Cleo tip-up washbasin

[Jonathan]

I'd like to hear from anyone who has had problems with their CLEO TIP-UP WASHBASIN, which has been fitted to many UK motorhomes for a number of years.

 

I have had to replace several of these in my 10 year old Swift Group motorhome, entirely due to poor quality manufacturing. In particular, the plastic is so thin in some areas that it spontaneously cracks and shatters. The bottom of the basin pivot slots seem to be the worst problem, as there is absolutely insufficient material thickness to support the weight of the basin when in the closed position and driving on Britain's somewhat bumpy roads.

 

Other issues include the non-watertight seal between the top and bottom sections which allows water to leak into whatever space is behind the bathroom, toothbrush holders which are too small to take electric toothbrush heads, and metal fittings on the basin pivots which rust.

 

The manufacturers are AAC Cyroma Ltd - they claim to sell hundreds of these units every year without any complaints. However, in my opinion these washbasins are very poorly made and fail frequently.This situation will not change unless disgruntled owners speak out!

[paulmold]

I've had Cleo (and Contessa) basins in lots of caravans and motorhomes over 30 years and never had a problem.

[Derek Uzzell]

Jonathan

 

Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums.

 

If there are well-known problems with the Cleo/Contessa tip-up wash basins made by AAC Cyroma, I can’t find any indication of this on-line. However, that doesn't mean your complaints are unjustified or that you’ve been very unlucky - it may just be that such faults have not been advertised by people with caravans/motorhomes having these basins. (If nobody participating on this forum says they have had problems with these basins, I suggest you repeat your enquiry on larger forums (MotorHomeFun, MotorHomeFacts, etc.) to obtain maximum reader coverage.)

 

My 1996-builtHerald motorhome had a tip-up was basin. I don’t recall it’s manufacturer, but it was always plain that the basin’s relatively thin plastics made it potentoally vullnerable to damage, particularly at the pivot points. I owned the Herald for 6 years and the basin was still structurally sound when the motorhome was sold.

 

(Apparently Cleo/Contessa wash-basin units used to be made by a company called Thompson Plastics that went into administration in 2009, so there’s the possibility that the AAC Cyroma versions are less robust.)