Anyone got an Elddis Autoquest 185? (2 Viewers)

[SKI Mobile]

Has anyone got an Elddis 185? We’ve had a look and think it would suit us, although no garage space is a compromise. Any experienced owners out there?

 

[Madmag]

We have an Encore 285 which i think is the same layout, i.e. single beds and end bathroom. We have had it from new for nearly 2 years now and spend months at a time in it. Does that count as experienced?? the layout is ideal for us, nice lounge area and large bathroom. The big thing we did was get the dealer to remove the 2 front travel seats which are in the front lockers. We had no intention of using it for other than just the 2 of us. This gave us 2 very large underseat lockers for storage so no garage needed. Anything not needed in transit goes in these lockers and the rest in the underbed ones.
plenty of cupboard space inside, we don't need it all. We travel down to Spain and overwinter there, spending about 4-5 weeks en route then 4 months going nowhere so we need that extra locker space for the awning etc that we take with us. I don't think we could or would try to take all the stuff we do if we hadn't removed the seats. I also suspect we wouldn't have the payload either for what we carry if we didn't, the seats weigh a ton!! Hope that helps. Any other questions just ask..

 

[SKI Mobile]

We have an Encore 285 which i think is the same layout, i.e. single beds and end bathroom. We have had it from new for nearly 2 years now and spend months at a time in it. Does that count as experienced?? the layout is ideal for us, nice lounge area and large bathroom. The big thing we did was get the dealer to remove the 2 front travel seats which are in the front lockers. We had no intention of using it for other than just the 2 of us. This gave us 2 very large underseat lockers for storage so no garage needed. Anything not needed in transit goes in these lockers and the rest in the underbed ones.
plenty of cupboard space inside, we don't need it all. We travel down to Spain and overwinter there, spending about 4-5 weeks en route then 4 months going nowhere so we need that extra locker space for the awning etc that we take with us. I don't think we could or would try to take all the stuff we do if we hadn't removed the seats. I also suspect we wouldn't have the payload either for what we carry if we didn't, the seats weigh a ton!! Hope that helps. Any other questions just ask..

Sounds like you are very happy with yours! Yes, that’s the layout we’ve been looking at. Removing travelling seats seems a really good idea, although we’d need to retain the seatbelts so we can attach our dogs.

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[Madmag]

You don't need the seat belts from the travelling seats as they are attached. We also have a dog, black labrador. He travels behind our seats, he wears a harness when we are travelling and we have a lead attached to the metalwork on the bottom of the passenger seat which we can clip this too. Never had any problem. At night he sleeps in the same place in his bed, so don't trip over him if we get up at night.

 

[MajesticSimon'185]

We have a majestic 185 which is the same. Let me know if you bought one or would like any tips or thoughts on the model.

 

[SKI Mobile]

We are due to collect later this month and can’t wait! Tips and thoughts all welcome.

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[MajesticSimon'185]

Ok. The postives- we love the lay out. Its huge and airy being open plan. You can lounge on the beds aswell as the lounge. We have 3 terriers so they love to join in. Turn the cabs seats around and theres bags of room.

Kitchen ticks all the boxes.
Bathroom is just right and always warmer with heating on.

Ours is the 2.2 engine but you may have the newer 2 litre. They pull like a train and you have to watch your speed. Handling is great.
Remember that over hang tho'. They are long.

My only gripes are- insulation is poor. I've got under seats and added silver loft insulation as we go year round. Minus 8 in Belgium this week.
Whale heater in my opinion is not the best. We carry a 2000kw leccy heater too.
Our water froze aswell.

However, we got a 49k bus for 43k as it was a brand new 2016 going into 2017.

Ultimately you wont be disappointed. If you take out the travel seats that gives shed loads of storage too.

Good luck and let me know what you think.
Simon.

 

[doctor p]

Just bought, a week ago, a 185 from Marquis, but lots of minor problems - habitation door will not shut (loose striker plate?) alarm going off at random, failure of water heater when using gas (works on electricity), bathroom door will not stay closed, tyre pressure warning light stays on despite inflating tyres, white tape hanging under rear of van (part of insulation?), SatNav does not work properly and others. This is van number 9 in 14 years (including Mobilvetta, Roller Team, Chausson, Rapido, Mazda Bongo) so I am not convinced there should be so many 'teething problems' during week one of ownership. Is this to be expected from Elddis/Marquis? Any responses would be much appreciated.
On the positive side the layout is great and lots of power in 160 Boxer engine, but is it worth keeping with all these problems already?

 

[SKI Mobile]

Ok. The postives- we love the lay out. Its huge and airy being open plan. You can lounge on the beds aswell as the lounge. We have 3 terriers so they love to join in. Turn the cabs seats around and theres bags of room.

Kitchen ticks all the boxes.
Bathroom is just right and always warmer with heating on.

Ours is the 2.2 engine but you may have the newer 2 litre. They pull like a train and you have to watch your speed. Handling is great.
Remember that over hang tho'. They are long.

My only gripes are- insulation is poor. I've got under seats and added silver loft insulation as we go year round. Minus 8 in Belgium this week.
Whale heater in my opinion is not the best. We carry a 2000kw leccy heater too.
Our water froze aswell.

However, we got a 49k bus for 43k as it was a brand new 2016 going into 2017.

Ultimately you wont be disappointed. If you take out the travel seats that gives shed loads of storage too.

Good luck and let me know what you think.
Simon.

We took delivery of our 185 and have just had our first trip away. Absolutely loved it! A couple of things to get sorted - the extractor fan doesn’t work (noted at handover) and my husband managed to sit on the front curtain so the rail needs refixing but other than that very happy!

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[SB 1893]

Hi, we collect our Elddis 185 Platinum II (dealer special edition) next Monday so I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. It's our first foray into MH ownership, just retired and been researching for ages! The layout was the major positive for us too.
It's interesting to read about owners taking the travelling seats out to make more storage. We won't be doing that as we will occasionally require them, but I am slightly concerned about storage for hose reel, folding deck chairs, wastemaster etc. I know there is access under the slightly shorter of the two singles which can be accessed externally, but its been 3 weeks since we last saw the demo model at the dealership and struggling to now visualise just how big that space is in practice?
Also, I negotiated that they throw in an Avtex TV and just wondering whether other owners fit their TV's to a swivelling bracket on the 185 or just have it freestanding on the unit which houses the fold away table (beneath the aerial point) and simply store in transit?
Final question, has anyone with a 185 been to a weighbridge? Our payload after the dealer edition extras (http://elddis.co.uk/retailer-special/platinum/layouts/Platinum-185) is 495kg. It will generally only be myself and Mrs B and our faithful four-legged companion but on the odd occasion I invite the in-laws etc, I reckon 495kg could be very borderline, although we intend travelling light and short trips rather than months away. I believe Elddis include a 75kg driver and 90% fuel with no allowance for fresh water in their load calcs?

Any feedback/opinions on the above would be really helpful.

Thanks

S

 

[SKI Mobile]

Just back from a fab 10 day trip in our 185 - didn’t want to come home. We seem to have more than enough storage for everything even with the extra travel seats in. Our previous Moho had a large garage but we haven’t missed it at all. We have freestanding tv, only take a small container of water when in transit (fill up on site) & like our own space far too much to invite guests!

 

[Tony52]

We have an Encore 285 which i think is the same layout, i.e. single beds and end bathroom. We have had it from new for nearly 2 years now and spend months at a time in it. Does that count as experienced?? the layout is ideal for us, nice lounge area and large bathroom. The big thing we did was get the dealer to remove the 2 front travel seats which are in the front lockers. We had no intention of using it for other than just the 2 of us. This gave us 2 very large underseat lockers for storage so no garage needed. Anything not needed in transit goes in these lockers and the rest in the underbed ones.
plenty of cupboard space inside, we don't need it all. We travel down to Spain and overwinter there, spending about 4-5 weeks en route then 4 months going nowhere so we need that extra locker space for the awning etc that we take with us. I don't think we could or would try to take all the stuff we do if we hadn't removed the seats. I also suspect we wouldn't have the payload either for what we carry if we didn't, the seats weigh a ton!! Hope that helps. Any other questions just ask..

Sorry to rehash this old post. In June I’m about to take ownership of an Encore 285 and have been considering removing the travel seats myself. Do you think this is a DIY job? I assume they are just bolted to the chassis?

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[SKI Mobile]

We thought we would take ours out ourselves but just didn’t have the strength to do it. They’re still in! Thoughts are to get the dealer to do it next time we are there.

 

[AMK]

I’ve taken one of mine out, easy peasy.

The hardest thing was finding somewhere to store the seat in the house.

 

[Tony52]

I’ve taken one of mine out, easy peasy.

The hardest thing was finding somewhere to store the seat in the house.

Thanks for that, do they weigh much?

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[AMK]

They are a little, but manageable if your careful.

I’m going to take the other one out soon.

 

[Tony52]

They are a little, but manageable if your careful.

I’m going to take the other one out soon.

So not just space saving weight saving as well, and you will still have them if and when you want to move the MH on later

 

[Madmag]

We couldn’t shift the bolts on ours so asked( and paid) dealer to do it. Apparently they can’t ‘just enforced off’ but need something like a air hammer. Agree hardest part was moving them. They are VERY heavy. Took 2 of us to get them out. We have stored them, wrapped well with their bolts in packets with them up in the loft. Now getting themup there took some doing, needed to use webbing straps to haul them up! Holes them filled with foam filler and carpet laid on floor of locker, perfect.
One other refinement we did was to move the waste bin from the inside of the door, was too low down & also could damage the fly screen if door blew onto it. There is a cable runs into the door low down on the RHS, this tended to get trapped in the door so now held up to the door with elastic band mechanism which allows it to open with door.but then holds cable out of the way when door is being shut.
Enjoy your new van, we are racking up the nights in ours.

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[Bernie n Anna]

Having our 2nd trip out in our 3 week old 185 magnum,no problems,so far so good really impressed with build quality after reading some horror stories about British m/homes all is well.

 

[WESTY66]

So does anyone know how much these seats actually weigh?? thinking of taking one out of my Encore 255, but they need to be pretty heavy to make it worthwhile.

Ady

 

[Bernie n Anna]

So does anyone know how much these seats actually weigh?? thinking of taking one out of my Encore 255, but they need to be pretty heavy to make it worthwhile.

Ady

Dealer removed both of ours, they must be around 20kg each,only a guess by the way, still in the hallway at home haven't decided where to store them yet.

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[AMK]

25.6 kg per seat.

 

[WESTY66]

25.6 kg per seat.

Thanks, that's the answer I was looking for

Ady

 

[St Ivian]

We have a 155 and we haven't yet taken the seats out but we were supplied with bags to put them in should we do so. I assumed from that that they are quite easy to remove but I will have to check just how difficult it would be.

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[WESTY66]

We have a 155 and we haven't yet taken the seats out but we were supplied with bags to put them in should we do so. I assumed from that that they are quite easy to remove but I will have to check just how difficult it would be.

They are pretty easy if you are handy with a spanner, they unbolt at the floor inside then the bracket that’s left will have to be unbolted from the underneath as it goes round the chassis, it’s fairly straightforward, also the holes that are left need to be blocked up with sealant from underneath and in the hab area. Allow 20 mins per seat and keep all the bits safe for when you want to refit. Also they are quite heavy, hope this helps.

Ady

 

[Bubblyboy]

They are pretty easy if you are handy with a spanner, they unbolt at the floor inside then the bracket that’s left will have to be unbolted from the underneath as it goes round the chassis, it’s fairly straightforward, also the holes that are left need to be blocked up with sealant from underneath and in the hab area. Allow 20 mins per seat and keep all the bits safe for when you want to refit. Also they are quite heavy, hope this helps.

Ady

Hi Ady, I'm thinking of removing my seats from my Majestic 285 too... One question from your reply above, if I remove the seats from the bracket that you mention, can that bracket that the seats are mounted on then be left in situ to avoid having to seal any holes in the floor?

 

[WESTY66]

Hi Bubblyboy yes the fixing brackets can be let in place with just a steel strip showing and two nuts, which I have done on one side because sometimes the daughter comes with us (so I can quickly and easily put one seat back in).
The other side I have removed them completely as I have no requirement for a fourth seat and the bracket essentially goes round the chassis underneath, however it leaves two holes in the floor which you have to completely seal up to stop water ingress.

Both the above can all be put back within 30mins if you are handy with spanners??

forgot to add, once removed it gives good storage area, which for us is in the right place as it’s not all on the rear axle.?

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[Bubblyboy]

Hi Bubblyboy yes the fixing brackets can be let in place with just a steel strip showing and two nuts, which I have done on one side because sometimes the daughter comes with us (so I can quickly and easily put one seat back in).
The other side I have removed them completely as I have no requirement for a fourth seat and the bracket essentially goes round the chassis underneath, however it leaves two holes in the floor which you have to completely seal up to stop water ingress.

Both the above can all be put back within 30mins if you are handy with spanners??

forgot to add, once removed it gives good storage area, which for us is in the right place as it’s not all on the rear axle.?

Thanks so much for your reply.. It was so easy, I wasn't expecting it that easy as the seats on our previous van were just bolted right through the floor and not on an internal mounting bracket.. My only problem was that one of the seats got stuck on the threads of the mounting studs but after a bit of jiggling it came free! As you say its a win win situation, saved 50kg ( blimey they were mighty heavy to get out and into the attic!) and that under seat space is so large! I had been researching uprating the van as we we quite close to the max weight ( fully loaded up though) at our last weighbridge visit but won't need that now and I can also avoid that dreaded C1 medical business in under 2 years time!! Many thanks again for your help.. Steve

 

[WESTY66]

Thanks so much for your reply.. It was so easy, I wasn't expecting it that easy as the seats on our previous van were just bolted right through the floor and not on an internal mounting bracket.. My only problem was that one of the seats got stuck on the threads of the mounting studs but after a bit of jiggling it came free! As you say its a win win situation, saved 50kg ( blimey they were mighty heavy to get out and into the attic!) and that under seat space is so large! I had been researching uprating the van as we we quite close to the max weight ( fully loaded up though) at our last weighbridge visit but won't need that now and I can also avoid that dreaded C1 medical business in under 2 years time!! Many thanks again for your help.. Steve

Rally ready with full everything except waste we are 3500kg??

 

[Shawn.Butcher]

Hi All,
Help needed, recently purchased a majestic 185 with the travel seats removed, seats are with the motor home but require refitting based on our needs. As correct fitment is safety critical, dealers closed and nothing on the net to help, has anyone any ideas, rather be safe than sorry.
thanks in advance for any help or links.
Shawn

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