Nigelord Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 I have a McLouis MC4-78 MH which I bought in Belgium in 2015 and imported into the UK. Have to say, of all the hurdles I had to overcome to do this (the £20k saving made it worthwhile) - the thing I didn't take into account was the difficulty of getting hold of spare parts in the middle of a pandemic! Having recently hit a low-hanging tree, the MH sustained damage to the two raised corner sections and the opening part of the front roof light. The corner sections aren't too much of a problem as they are literally stuck onto the roof and could probably be fixed as they're only cracked. However, getting a replacement roof light is more essential as obviously water could get in - and I certainly wouldn't want to drive far with it taped over. Even without the problem of Covid, there's no way I'd want to take the MH all the way back to Belgium to get it fixed - and anyway, it appears to be a perfectly straightforward DIY job as it's only the opening light that needs replacing. I have repeatedly tried to contact McLouis to get advice on how best to proceed, but apart from emailing me the address of the current McLouis dealer in the UK - Auto-Sleepers in Willersey - they haven't even bothered to reply. Auto-Sleepers told me they can't supply parts for 2015 models and told me to contact Marquis - who for reasons best known to themselves have shut up shop completely during Covid. Today, I posted a disgruntled message on McLouis' Facebook page outlining the problems I had trying to get in touch with the company - but so far have heard nothing. If anyone else has had similar problems - or could offer a solution - I'd be most grateful to hear from them. I'm currently trying to determine if the front 'Sky Dome' roof light (as it's referred to in the McLouis catalogue) is the same on the current 'Fusion' models as it is on my MC4-78. If so, it should be easier getting a replacement. Any thoughts...? NL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Having a local dealer, I honestly don't see how Mc-Louis could have answered you differently. Have you clarified whether Auto-Sleepers Willersey is the brand's official importer or just a standalone retailer ? Maybe you could answer Mc Louis that the UK dealer they reported to you is unable to help and roughly demanding a solution. Also because it is not acceptable that he is not able to procure parts of a not so old motorhome or at least to provide details on what to buy. Most likely your front roof light is a standard one. Have you tried to see if there is a label on the window with at least the name of the manufacturer. Manufacturers are not an exaggerated number (Seitz, Poliplastic/Polyvision, etc.) and you could try with them. Of course model and size will help a lot. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Nigel, Try contacting EECO and see if they can make you a replacement from what you have left. https://eeco-ltd.co.uk/ Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Depending on how badly it is damaged have you considered a temporary repair. I did mine using fibreglass resin and ribbon. Brian B. ps .Mine is still temporary after 10 years . *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelord Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 Thanks for taking the time to reply Max... In terms of how McLouis could have answered - I think they could have taken notice of the model and year of the MH I have and made sure the dealer they told me to get in touch with actually dealt with vehicles that age - or at least were prepared to. As I've said, they have ignored all subsequent emails I've sent to them. I'm currently waiting to see if a Facebook message prompts any sort of reply. Auto-Sleepers are definitely the brand's current official dealer - but weren't back in 2015 when the MH was built. Quite why there should be a cut-off point for the year of the vehicles a dealer can (or is prepared to) order and supply parts for, I really don't know. They did tell me that Marquis used to be the dealers, but as I've said, they are uncontactable at the moment, so I've no idea whether they'll be any help. If they are no longer the dealers, I rather doubt it. You could (and probably will) argue that it's my own fault for buying the MH on the continent, but surely the manufacturer should be interested in helping out? I'm not trying to get something for nothing here - I'm happy to pay the going rate and am fully expecting the transport costs to be astronomical. As regards finding the manufacture of the roof light - there are no obvious names like Heki or Dometic as there as on the other roof lights, but I'll have another look and see if there's at least number that I can trace it through. What beggars belief is that you have to go to such lengths after spending many tens of thousands of pounds on something like a motorhome... NL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelord Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 Thanks thebishbus for taking the time to reply... What I should have said in my original post was that the low-hanging tree actually only cracked the roof light. What subsequently happened was that while the opening light was unfastened, my wife entered the side door of the MH, and because it was quite a breezy day, it created some sort of 'wind tunnel' effect and blew it out completely - the stays on either side doing nothing to prevent this (I suppose you could point to it being some kind of design fault). I managed to find all the pieces of (I'm guessing) polycarbonate and, as you suggested, bonded them all back together using fibre glass and a transparent epoxy resin. This acted as a reasonable temporary fix, but it really does need a replacement. I haven't dared to have it open since the repair, given the stresses around the hinge areas - particularly when the wind blows! NL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 McLouis motorhomes used to be marketed in the UK in the early 2000s, but there has been no ‘official’ UK presence since then until quite recently when the “Fusion” range began to be sold here. https://www.mclouisfusion.co.uk/ https://www.mclouisfusion.co.uk/about-us https://www.mclouisfusion.co.uk/find-a-centre It’s very optimistic to expect a UK dealership to have any enthusiasm for attempting to source spare parts for a 2015 vehicle purchased abroad during a lengthy period of time when that make of motorhome was missing from the UK marketplace. Although COVID-19 will have complicated matters, obtaining in the UK McLouis-specific parts for any Mclouis motorhome built from (say) 2007 to 2019 will have been a non-starter. Historically, buying a new motorhome abroad to save money and then getting support from UK dealerships has proven to be tricky - and that’s when the make of motorhome was being imported officially into this country. The Belgian original vendor would be the best bet for sourcing the necessary parts - at least Nigel would have had a past relationship with that dealership. More on McLouis here https://www.motorhomescampervans.net/trigano-group/mclouis-motorhome-group/ (In 2005 I bought a Hobby motorhome from a German dealership and imported the vehicle to the UK myself. I then discovered that there was a major problem with the heating system due to a fault at the build stage. Brownhills was the sole UK Hobby motorhome dealership at the time and had a reputation for extreme reluctance handling under-warranty wotk on ’self-imported’ motorhomes. I never attempted to involve Brownhills and (given the nature of the issue) I was pretty sure that the German dealer would insist my motorhome be returned to the Hobby factory for attention. Fortunately I was able to successfully address the fault myself. I told the motorhome dealer who used to service the Hobby about this and he said “That’s a 3-way win for you then”. I asked what this meant and he said “1: You can enjoy slagging off Hobby for poor quality control. 2: Your revised heating system is now much better than Hobby’s original design. 3: People will be impressed by what a clever bu**er you are.”) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Nigelord - 2021-03-26 2:00 AM As regards finding the manufacture of the roof light - there are no obvious names like Heki or Dometic as there as on the other roof lights, but I'll have another look and see if there's at least number that I can trace it through. What beggars belief is that you have to go to such lengths after spending many tens of thousands of pounds on something like a motorhome... NL If you can't find the label with the brand, try to look at the edge of the plexiglass too, it is often engraved there. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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