Auto-trail Apache 700 Faults

[trail66]

Our Motorhome is now 2.5 years old and having suffered the usual numerous commissioning quality assurance faults we have now entered a further round of faults following very little use.The most concerning is the quality of the sinks and shower drain hose. The kitchen sink hose literally fell apart when removed to repair a split on a bend, the quality of manufacture is questionable noting that no harsh chemicals or boiling water has ever been washed down the sink drain. The concern is that the drain hose is the same size as the bathroom sink and shower drain hose and whilst the renewal of the kitchen sink drain hose to say the least was difficult , renewal of the shower and bathroom sink drain hose looks impossible without extensive major work. I only mention this to the forum as I am sure this is a batch fault and unfortunately leaks are sometimes only detected after significant damage has been done. A further fault of note which again could be generic is the rear light cluster, the reflectors are only held on by double sided tape and both reflectors have fallen off when parked in the sun. They are fixed with double sided tape to allow removal to gain access to a hidden screw which holds the light cluster in place which would need to be removed for any bulb change.

[lennyhb]

Only 700 faults on a British built van - you must have a good one. :D

[Brock]

Now, now Lenny. Numerically it's only 22 more than yours.

 

My current Hymer is not without its faults although the plumbing has been fault free. Bits are still failing on mine three years from new. The latest being the tray under the dinette/passenger seat with the boiler underneath. The tray split because the moulding on one side was not as perfect as the other side. Without the tray, one of the passenger seats is unusable for fear of a bottom falling into the 'sinkhole'. Current score on my van is Hymer 9 faults [ignoring counting the ones that were not fixed first time by the dealer] Fiat 2.

 

I have gone 16 years with 3 German vans without any damp issues though.

 

It's good to share experiences of build quality as suggested by lesleykaren a few weeks ago.