Problems with Kemerton XL

Got my 2014 van in March, and since have had loads of problems mostly due to Autosleeper not building it properly, blind in sliding door was very noisy when driving , found two screws were not there and others had never been tightened up. Water pump/inlet on side had never had the wires connected, so you could pump water from an aqua roll, roof vent paper blind fell off track because it had been fitted wrongly(screwed to roof 3 mm to wide, all are poor workmanship for a van costing so much, and I am told these are better than other makes, god help us

I would have thought, blinds in a track can be noisy due to a bit of lee way needed so not to jam and stick in said runners, all my blinds can be noisy, they are not now, as I put small rubber plugs in one each side at the bottom, which stops the rattling,  between frame and blind,when travelling, my Beardie is very noise sensitive, 
 
Screws can work loose with all the bouncing and flexing about that a van gets especially on some of the roads these days, not repaired quickly.

Hardly AS `s fault, when it is a bought in item, 

but as AS will admit themselves , no other MH builder has the back up to customers that they have, I wouldn`t have any other, you only have to read about the other makes, then again all newer vans are not built as they use to be due to modern materials and lighter weights required as they have more equipment in them, caravans are the same, that is why I prefer older vans, in those days they were built to last, evidence of how many old vans are still on the road, some from the 70`s, New vans will not last, as everything today is not made to last, no matter what it is. A 2017 van will not be on the road decades later, parts will be obsolete for one thing, Peugeot's come to mind here. JMHO 

Some owners like car owners change their vans every few years, but you may find many owners of older vans will hang on to them. Perhaps more quality control needed on some things, appliances bought in are not an AS build, perhaps some fitting of could be better at times, at least AS will put things right. 

Best regards,
Margaret

Hi Gus446, sorry that you have had the problems mentioned. It is easy to understand the disappointment, frustration and anger that comes with the experience of shoddy workmanship. It is a great disappointment that mars what should be pride of ownership and excitement of a newly acquired van. Makes you wonder how the previous owner accepted these faults. Hopefully the future travels in your van and enjoyment gained will outweigh these initial problems. 

With regard. To daisy maes comment, this was not due to screws falling out this was because someone didn’t bother to even drill the hole for the self tappers to go into . Most issues now sorted, must of been built on a Friday but I wonder about quality control

That`,s good, all sorted now you can enjoy your van happy 




Very best regards,
Margaret

Hi Gus , can sympathise I thought our van was the only Friday built van ! At some point you would like to think that management will take note and act accordingly. Meanwhile , get yourself an account at screwfix or toolstation !
    You shouldnt have to but eventually you will refix all the bits that fall off or come loose and eventually own a decently thought out van that works!

Hi
Our Kingham has the same issue with the window casement. Dealer stuffed glue down the side to stop the casement moving . We took the unit off to find two screws had not been fitted (on a brand new van) once fitted correctly all fine job took 30 min. In all 8 major issues that have had to be dealt with by dealer the van has been back twice to dealer and twice to Peugeot one call out from Peugeot Assist. Quality control is none existent, they leave it down to the owner to sort it out and then fix. This saves them a lot of money as they also know that the potential new owner will live many miles and hours away so will not be able to just pop the vehicle back to have the issues sorted

Mine van was ok, I think it may be partially down to the dealer you buy the van off. If they're any good, they will know where most of the weak points are I guess, and are bothered to put them right.

Mine had a similar problems, screws all loose and three of the screws had stripped thread, made new brackets with four screws holding each bracket and put more screws in to hold the blind to its mounting plate, now fine, also shutting the door is now nicer, less noisy and no rattles when driving.

KTF wrote:Hi
Our Kingham has the same issue with the window casement. Dealer stuffed glue down the side to stop the casement moving . We took the unit off to find two screws had not been fitted (on a brand new van) once fitted correctly all fine job took 30 min. In all 8 major issues that have had to be dealt with by dealer the van has been back twice to dealer and twice to Peugeot one call out from Peugeot Assist. Quality control is none existent, they leave it down to the owner to sort it out and then fix. This saves them a lot of money as they also know that the potential new owner will live many miles and hours away so will not be able to just pop the vehicle back to have the issues sorted

Yes Ktf you have pretty much sussed it ! Add to that drawer runners that have only one screw fixing them to cabinets .  A couple of months down the line you open the drawer only for it to land on your toes!  Take a closer look only to find 1 screw hole and 1 screw so never been any more fitted from new. I prefer to think I drive the 'Superleggera ' version, a factory limited edition  specially lightened for faster response and better performance or increased payload! Now you know why  The Kemerton can  pass  you on the M6 outside lane  at warp factor 9.2 

What age is your vehicle?

2014

Stick with it Ktf , I know how it feels with problem after problem and A round trip of 800 odd miles to Willersey was not practical in my case and why would you trust someone who could not get it right first time to do any better second time?  Eventually things will settle and all the build flaws will be ironed out and it is a decent van with good design  that you say are happy with. 
       The Peugeot is a good base vehicle and in the 4 I have owned from new only 1 had a failed starter and 1 shock absorber within 3 weeks then ran like a swiss watch for 6 years . I  know how frustrating it is to pay so much money and see evidence of such poor build . I am lucky in that I can repair or modify all the build problems myself  - we all do - hopefully you can do the same as my trust in the factory and dealers died a long time ago.
       It is crazy but eventually things will settle down and you will enjoy the van for what you bought it for. What I find amusing is our previous 3 vans were Elddis and classed as cheap starter vans but no screws were missing , nothing fell off or broke and were well tested  with a young family in tow at the time.
Ps currently sitting on a site at York and only had the screwdriver out twice - next trip will be fault free...but still like the van.

Hi Gus
Just read your thread.  We have owned our 2016 Kemerton XL for 10 weeks and are learning fast re issues with van. Our sliding door blind casement like yours made a hell of a row when first acquired. So off comes the cover panel and casement, have thrown away the 4 flimsy angle brackets glued wood all round the metal opening using CT1. Then CT1 all round the casement where it joins the back plate and then fixed it back to the new timbers via 10 No. 19mm flange screws. Use flange screws as the original countersunk screws will pull straight through the flimsy back plate as they do in the cups that hold the front panels on, so replaced them as well, only 80p per 100.  Also inserted 1.5 square meters of insulation all around the door cavities for good measure. Solid door now though.
       Have other issues but will start another thread on them as I have rambled on to much.
As kaspian says Stick with it, sort the small things out if you can.

Windy

Hi Windy , the sliding  door is next on my list having been rattling for some time now and more so on the way home today . Will have a look at the weekend and report back but thanks for the heads up.
          I have contacted  the factory on more than one occasion regarding specific/technical  problems but at the risk of upsetting many on this forum have never had satisfactory answers only dont knows, to maybe , to I'll get back to you on that (never do or by that time you have sussed it and the information given was plainly wrong) 
Thats the good thing about this forum .
Just people who want an easy life from a fault free van to concentrate on enjoying their free time on holiday without wondering what will fall off next and willing to pass on info to allow others to do the same. Are you saying that there is no insulation in the sliding door from the factory or did you top up what was provided?

Hello Kaspian.
   I inserted extra insulation into all the door stile (upright) and rail (horizontal) areas (needed a mouse though) as A/S seem only to insulate the easy to get at parts of the doors.
    On the rear doors I have mounted a pair of coat hooks on each door to carry the 2No. Lufuma chairs and after taking the door panels off (searching for fixing points) noticed the lack of insulation and that the blind casements are fixed to black painted timber surrounds stuck directly to the metal doors. This gave me the idea for fixing the sliding door casement  
which worked a treat.     On the subject of insulation. The cold/heat is still transferred to the inside of the van via these stile and rail areas as there are no thermal breaks. When turning over in bed at night my shoulder touches the bare metal of the middle rail and it is cold. Will look at getting some fabric from A/S to stick on said part of door.  
Regards Windy

We tried getting some of our material from AS with no luck to do the same thing . Insulated the rear doors and other places with 10mm closed cell automotive foam.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi Jenny and Peter.
I have found A/S to be very helpful, sending me both 30mm and 20mm insulation material plus cups and covers for screws, at a cost mind.  Or are you on about the furnishings fabric, haven't tried them for that yet. Will ask A/S when I go up for warranty work in November. Cheers   Windy
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WE tried just for the fabric, your door looks like it had more insulation in than ours.

Jenny,
It was insulated just where you see it in the photo.  Now its also insulated in all other areas where you can't see it, and for that you need a mouse.

Hi JennyandPeter
Just back from having warranty work done at A/S and while there managed to get hold of some material to solve my Cold Shoulder problem.  
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