'New' Symbol

Good afternoon all. Brief intro. I had our 2013 Dorset stolen in December and have now accepted insurers offer
so put deposit on 2013 Symbol.
Our first M/H was a 2003 Symbol which we kept until 2016 when the Dorset replaced it so I am familiar with those
models. (The Dorset had a level floor for my wife, I don't have the same problem)
I have researched the Symbol of that year and can manage without the extras in the Dorset.
By the way there is only me using it so I don't see any major problems.
But there are some things you can help me with.
The dealer is some 80 miles from me and most of my queries are trivial and not deal breakers.
I am arranging an independent hab check and AA pre purchase inspection.

Firstly the lpg tank. How easy is it to get Autogas? Although in the past we rarely used gas I liked to keep
a small cylinder 'just in case'

Storage space. In the Dorset I used the gas cupboard for storing the ramps, watering can and bucket etc.
The ramps look the trickiest to store.

Inside, the mini oven went in the wardrobe, bedding, clothing and folding chair went under the offside bed.
We took out the two tables and the tube which made more room in the wardrobe.
The Symbol looks to have less storage space.

The Whale water system. The Dorset had that and a normal filler point. What do people find is the easiest 
filling method? Fill a 10L container and pump it out of that? Is there an adaptor to connect a hose to the 
plug in thing. Also should I expect the Whale pump and plug to be in the van as standard? 
Likewise the mains cable. I certainly think they should all be included and will stick out for getting them.

As far as I can see the toilet is plumbed in because there are no instructions for filling the flush tank?

Anything else I should be expecting as standard?

That's all, so far. I did say they were trivial but I like to be prepared. 
I have looked for answers on the forum but a lot are quite old now.  
We had been season campers and M/H'mers since the 50's but an old dog can always learn a new trick or two:studying:

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Bert

Bill can only answer some of your questions but others will be able to answer others. 

LPG is widely available but stock situation varies, there are lots of scare stories about lpg being withdrawn next year, these are not true. There are apps to find stockist where you live and are travelling to. Autogas app and Fill lpg are two useful apps updated by users.

Toilet likely to be fed from fresh water tank, would expect appropriate filler hose and EHU to be 

Like all of us when changing vehicles storage needs reassessed.  How often do you use ramps for instance?

Re water filler I have length of food grade hose with one of the generic garden spray twist nozzles, this sits nicely in the filler hole unattended and is a simple low tech option for filling.


Enjoy new van

Thanks for that BB.
The info about Autogas is useful. I'll download the apps. I've looked on Google 
locally and although there are several listed none of them are selling it!
I did use the ramps quite a bit, in fact used them at the last site, last year but I know exactly what you mean.
I'm trying to get down to essentials. That's why the tables went. And all the infill cushions.
But an electric hotplate and a toaster are essentials! 
I see the Symbol only has 3 gas rings, no electric hob. But on the other hand it does have a microwave oven, wouldn't do without that.
Yes I used a hose but not on the Whale socket, no need with an open inlet as well. So is the Whale inlet open
under the flap, without a solenoid check valve?

I believe you can get lpg at uttoxeter, it used to be available at Willington but not any more, also at Gailey on the A5 past Cannock. Glad you’re getting sorted with a replacement van, don’t forget to give your security arrangements a review.

Yes there is an outlet at Uttoxeter but listed as not available.
My intention is fill it up and forget it.
All the places we visited had EHU and they are on Plan A but I may well
get adventurous and go 'off plan'

Oh yes I have a list of devices to fit, thanks to other posters. 
Plus what the insurers want/recommend.

The house now bristles with cameras and other devices.

Hi Bert, Just thought I would let you know, we used the lpg pump at Uttoxeter on Thursday last week to top up, it is the one at Uttoxeter services just off the A50.

Thanks for that. That's good to know. I have just been past the filling station, twice, on the way to and back from Spinneys. Obviously I didn't go in the garage so wouldn't be aware but I'll put that on the list.
I decided that £40k was too much to hand over sight unseen so had a drive out and it's mint.

So is it all go then?

Yes, once the insurers give me the money.
Mind you, then will start another saga. I will have to insure the 'new' van!
I'm like a kid at Christmas, counting the sleeps:biggrin:

Hi Bertb
We purchased a new Symbol 2 years ago so can answer most of your points:
LPG - the tank is large and lasts for ages - if you regularly use electric hookup then effectively you will only be using gas for cooking. Even if you camp in cold weather the central heating doesnt seem to use much gas - we only fill up a couple of time a year. Note that when the display on the LPG gauge says virtually empty then you will be about 1/2 full!! Download myLPG.eu app on your phone - its brilliant.
Storage - yes there isn't masses of it so you need to pack carefully. There is a large space under the single seat thats excellent for heavy stuff - tinned food, plastic bottles, spuds etc. We managed to find large rectangular plastic containers that fit perfectly on the tall cupboard next to the bathroom - the containers keep all the clothes neat and stops it all falling out when you open the cupboard door.

Filling up the water tank - just use a hose connected to a tap. The electric whale pump that comes with it works but its so slow we don't bother with it and just carry a 10m hose (that stores in the back door storage pockets (there is about 4 inches of storage space between the back of the cooker unit and the back door - just enough for hoses and connecters) Ours arrived with all the whale pumps in a box when we purchased the van - though no electric hookup cable...
 
Toilet is definitely plumbed in - all you have to do is empty the waste tank - the flush tank auto fills up as needed. 
Our Symbol has Truma hot water/central heating system but I think the new ones come with Whale heating systems. The Truma is complicated to understand and the manual is useless but once you understand how it works it very effective.

Hope this helps ;-)
Dave

Thanks Dave, very useful info. I went and inspected the van today so I have a better idea
of the storage space. 
What I think happened was that we had a lot of stuff that we never used. In the early days 
we loaded the van with duplicates of the house stuff. So it was self contained and I just put
our clothes and fresh food in and away we went. I can stow the must have additions where they went in 
the last van. Mini oven in the 'wardrobe', the toaster in the oven and the single electric hotplate
under the sink.
I used a watering can to top up the water on the last one, I can play with that on the drive....
I was thinking the same re the gas. Another contributor has pointed me at a local Autogas point so that's dealt with. All in all I was impressed with the interior and can't wait to play with it.
There are two things that I'm unclear about that you can maybe shine some light on.
First, on the underside of the glass lid of the sink there is a metal bar that looks like some sort of bracket. I didn't
understand the explanation at the time, something about a holder for a tray?
And secondly, the bracket for the TV. I don't intend to buy an Avtex which is what the wall bracket is
for. So if I want a TV on the wall I can strengthen the cupboard wall and fit a different type.
Anyway I'm looking forward to getting it to my liking!
Thanks again Dave

The bar on the underside of the sink cover is the holder for the dish drainer, Bert. We found it to be useless and the drainer lived in our loft at home along with a few other bits until we sold the van.

Hahaha. Most of the filler cushions, the tables and the racks from the oven are in our small bedroom for the same reason.

Yep, prepare to continue using that bedroom space  

Only 2 more sleeps!

At last, I have a large van parked on the drive! I'm seriously thinking of sleeping in it until the tracker
is fitted:smile!: I've got a disklok on the steering wheel but the BC lock is proving more difficult to get.
I think everything is working although the heating has had me scratching my head for a few hours.
I've got it all working but on electric it only runs on slow speed. My smart meter shows an increase 
in power drawn but the fan stays slow. Anyway it works fine on gas and it seems to warm up quickly
so not a problem, maybe.

Quite an adventure on the train to Deeside. The first time I've been on a train since 2001. Don't know 
how they manage to hide the smoke and they must have rubber wheels now, it was so smooth.
Now the pleasure of replacing all those little things I had forgotten we had in the old van, like cutlery and 
plates. I enjoy looking round camping stores. So if you see an old geezer walking round Go Outdoors talking to
himself it'll be me. 

Good to hear you’re happy with your new van, Bert. Enjoy your trips in it 

Looking forward to the first. Not decided where or when but very soon!

Good morning, back again!
I'm slowly replacing the essentials and finding how everything works, or not....
So far the heating is still baffling me. I thought I had it sussed but I'm not sure.
I can get some heat out of it but only at one speed, very very slow. It's the Truma system
and I think I got it to speed up once on gas but no matter where I set the controls I
still have to check the outlets to detect any airflow. I can hear the gas ignite and that heats up OK 
but only at super slow blow.
The previous owner marked their settings in the handbook so that has been my starting point.
Power selector switch at "b" and the control panel at "n". That's with the temperature knob at "5". 
The yellow 230v LED, "g" lights and so do the green, "k" and yellow "p".
Looking at the instructions I don't need the yellow LED on 'cos that's for the boiler, presumably they mean hot water? On one level it does work but not very well. Is that it? 

OK. I have watched a video, or two, and I think I may have come to a conclusion.
Just the one fan speed but with the aid of my IHM energy display I can see the heater
drawing different power levels. On the gas setting the air is too hot to keep my hand
in front of the outlet so switching to electric after gas seems to work and the van got quite
warm. Although the EC4480 display says the outdoor temp is 2.3C! and it's nearer 12C.
So unless the heating fan has more than one speed that's sorted.