Brands - best and worst

[Hel999]

Hi everyone,
we currently have an autosleeper Trident T5 but as we are getting older, we are reluctantly having to admit that we require something with a little more lounge space for comfort. we have been shortlisting for weeks but need advice on some of the 'brands' out there.

We have been warned that having owned an Autosleeper, we are likely to find other UK brands somewhat lacking in the quality stakes as they are more akin to their German counterparts, however most of the German layouts dont suit us.

We want ideally a 2 berth, with rear lounge (either U shaped or twin settees) or mid lounge with large twin settees. The only other must have is aircon. It can be a PVC or coachbuilt but we like to wildcamp and tootle round little villages etc and therefore want something fairly small.

on our shortlist so far are :
Lunar Landstar on a Mercedes Sprinter base
Bentley Indigo
Autosleeper Warwick XL

i want to add more to the list but would like to know if anyone has anything 2 berth in the layout i require and what their thoughts on the quality are and which make it is. I can then hopefully go and add to my list.

 

[sdc77]

I think you're saying autosleeper are superior to most UK and German brands.. ...
Can't say as I've noticed that.
For us.. we would have a Rapido any day
That warwick xl does look nice though

 

[Hel999]

I think you're saying autosleeper are superior to most UK and German brands.. ...
Can't say as I've noticed that.
For us.. we would have a Rapido any day
That warwick xl does look nice though

no im not, i cant compare as i havent been in any German brands or many other UK brands to be honest. Im just going by what someone told me on a FB group. I was told that autosleeper build quality is one of the best in the UK and that i would notice the difference unless i chose a german build. i wont be judging any of them till ive tried them but just thought i'd see what everyone else thought of theirs to give me some ideas

 

[Jim]

Autosleeper quality is very good, the PVC's are excellent. Though in my opinion their coachbuilts are ugly and completely devoid of style. Unless you really like that Ice Cream van look. But time passes and now when I see one I appreciate it much more, and would even go as far as saying I like them. They are a bit like classic cars, say the Morris 1100, I hated that shape as a kid, compared to Capri's, Consuls, Vauxhall Victors even the Ford Anglia the Morris was soo boring, I thought them really ugly at the time but now we see one restored and go aah.

That warning you got, was it from an Autosleeper owner Don't discount some off the British marques, especially if they have the layout you want.

 

[Hel999]

i would happily choose a German build if i could find the right layout . i think they were trying to tell me that the German build quality is superior not the other way round.

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[DBK]

No rear lounge but its British made and very well put together, only one minor fault on ours after two and a half years (staining on a panel) which they fixed for free a couple of weeks ago, well outside any normal warranty period.

It's a Murvi Morocco, can be a double or two singles in moments and has plenty of kitchen and loo space plus lots of space for lounging or whatever else you want to get up to.

 

[Hel999]

Autosleeper quality is very good, the PVC's are excellent. Though in my opinion their coachbuilts are ugly and completely devoid of style. Unless you really like that Ice Cream van look. But time passes and now when I see one I appreciate it much more, and would even go as far as saying I like them. They are a bit like classic cars, say the Morris 1100, I hated that shape as a kid, compared to Capri's, Consuls, Vauxhall Victors even the Ford Anglia the Morris was soo boring, I thought them really ugly at the time but now we see one restored and go aah.

That warning you got, was it from an Autosleeper owner Don't discount some off the British marques, especially if they have the layout you want.

Im not sure who it was from. This is precisely why i started this thread, as i dont want to discount other British Marques just on someone elses advice. I like to do much more research and asking what everyone has and their thoughts on here is just part of that.

 

[Brian and Jo]

I think in our opinion the German brands do have the edge but we also used to have an Autotrail which was a great motorhome.i think you get good and bad in every make.as some have said layout is crucial.
Brian & Jo

 

[TheBig1]

to be honest, I wouldn't buy a swift or autotrail for my own use, the build quality is beyond appalling and to make it worse customer service is an alien concept to the companies

 

[Phill D]

to be honest, I wouldn't buy a swift or autotrail for my own use, the build quality is beyond appalling and to make it worse customer service is an alien concept to the companies

i can second that

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

to be honest, I wouldn't buy a swift or autotrail for my own use, the build quality is beyond appalling and to make it worse customer service is an alien concept to the companies

Everything depends of the supplying dealer, we dont have any problems with Autotrail, we just try and make sure that when they leave us they are as they should be.

The same as any van we supply, whatever make, new or pre-owned although we dont have a crystal ball unfortunately

Peter

Peter

 

[TheBig1]

I agree that the quality of the dealer makes a huge difference in getting issues sorted, but still they are poor quality and badly finished. Dont hold it against you either that you speak out to protect the brand you sell. your dealership is one of the very best for customer service, but the manufacturers could learn a lot from you

 

[Phill D]

From personal experience, Autotrail has by far "The"! worst attitude to its users "Bar none"! of any company i have ever come across.

I have always said when i was in business; " Sh** happens; it is how effectively you deal with that is what counts"

 

[Techno]

Bentley Indigo

Lovely van lovely owners
Broken Link Removed

 

[atlantisbird]

We have been very happy with our Bently Indigo, the finish is one of the best we saw when we were looking at the time and we looked at loads of vans for years before we came across ours new from the makers son Richard Bentley as he was on a stand at Newark in 2012.
If you type into Google "Bentley Indigo video review" then look at caravanchannel.co.uk I think you will get a fully independant
video review.
We are near to Bridlington and are in the process of advertising ours for sale both on this club site and in the MMM magazine should you be serious please contact us. Our next outing is at Yarndale wool festival at Skipton or if you want to just look come and see for yourself.
Kindest regards
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry

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[atlantisbird]

Hello Hel999,
I have just seen that you are a new member to the club and would like to say welcome and hope you will enjoy all that this club offers and maybe we will meet up at one of our meets in the future.
Ann & Harry
Atlantisbird

 

[injebreck99]

to be honest, I wouldn't buy a swift or autotrail for my own use, the build quality is beyond appalling and to make it worse customer service is an alien concept to the companies

Our Swift Bolero must have slipped through the net then, it has been very reliable for nearly 4 years with only minor niggles.

 

[Hel999]

Thankyou guys for all your answers. I guess it means there are good and bad in all brands then lol. Cant wait for Shepton show so i can try a load out.

 

[Hel999]

We have been very happy with our Bently Indigo, the finish is one of the best we saw when we were looking at the time and we looked at loads of vans for years before we came across ours new from the makers son Richard Bentley as he was on a stand at Newark in 2012.
If you type into Google "Bentley Indigo video review" then look at caravanchannel.co.uk I think you will get a fully independant
video review.
We are near to Bridlington and are in the process of advertising ours for sale both on this club site and in the MMM magazine should you be serious please contact us. Our next outing is at Yarndale wool festival at Skipton or if you want to just look come and see for yourself.
Kindest regards
Atlantisbird
Ann & Harry

Hi, and thankyou for such a welcome. The Indigo we were looking at was slightly lower in price but discussions were only over the internet so far so we would certainly be interested in having a look at one as i havent yet seen one in the flesh. I am hoping that it will be a case of, 'I step in the van and just know this is the one'. I also need to sell ours first if I decide to buy privately and i cant do that until we come back from our 2 week break which starts this weekend. I darent even put it up for sale yet as i suspect it will generate some interest and i will be too scared to use it then lol.

We are looking to spend somewhere in the region of 25k to 40k so yours is within that budget. I have watched all the review videos and love all the extra attention to detail that Bentley Motorhomes did such as the table store, TV store and moving shower cubicle. We are only in Huddersfield so not far from you, i will be in touch once we return from this trip (unless hubby sees something he absolutely must have while we are away)
many thanks,
Helen

 

[Spidey]

We love our Chausson and found the build quality to be excellent even though it is classed as a budget van. I wouldn't dismiss a manufacturer until you have viewed them.

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[Jim]

to be honest, I wouldn't buy a swift or autotrail for my own use, the build quality is beyond appalling and to make it worse customer service is an alien concept to the companies

We've owned a few British marques; a New Swift (Bessacar E495) and a new Autotrail (Arapaho) Plenty of second hand too Kontiki and a Pullman. Maybe we wer lucky, but I never had a single problem and at the price, the build quality was superb.

Go on to German forums/facebook and see the slating that some of their motorhomes get. Same for French and Italian.

Most heavy forum users have totally skewed quality opinions as generally people only take to forums if they have a problem. The other 99% are away happy in their van with no complaint at all.

 

[atlantisbird]

Hi, and thankyou for such a welcome. The Indigo we were looking at was slightly lower in price but discussions were only over the internet so far so we would certainly be interested in having a look at one as i havent yet seen one in the flesh. I am hoping that it will be a case of, 'I step in the van and just know this is the one'. I also need to sell ours first if I decide to buy privately and i cant do that until we come back from our 2 week break which starts this weekend. I darent even put it up for sale yet as i suspect it will generate some interest and i will be too scared to use it then lol.

We are looking to spend somewhere in the region of 25k to 40k so yours is within that budget. I have watched all the review videos and love all the extra attention to detail that Bentley Motorhomes did such as the table store, TV store and moving shower cubicle. We are only in Huddersfield so not far from you, i will be in touch once we return from this trip (unless hubby sees something he absolutely must have while we are away)
many thanks,
Helen

Hello Helen,
Glad you have had a chance to look at the video which speaks for itself it shows more than can be seen with photos and the guy explains it very well.
The extras we added to ours have made it even more comfortable and when we go out in our Indigo we are completely self sufficient with both solar and an underslung gas tank which even in the coldest weathers like Funsters meets at New Year at Uttoxiter racecourse and Easter at Chester racecourse it was very warm and snug.
Our family live in New Zealand and we are doing a house swap next year for a few months so we will not be able to use it very much hence our decision to advertise it now.
You are welcome to have a good look round our van anytime we are at home. Send us a PM (personal message) if you want to arrange a visit.
Kindest regards,
Ann & Harry
Atlantisbird

 

[jonandshell]

I don't believe any marque is worse than any other in build quality.
They are all crap!

What swings it for us is that Brit vans don't work in the cold so we won't have one!

 

[Ber090]

Another Swift Bolero that must have slipped through! Approaching 3 years and still delighted!
Cheers
Bernie

 

[Allanm]

Autosleeper quality is very good, the PVC's are excellent. Though in my opinion their coachbuilts are ugly and completely devoid of style. Unless you really like that Ice Cream van look. But time passes and now when I see one I appreciate it much more, and would even go as far as saying I like them. They are a bit like classic cars, say the Morris 1100, I hated that shape as a kid, compared to Capri's, Consuls, Vauxhall Victors even the Ford Anglia the Morris was soo boring, I thought them really ugly at the time but now we see one restored and go aah.

That warning you got, was it from an Autosleeper owner Don't discount some off the British marques, especially if they have the layout you want.

Ice cream vans, love that, and some of the older ones do. The newer vans are much more conventional looking and we get many compliments on ours.
Best advice is to look at as many different models as you can and form your own opinion. You can tell which are the cheaply made ones, which ones look good after a few years use and those that need modifications to work properly. I agree with others that British vans aren't generally built for cold weather, but before I insulated and heated the water tanks in mine we stayed nice and warm in -10 and the water still ran as it should even though the service point a few metres away had frozen solid.
Autosleeper in my view are good solid well built vans, most of the other makes are too.

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[Eve]

I have an auto sleeper Warwick .its a compromise because I want a smallish van,and have been spoilt with a Concorde Charrisma!!

Love the long seats love the tinted windows,,plus plenty of cupboard space , I also like the fact it only needs servicing every two years,bathroom a bit small but how long do you spend in there!! I don,t like the fact of not being able to stop the water discharge in cold weather,and I don,t like having to disconnect gas by crawling underneath,fridge is not automatic!!!and would have liked a larger freezer compartment!! But you have to compremise some were.

I am going to have alterations ,hoping to make easy access to under the seating storage space via the back doors,also table is useless,taking away the fixed small table and connecting the larger table minus a leg to that connection.which should work??? The passenger seat,now swivels .

I enjoy driving this van,get good mileage ,and it is fairly solid in high winds.

 

[Viennese]

Hi Helen

Pop over to Elland and look at a WildAx Aurora Leisure! They are on y0ur doorstep! Good after sales service... I am pleased with my WildAx.