geoff111 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Am seriously thinking about buying a small Chausson but have some doubts about the quality of the construction and furnishings. Any comments would be very welcome. With thanks..... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I am not aware of any quality problems. They are a sound french marque in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnerontheroad Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Loads of French, Belguns and Dutch have them here in Spain so can't be that bad, I like the look of them but no research yet. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjmike Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 As Peter said a well respected French Marque. The quality of fixtures and fittings are good and they include things like bike rack locations pre-drilled, tow bar wiring pre-installed.Over all a good package Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Nothing wrong with ours had no probs to speak of and quality seems comparable to any other make IMO We are very happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We've got an '08 Chausson Allegro 83..and we've found the build quality to be up there with the supposed "better" makes(..it's certainly better designed and finished,than our friend's Burstner Nexxo). Having said that,they don't make the Allegro range anymore..and as I think they were the "top" models,I'm not sure what sits where in their range now... (..I assume they've just evened out/raised the build/trim levels throughout the remainder of the range?)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Being French they mostly have the typical continental style layout of half dinette and fixed bed which, as long as the specific layout suits your taste and camping style, should be fine. I have never owned one because the layouts have never suited our taste (an observation - not a criticism!) but we have often looked at various Chausson vans and the build quality has always seemed fair enough for the cost - indeed often somewhat better than some UK made vans these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We have a Chausson Flash 04 and i must say that after a few weeks of running wires through cupboards under the van and all points in between for some extra lights and a solar panel i cant fault anything they are well screwed together. Perhaps lacking minor finishing touches (i have had to fit shelves in the cupboards and fit a bit of edging) but absolutely no build quality problems with them. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawcara Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We also have a Chausson Flash 04 on a Ford chassis. It is excellent for us. Build quality is good and was good value for money compared to all other makes. Whilst we have only had it for one year and we would not think of changing it, if we were in the same situation again, we would buy the same van. Highbridge seem a good firm to deal with :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Hi Geoff ... welcome to the mad house! :-D We have a 2010 Chausson Flash 04, quality-wise it is probably in the 'mid' range (no particularly fancy finishes etc but that suits us). I've been trying to think of anything that's needed attention and came up with the following: 1) Most infuriating thing is the stupid shower screen catches (pull to release stud type) one of which releases itself in transit although I think I may have finally found the problem - it looks like one of the small 'gripping' pieces is out of alignment so I'll have to sort it out. 2) Overcab storage compartment 'hold-open' hinge - first one didn't work and kept coming apart, we got a replacement from Highbridge no problem, but that's gone the same way ... will replace it with another type. 3) Screw missing at outer top of washroom wall ... the hole was there, just no screw ... *-) 4) Decor panels at either end of lockers over bed were not totally 'straight' - not a massive problem but they annoyed me so I sorted them! :D 5) Mirror in washroom came loose (unstuck) at bottom corner, but has now decided to stick itself back again! Also noticed that the washroom sink isn't 'level' but should be easy to sort as I can get at the bracket under the sink. 6) Small piece of trim needed to be stuck back on side facing seat base - we assume it had been 'caught' when our 2nd leisure battery was fitted so not really a fault as such. :-S 7) Draughty grill as it has a large vent on the outside (same as fridge vents) - probably from when an oven was fitted in earlier models - sorted by fitting a winter vent which allows some air flow. 8) Habitation door external 'hold-back' catch broke ... twice ... not a good design (Chausson's own and expensive to replace) so we changed it for another type. 9) Fridge catch has a tendency to jam in it's slot (not Chausson's fault) - has happened twice now but we know how to sort it. 10) Finally, the nearside skirt capping just behind the bottom of the passenger door has got a crack in it where it has rubbed against the holding screw, but that will get sorted under warranty. All the above are quite minor in reality, and we've certainly had much more major issues on other 'vans (especially our by comparison 'expensive' Rapido 709F where the control panel was faulty and had to be replaced, badly crazed bumpers and locker doors, cabinet doors separating from their frames, roof sealant degrading, badly fitted habitation doors, etc, etc, etc) so all in all we're more than happy with our van and would certainly get one again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff111 Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Many thanks for the helpful reply. Conclusion seems to be minor niggles only. Do you have any views on possible longer term problems eg water ingress? Thanks again Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dave Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I wonder why out of all the Motorhomes available to purchase you think that a Chausson will be any more suceptable to water ingress and of any worse construction than any other coachbuilt Motorhome?. To be honest when we purchased ours we were well aware all coachbuilts can suffer from damp it goes with the flexing of the construction during transit, the sealants used and to some the extent luck of the draw. But if you have any doubt and you obviously do have doubts, its probably best not to purchase one and no comments on a forum such as this will probably ever convince you otherwise. However whichever marque you choose you could have issues. Chausson have a 5 year watertightness warranty from new, however a damp test has to be carried out annually to take advantage of this. We looked around for 4-5 years before purchasing our van which was 18 months old when we got it and had all of your thoughts and worries during the search, but at the end of the day beware because you can talk yourself out of any van that you consider. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff111 Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks Dave. It's just that, as with all manufactured things, some people are better at it than others.and Which?,for example, always produces reliability guides for car purchase purposes. If quality is a real issue with cars then I would have thought a similar situation exists for motorhomes. Cheers Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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