itz Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hi everyone, I am a new to this forum & new to the world of camping and motor homes. I have just bought my first motorhome and being a total newbie now discover I really should have thought it through a little more. I do not have heating or cruise control, everything else is just what I need, layout, size, easy to drive etc. My question is how easy and how much to have both heating and cruise control retro fitted to a McLouis 361, and any recommendations for where would be the best place to go for this work to be carried out. I should state that price is an important consideration, I hope to get this done for about £1,000 to £1,200. or less would be even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 For heating while hooked up consider a cheap fan heater. My car has Cruise control and on a recent trip to France found it very useful on motorways but for much of the UK traffic conditions are so congested I cannot be bothered with all the fiddling about. I do not have it on my motorcaravan and as I rarely use motorway on the continent do not miss it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capstan55 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Would have thought all MHs would have some form of heating for the habitation area, however, main dealer would be able to answer questions about retro fitting. We have cruise control and find that you dont have to be on an Autoroute to use it. Traffic is not so heavy as the UK, except for towns and cities. We regularly use the one on our Chausson once out of towns etc with no problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Whilst it may not be functioning, I'd be quite surprised if such a 'van didn't originally have heating. Are you sure there isn't any fitted. It may be hidden away, but blown-air circular outlets should be easy to spot. I like cruise-control, and have specified it on my new 'vans, but I'm not sure I'd bother to retrofit onto an older van. However, if you do want it, then depending on base vehicle, it should be fittable at about half your target outlay. As examples, two well-known suppliers/fitters: http://davenewell.co.uk/cruise-control/ http://www.conrad-anderson.co.uk/wizard/cruise-control/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 You need to check again as this one has blown air heating. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/McLouis-361-fiat-Ducato-1-9-TD-Turbo-Diesel-/221899359351 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itz Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Many thanks for the swift replies, I have had a look at the sites mentioned for cruise control fitting, I will probably buy a kit from them and have it done locally. I am still concerned about having no heating, as I visit motor racing circuits (as a spectator) it wont always be possible to hook up to mains, I may buy a generator so I can use a domestic fan heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have a McLouis 363 and this model has blown air heating , ie truma combi boiler.Your 361 model should have the same. You should not need a generator as your leisure battery should be enough, if not fit another battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have to say that I am not convinced by cruise control. I had an aftermarket version fitted to my second van and it came as standard on the next two. I found that I hardly used it, even on motorways. I found that my fuel consumption deteriorated on cruise control as it cannot foresee what is happening so, for example, when coming up to the crown of a hill I can ease back whilst the cruise just keeps trying to maintain its speed. I reckoned it made about 1 or 2 mpg difference depending on the terrain. I haven't bothered for my current van and did not miss it on the last 4500 mile 6 week trip. Of course that is just my experience and I know lots of people use them but I would question cost/benefit of having one fitted. Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will H Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I would never be without Cruise Control, its used at 30 mph as often as possible and, depending what vehicle and type, it can be used for quite normal driving, the speed can be increased or decreased by the touch of a button on the CC stalk, leaving the accelerator pedal alone. (The days of having to waggle a stick around for gear changing when driving are long gone) On your heating I've no comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 I'd not like to be without cruise control especialy on long journeys. Takes a bit of,getting used to and become confident with it. Don't forget you can nudge the speed up,or,down as required and or easily switch it on or off when required. When you brake it will automatically cut of and you will need to hit rsume or reset it. If you come up,behind say some slow moving lorries you can just put you foot down to overtake them then lift off and you will drop back to yout selected speed. I'm not to keen on using it after dark or in conditions of poor visibility due to heavy rain with spray or fog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 CC is great once you're used to it. I've had it on all my last few cars and now on my Transit based Roller Team MH. For yours, presumably on the Ducato chassis, google search for 'retrofit cruise control Fiat Ducato' and you'll find it at a few places for around £450. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 You will have a heater for the air and water have you seen any controls that don't mean anything to you? Look for the name Trauma on some controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itz Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Thanks again for all your replies, I am off in the morning to see my friendly garage man, hopeful he will be able to install a gas heater and of course he will tell me if it is already fitted. I made rather a snap decision to buy MH haven't a clue about anything, don't even know where the leisure battery is or if it has one. Been reading through loads of threads on this forum and the more I read the more I feel totally in over my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 The leisure battery should be under the drivers seat, also the control for heating is on the panel under the cooker hob. Suggest you go back to where you bought it and ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Flat panel gas heaters are common on caravans and an easy fit to a wall without modifying your interior. CC is a personal thing, in the UK I rarely use it at roads are so congested that I am constantly adjusting it. My son uses it all the time. But there are probably more urgent things needed for the money. Live with it for a while and see what is a priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Cruise control is the best gadget on the van. I just hit pause if I come up behind anything, and then resume when it clears. Using the up/down feature for this isn't as good because it isn't quick enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itz Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Once again thanks for the replies. It seems I do have heating, three outlets, one under table, one in shower toilet and one under bed, it is just not working, the leisure battery is a small one under drivers seat. I have booked a mobile MH engineer to come and have a look next week so will update once he has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itz Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Once again thanks for the replies. It seems I do have heating, three outlets, one under table, one in shower toilet and one under bed, it is just not working, the leisure battery is a small one under drivers seat. I have booked a mobile MH engineer to come and have a look next week so will update once he has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will H Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 itz - 2015-10-15 12:17 AM I made rather a snap decision to buy MH haven't a clue about anything, don't even know where the leisure battery is or if it has one. Been reading through loads of threads on this forum and the more I read the more I feel totally in over my head. You're certainly not the first and I doubt you will be the last to buy on impulse. I took 3 years deciding and hired twice before hand. Most don't go to that extreme but once decided I never change. Many are never satisfied and repeatedly look for their perfect model. However stick with it, there's a lot of help on here with many very experienced owners. Note that we all had to start somewhere. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 itz While on-line forums can be a valuable resource of information and advice, for a general overview of motorhomes and their technicalities nothing beats a good book. John Wickersham’s “Motorcaravan Manual” is one of the best http://tinyurl.com/o7c4ubh and, if buying the manual goes against the grain, it should be possible to loan it from a local library. You haven’t said when your McLouis 361 motorhome was manufactured, but on-line adverts suggest that it’s likely to be 10 years or more old. Major appliances in motorhomes (heaters, fridges, etc.) can be horribly expensive to repair/replace, so I suggest you put retro-fitting cruise-control on the back-burner until you can be sure sorting out the heating problem won’t cost much. It’s perhaps worth adding that a system retro-fitted to a vehicle that was never designed to have cruise-control as original equipment (OE) should not be expected to be as sophisticated as the OE type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Agree with the posts, focus on getting to know your van and ensuring everything it has works properly. Then think about Cruise Control. It's quite possible you will be in for a few bills after your mobile engineer has been - is he a member of the Approved Workshop Scheme or MCEA [Mobile Caravan Engineers Association]? If not, satisfy yourself the engineer knows what s/he is doing. If your heater is gas, then getting an electric source of heating is a good idea if you intend using electric hook up - such as on sites. We used an oil filled heater running on mains as it is quieter and doesn't make the air as dry as a fan heater, which admittedly are effective at quickly heating up vans and take less space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Derek Uzzell - 2015-10-16 8:14 AM itz While on-line forums can be a valuable resource of information and advice, for a general overview of motorhomes and their technicalities nothing beats a good book. John Wickersham’s “Motorcaravan Manual” is one of the best http://tinyurl.com/o7c4ubh and, if buying the manual goes against the grain, it should be possible to loan it from a local library. You haven’t said when your McLouis 361 motorhome was manufactured, but on-line adverts suggest that it’s likely to be 10 years or more old. Major appliances in motorhomes (heaters, fridges, etc.) can be horribly expensive to repair/replace, so I suggest you put retro-fitting cruise-control on the back-burner until you can be sure sorting out the heating problem won’t cost much. It’s perhaps worth adding that a system retro-fitted to a vehicle that was never designed to have cruise-control as original equipment (OE) should not be expected to be as sophisticated as the OE type. I agree with this. Concentrate on the heater. If you are visiting race circuits I'd guess you will not be able to get a mains hook-up, and a functioning gas fired Truma Combi (for that is what I strongly suspect will have been fitted) will provide space heating and hot water, and will require no more that a gas cylinder and a well charged habitation battery to function. It sounds to me as though you may need to replace the hab battery with one that has adequate capacity. Be aware that leisure batteries are an absolute minefield of misleading information and conflicting opinion, but the general rule is that you get what you pay for. Come back on here when you've worked out what you can fit. To help the initial choice, have a look at Tayna's website, as it has excellent information on capacities and types, but initially more important, the dimensions of the batteries, so you can assess what will physically fit. Don't forget that the height of the battery you choose must give ample clearance for the terminal clamps, especially if the restriction is anything metallic, such as a seat base. Battery terminals shorting onto metalwork tend to have spectacular, but terminal, outcomes! IMO, cruise is a take it or leave it option - probably, as Derek says, not worth fitting until you know the story on the heater. It may just be a matter of fixing a bad connection, or at the other end of the scale, it could mean a new heater - which I think would exceed your budget just to buy. Hopefully not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itz Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 Just an update on my heater. I have had things checked out by a motor-home engineer, tthe heater has been removed at some point and what I hoped was a combination heater is just for the hot water. I am waiting for a quote from the engineer for fitting a new heater, I would like to get a few quotes before going ahead, so I am looking for any suggestions/recommendations on who to contact for quotes, I should add I live just outside of Dover in the South East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoko8pups Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 This man fits cruise control www.davenewell.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoko8pups Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 This man fits cruise control www.davenewell.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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