E&P Hydraulics

I wanted a levelling system installed on our new Hymer BMC motorhome and had heard good things about SAP in Doncaster so I booked in with them. The guys at SAP were brilliant particularly Mick the boss who is so friendly and helpful. He worked late into the evening on the second day to ensure everything was done so I could get away that evening.

They managed to tuck the control box away at the side of the garage with only a small loss of space, the control panel is also in there on a dock but can be taken out of the dock and acts like a small tablet computer to control the levelling. They did offer to put the control panel somewhere in the cab but they said with new vans they prefer not to be running wires and drilling holes in there unless the customer insists. I was quite happy for it to go where it has. If the tablet fails there are a couple of reset style holes in the back of the tablet docking point which can be pressed to raise or lower the jacks (but in automatic mode only) which would allow some functionality until they can send you a replacement. E&P seem to have hundreds of dealers across Europe so support shouldn’t be an issue.

The levelling process is either automatic or manual. Automatic only works where the levelling required is not too great, otherwise you have to use manual which involves controlling the pairs of jacks in turn until the screen indicates level. There is a spirit level type device somewhere on the chassis which the controller is able to detect and that indicates on screen which levellers to lift to get the van level. Sounds complicated but it isn’t.

Normally they recommend running the engine while levelling to help keep the battery charged (the pump runs off the engine battery), however with the electric parking brake Sprinters they can’t do this. This is because normally letting off the handbrake would trigger the automatic retraction of the levellers (to prevent driving off with them down). However they can’t wire this into the electric parking brake so they have to set the automatic retraction to occur on starting the engine - obviously meaning it can’t be running when you deploy the levellers. Mick said the Sprinters have a good battery so this shouldn’t cause any problems.

He’s done 3 SLC chassis now and he said they take about 4 hours longer than a Fiat but he doesn’t charge any extra. He also did a neat job of fitting an external BBQ point, normally these go close to the gas locker if possible but in my case I needed it the other side and he was happy to do the extra work to achieve this. As well as Mick the boss, there's another chap called Rick who handles all the bookings and although I didn't get to meet him in person he was equally friendly and helpful.

Has leveling fitted to my Fiat Maxi PVC by SAP in doncvaster at the same time as full air suspension.
Its a great system, especially in strong wind. The van is solid when we walk around and the shower and sink always drain well.
Expensive but more than just a toy.

I had thought that the thorough level of service I got at SAP Doncaster was a thing of the past, very professional - courteous, good humoured, well informed, things well explained, great attention to detail - something quite rare these days.

Mick and his team kept me informed throughout the process and offered a comfortable waiting area with heating, toilet, wifi, tv, kettle, coffee/tea etc, which was available all day long. You can overnight in his secure compound which is brightly lit and covered by security cameras whilst the job is done. Mick estimated that the work would take a day and a half and that's exactly what it took. I feel you can trust a job that is done at SAP and I'm thinking of returning to them later in the year for some suspension work.

Mick has built motorhome demonstrators for people like Dometic and has done chassis alterations so he knows how they are put together. This makes him a go-to guy for all things motorhome as well as VB Air Assistance and VB Full Air suspension, which he fits to service vehicles like ambulances.