A/S Sprinter dash and steering wheel.

That's quite true Peter, I also like you keep the cab doors locked and use the key on the hab. door, its sort of a belt and braces approach,  especially since the central locking issue was fixed I try not to overuse the central locking to much.
Don

Hi Don, As you may recall, I also had the SAM unit failure - which was replaced and the patch fitted at Willersey with no problems since. Having discussed the issue and solution with AS at the time, I am very content to make full use of the Merc central locking system all of the time! I believe with the patch fitted, the SAM units are seeing no more stress then in a normal Sprinter configuration. My concern is that as the habitation door and other vulnerable areas of the  van will not be alarmed if you manually lock and on that basis I think I will continue to use the fob central locking method. Liam

Yes , I agree Peter, sometimes as silly oclock times, much to our embarrassment!! We have hab door key secreted under  the *&^%$. Its easy to get at there

David

Opening the centrally locked cab doors of the MB Sprinter base vehicle will set off MB's van horn based alarm system, whether you have fitted an extra alarm system, or not.

Getting back to this site's thread, Winnie's old-model dash and steering wheel work OK but... Shame on A/S for down-speccing a superb quality, highly desireable, vehicle. Whereas up-speccing adds to resale-ability, down-speccing can only prove to be less desireable if, and when, owners come to resell their prized MH's, and may even put potential customers off buying the brand new vehicle in the first place. As might the lack of a proper fly-screen door? According to MB's handbook/manual, with the multi functioning steering wheel buttons comes the ability to check/reset many different electronically controlled items such as engine oil level, DRL's, etc. Had I known this, I would have happily stumped up the extra few bob that A/S saved themselves (or me?) by down-speccing my Sprinter.

Hello Don, I think your Truma Aventa habitation air-con has been fitted in order to match up to, and work properly with, the Truma Combi boiler/heater fitted. There may have been system conflict, had any other brand of air-con unit been fitted to the vehicle roof.

Regards, Barry.

Hi Barry,
            Regarding the Truma aventa air con unit fitted to my van it is not wired in to operate via the wall mounted control unit but has a separate remote control,  the other vans I have seen even the van conversions have had the Dometic unit with the roof light fitted, not that I am to bothered because as I said before the Truma unit works fine and was very welcome during the hot summer months, it is simply just that I was wondering why the Truma was fitted instead of the Dometic, I agree with you in that I too would have paid the extra for the steering wheel controls.
Don

Well said stoneb, many of us I am sure feel the same, I accept if I want a multi function wheel, uprated sound system, heated screen or even four wheel drive they will all cost extra but when spending £70K on a vehicle and you know the base vehicle can have those options without compromising the finished product then why shouldn't it be possible?

The only reason must be that A/S have a certain number of basic 'stock' chassis and for financial reasons simply want to sell them first.... but that doesn't help the customer does it.

Why not introduce a 'bespoke collection' to those prepared to pay for it?

David

Good morning boys, and thank you for your supportive comments.

Don, I believe that David, groundhog, may have the correct assumption re base unit MB's that may also be true of your aircon unit. That is to say, A/S have Truma Aventa Comfort at hand (or on a draw-off contract? ie. pre-order an unspecified quantity of units and draw off from that order, as and when required), hence the fitting of a Truma unit. However, it seems inexcusable if it has not been wired in to function with the Sargent on-board electronic controls for the Truma combi boiler, wall mounted electronic control and thermostat etc.

David, I feel these A/S vehicle are already 'bespoke' but are A/S not interested in satisfying their customer's needs? Customers will vote with their feet, and there are other MH makers who would be very keen to satisfy them, for example, Auto-Trail, - who already fit flyscreens units etc onto well specced vehicles with other attractive features and prices. Guess where I shall be looking next time?

A/S have, for a long time, traded on exclusivity, giving customers the features they want, but, since A/S stopped being run by a family concern and came under the control of shareholders it seems to have lost its way a bit?

The more options AS offer the more complex their build process and the more opportunity for vans to be built incorrectly with costly rectification when things go wrong.
Most AS vans will be probably built with the couple of packs they offer so it's easier to forecast the parts they require and can build vehicles for stock if needs be.
There are plenty of issues with the vans they build at the moment so imagine what would happen if their options list catered for everyone?

It is interesting to note that AS have possibly considered the multi function steering wheel - as is evident on the Beckford featured in the AS 2013/14 video - which you can still see on their site! It would be useful to be able to at least adjust the radio whilst on the move - but I guess I can live without it.
Regarding the connection of the Truma AC to the wall mounted control panel -  when we ordered our Malvern last year we were informed that they would be connected - needless to say it arrived not connected!! It works fine via the remote control but it would be nice to be able to operate/setup everything from one location. I am told that the necessary wiring to facilitate this connection should have been installed during the build phase - but nobody can say for definite if its there or not - so I will continue pursuing this with AS and have it looked at next time we visit Willersey. Liam

"Good morning Autosleeper, I would like a new Winchcombe please, but I want it in pink with a green body and a mural of Cameron Diaz on the back please"

"Sorry Sir, that is not possible. The Winchcombe only comes as described in the brochure, we only offer our standard vehicles with limited options"

" What you need is a vehicle from our " Designed for you" range, they are built to any specification you want, of course they cost a lot more and you will have to wait awhile to get one, but if it can be done we will build it for you. These vehicles are badged as the proper job range."

" Now which way do you want Cameron facing?"

And the problem with that is......?

Liam, please remember our feelings (and Don's aircon wiring etc) when you next speak with A/S won't you? Tell them as it is!

David, naughty boy! A/S manufacturing dept don't want customers telling them what they want. A/S seem to prefer customers who put up with what A/S produce, and customers have to pay for, take it or leave it. (Having said that, I do believe the A/S after sales people genuinely try to help their customers). I hope A/S continue to build good quality MH's for years to come, but they do need to listen to their customers wishes, otherwise they might turn to other suppliers who do listen, and produce what is wanted.

When I worked in machine tool manufacture, a spec sheet was attached to every machine being built (average of 32 hand built world class lathes per month). We fitters completed each machine, with the individual's name on the spec sheet, to the specification listed. The machines went to Inspection dept for thorough working checks, any faults found, it came back to the individual for rectification (and rechecking by Inspection dept) before being dispatched to the customer. Can this not work for A/S? Give the customer what he wants, he'll come back time and time again. It worked well for the world renowned company I worked for, and our customers did come back time and time again - Rolls Royce, UK Atomic Energy Authority, British Aerospace etc. These machines are popular today.

Regards, Barry.

Will do Barry! 

The irony of the non connected Truma AC in our case is that on the day we ordered our van, AS were hosting a Truma rep on their stand who was demonstrating the combi heating system and its controls!! When we told him we had ordered the AC unit he said, "make sure it is connected to the control panel". The Truma guy even went and asked one of AS factory reps if they wired the AC to the control unit. The reply was, "yes, the AC to the Truma control panel wiring was part of the built standard regardless of whether AC was ordered at the time of build or not". 
So on that basis - all of the latest MB vans should  have that wiring loom incorporated at the build stage in case it is required at a later stage.

Hence my hope that it just requires finding and connecting!

We live in hope!
Liam

Just been checking the installation specs. for the truma aventa air con unit as fitted to my Bourton and it states that it only requires a roof opening of 400mm x 400mm but the dometic unit with the skylight requires an opening of 400mm x 700mm so any vehicle that required a dometic unit would have to be a special order from whoever (Cheltenham plastics possibly) manufactures the roof panels, but the standard 400 x 400 opening could be fitted with either the truma unit or a standard roof light, so possibly this is the reason for fitting the truma unit.
Don

I think this steering wheel thread has become cross threaded; shall we transfer the steering wheel discussion to this Truma heating thread? https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t12207-truma-ultraheat-abscent-from-some-broadway-s

Since, I think 2012, A/S in common with other manufacturers have had to comply with "Whole vehicle Type Approval". It may be that their approval was for a vehicle without steering wheel controls and that fitting the new wheel compromises the current Type Approval Certificate. Just a beaurocratic possibility?