Van Cinversion Advice (1 Viewer)

[Toffs-G]

Hi

We have our Winnebago on the market and have been looking at the Atocruise 4 berth van conversion

Would appreciate any views on Autocruise vans or any suggestions on good alternatives

Thanks:thumb:
Gary and Cathy

 

[DESCO]

Autocruise vans had a very good reputation prior to being taken over by Swift, have not heard such good reports since.

 

[mondo]

We had an Autocruise Startrail 09 reg..it had a very good build quality..that said it had some niggling faults..bits of trim peeling away..the skylight vent in the shower wouldn't open properly..all fixed by the dealers (Baldwins Halifax) and I should coco at £45k..Then the biggy...the charging unit packed up..we soldiered on whilst in France but contacted Baldwins to get it replaced...Long story short..we took the van into Baldwins on our return they checked out said charger...confirmed it was U/S now this was a warranty job as the van was 4 months old..they contacted Swift who I thought dragged their feet somewhat..as from start to finish it took 8/9 weeks to fix..Personally I blame Swifts as they were in my opinion fitting cheap bits as the service manager and one of the tech guys at RBMs said they had replaced a lot of these chargers as they weren't up to the job and Swift WERE aware of this fact..Baldwins fitted a temp one til Swift gave them the all clear to fit a new one..had they not done this we would not have been able to use the van..I actually had words with Swift over this as Swift said Baldwins were dragging their feet and Baldwins said it was Swift..etc..It may have helped that the Service manager at RBMs is a personal friend..once the repairs were effected no worries with the van..
All in all a good van but in my opinion Swift could do more..Swift now are concentrating on the Panel van market I believe so coach builts are now not built...My views are here in print..Your choice..

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[Toffs-G]

Thanks for this

We are looking at the Autocruise Accent rear lounge converts to a double front seating also converts to bed for junior. Based on a Peugeot Boxer which was what our Elnagh Baron was based on and we found quite good.

We want to be able to use the mh more the RV is too big to take for a day out somewhere

Still got to sell the RV though

Cheers :thumb:
Gary and Cathy

 

[Toffs-G]

Thinking now maybe a van conversion is a little too much in the opposite direction to the RV so now looking at low profiles again 19 to 22ft rear fixed side bed etc CI Carioca looks good seen one with a Mercedes base and auto box which means Cathy could drive it as well and apparently 1200kg payload?

Having got it wrong twice with the layout of the Elnagh and the size of the RV so anxious to get it right this time

 

[Griffs]

van

Hi Gary.

We downsized from a b class to an ih conversion, the economy is superb and so easy to just to get up and go without planning, but after having three americans we do miss the room,


Will possibly look at a hymer or similar in time.

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[bobandjanie]

Hi Gary, why not go to Peterborough show, its the biggest and best for buying, you never know you might even get one of the dealers to do a part x on the RV. :thumb: Bob.

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/Shows/The-National-Motorhome-Show/_sh3

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Hi Gary,
I have a selection of AutoCruise Panel Vans plus a couple of automatic coachbuilts in stock. Plenty of vans to compare if you pop in.

Sorry cannot help with the RV, might be a bit too big for the forecourt!

Peter

 

[Toffs-G]

Hi Gary.

We downsized from a b class to an ih conversion, the economy is superb and so easy to just to get up and go without planning, but after having three americans we do miss the room,


Will possibly look at a hymer or similar in time.

Hi

Yep it's the get up and go aspect tat appeals to us with a smaller mh. I am sure we would miss the room as wel but the RV just doesn't get used like we did with the Elnagh mostly due to the size

Cheers

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[slobadoberbob]

your Cobb is always welcome under my awing

Hi Gary.

We downsized from a b class to an ih conversion, the economy is superb and so easy to just to get up and go without planning, but after having three americans we do miss the room,


Will possibly look at a hymer or similar in time.

Your cobb is always welcome under my awning Clive... plus we are bringing the karaoke machine so we can hear that welsh voice to music...

Me? I have owned only one european motor home, C class way back and would not go back... the RV's offer so much more..... We are thinking of trading out our Aspect at the end of the season... Would like an A class less than 28' .. but again another side of me says I fancy a Pleasureway or a Roadtrek either on the Chevy or the GMC chassis or a Greatlakes with the mini slide at the seethe bed end .. they both do one that is 21' and 22' - still make silly money when second hand in the UK..... an over grown day van but with all the yank goodies ... only two berth, but that is fine for us... But still thinking about it.. The Winnebago Aspect (B) class is great... Sue is doing the last of the packing as I am writing this.. But we have had the Aspect 4 seasons now and it is time to move on.. 18k on the clock, so only just run in... but we are not sure what we want to do. No rush for us. Enjoy it while we can this year.. away at a few shows and in the France for a couple of 3 week runs.. decide in October.

Anyway see you at Newbury... by the way the Cobb company is at Peterborough next weekend .. anything you need for your cobb?


Bob

 

[Terry]

Just how much room do you need ?For us all we need is comfy beds which allow you to get up for loo or make coffee,snacks and other drinks at night and then feet up relaxing during the day or evening.decent size loo/shower,able to get to all cupboards,fridge,cooker and sink :thumb:Yes we have to pass each other while one is more likely to be sitting or move up to the front but that is a small compromise.All in all you can make a sub 20 footer very comfy indeed which does not really affect where you go or park :thumb:
terry

 

[slobadoberbob]

he now has the baby as well

Just how much room do you need ?For us all we need is comfy beds which allow you to get up for loo or make coffee,snacks and other drinks at night and then feet up relaxing during the day or evening.decent size loo/shower,able to get to all cupboards,fridge,cooker and sink :thumb:Yes we have to pass each other while one is more likely to be sitting or move up to the front but that is a small compromise.All in all you can make a sub 20 footer very comfy indeed which does not really affect where you go or park :thumb:
terry

Terry

Garry and Cathy have the baby now also.. I think Garry will have a problem.. as he had a european motorhome, went to an A class RV then a C class RV and now wants to go small again, but if I remember the shower was the issues with the RV and emptying the black and grey tank..

The IH like Clive (The Griffs) has is very small compared to the B class RV he had, which was the slightly bigger Winnebago Aspect that we had.. at 26' .. out Winnebago Aspect is 23'9" and has all the room. But if he (Garry) is looking for an all purpose every day van that he can camp in then may be the IH is the answer, but I think the Griffs would be the first to say that a sliding door is an issue when it is raining, even with an wind out awning.

But Garry has owned a motor home for sometime.. I would do as Jim suggested and go along to a show and see what sort of deal you can get on you RV... Next month you have Newbury and Garry has been there so it would be a good starting point, even if he went as a day visitor as he lives in the South East.

Bob

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[Terry]

Hi Bob the question still remains how much room does he need ?or poss want? As to a sliding door issue it would be a easy job to fit a caravan door into the sliding door then you would not need the sliding bit
I think he was asking for others besides Auto cruse ? the IH, Timberland,Wildaxe and Murvi all spring to mind along with Triango
terry

 

[Toffs-G]

Don't get me wrong the Winnebago is great for space but it is that size that prohibits the frequent go more or less aywhere usage.

As for the emptying of the cassette toilet actually on our Garda trip it was such a pain moving the RV frequently to empty that we would have preferred a cassette. Slide out wander across empty and return. Equally we would ave used a smaller mh to go out for the day etc so no need to hire a car and easy to dump the grey on the way out of the campsite.

Shower wise well we would have to compromise on that because the Winnebago shower is a great size

At the end of the day it's horses for courses I guess


Cheers
Gary, Cathy and Alexander

 

[Toffs-G]

Hmmm just been searching and stumbled across a Winnebago View 23ft on a Mercedes sprinter chassis so European size with American RV facilities wrth a look maybe continuing without a cassette is the compromise

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[Griffs]

Your cobb is always welcome under my awning Clive... plus we are bringing the karaoke machine so we can hear that welsh voice to music...

Me? I have owned only one european motor home, C class way back and would not go back... the RV's offer so much more..... We are thinking of trading out our Aspect at the end of the season... Would like an A class less than 28' .. but again another side of me says I fancy a Pleasureway or a Roadtrek either on the Chevy or the GMC chassis or a Greatlakes with the mini slide at the seethe bed end .. they both do one that is 21' and 22' - still make silly money when second hand in the UK..... an over grown day van but with all the yank goodies ... only two berth, but that is fine for us... But still thinking about it.. The Winnebago Aspect (B) class is great... Sue is doing the last of the packing as I am writing this.. But we have had the Aspect 4 seasons now and it is time to move on.. 18k on the clock, so only just run in... but we are not sure what we want to do. No rush for us. Enjoy it while we can this year.. away at a few shows and in the France for a couple of 3 week runs.. decide in October.

Anyway see you at Newbury... by the way the Cobb company is at Peterborough next weekend .. anything you need for your cobb?


Bob

Anyway see you at Newbury... by the way the Cobb company is at Peterborough next weekend .. anything you need for your cobb?


Bob, You're right to take time to decide what you want to do. As the saying goes if it it's not broke don't fix it. We've downsized & enjoy the flexibility of movement but also miss that Slide out. So life's one big compromise. Very much looking forward to adding our amateur Cobb talents to yours at Newbury, so if you are able to pick up 3 boxes of
Cobblestones at Peterborough for us will reimburse you at Newbury.

Looking forward to seeing yourselves & the other Funsters old & new

Bob[/QUOTE]

 

[slobadoberbob]

OK will get you three boxes

Anyway see you at Newbury... by the way the Cobb company is at Peterborough next weekend .. anything you need for your cobb?


Bob, You're right to take time to decide what you want to do. As the saying goes if it it's not broke don't fix it. We've downsized & enjoy the flexibility of movement but also miss that Slide out. So life's one big compromise. Very much looking forward to adding our amateur Cobb talents to yours at Newbury, so if you are able to pick up 3 boxes of
Cobblestones at Peterborough for us will reimburse you at Newbury.

Looking forward to seeing yourselves & the other Funsters old & new

Bob

[/QUOTE]

Hi Clive

No problems, will collect three boxes for you at Peterborough and bring them to Newbury for you... may be able to get a good price off him buying a fair number.

It will be a Cobb cook off I can see... beat the cad ac's any day

Bob:thumb: