kevandali Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hi everyone Me and my better half are still thinking of downsizing slightly and have noticed the Auto sleeper Wilton with the U shaped lounge. I wanted to move away from Fiat and give the transit chassis a try. Has anyone out there got or had an Auto Sleeper Wilton and would like to express their opinion, both good and bad. We have really only just started looking but wanted to try and get as much info as possible before starting to visit dealerships have the Auto Cruise Range. I do realise that I have to consider the fact that if four people are travelling then four seat belts are ideal. [red](In fact, just spoke to the boss and 4 seat belts are a must)[/red] As always any help appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I have an 08 autosleeper Windsor based on Ford, center and not rear lounge I know but it lets me give an opinion of quality against my Rear loungeSwift Bolero/Fiat x250/130 also new 08 which I got rid of after a few months. A/S quality much better than Swift, it A/S seems crafted rather than assembled from parts. The Bolero looked beautiful + modern and my A/S a bit staid + quality. I am very pleased that I changed and that comment includes the fact that it cost me several thousand to do so. The only option I would recommend for the A/S is to have the Truma Heating pack which does away with the Eberspacher diesel system. I love my A/S Windsor and would have bought the Wilton but it was just too long for my drive. Good luck with your search and final choice. Send me a PM if you want to talk about my experiences Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 Thanks Mike Info much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 The Windsor does have the four seatbelts you require. Ours was reg July 08 and we spent 5 weeks in Spain in Sept/Oct 08.(4 weeks in the Bolero in May 08) The beds in both were easy to make up and very comfortable. We do like the rear lounge but were forced to have the front lounge to get the 4 seatbelts. Having had Rear lounge on the Bolero and front lounge on the Windsor I would choose the front lounge as being the best overall. Got average 28 mpg and generally cruised at 55/60 mph. If you look at other makes please use the search facility on the forum to get an appreciation of members views on various makes quality and longevity. I know that I would recommend Autosleeper based on Ford without any hesitation, but have tried to give as unbiased a view as I can. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 We had an Autosleeper Nuevo (New in 2006) for 2 years and it was back at the factory 3 times for water leaks through roof ventillators. Several other warranty repairs done at the dealers. Met several other dissappointed Nuevo owners. It seems that any brand can produce an unlucky example, but just giving our experiences, as requested. I know, from talking to Charles Trevellyan at A/S, that the self adhesive sealing strips they use for ventillator frame attachment to roofs are not entirely to his satisfaction. 'Not as good as the mastic we used to use'. Our Dealer said he would recommend adding a fillet of silicone seal around the ventillator frame, but I decided not to do this as it may affect warranty issues, but if I had it would probably have saved a lot of hassle. Neil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAS Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 We were at Autosleepers factory last year having the leaky window fixed in our Tally and another bloke was there having an extra heating vent put in his Wilton. He was very disappointed that there was only the one heating vent in the whole of the van and that was at the back in the lounge but when the bed was made up it was under the bed. He thought it was inadequate and complained to Autosleepers and the design dept and they fitted him another vent. So if you decide to get one check how many heating outlets there are as one is not enough for this size van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted February 1, 2009 Author Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks for all your advice, I might have to do away with our main requirement of a rear U shaped lounge in favour of safety and having two extra belts fitted for passengers. I know the seat belt issue has been covered in other threads but it seems crazy that a 4 berth van does not allow you to carry 4 people safely. I suppose my next option is to try and find out if any 4 berth U shaped lounge models actually have seat belts fitted in the lounge area? Maybe a central lounge will have to be the answer? Any other ideas/help much appreciated Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailendcharley Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 :-D :-D Hi, Keep us updated regarding this one...I too are looking at a A/S Wilton so would welcome your observations... Regards :-D :-D Smithy ;-) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Come on peeps, I am still looking, but .......... Are there actually any U shaped lounge type vans out there that have seat belts fitted in the rear lounge? I haven't seen any but I am sure one of you wily old motorhome travellers would have come across any, if they are out there. No offence caused by the Wily or old bit, probably experienced and well traveled would be better? As always, any help much appreciated. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAS Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 No I`ve never seen a m/h with seatbelts fitted in a rear lounge lay out. They`re never fitted on sideways facing seats and I think they must be considered too dangerous to fit to the seats right across the back. Imagine if you got a shunt up the rear end....there`s not much protection that close to the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 kevandali The only motorhome I'm aware of with factory-fitted seat-belts as part of a U-shaped rear lounge layout was the Robel Delmun 620HD (report in MMM November 2005). This had lap-belts for the seating on each end of the "U" with padded bulkheads alongside them. The report commented "MMM does not consider lap-only seatbelts an ideal solution for safe travel". A motorhome with a rear U-lounge usually has a goodly rear overhang. On bumpy roads this will mean plenty of up-and-down movement of the vehicle's back end. Ignoring having passengers seated with their spines just a couple of inches away from any rear-end shunt protected only by tin-foil and polystyrene foam, it's still not going to be a nice place in which to travel even if one is immune to motion sickness. Personally, I've no problem if the number seats, berths and seat-belts in a motorhome don't match. The motorhome converter chooses the layout and it's up to potential buyers to decide whether or not that layout suits their requirements. It's not as if a seats/berths/belts numerical mismatch is hard to spot. When passenger safety is a priority, then 3-point seat-belts are a must, and if a particular layout is unsuitable for fitting such belts (like a U-lounge), or a motorhome design fails to include sufficient 3-point belted seats, then it must be rejected however much it otherwise appeals. If a new motorhome is being contemplated, it should be straightforward enough to produce an initial shopping-list based on the belted-seats/berths/layout relationship as these data are available in the Buyers' Guide listings in MMM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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