New van purchase (1 Viewer)

[Paullr]

Hope u have found the best thread. So we are looking to buy a compact motorhome. Elddis 120 is appealing, but have now discovered wildax aurora leisure. What do you all think of it? Does it compare favourably with a coachbuilt? Seems to tick our boxes of centres at each end of a van to allow one to sleep and one to read and get down country lanes. Any thoughts please? Cheers

 

[AndyPK]

Welcome, Paullr!
Our second ‘van was a Marquis Majestic 120 (Elddis with added extras), and we loved it, apart from a delaminating floor which was fixed under warranty. We changed because the layout wasn’t ‘quite right’, but it took us three vans in four years to get one which really suits (Elddis Majestic 155). At the end of the day, layout is, IMHO, most important, so try and see as many as you can, and don’t get too fixated on any particular brand.........

 

[Red Shoes]

Hello and Welcome.
Enjoy the search. We bought our PVC a Globecar Campscout in February. We wanted a Wildax but couldn't afford it! LAYOUT is key. We spent 2 years researching, changing our minds once a week at least. But it paid off. We do have to do everything with intent, ie get milk out of the fridge if you want tea before someone gets in the shower and access is temporarily blocked, but you get used to it. We spent 3 weeks touring Scotland and the Outer Hebrides and are really glad we had the narrower and smaller van for this. We also use it most weeks going out for days, visiting family, etc, and we definintley wouldn't do that in a larger van.

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[jezport]

In my opinion and from experience, the width of a van is more important than the length. We never had issues with an almost 9m long van length wise but the width was an issue on narrow roads and narrow lanes in roadworks I would quite happily have a longer PVC but love the width.

 

[Mark and Mindy]

We also have a van, we spent 18 months with lists, looking at both vans and coachbuilts in every length, tried everything out, sat on the toilet, stood in the shower, tried out standing for cooking, fridge, dinette seats with table and while a bigger coachbuilt might have looked good it was just too big for us - we might have a liked a 6m van but on the basis that we wanted it on our drive we settled for a 5.4m van, got the first wrong although it was right on paper, now we have the one which works for us - that's 2 adults and 2 small-ish dogs!
We've had lots of weekends away, had a trip up to Scotland and also a few nights in France - we're tourers by nature rather than book into a hotel for a week, what's not to love about driving for a couple of hours, exploring new places, enjoy the experiences and sleep in my own bed at night.

 

[GreenHell]

I'd definitely join the Wildax Facebook group if you are considering one and do a search around faults. I joined it when considering a brand new Europa. I was put off by what appears to be a significant dip in quality since Rapido took over and production has been increased. Customer Service doesn't look great anymore either.

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[Rolyan]

Consider the Autosleepers range. We have the Sussex Duo van conversion and we absolutely love it. It’s got everything we need, whether that’s aircon throughout or the kitchen fittings, or bathroom. Just back recently from a fortnight in Scotland including wild camping on Arran. For us it’s perfect, easy to drive and live in. Each to his own obviously but I would certainly look at a few different makes and models if I were you, if only to compare build quality etc for yourself.

 

[Langtoftlad]

Wildax Aurora owner here... generally speaking very happy with the brand and having a PVC

This is me this morning...

Heating on, whoosh bang door wide open

My honest comments - their quality control can be a bit hit&miss (but no worse than any other manufacturer as far as I can tell).
Their commitment to customer service still appears to be as strong as it ever was.
Remember folk tend to be quick to post negative reviews.
I'd have no hesitation, based on my experience of owning one, in recommending their serious consideration.

When comparing prices, Wildax include a lot of what others have as optional extras or 'packs'.

And whilst they have their models & layouts, they are willing to tweak some of the fixtures & fittings.
I had extra lighting + another 12v & USB socket fitted. I had the 240v kitchen sockets relocated. I had a sliding door to the underbed storage & a small pedestal table between the swivel seats FOC (Wildax thought these such a good idea, they're now part of the standard fittings).

 

[tigerblue]

Hope u have found the best thread. So we are looking to buy a compact motorhome. Elddis 120 is appealing, but have now discovered wildax aurora leisure. What do you all think of it? Does it compare favourably with a coachbuilt? Seems to tick our boxes of centres at each end of a van to allow one to sleep and one to read and get down country lanes. Any thoughts please? Cheers

We looked for 2 years before settling for our new Fifer Touring L made in Scotland by East Neuk Campervans. We liked the spacious interior, superb quality of build and flexible sleeping. Now 6 months old and nothing has broken or gone wrong. Perhaps worth a look for you? There is quite a good YouTube video (albeit the new upholstery is much more modern). Search for Fifer Touring L Good luck with your hunt!

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[Mark and Mindy]

We looked for 2 years before settling for our new Fifer Touring L made in Scotland by East Neuk Campervans. We liked the spacious interior, superb quality of build and flexible sleeping. Now 6 months old and nothing has broken or gone wrong. Perhaps worth a look for you? www.eastneukcampervan.co.uk

You missed an S from your web address, easily done.

Award winning campervans from 5m to 6m with all facilities at great prices

East Neuk Campervans are based in Anstruther in Fife, 60 minutes from Edinburgh airport and a few minutes from Leuchers station. Come and see us.

eastneukcampervans.co.uk

We really liked the 6m van and drove up to Scotland last year to have a look at them, having decided on a 5.4m van we didn't like the layout of that one as much. We prefer to have swivelling front seats and there is a very narrow gap between the oven/hob and washroom.

 

[Paullr]

Thanks to all the recent posters, your advice is much appreciated! We are happy to widen our search parameters and enjoyed seeing Langtoft lad in situ. Our hiring trip has got off to an inauspicious start which I may share on our return. Cheers Paul

 

[The Heid]

Hope u have found the best thread. So we are looking to buy a compact motorhome. Elddis 120 is appealing, but have now discovered wildax aurora leisure. What do you all think of it? Does it compare favourably with a coachbuilt? Seems to tick our boxes of centres at each end of a van to allow one to sleep and one to read and get down country lanes. Any thoughts please? Cheers

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[The Heid]

We bought an Adria Compact SLS Plus back in July and are very happy with it, the Adria standard of workmanship and finish is excellent.

 

[MyrtleGuru]

We've had our Wildax (Europa) for five years from new and have been very happy with it.

When we were looking for a van, we first decided the layout that would work for us, then looked at vans with that layout. We checked out a lot of vans at various shows, including marques such as Devon, IH, Vantage, Globecar, Wildax. Year-round use rather than just warm-weather was also a factor.

Of the ones we saw, we thought the Wildax offered the best quality/price ratio and we felt comfortable with their staff. Some were cheaper, but it showed in the build quality. Some were more expensive, but mostly because of features that were not crucial for us.

The Globecars came across as good vans, but we preferred to deal directly with the converter rather than via a dealer, so that meant a UK-built van. From other people's experiences on this forum it seems it can be frustrating and slow to get issues addressed through dealers.

 

[Paullr]

Van looks good! Going to the wildax factory today so hope to get a good idea of what they provide and whether the layout suits us. I am wondering if the takeover since you bought has affected the quality especially as they now seem to be distributed through dealers.

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[Tony50]

We have a Coach built Chausson , had several faults , but , upside it has Diesel heating so when abroad in Spain last year we used 1 X 10 Kg. Bottle and a half of the second bottle of What was called BP now Flo-Gas from Homebase, down side you have to have space and carrying weight capacity, also if you buy a Motorhome and carry a lot of weight with a 3500kg Motorhome you can soon be overweight, there is a post about this a few days ago if you are interested.
Happy Days

 

[Paullr]

Thanks for info. I have been looking in to the weight allowance and the coachbuilts seem to have a better allowance than the PVCs or maybe it is just the case with the ones we have looked at. There is so much to take into account with getting a van, like getting married.

 

[MyrtleGuru]

Van looks good! Going to the wildax factory today so hope to get a good idea of what they provide and whether the layout suits us. I am wondering if the takeover since you bought has affected the quality especially as they now seem to be distributed through dealers.

We've had a look at newer versions of the same model as we bought (Europa) at the shows and it looks like they have acted on customer feedback. All the little wrinkles that we have found seem to have been ironed out. For example, some of the improvements we spotted were that a couple of sticky-out bits that we have hit our head on have been removed; the external drain taps have been replaced with better ones; the filler point for the LPG tank has been moved to a more convenient location; the quality of the internal trim has been improved -- the sort of fine detail that all adds up to making a difference.

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[Paullr]

That's encouraging. We are hiring an aurora for 3 days to see what we think of it. Only 2 or 3 other possibilities in mind so maybe we are getting close to a decision now.

 

[Blackadder]

In my opinion and from experience, the width of a van is more important than the length. We never had issues with an almost 9m long van length wise but the width was an issue on narrow roads and narrow lanes in roadworks I would quite happily have a longer PVC but love the width.

We were in the same position as you 18 months ago. The roads are very narrow round here so, as above, width was important to us. We almost bought a PVC but hesitated as we were concerned about storage of things like bicycles, chairs and tables for outside etc. I was also concerned about havening to open and close the big, noisy sliding door to get in and out. Then we saw a Burstner Travel Van. Only a few cm wider than a PVC but with a garage, a real bathroom and a proper door. 78 nights and several thousand miles later we have absolutely no regrets. The garage is a godsend as we can lock everything away - Sadly we left some loungers outside overnight in France this year and they disappeared. There are other "compact" coachbuilts available. I would really recommend you look at Weinsberg, Carado(?) and the Travel Van before you take the plunge.

 

[Paullr]

Thanks for your response. I shall definitely follow up your suggestions before taking the plunge. Your suggestions have not come up before so another night in front of the computer beckons!

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[CWH]

I have a Wildax Pulsar and it is great.

Hey, me too!

 

[MyrtleGuru]

We were in the same position as you 18 months ago. The roads are very narrow round here so, as above, width was important to us. We almost bought a PVC but hesitated as we were concerned about storage of things like bicycles, chairs and tables for outside etc. I was also concerned about havening to open and close the big, noisy sliding door to get in and out. Then we saw a Burstner Travel Van. Only a few cm wider than a PVC but with a garage, a real bathroom and a proper door. 78 nights and several thousand miles later we have absolutely no regrets. The garage is a godsend as we can lock everything away - Sadly we left some loungers outside overnight in France this year and they disappeared. There are other "compact" coachbuilts available. I would really recommend you look at Weinsberg, Carado(?) and the Travel Van before you take the plunge.

That's a good shout. There are some decent compact coachbuilts around these days, so don't rule them out without seeing them in the flesh.

 

[Michael Berry]

We are looking to part exchange our twin bed mo ho for one with a island bed no more than 25 ft any help please

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[Mark and Mindy]

We are looking to part exchange our twin bed mo ho for one with a island bed no more than 25 ft any help please

I would suggest starting your own thread rather than adding to this one so as to get some replies.

 

[Michael Berry]

Thank you but don’t know how to start a new thread

 

[Grianan]

Thank you but don’t know how to start a new thread

orange Post Thread button at top of home screen ...

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[Michael Berry]

Thank you have just posted a new thread

 

[Paullr]

Hi there. We’re h apply with our PVC. Not Wildax but that was just because they didn’t have a layout that suited us.
Welcome ... go see as many vans as you can ... ideally at a show ... lie down, sit on the loo, try to bend down to get in the fridge, close door to have a shower ... etc etc. Basically like you’re living in it. Plus check garage space is big enough.

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[Paullr]

Hope u have found the best thread. So we are looking to buy a compact motorhome. Elddis 120 is appealing, but have now discovered wildax aurora leisure. What do you all think of it? Does it compare favourably with a coachbuilt? Seems to tick our boxes of centres at each end of a van to allow one to sleep and one to read and get down country lanes. Any thoughts please? Cheers

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[Paullr]

A final message for this thread.
Thanks again to all of you that have contributed, you made our final decision well-informed and much easier than if we had floundered around on our own.
We found Wildax much as GreenHell suggested earlier and disappointingly the manufacturer is not for us. In the end we have gone for a traditional but comfortable layout, the Devon Aztec. The build quality seems as good as any we have seen and as encouraged we have now looked at many vans and coachbuilts. Only time will tell if we have made the correct decision but at the moment we are excited and satisfied. Can I also take the opportunity to apologise to one contributor for not responding direct as promised but the message with the contact details seem to have vanished from the thread. I think it might have been JohnJan, but I am not sure.
Anyway that's all for now. Cheers and keep enjoying the life !