Kingham tweeks

After selling our hymer 470 to our daughter and trading in our auto sleeper trooper to our local caravan sales dealer (lowdham) in Nottinghamshire, we came away with a 1 year old 3,000 mile Kingham, we only went in for a microwave for the trooper??????
So in one month in having it these are the tweets I have made.

Noise reduction: placed insulation tape on all of the cupboard door pus in knobs this involved removing every door catch removing the push in bit and taping the lower half of the remaining catch on the door thus eliminating the incessant rattling of the door catches.
Packed out the microwave to eliminate travel vibration.
Realigned two kitchen draws to seat into the runners correctly.
Removed all oven heat plates and microwave plate and oven shelves, placing them in a press pack for traveling.
Spent hours finding creeeeek!!!! on bet when getting on and off (loose screws behind beech spring slats into aluminium frame.
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T.V : placed two tv brackets on either side of the wardrobe.
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're-positioned the fire extinguishers to under the front center pull down this needed a bracket making so as not to spoil the drop of the pull down cupboard, this allowed more foot space bertween the two front seats and more space for our dog to lay when traveling.
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Wired a 12V strip light under the bed at the rear so we can find things in the early winter evenings.
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Made a very basic bed stay from plastics thing to support the bed when raised for pacing and deriving items, as we found the hydraulic arms are not strong enough when all the bedding is on.
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Fastened three round nylon discs to the GDP lower bed frame allowing support to the bottom third of the bed, if you look at the bed it has no support from after the internal frame that it sits on, this then bends down and will fatigue after a while hence bed creeeeeek! (Not any more)
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Fastened three perspect plates to the underside of the settee squab placed velcro on them then mirrored this where the would sit on the beech slats, hy presto! no more seats ending up on the floor after going around a right hand bend. (Very poor design ) should of been road tested.
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Got someone to fit a Thatcham cat 1 alarm to satisfy the insurance.
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One more job................ can anyone recommend a good tow bar fitter in the Nottinghamshire area?

Regards Michael

Michael, 

You must have the quietest AS on the road  

A few members on here have mentioned the sofa cushion sliding off all the time and I'm expecting to have to fix this myself when I get my Kingham. I'm curious as to how you fixed the Perspex plates to the underside of the cushion ?

Ken.

On these newer vans you can easily put the extinguisher just inside the door. it is not in the way as the floor of the cab juts out there anyway so you will not catch it as you get in and out. And, on the FIAT at least there are two holes ready for it that hold the trim on at that point, though you will need two longer screws. The extinguisher bracket adjusts easily by tapping the mounting plates to the correct hole centres.



I like your idea for the cushion sliding, I'll look into that so I can get rid of the orange tape that keeps them in place at the moment.

I will try and upload pics at the weekend of tweeks.

leupold721 wrote:I will try and upload pics at the weekend of tweeks.

Great, you will notice that we have removed the microwave cupbord. We would never use it anyway and we now have a more 'open' aspect through the door when looking at the scenery.

Hi Rita,

Machloop previously put some pics on the forum....

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If the link doesn't work, search "Kingham"

Hi Rita 
I've just checked that link and the pics no longer work so I'll post them again here later when I can find them.

Here is the cupbaord removed showing the van roof so needed sorting. We drove about like this for a few weeks til the new panel arrived from AS.  The cupboard is in the loft with the microwave but it will never be re-fitted.




The work was done by the dealers in Derby.  We had been in for our 30 day thing and asked about getting rid of the monstrosity in the doorway and their workshop came up with the idea of using the piece from over the door of a symbol. It was a lot of faffing about [for them] but they made a fantastic job].
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The van now looks like it was built like this with better views from the settee and no more banged heads getting into the van.
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Hi Macloop & Wargenwolf,
Thankyou so much. What an improvement! We are booked in with Auto-Sleeper in Broadway next month for other issues and we will ask them to do the modification.
Regards Rita

I have owned my 2015 for a year now and whilst the overall review confirms that this is a really good van conversion some of the "little things" that arise does niggle me especially as this is a vehicle that costs well over £55k from new and really could do better in the areas already suggested by some.
The moveable sofa is one.
Curtain pelmet falling down
External grey pipe splitting
Creaking bed
Overhead cupboard doors working loose
Sliding shower door falling out from its mountings
Faulty fresh and grey water tank readings

To be fair some of these issues have subsequently been addressed under the warranty via the dealership in Somerset but l do wonder if AS read these postings and if so should they not offer up some comfort in return for loyalty ?

I too get the idea that no-one from AS reads this forum.Certainly nobody ever comments on these faults that we flag up. Mind you what can they say about things like the shape-shifting sofa in the Kingdom? Well they ought to say "Sorry guys we dropped a right clanger there by selling vans with self destructing sofas, we will come up with a fix and offer it as a free mod on all Kingham vans."
If you missed my thread on this it is here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
I can understand and live with the odd drawer front dropping off but putting the fire extinguisher between the front seats is just incompetence and a trip hazard.

I have recently joined this forum because I have done a lot to my Kingham, and I wanted to share it with you! (It would also be nice if Auto-sleeper take some of the improvements on board too!)

I think the 'van is a brilliant layout, and quite well converted for an English company. I say that because regrettably the quality of some of the continental motorhomes (and prices) are never likely to be equalled. Anyway, I liked the layout, and despite spending more time travelling than not, I still wanted right hand drive. (And I had a right hand drive to trade in too!)

My initial request before buying the van was the addition of a second leisure battery, a 12 volt socket on the front of the couch (should be one here anyway) and the supply of the second TV bracket (this should be standard too!

My first task was a full wax, including the roof. This was a very heavy application, to try and get as much wax behind trim etc as possible.

My modifications and improvements follow:-

Tyre Pressures. Note that the advised pressures are calculated on each possible maximum axle weight. We run fully loaded with 1700kg front, 1800kg rear. I contacted Continental tech support with these axle weights and was advised 48 psi all round. Nervous to drop this much in one go I dropped to 55 all round and the improvement in ride was considerable, without any apparent loss in mpg (I get 33mpg with care, cruising at 2000 rpm.) I will experiment reducing the pressures a little more soon. I did briefly try the 48 psi, but it felt a bit stodgy!

As a matter of interest I run the airtop at 1 barg pressure. this seems to midpoint the rear suspension.

I then fitted 2 solar panels, one 100W and one 80W (slightly smaller due to stupid placement of rubbish TV aerial - why isnt this above the wardrobe?) I also fitted a MPPT charge controller, to convert any excess volts to extra amps (note not all MPPT regulators on ebay actually are! I have tested many of them). I also ran decent sized cables down (the existing wires in the loom for the solar panel are not of sufficient size to prevent voltage drops). The roof gland I fitted was a 3 way flat box, which has allowed for an extra TV aerial lead and my satellite leads.

The second leisure battery's vent pipe was not plumbed in properly so I teed it into the first pipe.

The 25 litre gas tank is a joke! I took this off and sold it on Ebay. I bought a 55 litre tank and fitted it to the same bolts under the floor, by bending the new mounting hoops inwards at the top. All hoses fit ok, as did the transfer of the contents gauge sender. I had to shorten and bend the exhaust tail pipe, and swivel one of the handbrake mounting lugs around so the now straighter cable cleared the end of the tank. I extended the heat deflector between the exhaust and tank end. I fitted a small press switch by the gas gauge as I did not want to have to start the engine to see my gas capacity.

To stop the heating corner vent from warming up the fridge I fitted a small deflector made from alloy in the outlet of the vent. This vent should have been mounted slightly around the corner of the bed.

I fitted a hook in the side grill of the microwave wall (above the cooker) to hang the kettle on. It is ok here whilst driving too!

I fitted an inverter (250W) on the end of the magazine box. When sunny I can run the fridge off this by turning the charger off and plugging the hookup lead in!

I mounted the awning handle on the outside of the bed panel, inside the back doors

I fitted a multi-pocket on the back wall of the toilet, for clothes line, tent pegs (for awning tie down) and various spares, polishing cloths etc.

cab mods include:- Sat nav pad, Journey logger (home made), MP3, PMR Radios, First aid box, and a map box (on the floor, front middle).

We bought an extra fridge shelf for the door of the fridge (should be standard!).

I made some discs from stainless steel gauze and fitted them in the scuttle drains, to stop leaves blocking the holes (Peugeot please note!).

We store the winter fridge covers under the fridge (from outside) I also fitted a 4 inch fan from a computer at the top vent of the fridge and controlled by a small temperature sensor circuit (home made) so that any hot air is expelled from the fridge area. This has noticably saved gas when in Southern France / Spain.

We found a narrow swing top dustbin (about 6 inches) which just fits by the side of the sink.

We have kept the plastic on the carpets, and added a door mat and small runner byt he couch.

On the Control panel I have changed the smart charging to leisure, and corrected the battery capacity for our second battery (should have been done by supplier!)

I went to the Auto-sleeper factory and bought a 6 foot long strip of wood, 4 inches wide, and made it fit along the bottom of the back cupboards, to give an extra shelf at the back when you open the doors. We keep the toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, box of clothes pegs, and rolled up lay flat hose on this shelf.

I fitted a Snipe satellite "dish" at the back, between the back roof vent and the rear doors (only place left). I bought an Edision nano reciever for £29 which works great. (Do not buy the 12 V "Icecrypt" it does not recieve freesat!)

When I investigated whether I could fit a radio in the panel above the side door I found a lack of insulation (Auto-sleeper please note!), so I insulated here!

Future plans include:-
Solar water heater? Flat black plastic rad which plugs into water heater connections, lay on ground for convection.
shoe cupboard under step behind passenger seat The space is there!
Safe behind rear magazine pocket?
Insulation sheets for windows. (polycarbonate).
Insulate behind wardrobe?
Block some skylight vents
Sliding door dirt shield by interior handle.
Draft from door post.
Wind generator?

Items that should be standard (Auto-sleeper please note!) are:-

Pocket in n/s rear door and a pocket in the sliding door (Swift do this).
Shelves above toilet cassette. There is wasted space in the wall cavity here.
12 V socket in lounge area
Radio (cab radio is on cab battery, and turns off after 20 mins)
Larger gas tank
Extractor lights should be LCD. The extractor should blow to the outside too.
Better size solar wires and MPPT controller (neither used)
Aerial is rubbish (should be directional), it should be above the wardrobe and would also allow a bigger second solar panel).
Indicators should not be auto flash, operated accidentally too many times.
Toilet tight to get out.
Insulation behind wardrobe.
Double glazing of fixed window areas.
Water tank overflow should be high level pipe.
Better water pressure, with accessible water pump filter.
Gas pipe bending could be tidier.
Dual cab seat arm rests.
Partition at side of couch (for cushion behind drivers seat to rest on).
Fire extinguisher by side door (not sensible by drivers seat).
Water valves under couch should be better placed. (I moved these slightly).
Cab seat swivels should be looser.
Cab seat swivel catches not as good as side ones.
Cab seat swivel bases make front under seat access panels difficult to open.
Tank drain pipes ugly. (I removed the flexible hoses and put the taps straight onto the tanks).
Timer on heating, with night time temperature setting.
Heater vent at end of bed should not be angled at fridge.
Better air flow on heater vent by cab step - cold floor.
Better view (down) on rear camera.
Locking nuts on alloy wheels.
Second TV bracket.

Items I had to fix include:-
Side door drain, this was blocked.
Loose microwave.
Rattling window in side door.
Draughts from side door (door membrane missing).
Draughts from B post.
Moved water valves under couch.
Re-plumbed tank drains.
Reconnect loose water pipe under bed.

I hope you all find this helpful! I also feel motorhome manufacturers never act on these forums, they have finished designing and are now too busy making the money from building them. I also do not think they ever live in them (or just use them!)

Grant.

Certainly relate to most if not all of these, in particular the very poor heater output at the front end. The cold draft and floor around the side door is more than disappointing in a van costing >£50k. One other gripe related to the radio is the USB port being inactive with the ignition off!
A couple of other AS suggestions: how about an insect screen for the side door? Also a couple of small shelves above the bed for mugs/glasses, etc.

NickJW wrote:One other gripe related to the radio is the USB port being inactive with the ignition off!

Now that is my very next modification.  The battery is situated under the cab floor and it should be easy to run a direct feed up and under the dashboard to replace the feed to the USB and cigar lighter both of which we could use when parked up. I'll try to get some pictures as I do it.

Wow !!!!

leupold721 wrote:I will try and upload pics at the weekend of tweeks.

I'm still interested in the sofa base cushion, Perspex disc upgrade if you have sorted the pics yet ?

Welcome to the forum Asymic.

John.

Another minor irritation is the tap for the kitchen sink. Several times l have lifted the glass sink lid and inadvertently pushed the tap fitting up releasing water all over the work surface ! Clumsy l admit but happens too often grrrrr

Wargenwolf wrote:

leupold721 wrote:I will try and upload pics at the weekend of tweeks.

I'm still interested in the sofa base cushion, Perspex disc upgrade if you have sorted the pics yet ?

I'm guessing Leupold is too busy enjoying his new van  ?

In the meantime, anyone else interested in a fix for Auto-Sleeper sliding seat bases, October's MMM magazine has an article in their technical section (Page 195) which addresses this very problem.

If it's so widely known as a problem, wouldn't you think Auto-Sleeper would have addressed it by now, rather than customers having to start DIY on brand new vans 

Hi, we bought a Kingham new in November 2016.; it has a dometic toilet. From the outset we have had 'water' in the toilet cassette compartment. It is still under warranty. For the best part of a year the dealer could not find a leak. Eventually, they determined that water from the shower was tracking down on to the pull-out handle. Dometic said - No problem (user error in other words) if used from above. Auto Sleepers finally came up with a solution to fit a shield over the pull-out handle. It didn't work. Like you, every time we went to empty the cassette there would be a good deal of water in the compartment. At first, we too thought that it was from the toliet (urine).

The dealer suggested covering the toilet with a plastic bin bag to see for definite if it is water getting in from the shower via the toilet. We tried it at the week-end, and hey, no water in the compartment. The dealer is getting a bespoke cover made, which is all well and good as a temporary measure, but we didn't pay £50K+for a solution like this. The dealer is at a loss as they say that no other similar cases are known either to them or to Auto-Sleepers - UNLESS of course, you know otherwise. The dealer has never refused to try and sort out the problem but now has the evidence to go to AS to ask them to resolve the matter properly.

Additionally, when we shower, the toilet bowl collects a huge amount of water, even tough the lid is closed, so we have to drain this by pulling out the sliding blade before we empty the cassette. We usually leave this a minute or so before closing the sliding blade again.

I hope that this helps and would appreciate any information from you that may help us.

We also had a blocked drain in the sliding door window. It took Peugeot a month to get a replacement.

Faulty Sergent panel that kept switching to engine battery so that we were unkowingly running our kit off it. Hence, stranded in the Lakes.

Thanks