Auto-Sleeper Warwick Duo Modifications

Just to get this section of the forum off the ground here are some of the modifications we've carried out to our two year old Warwick Duo.

1. Installed Fiamma accumulator which has made a significant improvement to the water flow and has stopped the pump from rapid cycling at low flow.


2. Replaced all the naff Peugeot (Fiat) seat bolts with decent high tensile full cap allen bolts. Got them on eBay for around a fiver. I'd recommend this to all X250 owners.

3. Cut back the habitation battery restraining bar to allow access to the battery filler caps. Before doing this it was very diificult to remove the bar due to very limited access. The modification still holds the battery firmly in position, although I haven't tested it with the vehicle inverted!


4. Installed Remisfront cab blinds. On the Peugeot this is made more difficult than the Fiat cab as there is a parcel shelf that needs modifying to allow the blinds to close. I don't think this applies on current Peugeots as the parcel shelf has been omitted (I think). These blinds are absolutely great and would be the first thing that I would do should we change our van. I posted an article on MHFacts [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]






5. In a panel van every bit of storage is useful. On the Warwick Duo, and probably the Warwick, there's a useful compartment that Autosleepers thoughtfully sealed up! It's rather larger that it looks in the photo and it's easily made accessible by unscrewing the flat panel under the offside backrest and refixing it using Velcro strip. In fact the nearside compartments can be made far more accessible in the same manner.


6. After two years using a Multimo sat dish I bit the bullet and installed a Camos Dome. Wonderful bit of kit and, even though it's the 30cm high one, it still picked up BBC / ITV / Ch 4 & 5 on the Med last summer. I've two sat receivers but generally tend to use the Sky Pace box as it's so much better having a full programme guide.




7. The sliding side door is not one of the X250 panel vans best features. Not only is it difficult to close but on our van it let in water at the top during very heavy rain. The difficult closing can be improved by adjusting the door brackets so that the door doesn't compress the seal too much and the water ingress can be cured by fixing a rubber P seal to the underside of the top of the door opening. The photo shows just a short length of seal. Have a look here on how install it [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


8. Autosleepers fit a rubber hose to the underslung gas tank. This hose was too short and putting a strain on the end swage so I replaced it with a stainless Gaslow which should last for many years.


9. I've fitted a NASA BM1 Compact battery monitor which gives a reasonably accurate assessment of the state of the habitation battery. Not essential but a useful bit of kit, nevertheless.


10. I've done most the recommeded scuttle mods to prevent rainwater entering the engine bay. It's probably around 80% effective and it has alleviated the dreadful belt squeal we had when starting the engine after heavy rain.






Anyway, hopefully all this might be useful to some of you.

Hi

Great info there Nimbus - Those blinds look brill !

Stevo

Fantastic workmanship all round, very interesting. Thanks Nimbus.

This is really good nimbus

So much information and with great pictures

great posting and well done

Waves1117

Thanks, good tips for all vans......................

Have recently got one of these vans. Some great ideas there, I'll have a look at whether some will be useful to me. Thanks

I have seen the modified van and am extremely jealous of Nimbus's expertise and attention to detail. Hid modifications are all excellent and put some of the manufacturer's attempts to shame.
My wife has not stopped nagging me about the blinds which she wants for our Warwick Duo cab and which were so ably demonstrated by Nimbus.
Great tips though, thanks.

Here's a further mod that I forgot in my earlier post.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has started off with the toilet door unlatched. The acceleration causes the door to wildly swing open and rip off the wire door restraint. I've replaced ours with a similar length of elasticated cord which takes the shock if the door swings open, using electrical ring crimp connectors at each end.

So far it's managed to work on the several occasions we've left the door unlatched.

Here's yet another one.

Our Warwick Duo is fitted with a Truma Combi 6e gas / electric unit for hot water and blown air. It's a fabulous bit of kit but ours always suffered from a metallic smell, particularly on the high setting for water heating. I was concerned about this so phoned Truma who, I must say, were most helpful. They obviously knew that this was a known problem and the first question they asked was whether all four duct outlets were populated. When I checked I found that one of the top outlets was blanked off which is totally contrary to the Truma installation instructions which state that all four outlets must be connected. I'm amazed that Autosleepers ignore this as there a safety concern here.

Fortunately there is space to install a fourth duct on the left side of the unit. Whilst the van was still under warranty I really couldn't face yet another day sat in Autosleepers Service Centre so I decided to do it myself. In fact it only cost less than £20 for the duct, outlet and elbow and took a couple of hours to do. The elbow is required as there is insufficient space to bend the duct. If I hadn't had to relocate the water accumulator it wouldn't have taken so long. I also removed the butterflies to the top outlet ducts as they are supposed to have an unobstructed outlet as the top outlets provide the majority of the heat.

The cause of the smell is the inner aluminium liner to the duct getting too hot. Our van has the 6kw version of the Truma Combi and the 4kw unit may not suffer from this problem.

Here's a few pics to show how it's done. The new duct is on the left.

Hi Nimbus. We have purchased a Warwick Duo, and your tips and mods look very usefull. I'm interested in replacing the LPG hose as mine is showing some minor cracks in the rubber hose. I notice that you have used a replacement Gaslow hose. Can you tell me how you isloated the LPG tank so that the hose could be replaced. Also if you have the part number of the Gaslow hose that would be very helpfull.
Thanks.

The gas is isolated using the wheel valve which is inside the aluminium cover attached to the tank. I don't have the Gaslow part number but I took the old hose to a Gaslow dealer and selected a hose with the same end fittings. I don't know about your rubber hose but ours was too short and straining where it connected to the regulator. Fortunately the Gaslow one was about 6" longer which meant that it could take a much larger radius bend and I supported it with some beefy nylon straps. It's quite straightforward to fit and took no longer than a few minutes. Just be sure that you choose the Gaslow hose with the correct end fittings. A call to Gaslow will give you your nearest stockist.

Glad to hear from yet another Duo owner and hope that you like it as much as we do.

Roly

Y'know, the more I read on this excellent forum the more I wonder about AS, their design team and their assembly "engineers".

This is a case where a component manufacturer states one thing and AS seem to do as they please!

I wonder if anyone from AS read this forum and if they do - are they willing to come on board and refute or accept these facts?

Absolutely agree. Our van left the factory with a number of obvious defects and it took three visits to the service centre to get them rectified. Not only that but Autosleepers seem oblivious to the installation recomendations from Truma and continue to install Combi heaters with the top outlet blanked off. On ours, the blanking cap popped out so that the all 6kw of the heater (on gas) was pumping into the small locker that housed the unit.

When the vehicle was collected from the dealer the Truma heater was completely dead, the fridge chimney vent had never been connected, so that the gas exhaust was venting into the van, the rear view camera didn't work and the wardrobe door hit the ceiling light whenever the door was opened. And we bought the vehicle from a dealer who rate their service as "second to none".

Saying all that, once the teething problems had been fixed, we've been very happy with it and have had absolutely no further trouble.

Roly

Hi Nimbus
Can I ask how long it took (approx) to fit the Remisfronts to your van ?
We don't even collect our Stratford till next week but my OH is keen to do this as a first modification. Then we can get the correct Silver Screens to fit too.
He is very practical and a tradesman so I have no worries about the workmanship but I tend to leave him alone when he does things like this so need to plan a shopping trip for new throws etc. while he does this lol.
Thought it would have been the radio first but not so.
Your photos look really good. Thank you for showing this.

dandywarhol wrote:Y'know, the more I read on this excellent forum the more I wonder about AS, their design team and their assembly "engineers".

This is a case where a component manufacturer states one thing and AS seem to do as they please!

I wonder if anyone from AS read this forum and if they do - are they willing to come on board and refute or accept these facts?

When we bought our first van, a 1985 Auto-Sleeper RV50 I was impressed with the quality and attention to detail, which is why we looked for an Auto-Sleeper when we came to replace it. I am still quite impressed with our 1995 van but reading on this forum about some of the problems people are having with the newer vans, I can't help feeling that AS are letting (have let?) their standards slip somewhat.

Frank

Campievanner - Our Duo was fitted with a high level parcel shelf which made it much more difficult to install the front blinds. If your Stratford is new you shouldn't have any undue diffiiculty in installing them, as you won't have the parcel shelf.

You'll find the link to the installation instructions at the bottom of this post. Basically, you have to remove the existing A pillar plastic claddings at each end of the screen, assemble the new blinds and fix them in position. Easy? Well no, not really, as it's a two person job to manhandle the complete assembly into the cab, refix the loudspeakers and secure the whole lot into place. But it can be done, it just needs a bit of forethought and care. The side screens are easy to fix as they are held in place with six self tappers. This involves marking and drilling each door and screwing them into place.

In all I would think you could do it in a couple of hours, maybe a bit longer. But I would delay your shopping trip as it definitely needs two pairs of hands.

We've got Silver Screens and never use them, so I would see how you get on with the blinds before investing in them. We get very little condensation on the windscreen, even without the Silver Screens.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Installation instructions - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Roly

Thank you Nimbus. That's a great help.
Shame about the shopping trip but as you say an extra pair of hands make things easier.
You have helped with the advice re silver screens too.

Hi Campievanner (& Nimbus),
Just to point out the Mark 3 Remis blinds have been superceded by the Mark 4 blinds now which have different (& even easier to fit) one piece side blinds that now only need one self tapping screw. Sorry I don't have a PDF of the fitting instructions to hand but trust me, it's a doddle!
Hope you're enjoying your Stratford as much as we are Campievanner

That's interesting. Having a one piece blind will remove the vertical pillar which marginally affects the vision through the drivers door window. Ours is going in for its first MOT tomorrow and I hope it doesn't get a failure on this.

Hello everybody, I have just joined the forum so greetings to you all.

We pick-up our Sussex Duo from Golden Cross on the 17th March and I have to say I am getting very nervous now about potential problems, especially the sliding door and the gas connector.

I will no doubt report back to this forum and I expect will install some of the mod described, after checking that the warranty is not affected.

Fingers crossed.

Welcome, Hello World.

There's plenty of Duo owners contributing on here so you can be assured of a helping hand if you need it.

Welcome to the forum mccormw

squip

Hi Mcorm
Our sliding door seems ok so I wouldn't worry too much at the moment.

Picked ours up on Saturday and have played with it on the drive ever since, tracker fitted Monday so we are off to Broadway on Saturday for our first trip.

Dolwen - we are enjoying the Stratford but still trying to find homes for everything but getting there. Does your little table on the back door slide easily across as ours seems very stiff to move. Have tried furniture wipes to try and help but don't know if it just "newness"
My other half has had the hair dryer out and removed some of the graphics (it did take 4 days which is 4 days longer than I thought) only the bonnet ones and the name on the back door so far BUT I can see the "horns" above the cab going before too much longer. Mudflaps on order now too.
The carpets have gone out as they were pale cream going to visit the carpet shops next week. The tables are out too as the table with legs is too hard to manoeuvre round the van so we are cutting our old one down.

Any more tips are always welcome.

Thanks everyone

Janet

Wise move going to Broadway - anything wrong and a couple of miles down the road to Willersey for some quick attention, seriously though hope the trip goes ok for you

Hi Janet,
Our rear sliding table seems to slide quite easily, though the seat squab needs lifting out of the way to do so.
I also wanted to remove the graphics, at least the bonnet ones but my partner likes them so they had to stay.

Enjoy your weekend away, forecast looks dry.