V-line Sport 620 info required.

[Den]

Hi

We're looking at the V-Line 620 and the Malibu Van.

 

We test drove the Malibu and seemed reasonably quiet during driving.

Does anyone have any feedback on the V-Line. Rattles, faults ect.

We have been told the side windows can rattle and hopefully the 2017 will sort this.

 

Thanks

Den

[Colin Leake]

You may be struggling to get any advice. AutoTrail made such a hash of the spec very few were sold. I've never even seen one on site. Looking at the discounts dealers are offering to get rid of them will give you a clue. Much better to look at the new range without the raised roof which are much more sensibly specified. AutoTrail having done what they should have done in the first place and taken a look at what sells for the opposition.

[SAS]

I have a vine 610 sport and the faults from new have been awful. The windows also do more than rattle. All the present models are having their windows replaced through distortion. There is a vline group on facebook where you will see all the faults people have experienced with these vans. They also have compressor fridges which will whack the juice out of your batteries when not on hook up. Most on the forum seem to agree that AT have compromised practicality with looks on this range and in my opinion they are not worth the money.

[Den]

The compressor fridge would cause me problems, specially as we use Aires mostly.

It was mentioned that the Windows rattle a little while driving. But the salesman didn't mention they were being replaced due to flexing. I thought it was well spec' with the gas tank, solar panel, outside shower, bbq gas point etc.

Unlike the Malibu that we are also looking at.

Back to the drawing board.

Thank you for your posting.

[arthur49]

Interesting.

 

We were considering trading our van in for one of these (or 2017 variant when available). No compressor fridge - a 3 way one.

 

Any feedback on this model?

 

http://www.auto-trail.co.uk/model/vline/610-se

[SAS]

Den look at the V-Line se range on Arthurs link. They also have the 100w solar panel, underslung gas tank, 3 way fridge and microwave. If these models had been around at the time I bought my Sport I would have probably opted for a 610 se or a 635 not the Sport. However they do have a step into the cab from the hab area.

[Den]

That's a thought. I've not studied the brochure, I thought it was the sport that came with the solar panel and gas tank etc.

[Colin Leake]

Try looking at the AutoSleeper alternatives. We have a Warwick XL. Much the same spec as the AutoTrail equivalent but better trimmed and more luxurious. I gaurentee you that if you viewed the two side by side you'd go for the AutoSleeper which AutoTrail have effectively copied for spec but just not done as well. Incidently no window problems as the windows are all bonded flush fitting heat reflecting glass. And before you ask no it does not make it hot or dark inside.

 

Two more bits af advice if you are still looking around. If you look at one of the smaller converters check what arrangements they have for warrenty repairs or service work. Some require you to take it back to their factory! Also avoid those with single panel fixed rear ends. It can look attractive but in realy hot weather the ability to leave the rear doors open can be a blessing.

 

Good luck but do take your time and do your research over a wide range of models rather than focusing on one manufacturer.

[Rayjsj]

I have an Autotrail V Line 600, a late 2014 model, we downsized from a larger Frontier Savannah. We must be odd because we abolutely love it, we are away at present up in the Highlands of Scotland, where today it is very wet,so we are stuck indoors with a large Labrador ! But we are managing fine, easy to drive and park, we have 2 110ah batteries which last upto 4 days off of EHU,(longer if the sun shines onto the 100w solar panel for long enough! ) the compressor drawer fridge is unconventional, but holds much more than we thought it would. And is fairly quiet. Yes, we have 2 windows that have distorted (which is why the dealers do not like the Sport, too much warranty work !) But that is down to Polyplastic, the manufacturers. We love the Winterised double floor, and the large Skyview roof vent, same as our Savannah, with heating elements in the water tanks, we are a fully Winterised PVC, there are not too many of those about ! 2 wonky windows due to be replaced in August (we usually stay home during the school hols, anyway) i say go for the V Line Sport ! Lovely vans. The 620 Sport has the made up rear bed i believe ? We prefer the living space of the 600 or 610 Sport, which has a wrap around rear lounge.

[Den]

We have looked at loads over the years and stayed with A class and coach builds. But now the wife has finally made up OUR minds and wants a PVC.

It's between the V-line and the Malibu at present. The rest being discarded for various reasons.

Thank you to everyone one for there views and suggestions. It all helps and we all miss some detail when purchasing.

Den

[Wallynnette]

Thats very interesting Rayjsj, we down sized to a 2014 V-Line 610 and have been extremely happy with it. No rattles at all, but we do have one 'wonky' window that seems to come and go depending on outside temperature. Its got like two round depressions side by side and if it ever mists up (the only one to do this) it mists in exactly the same place. As this is only just over 19 months old I would have thought it was a warranty job. My dealer sent off the pics to Autotrail and they said it was cosmetic. So my question is, should I contact Autotrail direct, its such a shame as its just the one window that lets it down.

[Don636]

I looked at the V-line a few times before buying a Vantage Neo in 2014 but discounted it because it seemed to be form over function and the build quality of the ones I went into was awful with every single one having various bit hanging off or broken - very flimsy IMHO. Our Vantage is very robust with no faults in 3 seasons so far.

[Rayjsj]

Wallynette, I would say persevere at the dealer, and also E-mail Steve Moverley at Autotrail, who is deeply involved in solving this problem steve.moverley@auto-trail.co.uk and copy the e-mail to your dealer, you need to get the faulty window changed before your warranty runs out.

It is NOT just cosmetic, when the window distorts the leading edges no longer sit flush with the vehicle body, making them flutter at any speed over 40mph, and as the window is only held closed by 3 plastic catches, there is a danger of the window detaching..heaven forbid..... at high speed. You need the latest windows, made by polyplastic, that are being fitted on the latest Sport models. It was a design fault by polyplastic who i believe are supplying the replacements under warranty to Auto-trail. Get it done. Otherwise they are good vans, we are very happy with ours. Ray.

[Derek Uzzell]

Den - 2016-07-15 6:36 PM

 

Hi

We're looking at the V-Line 620 and the Malibu Van...

 

Thanks

Den

 

Just idle curiosity, but I remembered that you bought a new Fiat-based Chausson 610 in mid-2015 and wondered what was prompting you (presumably) to replace this.

 

 

[arthur49]

Rayjsj - 2016-07-21 11:37 PM

 

Wallynette, I would say persevere at the dealer, and also E-mail Steve Moverley at Autotrail, who is deeply involved in solving this problem steve.moverley@auto-trail.co.uk and copy the e-mail to your dealer, you need to get the faulty window changed before your warranty runs out.

It is NOT just cosmetic, when the window distorts the leading edges no longer sit flush with the vehicle body, making them flutter at any speed over 40mph, and as the window is only held closed by 3 plastic catches, there is a danger of the window detaching..heaven forbid..... at high speed. You need the latest windows, made by polyplastic, that are being fitted on the latest Sport models. It was a design fault by polyplastic who i believe are supplying the replacements under warranty to Auto-trail. Get it done. Otherwise they are good vans, we are very happy with ours. Ray.

 

Are the latest windows being fitted to the non-Sport version as well Ray?

[Den]

Hi

Yes I did purchase the 610 and spent a lot on upgrades.

But we have an apartment in Spain and often drive.

Also with the places we go, we thought it makes sense.

Not totally happy with the 610.

We've just purchased the Malibu.

Which is strange because we went to Dusseldorf to view it when they first reintroduced it.

It's just like a MH but smaller and the quality very good. Hopefully!!!

Den

[Derek Uzzell]

Good luck with the Malibu.

 

It will be interesting to learn how you get on with the novel 'swinging’ toilet.

 

I notice that there’s a fair amount of Malibu-related discussion on German motorhome forums, with one person saying that his toilet slid about when sat on and another (potential Malibu buyer) being apprehensive that the toilet could cope with his 100kg weight!

[Rayjsj]

arthur49 - 2016-07-22 8:37 AM

 

Rayjsj - 2016-07-21 11:37 PM

 

Wallynette, I would say persevere at the dealer, and also E-mail Steve Moverley at Autotrail, who is deeply involved in solving this problem steve.moverley@auto-trail.co.uk and copy the e-mail to your dealer, you need to get the faulty window changed before your warranty runs out.

It is NOT just cosmetic, when the window distorts the leading edges no longer sit flush with the vehicle body, making them flutter at any speed over 40mph, and as the window is only held closed by 3 plastic catches, there is a danger of the window detaching..heaven forbid..... at high speed. You need the latest windows, made by polyplastic, that are being fitted on the latest Sport models. It was a design fault by polyplastic who i believe are supplying the replacements under warranty to Auto-trail. Get it done. Otherwise they are good vans, we are very happy with ours. Ray.

 

Are the latest windows being fitted to the non-Sport version as well Ray?

As far as i know, Yes, but strangely, not many(but a few) SE owners have reported the problem.

Personally i think Auto-trail should have issued a recall over the Window distortion problem. Shame, as the Sport looks great, the Fibreglass roof and raised double floor(hiding all the pipework wiring etc.,) as i said we love ours.

[Rayjsj]

Den - 2016-07-22 11:56 AM

 

Hi

Yes I did purchase the 610 and spent a lot on upgrades.

But we have an apartment in Spain and often drive.

Also with the places we go, we thought it makes sense.

Not totally happy with the 610.

We've just purchased the Malibu.

Which is strange because we went to Dusseldorf to view it when they first reintroduced it.

It's just like a MH but smaller and the quality very good. Hopefully!!!

Den

 

I dont understand ? You have bought 2 vans within 10 days ??a Malibu AND a V Line ? Why ask advice about the V Line if you already had one, and decided to buy a differant van ? Why not just ask what folk thought about the Malibu ? PS i have no idea what a Malibu is, or who makes it.

[Mike88]

There is a poor payload on the V line vans - 245 kgs without extras, 75kgs allowance for passenger and that does not include any water or anything in the waste so actual payload is likely to be far less.

[Den]

I purchased the 610 15 months ago.

We have for the last few weeks been looking at the V-line and the Malibu.

The feed back from the forum and talking to quite decent sales people, whom were not happy selling wobbly window MH's. The V-line.

 

We decided on the Malibu a couple of days ago, after my original posting.

It's great to have positive and negative comments directly associated with the question.

We were offered a very good PX and a decent price on the new one.

 

[arthur49]

On the subject of wonky windows, since we are still interested in the non Sport SE, I e mailed Autotrail for clarification of which models are/were affected. This is their reply:-

 

Hello,

 

We have seen some issues with the Polyplastic windows that are fitted to the V-Line Sport. The windows have now been re-tooled and are proving to be very reliable. However, if you are looking at a V-Line SE these are fitted with a different model of Polyplastic window which is very reliable.

 

Regards

 

 

 

Development Team

[BandJ]

We have a 610 sport and love it. There were practically no squeaks or rattles to speak off when we got it and still aren't.

 

I note the comment about looking around campers on dealers forecourts and how sometimes the build quality looks bad But ask the dealer and he will most likely tell you that unscrupulous pseudo buyers use the vehicles on their forecourts for "spares". So don't judge a bit of wiring hanging down or a catch missing because its probable some scallywag has had it.

 

The problem with the earlier windows seems to have been resolved. Our dealer said he hasn't had one back since AT got the Dutch company to retool their product.

 

Our van has 2 leisure batteries fitted as standard and of course the solar panel. We have gone 4 nights wild camping in a row and the leisure batteries were still at 42% in pretty decent weather. The fridge was fine and the solar panel obviously topped up the batteries. Once we were on the move again within an hour the leisure batteries were back up to 100%. So unless you tend to wild camp for say a week without moving I cannot envisage a problem for us and even then we can always run the engine for a while to top up if the sun isn't shining. We rarely stay in any one place for more than 3 nights; for us the vehicle is used for exploring and traveling. If we wanted to park up somewhere for a week we'd have bought a caravan.

 

As for a payload of "245Kg before extras" I don't know where that has come from. Ours has a remaining payload of 162kg FULLY LOADED with me, the missus, the dog, full fuel and gas tanks, extras and gear for a week as measured by the local weighbridge.

 

The fuel consumption for us has averaged out so far over 1900 miles at a little over 32 mpg and I don't hang about. I'd expect that to improve now as the engine is loosening up.

 

We wanted a van conversion that DIDNT have back doors, we hate them! Consequently our choice was limited but we love our van and take it all over the UK and Ireland which we couldn't do when we had a great big motorhome. The build quality and design of ours is great and certainly suits us.

 

With any van or motorhome there will always be compromises so do your research, I'd say don't buy a new model which will always have teething problems that will be ironed out in a year or 2.

 

Sorry I seem to be prattling on. Happy days!

[veletron]

I rejected both autotrail and auto sleeper vans when looking for a new one for the following reasons:

 

- Poor payloads (esp when you read the small print to see what is or is not counted)

- Underslung fresh tanks -I use the van off grid in winter - those tank heaters will soon kill a leisure battery if its below freezing.

- Fresh and waste tanks roughly the size of thimbles! Esp autosleepers, likely to avoid damaging the user payload too much!

 

On the other hand, really liked the look of the v-line sport, and the build quality of the AS, and my negatives might not be of concern to you.

 

Re payloads, check any van is on the 3500KG chassis, not the 3300KG. You can up-rate a 3300KG via sv-tech, but the 'cheap' paper-only uprate does not change the axle limits, and the 3500KG gets an extra 100KG limit over the 3300KG both front and rear. All the paper-only uprate does is allow you to use more of the pre-existing axle limits with a new total MAM 3500KG. Had this issue with my old tribby. Air suspension or replacement springs are usually needed to change the actual axle limits.

 

Nigel

[Keith T]

We are thinking about changing our MH later this year and the 610SE is 'on the list' of options. Having checked out a number of PVCs, those on the 3300 chassis have precious little payload left, even though most salesmen suggest its ample! A statement which I regard with suspicion, and seriously disagree with!

 

When we bought our present Burstner it was initially specified with the 3.3 chassis, but we ordered it on the 3.5 as this was a factory option. In practice because it was on the heavier chassis, other components took some of the additional allowance, but I calculated we probably gained about 150kg net. It was well worth the small price to upgrade.

I am surprised looking at some of the brochure/internet specifications that so many seem to be based on the 3.3 chassis, and not sure how many can be properly upgraded.

I am assuming the 610SE is always on the higher rated chassis?

 

As stated it is important to check what is actually allowed for in the manufacturer's specs, as it would appear this is not to any particular standard across all of them.