales, continental caravans cross hands.

We had the opposite of your poor dealer issues.

Our experience with them has been really good, mark (sales) helped us with our van choice, we noticed a few minor things (van was 2 years old) he had them sorted for handover, (they had noticed the steady handle was manky so had replaced it as well as a new water filler pump thing). Handover was with Carl from the workshop, he'd done the previous hab checks so knew our van. He spent 2 hours on a Saturday (his day off) to take us through the everything. Mark and Ross the sales guys came and saw us off, they had arranged a site for our first night just up the road, any problems just give them a ring (mobile numbers supplied).

After our wall bump we rang to ask if they knew who could fix it, again they were brilliant (didn't laugh) just said bring it over. They got a couple of firms to quote, offered to store the van for the winter, with access to us if we wanted. When we all found out parts would take 6/8 weeks again they phoned, let us know "did we want it bought home for the wait or stored with them?" "Anything else we can do, whilst it's here? Parking sensors? (Again no larfing!) they seem to sell good quality vans and want the people to buy them to enjoy their new hobby, nothing seems too much trouble and I'm just so glad we bought a van from them and that they are close by.
Good customer care is rare this days, continental caravans has given it to us in spades.

I'm so sorry that a lot of you have spent massive amounts of money not to have your vans useable for weeks on end.

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[Chris]

I hope I didn't give the impression I was "having a go" at you.
If I did I can assure you it was not meant to come out like that and I am extremely sorry.

I take your point and understand what you mean, but I don't sit over them. They have a reasonable café and a large shop that costs me a fortune every time I go there. Usually things I want rather than things I actually need. I also wander around the showroom and all the other MHs and caravans, talk to staff etc. and try to be nice. The only time I speak to the workshop side is when they contact me for information as I try not to pressure them, because I want them to get it right.

No problem I promise.:thumb:


It's not always easy for a dealer though I don't think.

Good luck with your van:thumb:

 

[Stewart J]

Would that be Tyne Valley Motorhomes by any chance ?



.

You got it in one :thumb:

 

[Followtheox]

We have a 2011 Comanche which we have had since it was new. Like Knockinonabit we had all the same problems he had. The difference seems to be the dealer, we bought it from Elite Motorhomes near Banbury and they have sorted out the problems for us without fuss or bother. I think Autotrail do have some quality issues as the same faults keep cropping up between owners with the same vans. My worry is that after April we will become liable to pay to put the faults right, I hope they have all been found by then!

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