mezan owner now a fairford owner

Having recently acquired a Fairford i would appreciate any input from seasoned people. We have had issues with the heater outlet plastic at the rear melting and today trying to change, or test change the spare have discovered the plate you attach to the alloy when positioning it in place of the steel underfloor is too small, the three holes do not match up so i guess they have supplied the wrong size plate for this model so we will contact the vehicle suppliers and ask. Other issues include the leaking sink pipes in the shower, the sliding sink is not ideal but does work however, ours drips from time to time. Overall we are reasonably happy and go away in it in just over a month for a few months so have got gas adapters on ebay for continental filling of the lpg tank. We also found the venting too unrestricted. Having owned a Mezan for many years we do appreciate venting is needed, but the rear of microwave vent was ridiculous to we have inserted a throttle to it to at least restrict the flow as it was very cold when trying to cook with that easterly wind. We also used to own a Duetto years ago and covered many miles in it. So feel free anyone who needs any answers for the two older vehicle we have owned. The Mezan in particular had many problems specially the eberspacher fitting, and wiring. The rear suspension was an issue but uprated springs can be fitted quite cheaply direct from the manufacturer of the originals that autosleeper fitted. Having just joined i would like to thank the many dedicated posters who answer many peoples questions. I have visited for many years without registering and found many answers without thanking people so i do so now. I both hate and love Autosleeper, but their products are at least predictable and have inproved quite a lot over the years i think. greetings everyone and happy safe  travelling to you all

Hello and from Leicestershire

Welcome from Falmouth Cornwall, enjoy your new fairford, very pretty van that. The two things any new motorhome gives you is a big smile and a list of faults. The good news is the smile gets bigger and the list gets smaller!!!

groundhog wrote:Welcome from Falmouth Cornwall, enjoy your new fairford, very pretty van that. The two things any new motorhome gives you is a big smile and a list of faults. The good news is the smile gets bigger and the list gets smaller!!!

Thanks for that
            Quite right as we had with our last autosleeper. I guess i'll have to go to another place to post my problems but one big big problem with this new range is the fridge. outside, the top fridge vent, take off via little sliders at top inside , they slode outward with a little click once far enough, and use a mirror and look up. And now we all know why the worktop could boil an egg when the fridge is on gas. Sarcasm aside, the fix i am applying is insulation secured up inside the gap to protect the underside and raw edge of the worktop to deflect the heat (and fumes) directly out through the grille. Making sure of course that no glue is used, so am using screws. problem should not exist in the first place, seems nobody knows how to fit fridges with common sense

Strange - my Lancashire has a metal deflector that goes from the top of the fridge at an angle upwards to the top of the vent. It is also screwed to the sides of the aperture. So we get no draughts and the worktop stays cool. For very hot weather I have fitted a thermostatically controlled computer fan to improve efficiency. Photos are on this forum.

inspiredron wrote:Strange - my Lancashire has a metal deflector that goes from the top of the fridge at an angle upwards to the top of the vent. It is also screwed to the sides of the aperture. So we get no draughts and the worktop stays cool. For very hot weather I have fitted a thermostatically controlled computer fan to improve efficiency.  Photos are on this forum.

Very interesting about the laptop fan, might think on that one. On the fairford, the sliding door channel obstructs fitting of exit vent so they fitted it lower, also, when  the sliding is open the fumes  come into the van but do not set off the alarm yet. interesting how they make one model different to another

Having owned the van for a while now i have fitted a home made deflector into the fridge vent area, to pull the fumes and heat more directly out of the top vent. Autosleeper had not put a deflectoall the way along as such, at the top, so the heat, and fumes were actually passing into the cavity insulation area behind and above the fridge. I have now sealed this part off and the worktop now stays quite cool in the heat of southern France/ Spain. We have also made a 1 metre prop for the sliding door which both stops the door sliding open, and stops it closing, depending on the gradient at the time, this keeps the sliding door half open, thus allowing the fridge to cool more effectively as the vents are not covered by the door. There are many other little issues, the melting heater direction vents being our most bothersome. i have removed the direction flans and their springs so as to stop the, accidentally knocking them closed scenario, as this melted the little flange in minutes. Overall we have had a good experience with this motorhome, the solar panel being our favourite. We charge laptops and phones and re usable aa and aaa batteries, two kindles, in full sun it copes admirably with all of those at the same time, but i still miss our dear little mezan

Welcome to the forum  

 Hello fellow fairford! Interesting to read fellow owners probs, means I can watch out. Our biggie is water ingress via rear doors causing damp patches on inside back panels. It’s going to Peugeot on Monday

I also had the same thing....looked at the rubbers and Autosleeper had dislodged the little push fit clips on the rubbers at the corners, i used a small plastic knife and re inserted the holding pins into the rubber through the holes and  no more leaks.

I’m off lo look right now, though I have had it at autosleeper who said the issue was the rubber seal and referred me therefore to Peugeot

Hello & welcome from S/Yorks.