Expensive Weekend 'Accent' (1 Viewer)

[Minxy]

Well - we really enjoyed the Malvern show, it was good to meet some of you funny lot again and also some new funsters!

But ... it has proved to be an expensive weekend for us! We're changing our Chausson Flash 04 for a 2 month old Autocruise Accent on a Fiat 2.3 130 bhp van conversion.

We think we've got a cracking deal and will be collecting it on 29th August from Camper UK. Can't wait!!! :thumb:

 

[f6c]

Have Fun

 

[gozomike]

Have a great time with the new van.

I guess you will no longer be one of the CLOWNS

[HI]Member of: Chausson Lovers', Owners', and Wandering Nutters' Society (CLOWNS) [/HI]

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[GJH]

Have a great time with the new van.

I guess you will no longer be one of the CLOWNS

[HI]Member of: Chausson Lovers', Owners', and Wandering Nutters' Society (CLOWNS) [/HI]

You wouldn't say that if you had met Mel, Mike

Hope you enjoy the van. Very good dealer, we bought ours from their Birtley branch.

 

[bobandjanie]

Better get the drill ready then Mel I'm sure you will be fitting all your extras.
Good to see you both again, and glad you had a good weekend. :thumb: Bob and Jane.

 

[FIDGET]

Hi Mel,
Glad you had good time, and hope you will be pleased with your new van,
we did similar 18 months ago but we went from panel van tribute to Autocruise starfire small coachbuilt , now done most of adjustments etc to suit us. Since then we now have 2 granddaughters (WHOO-pee!!!) so now thinking in a couple of years might have to go to a four berth with four seat belts.
Terry:Cool:

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[Minxy]

You wouldn't say that if you had met Mel, Mike

Hope you enjoy the van. Very good dealer, we bought ours from their Birtley branch.

Cheeky boy!

I must admit that Doug, the chap who mainly dealt with us, was very much more relaxed than when he worked for Brownhill, or the other company (was it Lowdhams?), all the chaps were very pleasant and helpful and all of them at one point were playing a game of "find the satellite input point" and "what do you do with the wooden carpet covered board thing", neither of which we actually found out!:Blush:

 

[Carol]

You little Minx you, have fun in your new van. :thumb:

 

[Minxy]

Better get the drill ready then Mel I'm sure you will be fitting all your extras.
Good to see you both again, and glad you had a good weekend. :thumb: Bob and Jane.

You know me toooooo well Jane!!!!! :Blush: There are some things that I'll have a look at to see what can be done, such as somewhere to put my morning cuppa whilst still in bed and seeing if I can somehow magically squeaze the 11kg Gaslow bottle into the gas locker especially since it won't go through the door of it! :shout: Might have to remove the top of the locker and plop it in, then seal it all back up again!

Good to meet you both again. :thumb:

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[Minxy]

Oh heck, hubby's got the spending bug! oh: he's bought a new 'toy' for the camper already!

After removing the existing rear-view camera system from the Flash, which took an age to do as he had to remove all the cabling etc, he said he fancied this one instead.

Link Removed

We met a chap on holiday earlier in the year who had bought one and it looked a very nice kit - he thought it was the bees-knees - as it is wireless there's no pratting running cables down and under the van either, plus it does sat nav and other things too. :thumb:

 

[peter marshall]

Hi
We know what you mean we did it at Knutsford picking up when we get back from Scotland and on the 7th Sept , we bought a E480 Bessacarr . Pete

 

[Minxy]

I've started some thing with 'van' conversions, a couple of forumites on another forum have also gone over to van conversions now!!!

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[Pikey Pete]

Missed your post and have just posted, seeking some one who has some experience of the Accent.
Just seen one today and subject to agreeing on the PX I will buy it.:thumb:

Pete:Cool:

 

[Minxy]

Oooooo ... it has spread to this forum!!! :Blush:

Well, off to bed now, early start tomorrow to pick up our new 'toy'.

Night-night all ....

 

[Popeye]

Oooooo ... it has spread to this forum!!! :Blush:

Well, off to bed now, early start [HI]tomorrow [/HI]to pick up our new 'toy'.

Night-night all ....

Right you little minx, it's tomorrow now, where are the piccies .......we want piccies. :thumb:

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[Minxy]

Well, we've got it! We’ve currently sitting in the new van on Camper UK's campsite. It took most of the day to sort it out but we finally got there!

This morning they started transferring the solar panel across at around 9.30 am so we took the dogs for what turned out to be a very long walk. When we returned we were 'forced' to spend a lot of time sitting around and drinking hot chocolate from their machine (yummy!) and chatting to other motorhomers. We ate our sarnies (thankfully hubby made them before we set off this morning) and eventually got to have a good old shuftie at the van at around 2.00 pm but unfortunately we spotted the first problem. :Sad:

When we bought it part of the deal was to install a second leisure battery (there was already a 75 ah AGM one in) but instead of getting another matching AGM they'd fitted the largest standard lead acid ones they could - two 100ah Numax LV26MF - which have a 2 year warranty, however I wasn't happy as they are were cheapest basic ones so in the end they changed them for 2 x 100ah Numax CXV27MF ones which have a 3 year warranty, it means that instead of the 2 x 75 ah AGM type giving us 150 ah of power, we've got 2 x 100ah lead acid types giving us 200 ah of power! Whether it was the right decision or not, I don't know, but hopefully it was!!!

Once they'd changed the batteries we were then given a short hand-over and we commented on the large black band decals (to make it look like a factory type window van) which were coming away around the windows and at one edge, we’d spotted some of this when we saw it at the Malvern show and mentioned it then. Unfortunately as the decals are in two layers they can't simply be re-stuck, so it will need a completely new set of black band decals for both sides which they’ve ordered! It will probably mean taking the outside window frames off, cleaning it all up, then putting it all back again and making it watertight ... I can see that we’ll be having lots more hot chocolate!!! :Blush:

We were then let loose on the van to transfer out kit across which didn't take too long fortunately as we've only brought the bare essentials with us. Other than the battery issue we've not had any other problems and are very happy with the whole process (especially the hot chocolate! ). We're going back tomorrow as the kit they'd got for the solar panel didn't have the right connector in for our van (it has an input specifically for it), so they've ordered it and hopefully it will be here by lunchtime tomorrow so they can fit it after lunch, if not then they're going to attach the cables direct to the batteries for now and then we'll sort out getting the connector fitted later (either one of their techies will come and do it at our home, or they'll pay for someone local to do it).:thumb:

The bike rack they’ve put on is a very nice piece of kit ... and we got the rear-view mirror too that was missing originally! I’ve already ‘lost’ some bits as I can’t remember where I’ve stuffed them but I’ll find them when I get home! It is very cosy inside and we’ve finally got the gist of how the heating works (never had electric heating before) but it certainly warms the van up nicely. The bed make-up was fairly easy one I’d moved all our junk off it ... and the ‘loo’ has been christened too.

We'll be off to bed shortly as we're jiggered - not much sleep last night, up early plus it's hard work sitting around most of the day (although the walk with the dogs was much longer than anticipated!).

All in all, very please with the purchase and service from Camper UK. :thumb:

 

[wizzer59]

Oh heck, hubby's got the spending bug! oh: he's bought a new 'toy' for the camper already!

After removing the existing rear-view camera system from the Flash, which took an age to do as he had to remove all the cabling etc, he said he fancied this one instead.

Link Removed

We met a chap on holiday earlier in the year who had bought one and it looked a very nice kit - he thought it was the bees-knees - as it is wireless there's no pratting running cables down and under the van either, plus it does sat nav and other things too. :thumb:

Hi guys can you let us know how you get on with this via pm if poss so I don,t miss it.
Good luck with the new van can't wait for the pics:thumb:

 

[Minxy]

Hi wizzer ... will do.

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[Minxy]

Been doing a few 'jobs' on the van today:

1) Removed the front dinette table and made a new one and put on some contrasting trim edging to make it match the wall cupboard - as the table is shorter but a bit wider it makes it easier to get from cab to the rear but we haven't lost any surface area.

2) Removed the table top in the rear and replaced it with a smaller/lighter one (a large Lazy Susan that I bought from a car boot sale fo 50p!) so it now looks like a 'cafe bar'. :Cool:

3) Put up a TV bracket on the outside of the washroom wall panel, it sits over the end of one of the rear settees so we can watch TV there when we're in bed.

4) I've also managed to squeeze a quart into a pint pot by getting the large Gaslow bottle into the gas locker AND into the smaller side of it - I had to remove the trim round the door aperture and a lump hammer came in handy too to make the base/stand a little bit slimmer to just get it in - it means we've still got storage for our hoses etc at the side of the bottle. Saves us having to buy 2 smaller Gaslow bottles and the extra kit so well happy! :thumb:

5) Finally I put the tea/coffee/sugar holder up above the hob ... so it now feels like home!

I'll be doing more stuff tomorrow so when I get the change I'll take some piccies when it's nice and tidy again (it looks like a bomb has hit it at the moment! ) .

 

[Popeye]

Same on a boat, working on it is all part of the Fun.........:thumb:

and satisfying too when you achieve a result and wonder why the manufacturer didn't think of it! oh:

 

[wizzer59]

Been doing a few 'jobs' on the van today:

1) Removed the front dinette table and made a new one and put on some contrasting trim edging to make it match the wall cupboard - as the table is shorter but a bit wider it makes it easier to get from cab to the rear but we haven't lost any surface area.

2) Removed the table top in the rear and replaced it with a smaller/lighter one (a large Lazy Susan that I bought from a car boot sale fo 50p!) so it now looks like a 'cafe bar'. :Cool:

3) Put up a TV bracket on the outside of the washroom wall panel, it sits over the end of one of the rear settees so we can watch TV there when we're in bed.

4) I've also managed to squeeze a quart into a pint pot by getting the large Gaslow bottle into the gas locker AND into the smaller side of it - I had to remove the trim round the door aperture and a lump hammer came in handy too to make the base/stand a little bit slimmer to just get it in - it means we've still got storage for our hoses etc at the side of the bottle. Saves us having to buy 2 smaller Gaslow bottles and the extra kit so well happy! :thumb:

5) Finally I put the tea/coffee/sugar holder up above the hob ... so it now feels like home!

I'll be doing more stuff tomorrow so when I get the change I'll take some piccies when it's nice and tidy again (it looks like a bomb has hit it at the moment! ) .

yea yea very good, hurry up and get that sat/rear view thingy on:Blush:

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[Minxy]

yea yea very good, hurry up and get that sat/rear view thingy on:Blush:

Ha ... hubby keeps threatening to put it on the camper ... I'll let you know when he has! :Blush:

 

[Minxy]

We went to the Lawns show yesterday and saw the 2013 Autocruise Accent so had a really good shuftie, these are my comments:

Although it was the 2013 version of the Accent for some reason it had the 'old' 80L cheapo fridge in it rather than the Dometic 8-Series 96 litre fridge with removable freezer compartment which it was supposed to have.

The material for the seating is a material and mock suede effect mix which is very nice and better than the material and mock leather mix (PVC!) in our van (I'll be making covers for ours anyway so it doesn't make much difference to us!).

The cabinets/furniture is lighter and more bleached and the locker doors/drawer fronts are all now plain off-white - you'll either love it or hate it.

The lockers themselves haven't got angled doors anymore as the bottom 'shelf' of them has been extended so they are able to take a bit more kit in them although the ones in the lounge are not as wide as there's now a 'cubby hole' small shelf area instead (probably due to a TV bracket being located there now as you won't get the door open on one of them - see below).

There are now TV power /aerial/satellite socket points and TV bracket mounts in the rear lounge (side of washroom) and again in the front dining area above the dinette seat (side of washroom).

The original location for the TV in a cupboard over the hob has now been replaced with a larger cupboard which is where a microwave is installed if you go for the comfort pack (I assume a door is put on it if you don't upgrade to the comfort pack of if you don't actually want the microwave if you do upgrade?).

The location of the drawers and cupboard have been swapped so that the grill is now under the hob, but the grill no longer has a built in light so you might be able to smell your toast burning but you won't be able to see it!

The downside of swapping things around is that the useful 'cubby holes' at the end of the unit behind the bin and worktop extention flap are no longer there.

There are more 'plastic' mouldings, rather than fabric trim, especially on the side door, rear above the doors, and in other areas too. There is a swing out section on the front table so that anyone in the swivelled front passenger seat can share the table too.

I couldn't check out the lighting as there was no power but there isn't a central light in either of the lounge areas now, just 'over cabinet' lighting I assume but I noticed that there is now a small 2 bulb LED above hob.

The vanity cupboard in the washroom now has better hinges which keep the door open (must change mine!) and the sink is more square (some minor cosmetic changes too). The light is now a single one rather than the 2 downlighters as in mine.

Externally there are different graphics and I noticed that the windows are different having a plastic 'cover' over them and gone are the 2 sliding windows - the one next to the rear passenger seats and one in the sliding door are now lift up ones.

Blinds are slightly different as you can now split the fly screen from the night blinds.

Other things I noticed: the dash now has a mix of silver/mock wood detailing; the boiler has been downgraded to a Truma 2 instead of the Truma 4 (probably not a problem as the Truma 4 in a PVC is a bit OTT in my view!); there's now a larger fresh water tank (100L instead of 66L).

Overall a very nice van but I'm not sure I'd buy it now if I hadn't got mine for the following reasons:

I didn't like the new windows (I can envisage bits of tree/bush getting caught up in them/getting more scratched as they are no longer flush), also with the sliding windows I can have the open slightly when on the move to let some air in and keep things cool in the back for my dogs - can't do this with the new ones which are the lift open type.

I prefer my two-tone locker doors and cabinet colour as I think it's more homely - the all white doors/drawers made it feel a little bit as if I was sitting in a kitchen.

As we don't normally go on sites and/or have electric hookup, we wouldn't want the microwave, however although this would instead leave a large cupboard space I wasn't overly keen on the way it is 'in your face' when using the hob ... I'm sure I'd end up head-butting it!!!

However, others may differ in their views so if you are thinking of getting a 2013 one you really need to have a good look to see if it meets your needs and whether you like the changes that have been made. Just make sure that the one you get definitely has all of the new kit for 2013 models - especially the better fridge!

Nearly forgot - price - the 2013 van is now just over £44,800 with the comfort pack (on the Peugoet - same for Fiat I assume?) - the price for the 2012 van is around £43,500, so an increase of £1,300 but with some bits downgraded and others upgraded.

 

[Minxy]

Today I've been doing more in the van - putting shelves in some of the lockers, lining them, putting up hooks etc and packing etc and have been listening to my portable radio which I put on the window sill next to the dinette table (still gotta sort out the 20 min cut-out on the van's radio) and I've just realised that I didn't recall seeing any window sills in the 2013 version! We have them on all our windows, even those in the rear doors, and they are very useful IMV. I assume they haven't been included on the 2013 models due to the change in the window blind design - ours are the same concertina type but are pulled down from the top: first the night blind part decends, then the flyscreen part which is attached to it. However, on the 2013 models the blinds are in 2 sections - one part pulls up from the bottom, the other from the top (can't remember which was which), so there's no space for the window sills anymore.

Still got quite a bit to do before we leave for the Shepton Mallet show on Thursday morning - I haven't started on the seat covers yet!

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[Minxy]

Yesterday I took some piccies of the new 2013 Accent so if anyone has a 2013 model on order or any of the other Autocruise 2013 van conversions, they can get an idea of what theirs will look like cosmetically (sorry only had my phone with me to take piccies!).

 

[Minxy]

For info, the below 2 photos show the Rhythm Sport with the 'new' type windows for the 2013 Accent etc, the other photo of the Quartet shows the 2012 windows.

 

[Minxy]

I've been doing more bits and pieces over the last month, including some seat covers for the front dinette seat from some curtains I picked up at a car boot sale - nice purple ones with a suede effect finish which is treated so water etc just wipes off so should be easy to keep clean. I've also made curtains for the rear of the van from some thermal curtains I already had (used in a previous campe) and put them up on an extending net curtain pole which goes into 2 clips attached to the ends of the overhead lockers above the bed.

Today we've put the Fiamma F65 awning on that we got from O'leary, nice silver one so it matches nicely and looks 'right', fitting nice and snugly up against the roof. It wasn't difficult using the fitting kit from Fiamma (no drilling) although it was a bit time consuming and the awning itself is heavy so lifting it up on to the top of the van was fun!

The only 'slight' issue is with the already fitted awning light - when winding the awning out/in it just touches the top of it slightly, if the light was a few millimetres lower it wouldn't - it's not a major issue though and the van looks very smart.

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[Carol]

Mel, seems as if you are getting sorted to your satisfaction, looking good. Any trips in the pipe line.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I'm curious as to why you decided to change?
Specifically from a fixed bed coachbuilt with garage (humongous storage) to a panel van conversion.
(I'm thinking of getting a Flash 04, or similar, so am interested in hearing real life experiences rather than just reviews).
I seem to recall you being very pleased with it initially.

 

[Minxy]

We decided to change because we wanted a narrower vehicle as we go down some VERY narrow roads when we're on holiday and also something thing that we can use more at home. There was nothing wrong with the Flash 04 as such, just that for our 'new' life a van conversion fits the bill better - we'd looked at a lot of van conversions and if we hadn't seen the one we now have we would quite happily have kept the Flash. The layout of our Autocruise Accent is very similar to the Flash, just in van form although the rear can be set up as either a lounge or a bed, so we have the option to change it as we want. It has loads of storage - I was amazed at just how much there was when we saw it and started to look where everything would go if we bought it. In addition to the normal gubbings that people take, we have 2 good quality inflatable canoes, paddles, life jackets etc and they are swallowed up in the centre section of the rear lounge (raised floor) leaving all the other lockers etc free for our other kit. :thumb: I have left very little out of it and still have loads of room left for anything we may buy on our travels.

As we are both 'escapees' (he left work in December 2009, me December 2011) we don't need a car to get/to from work, so our 2010 Renault Modus doesn't go out much at all now, in fact the other day it had clocked just 6666 miles! We've been toying with the idea of not having a car at all however we bought a 2007 purple Smart car a couple of weeks ago so will use that for any local tootling we want to do and sell the Modus.

The Flash is a lovely van, however, I'd suggest seeing the models of different years if you're looking for a second-hand one as they altered it a bit each year - for example our 2010 one had a 'glory hole' overcab storage locker, whereas the 2011 version didn't so storage would be much reduced.

I'll PM you with some more info.

Mel

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