Van Swap

Yes , we have just done something that I swore I would never do - swap our A/s for ANOTHER A/s!  Many on here thought  we were mad after our experiences with the shocking build quality and lack of attention to detail of the  first van but with a lot of hard work on my part and a fair few £ we finished up with a cracking immaculate  example of a Kemerton. We looked at the 2017 Autotrail 635se v line - modern clean / simple  interior but dealer would not deal as I dont think he likes A/s vans having had a Kemerton for sale for 5 YEARS!... Poor owners reviews also caused worries...
     Our 2nd choice was the 2017 Warwick xl  - almost same layout- chintzy dated  A/s interior to our eyes   but hey ho that is what we now have sitting on the driveway! Suits my wifes mobility issues better but first night just spent close to dealers ( last night) and already we are seeing  differences appearing . The Kemerton was in fact a Tardis and the Warwick does not seem to swallow the kit the Kemerton held.  The heating for air and water in the Kemerton was ultra reliable Whale with foolproof  simple logical controls. Never let us down  . The Warwick XL appears to be  a faff to set up on site by comparison and god know how the interior lights work!  Of course the manual issued with the van is about as helpful as a bus ticket.  think... turn to lighting section in manual and lighting  paragraph on how to light gas mantles for lights - or at least that would be  as relevant to our van with different control panel etc fitted! 
       Older 2014  150hp 2.2l engine has more grunt than the 2017  160hp 2.0l  but the newer engine is quieter.  We dont really get the curtains in living area when you have blinds and flyscreens on non opening windows !    and the Avtex rear view camera seems poor by comparison to the Veba which always worked faultlessly for us .  question- What are  the padded wall panels everywhere for  apart from dust collectors?   At least the curtain issue is easily remedied with a screwdriver!   Got supplying dealer to swap over our old glovebox for the newer style central  drinks holders. Easy job and the glove box is so much more useful...  No doubt plenty of questions to follow aimed especially from experienced  Warwick xl owners like  how to work the lights!  Looking forward to a trouble free future , fingers crossed! 

We find the rear layout suits us and makes having a quick lay down after lunch easy.

I agree what use are the curtains, I keep meaning to remove them, but they are still there after 4 years. Flyscreens on non opening windows, I guess that's how the blinds come.

I do agree the engine is a bit rough in low gears, but speeds along on French motorways with plenty of puff.

I also did buy a central drinks holder, only to take it out again and sell it on ebay. Just got in the way and we missed the glove box.

Hope you get the lights sorted etc, ours is the 2.2 Ford unit.
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Richard

Well done Kaspian, I’m sure you’ll soon get used to all the differences ... change is good!

Despite the shortcomings we all talk about on here, I do think AS vans are hard to beat at this price level.  We rented an Autotrail in NZ for 7 weeks last year and were underwhelmed with the lack of refinement and build quality.  In Australia we rented several Sprinters converted by Winnebago and found them very poor, with some real schoolboy design errors. While in Germany last October we called into the Düsseldorf show and kicked the tyres on dozens of German panel van conversions and were unimpressed with their lack of flair and habitation appeal.

So I’m not surprised you swapped one AS for another.  Furthermore you’re familiar with their engineering and construction methods so will be adept at fettling the Warwick in the same way you did with the Kemerton.  I’m guessing you’ve already been up on the roof to check the sealing of vents and extractors!

Have fun with your new van, I doubt you’ll regret it ... be thankful it doesn’t have an EC700.  

Tim

Hi Tim, yes already starting a to- do  list - microwave shelf starting to come loose, rattles from the sliding door blind mounting, fit of locker doors, oh and flapping tank heater blanket etc etc . All standard A/s foibles but what already annoys are the half dozen black switches at door entry and others dotted around the van all unmarked as to their function. Do A/s not possess a printer to make neat labels to inform the user of their function? or buy them in pre-printed with function...Imagine buying a new car today and having to try every switch just to find a particular function....Simple thing that costs pennies but saves so much head scratching"!  At least no peeling foil- yet!      Already realize just how simple,reliable  and foolproof Kemerton was with respect to heating and water ie Whale verses Truma.

Enjoy your new XL , big brother to ours, hope you have lots of good times in it and you work out the Truma heating. Took me a day or two.
Boaby

Good to see you’ve bought an AS and not left us. I hope you have many happy years in it.

Thanks Guys , hoping this one will be free of ' teething ' troubles once I get the internal lights figured out and the rattles cured! Its now 3 years old so should have been sorted but it looks like I might have been a bit optimistic. 
     We will no  doubt figure out the heating  Boaby but the back to back 'testing ' showed just how much of a faff the Truma is!  Whale too less than 3 seconds to sort out water and heating not scrolling through endless menus!

Good luck with the new van Kaspian, hope you both enjoy many years of happy travelling 

Why did you change the van, if you'd spent a lot on the Kemerton, and got it sorted, why change it? 

Just curious.

Ah Kaspian, the looseness in the microwave shelf ... how reassuringly familiar.  AS are nothing if not consistent!

Tim

Happy travels in yer new van! Awwww I love our curtains lol gives a lovely coorie feeling in the winter!

We have no blinds on our van, so ours have a purpose. Mrs SDA completed a new set of curtains for it last year.
Having had Eriba Touring caravans with curtains in the past I can say that without them it's like living inside a large aluminium cigar tube that echoes. Each to their own but to us curtains provide a feeling of warmth and comfort, without them a van can feel cold and bare.

Enjoy the Warwick K.

re: the Truma, i dont know if its 'integrated' into an AS control panel or a seperate control of its own but, if the latter, just one push of the button reterns it to its last known setting (after previous power off).
so, one push, heater comes one at last temp, along with water of that was on...so no real hassle, perhaps a twist of the knob to adjust temperature...
agree, perhaps. first time (or two) might take a bit of practice to learn the push/turn/push process for initial set up bit after that youll find it very simple....and ours works very well.
of course, i never turn the 12v supply off....its always on via batteries even when driving, so this might be what retains the last known setting?...no doubt a UK van disconnects this woth engine running, but on site, one day should keep the setting to the next and so on.
good luck with the new van, enjoy.

Thanks BB , no doubt will get used to it quick enough  but by comparison the  Whale system which  was intuitive simple and reliable ie 2 rotary switches and a couple of buttons controlled water and heating . No nasty metallic burning odours fuses blowing, battery drain down  or any of that nonsense either.    My batteries too could be left for months without any solar or charging  etc without drain down issues. This they call progress and why they also think dotting switches all over the van without a clue/symbol or label to indicate their function is beyond me!!         Printed labels are easily produced and all switches should be marked as to their function . Luckily have a label printer so can sort that!
      Seems a very good van condition wise or we would have walked away  but I can on close inspection see many  issues with previous van still exist in this one . ie rattles from loose blind cassette in sliding door, microwave shelf detaching itself,  overhead locker doors poorly aligned   etc etc  Still , although annoying they are easily fixed.  Currently  sitting primed and armed with tools and 'intent ' to start work  on the long list now forming but currently van  being battered by high winds and driving rain for last 15 hours and my youthful enthusiasm to work outside in such conditions has  gone somewhat!  

kaspian wrote:why they also think dotting switches all over the van without a clue/symbol or label to indicate their function is beyond me!!         Printed labels are easily produced and all switches should be marked as to their function . Luckily have a label printer so can sort that!

I've noticed that too. It's bad in a Warwick Duo by the side door, I had to label the switches myself or I would be constantly turning the wrong light off/on.

AutoSleepy_Don wrote:

kaspian wrote:why they also think dotting switches all over the van without a clue/symbol or label to indicate their function is beyond me!!         Printed labels are easily produced and all switches should be marked as to their function . Luckily have a label printer so can sort that!

I've noticed that too. It's bad in a Warwick Duo by the side door, I had to label the switches myself or I would be constantly turning the wrong light off/on.

I keep turning them off/on when getting in and out of the van with my body. Have also labeled them. Nothing worse than an awning light on when not required.
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Richard

from our own experiences of the installs in our last two German vans over a five year period, id say the Combi is a pretty good bit of kit...only error was when i ran out of gas last week.
never had the burning smell, never blown a fuse, never needed to reset the overheat button, despite the unit being set low in the double floor with a large fridge/freezer sited on top of it...
i did read somewhere on here that units were being installed with the PCB facing the outside wall on some vans, this is totally contrary to Truma install instructions and makes access to the fuse nigh on impossible.