Nuevo Split on body

Hi
I have noticed on my 2012 Nuevo EK a small split on the top near side corner. It is about 50mm long and has a sort of pimple in the middle. I have taken it back to the dealer who will be contacting the manufacturer. Has anyone else had this happen??

Could be a stress fracture, something that's not that uncommon with any GRP body-shell be it boats or motorhomes

That sounds serious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Does that mean I require a new body??????????

I've got two on my 2009 EK.
The first is on the rear top nearside and is a series of 3 little cracks, each about 20mm long. They've been there since the van was less than a year old.
The other appeared during an 8 week trip which we've just completed. It's at the top right-hand corner of the upper fridge vent and is about 40mm long.
I'm not overly bothered about either as I appreciate that there must be some flex in the structure - occassionally shown by the habitation door binding slighly when parked on rough ground.
What bothers me more is the way the upholstery is showing signs of wear and some seams actually splitting.
And the freezer hinge snapping.
And the clutch hydraulics giving up after less than 7,000 miles.
And the touch screen failing.
And the floor/table bungs disintegrating.
And lots of the little brown discs that cover screw-heads falling out.
And the fridge failing completely. (A lucky/accidental reset cured that.)
And the AS supplied documentation not including a few fitments, fitted by them.

None particularly huge and we really like everything else about the vehicle but will make me think thrice about buying another AS.

Norrie wrote:we really like everything else about the vehicle but will make me think thrice about buying another AS.

I always feel obliged to come to Auto-Sleepers defense when reading posts like this, as most of these problems are just as likely in any other motorhome conversion.



* freezer hinge snapping.
Fault of the fridge manufacturer not Auto-Sleepers

* clutch hydraulics giving up after less than 7,000 miles.
Fault of base vehicle ie Peugeot not Auto-Sleepers

* touch screen failing.
Fault of the Panel manufacturer ie Sargent not Auto-Sleepers

* floor/table bungs disintegrating.
Again fault of manufacturer.

* lots of the little brown discs that cover screw-heads falling out.
Hardly surprising considering our roads, AS can only use whats available.

* fridge failing completely. (A lucky/accidental reset cured that.)
Again fault of manufacturer not Auto-Sleeper



In response to the original post - Stress fractures are caused by 'Stress' through movement / flexing or through some kind of impact.

Hi Norrie.

Quite agree with admin over this. All motorhome manufacturers have the same problems. The reasons for these problems are.

The general opinion is that the requirment is for larger motorhomes with more facilities and equipment fitted.

To allow for this and meet the weight requirments things have to get lighter and smaller including a smaller engine for economy .

The older motorhomes are heavier have less in the way of luxury bigger engines etc. so tend to be more robust.

But to the point it ain't just Autosleeper with problems some manufacturers are far worse.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Whisky.

My question was about a split in the body. It seems the post has been high jacked by some to have a moan at AS. I am not blaming AS. All I have asked is it serious. Another question is 'can it be repaired'?

There are quite a few factors to consider.
Where its at.
How big is it.
Is it going to get any bigger.
How visible is it.
How good is the repairer.
Will the repair be visible. After repair or in the future.
If stress of the body is the reason. Will it happen again after repair.

Basically only a good bodyshop would be able to advise.
Sometimes a fine crack in the fibreglass gel coat dosn't get any worse.

Good Luck sorting it out.
Let us know how you get on.

Cheers Whisky.

PS. Boy o boy that avitar hurts the eyes.

Didn't mean to hijack the topic and it wasn't intended to be a moan about AS - just a statement about my cracks and some other points - so I apologise on both counts.

I appreciate that vehicle manufacturers are are seldom just that; they are largely assemblers of suppliers' parts, but it's their job to ensure that they are supplying parts of acceptable quality. My equivalent-value Mercedes car isn't wholly made up of parts manufactured by Mercedes, they buy many of them in. The car's been faultless.

By far our biggest problem was the clutch and that cost us 10 days in a French hotel - Peugeot's fault totally and from what I understand a very uncommon set of circumstances.

Apart from the cracks the others are mostly just fixable niggles, but niggles which I didn't expect after buying a premium brand. You live and learn......

Most fractures are just cosmetic ie cracks which are confined to the surface gel-coat. Special gel-coat filler pre-coloured to match your body is available from Cheltenham Laminates who make the motorhome shells for Auto-Sleeper I understand. As long as fractures do not penetrate into the main laminate there is no reason to be overly concerned. Repairs usually involve drilling a hole at the end of each crack in order to stop the cracking or crazing going further, then raking out the existing crazing or fracture and filling with the pre-coloured gelcoat filler which is then finished with wet and dry paper and finally being polished out. It's possible to do yourself, but something I would entrust to a professional like the Auto-Sleeper service centre or a marine workshop who have experience in this field.

Admin wrote:Most fractures are just cosmetic ie cracks which are confined to the surface gel-coat. Special gel-coat filler pre-coloured to match your body is available from Cheltenham Laminates who make the motorhome shells for Auto-Sleeper I understand. As long as fractures do not penetrate into the main laminate there is no reason to be overly concerned. Repairs usually involve drilling a hole at the end of each crack in order to stop the cracking or crazing going further, then raking out the existing crazing or fracture and filling with the pre-coloured gelcoat filler which is then finished with wet and dry paper and finally being polished out. It's possible to do yourself, but something I would entrust to a professional like the Auto-Sleeper service centre or a marine workshop who have experience in this field.

Especially when the vehicle is a year old! I'd be taking it to an AS dealer and have the Factory come to you to sort it out and pay for the inconvenience!

We're talking about a year old vehicle costing £50K vehicle here with cracks.

The company I purchased the van from arranged for me to take it to a body repairers at St Annes. They did a great job (I think, as i am not an expert). When I collected the van they showed me the photos. They had remove about a saucer size piece of body, filled it sand paper down and painted it. 

I asked why such a big hole for a small split. The answer was they wanted to make sure it had not punctured the body work. They did not know what caused it to split.

My concern now is will it happen again. Every time I stop somewhere I walk round the van looking for splits.

I will be writing to AS and the dealer I purchased it from with my concerns.

I will keep you all informed what happens next.