Build Quality

The subject of build quality arises fairly frequently on the forum so I thought I'd share the results of the latest stress test we subjected our Kemerton to last week.

We've had the van since February and when we took delivery it was virtually devoid of squeaks and rattles. Five months of driving on our potholed roads gradually changed that and we spent some time tightening things up, strengthened the microwave fixings based on advice elsewhere on here and took greater care in how we stowed stuff before setting off this summer for our first long trip in it.

All was going well, over 2K miles in Germany and Austria and the van was quiet as a mouse. On the drive back up to Calais we made the customary refuelling stop for cheap diesel in Luxembourg, then took the N4 and E42 up to Namur and across to Mons. We'd been caught out on a previous trip 4 years ago by Belgium's crumbling road network and the Symbol we had at the time never really seemed to recover from the bone-jarring experience. This time we took a different route and all started out well after leaving the border with Luxembourg. But the road surface soon deteriorated and the section of E42 between Namur and Mons had to be seen to be believed - though I wish we hadn't. The potholes were so numerous it was impossible to avoid them and many looked to be inches deep and several yards in length - and this is motorway standard, with speeds up to 80mph. 

It wasn't long before the van started complaining, with new creaks and rattles throughout. The overhead cabinetry sounded like it was going to break loose at times yet the worst thing that happened while underway was the microwave door springing open. Once we were back on a reasonable surface Ruth took over driving while I surveyed the habitation area to see where the new creaking sounds were coming from. It proved to be from the rear of the kitchen base units, where they are fixed to the side of the van.

We're back home now and I've investigated further but can't get to the fixings without taking half the kitchen apart. I've inserted some rubber wedges down the accessible side of the kitchen base unit and it seems to have tightened things up and stopped the squeak/creak. Time will tell if it's successful. I've also adjusted all cabinet door latches to take out any play when they're closed and fitted small clear rubber pads on drawers and anything else that hinges or slides.  

However the point of my tale is that despite some sustained abuse from an atrocious road surface, the van stood up well. Nothing fell off, no lasting damage appears to have been suffered and apart from making the adjustments I've mentioned above, the build quality seems to have held up. Hopefully I'm not going to regret these comments, as we're about to set off on the NC500. I can't believe even the single track roads up there will be as bad as what we experienced last week in Belgium.

They won't be.

Those Belgian roads are probably the worst we've ever experienced, apart from the gravel roads in New Zealand!

Glad the van survived more or less unscathed.

I have to say that the 90’s and early to mid 2000 year vans used better materials than A/S and indeed others such as Hymer etc and the actual build quality is about the same at the top end of the market. My aging Hymer (1998) has survived 3 trips into the Sahara desert and never let me down apart from punctures. Will my 1998 little A/S poptop survive six months around Spain and the west coast of Portugal later this year? I’m that confident it will I’d go without insurance if it wasn’t illegal. I’m not so confident that I’ll survive though:smile!:

biffobear wrote:I have to say that the 90’s and early to mid 2000 year vans used better materials than A/S and indeed others such as Hymer etc and the actual build quality is about the same at the top end of the market. My aging Hymer (1998) has survived 3 trips into the Sahara desert and never let me down apart from punctures. Will my 1998 little A/S poptop survive six months around Spain and the west coast of Portugal later this year? I’m that confident it will I’d go without insurance if it wasn’t illegal. I’m not so confident that I’ll survive though:smile!:

This doesn't surprise me tbh. I've just returned from a first time visit to Moldova and apart from the 2 hour 'maul' in baking temperatures to get through border control, was well impressed by the road surface i drove on once through. However that soon changed once beyond Chisinau where tarmac surfaced roads regularly 'disappear' into gritted tracks. Worse still, and what doesn't show up on the photo i took whilst driving is they are ridged so everything inside the van rattles and bangs around like crazy from the vibration.

The most i could manage on this stretch of road was 10-12mph max....and i had almost 20 miles of it to drive. Not much fun in a van with temps of 35+c and no air-con. Would a current day CB stand up to it? Highly doubtful. An old Hymer would survive it. No way would any 'tuggers' get away without damage though as serious potholes are also regular.

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lletguy wrote:Worse still, and what doesn't show up on the photo i took whilst driving is they are ridged so everything inside the van rattles and bangs around like crazy from the vibration.

The most i could manage on this stretch of road was 10-12mph max

Just like the New Zealand roads.

If you had the nerve to accelerate up to 30 or 40mph the ride became a lot smoother - but getting there tended to shake the fillings out of your teeth!!

Gromit wrote:

lletguy wrote:Worse still, and what doesn't show up on the photo i took whilst driving is they are ridged so everything inside the van rattles and bangs around like crazy from the vibration.

The most i could manage on this stretch of road was 10-12mph max

Just like the New Zealand roads.

If you had the nerve to accelerate up to 30 or 40mph the ride became a lot smoother - but getting there tended to shake the fillings out of your teeth!!

Cars, commercial vans and trucks were passing me at those sort of speeds but no way could i manage it with my van. Moldova is a beautiful little country but the infrastructure is strange....tarmac just suddenly disappears as though they simply ran out of supply. With an average income of just €2 - 300 a month it's one of the poorest East European countries yet the people are amazingly friendly, happy and very self-sufficient. I didn't see many teenagers with smartphones or ipads....maybe that's why they are contented with life.