autocruise pioneer jolliet

[buck111]

hi,anyone got any info on a autocruise pioneer jolliet motorhome 2008.is it built by swift?any hints or tips on them cheers

[maggyd]

Well there are a few Autocruise owners on here and we are the owners of an 2013 Alto, were very pleased up to now, our last motorhome was a Swift Kontiki 2003 which gave us good service and we had no complaints, you can only speak as you find, it was well built with well made interior on a Fiat engine, this one is Peugeot I think they are the same.

 

Maybe someone with the pioneer will give you what you want if they have experience of that model, but stand back and wait for the British made knockers (lol) take all advice and then you make up your own mind after you have had a good look at the van yourself and looked at its history.

 

Good luck.

[flicka]

Hi Buck

It's not an easy one to answer.

If it's the Pioneer badge, chances are that it started production under the old Autocruise company, but as Swift's bought the company late 2008 it's also possible that it was ex factory during Swift's ownership.

As far as I'm aware Swift never marketed any with the Pioneer badge.

If you are worried, it might be worth an e-mail to Swift's with the VIN to see if they have records.

 

It will be out of manufacturer's warranty anyway, so you will be reliant on Dealer.

The only problem we had with our Autocruise Sportstar was the battery charger failed & replaced under warranty.

If it is fitted with the Nordelectronica Control Panel, there were numerous posts on various forums about their unreliability & Nordelectronica went into liquidation in 2009. They have resurfaced but with a much reduced range so spares are sparse. However there is a company in the UK (regularly post on Swift-talk) who can repair or provide a solution.

[Derek Uzzell]

Swift took over Autocruise in October 2007 (not late-2008) and reported at that time that the "Pioneer" brand-name would no longer be used. Consequently, any motorhome bearing the Pioneer name should have been manufactured by the original Autocruise company not by 'Swift/Autocruise'.

 

An example of a 2008 Jolliet is shown here:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/Motorhomes/For-Sale/Details/Used-2008-Autocruise-Pioneer-Jolliet/235287

 

The Jolliet was essentially an Autocruise "Starfire" with minor cosmetic changes (different furniture/upholstery colour options, etc.) This should be apparent from these Starfire-related adverts:

 

http://showroom.southdownsmotorcaravans.co.uk/used-autocruise-starfire-motorhome-u1893-2671-0.html#

 

 

http://www.findacaravan.co.uk/motorhome-details/autocruise-starfire-dorset-20255

 

I was under the impression that a Jolliet was slightly cheaper than a Starfire, but the price-list in a 2007 "Which Motorcaravan" magazine indicates the opposite - Starfire=£34495 Jolliet=£35195

 

There's an earlier Jolliet-related forum thread here:

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Joliet-Motorhome/20680/#M226323

 

Regarding a 2008 Jolliet's 'chassis weight', the standard chassis will have been 3400kg.

 

I can't find any on-line reviews that would be applicable to a 2008 Jolliet (or to a same-vintage Autocruise-made Starfire), but it was a fairly conventional design except for the 'swing wall' bathroom.

[dick GCT]

Hi, our first M/H was a 2003 Pioneer Jolliet ,built by Autocruise. A really lovely van,a layout that suited us. Build quality was good ,we only changed it for an Autocruise Stargazer because we needed a bigger van.

As other people mention, the 2008 van was probably built by Autocruise,not Swift, so I do not think you can go far wrong.

[Derek Uzzell]

dick GCT - 2013-10-09 10:57 AM

 

...As other people mention, the 2008 van was probably built by Autocruise,not Swift, so I do not think you can go far wrong.

 

There seems to be a perception that Autocruise build quality was better than average and Swift's is not. This may or may not be true, but it's a dangerous belief when discussing a motorhome that will have been made some 6 years ago. Few people would buy a 6-year-old car (whatever its make) and expect it to be as problem-free as it should have been when new and motorhomes, being relatively crudely built, tend not to age well and are particularly vulnerable to water-ingress damage.

 

This Caravan Club forum thread contains references to damp problems with pre-Swift Autocruise models

 

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/community/discussions/technical/motorhomes/Damp-in-an-Autocruise-Stardream/rt/26698/

 

There's no reason to think that a 2008 Jolliet should be in poor condition, but it would be unwise to suggest that it should be fault-free merely because Autocruise built it in 2007. It's a 6-years-old motorhome and should be treated with healthy suspicion at the buying stage (as should all secondhand motorhomes). As the idiom goes "hope for the best but expect the worst".