New motorhome issue
Discussion
Good morning all, I am just gauging opinions before going further to sense check my thoughts.
At the end of June I bought a brand new XXXXXXXX motorhome for approaching £80,000, and on the whole all has been well aside of a few niggles/GC issues which were so minor I sorted them myself.
However of late I have noticed more & more that the supplied (memory foam) mattress has been sagging more & more, and now (less than 3 months in) has got to the point where when I lie down all I can feel is the bed framework in the middle of my back.
IMHO the design of the supporting frame work isn't great as there are large gaps in the slats either side of a substantially raised metal hinge to allow underneath access.
Am I being reasonable to expect that as there is no "upgrade" option offered for the mattress that I should expect it to last longer, or am I just a victim of "fair wear & tear"?
I am going to look into Ts & Cs of the warranty, but just wanted to gauge opinions also.
At the end of June I bought a brand new XXXXXXXX motorhome for approaching £80,000, and on the whole all has been well aside of a few niggles/GC issues which were so minor I sorted them myself.
However of late I have noticed more & more that the supplied (memory foam) mattress has been sagging more & more, and now (less than 3 months in) has got to the point where when I lie down all I can feel is the bed framework in the middle of my back.
IMHO the design of the supporting frame work isn't great as there are large gaps in the slats either side of a substantially raised metal hinge to allow underneath access.
Am I being reasonable to expect that as there is no "upgrade" option offered for the mattress that I should expect it to last longer, or am I just a victim of "fair wear & tear"?
I am going to look into Ts & Cs of the warranty, but just wanted to gauge opinions also.
Spare tyre said:
Sometimes I resolve issues like this myself as keeping stuff away from others hands where possible is usually better for the greater good
How about stapling some webbing in the opposite direction to the slats
Light weight and removable
I think I mean staple the webbing to itself rather than the bed
Good luck either way
Whilst I totally agree & have a plan slightly similar long term, before doing so I would like to start with a good condition mattress when I do so.How about stapling some webbing in the opposite direction to the slats
Light weight and removable
I think I mean staple the webbing to itself rather than the bed
Good luck either way
Escort3500 said:
E-bmw said:
Escort3500 said:
Agree. The MF mattress on a slatted base in ours is still perfect after 16 months/10k miles.
What make is the van?
I won't be naming in case N & S rules are broken.What make is the van?
I think with the universal use of Memory foam (which I am still not 100% convinced is actually any good) they seem to all have gone thinner, which is obviously much lighter, and lighter is obviously good in a travelling vehicle with weight restrictions, so I think all are the same unless perhaps if you go to the heavier vehicles it may be an upgrade.
Sorry, I forgot to update this one.
I highlighted a few issues with the construction of the bed base that didn't help matters (larger than ideal gaps in the lats at vital points, slightly raised steel cross members where the bed base hinges, a V-shaped cut-out in the mattress at the hinge point) when looking closely at the design of the bed.
These were addressed by me with a few adjustments/adaptations to adjust lat position/bridge a couple of over-sized gaps/insert a foam wedge and the bed is now much batter.
Along the way, I have just found out that (surprise/surprise) these things are built to a budget, I have to say along with other findings about the motorhome I will NEVER be able to recommend the brand as many of these are just ridiculous!
Failing to bother with a handful of "screw-hiders" to enhance looks, using a bit less (AKA. Not enough) velcro to hold trims in place, over-screwing screws in so that I have had to use match-sticks etc to be able to tighten screws up properly, scrimping on mains sockets, poor quality control, cheapest possible sub-components, amongst the biggest issues.
We are shortly at the 1 year into our ownership & since buying it we have yet to go away without already having a warranty fix booking in place. If it weren't for the fact that we absolutely love the van & have found that it does absolutely everything with basically zero compromises for our usage we would have given up on it many months ago.
Yes, all of the issues were relatively simple fixes, but when you spend £80,000 on a motorhome, I never expected to have these issues.
Can't/won't name/shame obviously (so don't ask me to) but we are on the verge of a strongly worded letter to the manufacturer & dealer.
I highlighted a few issues with the construction of the bed base that didn't help matters (larger than ideal gaps in the lats at vital points, slightly raised steel cross members where the bed base hinges, a V-shaped cut-out in the mattress at the hinge point) when looking closely at the design of the bed.
These were addressed by me with a few adjustments/adaptations to adjust lat position/bridge a couple of over-sized gaps/insert a foam wedge and the bed is now much batter.
Along the way, I have just found out that (surprise/surprise) these things are built to a budget, I have to say along with other findings about the motorhome I will NEVER be able to recommend the brand as many of these are just ridiculous!
Failing to bother with a handful of "screw-hiders" to enhance looks, using a bit less (AKA. Not enough) velcro to hold trims in place, over-screwing screws in so that I have had to use match-sticks etc to be able to tighten screws up properly, scrimping on mains sockets, poor quality control, cheapest possible sub-components, amongst the biggest issues.
We are shortly at the 1 year into our ownership & since buying it we have yet to go away without already having a warranty fix booking in place. If it weren't for the fact that we absolutely love the van & have found that it does absolutely everything with basically zero compromises for our usage we would have given up on it many months ago.
Yes, all of the issues were relatively simple fixes, but when you spend £80,000 on a motorhome, I never expected to have these issues.
Can't/won't name/shame obviously (so don't ask me to) but we are on the verge of a strongly worded letter to the manufacturer & dealer.
Escort3500 said:
Hopefully you re still enjoying yours despite the setbacks 
100%, if it weren't for that we would have bailed by now.Just booked up another warranty visit for flooded light clusters!
We were without a reliable heating system from October last year until very recently despite repeated attempts. If it weren't for the fact that we specced air con that also heats we would have been lost.
Escort3500 said:
E-bmw said:
Escort3500 said:
Hopefully you re still enjoying yours despite the setbacks
100%, if it weren't for that we would have bailed by now.Just booked up another warranty visit for flooded light clusters!
We were without a reliable heating system from October last year until very recently despite repeated attempts. If it weren't for the fact that we specced air con that also heats we would have been lost.
The flooded light cluster sounds grim too
The issue was (as with many other issues we have had) shoddy workmanship, one of the connections (van side) was poorly made off & either didn't make contact correctly or made such a poor contact that it didn't flow enough current to keep it going.
The light cluster are the cheapest of the cheap (probably from Temu-tat) round LED clusters.
Escort3500 said:
The Gauge said:
I bought a brand new caravan in 2019. First trip away the the bathroom sink leaked into the cupboard below as the waste pipes hadn't been fitted correctly. Same happened with the kitchen sink. I replied them myself as it otherwise meant having to tow the caravan back to the dealer and leave it with them, for a simple job I could do myself.
Seats bases were so thin and uncomfortable I took them to Regal Upholsters in Ilkeston to get them re-foamed,
Mattress was awful so had a new pocket spunk mattress made by Jonic.
They really are made to a budget.
Agree. When we were buying, the build quality of most of the motorhomes we looked at was appalling (and sadly many were British). We ended up with a Burstner, which was largely trouble free. Talking to a couple with a new Niesmann + Bischoff at a campsite last year, we were amazed when they told us they d had lots of problems with it. On a £140k motorhome Seats bases were so thin and uncomfortable I took them to Regal Upholsters in Ilkeston to get them re-foamed,
Mattress was awful so had a new pocket spunk mattress made by Jonic.
They really are made to a budget.
The make, I will be glad to see the last of the dealer interventions though as they haven't been brilliant TBH.
We will be in touch with the manufacturer when all is done as IMHO their quality control was pretty much non-existant.
I will admit it is an Autotrail & although I can't recommend them for the above reason, the van is (aside of the issues) absolutely perfect for our wants/needs & now most things are working as they should & stuck on properly we are enjoying it all the more, but maybe our experiences have just been typical rather than extreme.
Spuffington said:
I'm convinced I was just unlucky with a "Friday van" rather than it being a systemic issue within their manufacturing process.
TBH, I have had that thought myself several times.I was given a delivery date, then Autotrail said it was going to be late, but it arrived at them just in time & then I got it from the dealer a day after it should have been & I have wondered how "rushed" they might have been to get it out in time.
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