New Autotrail - big worry! (1 Viewer)

[Allanm]

Don't worry, it will have water streaming out of it soon, according to some, they come out of the factory leaking.
Our British built van is 2 1/2 years old now and it's frustratingly dry everywhere.....

 

[Khizzie]

The chassis aren't usually the problem though.

Had more problems than enough with my Peugeot base unit than the hab ..

 

[PhilandMena]

Congratulations, it looks like you got what you paid for. Not all Autotrails have problems with them. Mine like many other's, my new one had very minor faults that were quickly corrected and very occasionly one or two slip through with more serious problems.
I'm of the view the UK Motorhome industry still has a long way to go. For the money we pay we should receive the same build quality and reliability that is delivered by the car industry.
Safe Travels.

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[zac]

Early days.....

Very early days lol

 

[Kevan]

I knew there must one happy Auto trail owner

 

[barista]

Don't worry, it will have water streaming out of it soon, according to some, they come out of the factory leaking.
Our British built van is 2 1/2 years old now and it's frustratingly dry everywhere.....

Mine is frustratingly dry also (so far) but it has been all the other issues both vehicular and habitational. Really like the van otherwise and haven't seen a continental one I would rather have, due to their non-British layouts, so the choice is quite limited.

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[Robert Clark]

Mine is frustratingly dry also (so far) but it has been all the other issues both vehicular and habitational. Really like the van otherwise and haven't seen a continental one I would rather have, due to their non-British layouts, so the choice is quite limited.

That's interesting
What layout features do British vans have that European ones don't?

 

[SteveB123]

That's interesting
What layout features do British vans have that European ones don't?

I wanted a U shape lounge and front dinette and couldn't find a new Euro van with that layout

 

[Robert Clark]

I wanted a U shape lounge and front dinette and couldn't find a new Euro van with that layout

That's exactly the same layout of our old Besacarr - but we had the rear lounge always made up as a bed. Really wanted a fixed bed, so changed it

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[barista]

That's interesting
What layout features do British vans have that European ones don't?

A decent kitchen and a lounge area, I can't relax sitting round a dining table.

 

[Bill_OR]

I knew there must one happy Auto trail owner

I'm another - had our 2012 Apache 634 since new and still delighted with it!

 

[rolandrat]

x

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[rolandrat]

x

 

[Judge Mental]

Sounds like you admire candepacks optimism @rolandrat

 

[funflair]

I know it good sport knocking British vans BUT it has to be said that the continental ones are not short of problems either, we know plenty of people with new Continental vans and they all seem to have teething troubles.

British layouts are certainly different to Continental and what suits one does not suit all so we makes our choice and pay our money for better or for worse.

Saying that I will stick with German

Martin

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[Judge Mental]

I know it good sport knocking British vans BUT it has to be said that the continental ones are not short of problems either, we know plenty of people with new Continental vans and they all seem to have teething troubles.

British layouts are certainly different to Continental and what suits one does not suit all so we makes our choice and pay our money for better or for worse.

Saying that I will stick with German

Martin

If they stopped using wood in construction it would go a long way to improving the situation...but why would they bother when sales probably good enough

 

[Allanm]

I think a lot of European vans have similar layouts to the traditional British layout. Personally, I don't like the rear lounge types but I think Hymer do one , or at least used to. We went for the 2 side facing sofas, great for lounging around and plenty of room to seat 6 or more round the table. We didn't really like the front seats with fixed table, feels like your sitting at the kitchen table all the time, which we do a lot at home anyway, but nowhere to really relax.
Saying that, we are starting to look around for a left hand drive van and may well end up with a fixed front table van.......

 

[barista]

Has to be a front lounge for me with no fixed table otherwise no fixed bed which is probably first priority for me.

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[Candapack]

Early days.....

Very early days lol

Thanks guys.
Have a wonderful Christmas anyway.

 

[MitchandJenny]

Hi Candapack. Another happy "Britvan" owner here.
Autotrail Tracker EKS. Coming up to two years old. Had Two new side windows fitted (under warranty) due to ingress of water between the plastic glass and the rubber seal, so just keep an eye out for a rise in damp readings in the lower side storage lockers.
But other than that, just petty things.
The van itself is a delight to own and drive. Been to Spain for 3 months and Greece for 3 months on the longer trips. Never missed a beat, so ENJOY your van and USE it as much as you possibly can. We have done 12,000 miles , but must now park it up for 6 months due to me having an epileptic "brain Fart", but will hopefully be off again in June and maybe do Hungary, Poland or even have a look at Croatia again...
Who knows, the world is ours to explore and enjoy when you take your "house" with you !!
Enjoy your van mate..
Mitch..

 

[woodstock]

Bought a new 2012 Autotrail Apache 700 had damp problems twice fixed under warranty.

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[maison]

We have been motorhome owners for a total of 25 years, with a brief spell with caravan's.

We have owned

Elddis Autoquest 320 from new
Swift Royale 590 from new
Autosleeper Ravenna from new

Swift Sundance 6 years old, after return to M/Hs from caravan
Swift Esprit new this year.

With the exception of the Swift Royale, which was recalled by Swift and repaired at no cost to us, we have had no major problems with any new British units.

It is fashionable to knock Brit vans. Yes, they do gave their faults, but read the reports on the Continental van section.

Enjoy what you have and ignore the doomsayers.

 

[tonka]

Bought a new 2012 Autotrail Apache 700 had damp problems twice fixed under warranty.

Where were the problem areas ? Be interesting to compare. PM me if you don't want to disclose on here..

 

[barista]

I don't really think owners would complain about them unless they have had problems. Their willingness to discuss them openly is not an attempt to be fashionable.

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[GWAYGWAY]

all you need is a few bumpy roads to shake it up a bit. I keep looking for damp on my Chausson, not that it does much but the construction methods tell me from experience that it is going and where it will do it, Seams along the side panels and roof joint and the seam to the fibreglass front roof, just awful joints. All roofs should be caps going over the edges covering the side panels , not butt joints slapped over with goo.

 

[Diabalo]

But I got the wife to do one, no sign of damp she says

Are we really interested in your wife's personal hygiene