Adria Twin - first impressions

[clubadria]

I am sorry to inform you that Taz has left the company and also Mike Lake the positions has been filled by a Lady from slovenia called Slavica Sterk who is based at long melford, both of these two people are missed by ourselves and especially our son.

[b6x]

clubadria - 2007-08-06 8:32 PMI am sorry to inform you that Taz has left the company and also Mike Lake the positions has been filled by a Lady from slovenia called Slavica Sterk who is based at long melford, both of these two people are missed by ourselves and especially our son.

 

Blimey,  Mike Lake has left too?  He was a pretty handy contact that always replied to queries.

 

[steamdrivenandy]

We've been mulling over replacing our Horizons Innovation 1 with an Adria Twin.

Our Innovation has a custom made dog crate across the rear of the van under the wardrobe, and rear worktop. The crate is 55x24x24 with a removable central divider, a door out from each side for easy loading of dogs and a central door into the van for when you want to be joined inside by friendly Mutts. It also has a small door in the back to allow the loo cassette to be removed. There's about a foot of space above the crate, under the worktop where we store puppy pen. grooming trolley and folding loungers etc.

We hope that we can fit a similar crate longitudinallyin a Twin under the bed but with a door on each end. The height is OK, but there'll be no storage on top, but hopefully plenty alongside. Can anyone see a problem with this plan?

I rang Adria UK this morning to try and get pictures of the blue and red versions. The young lady I spoke to had requested such pictures a few weeks ago from Slovenia but they haven't arrived yet and they're now on holiday for the whole of August. Apparently the red is the Fiat dark metallic red and the blue is their non-metallic medium blue (not the bright blue). She did mention that the '08 Twin will be available in champagne gold as well as the four current colours.

I asked whether the '08 would reinstate the halfway stop on the side door. She asked her MD who said she thought it was standard. I told the young lady that it wasn't on the couple I've seen and others had mentioned it wasn't fitted. The MD is looking into why it's not fitted on UK spec vans.

My wife is concerned at the lack of worktop space and I wonderif anyone knows what happened to the lift up worktop extension from the '06 Twin?

[Mrs Sea]

clubadria - 2007-08-06 8:32 PM

 

I am sorry to inform you that Taz has left the company and also Mike Lake the positions has been filled by a Lady from slovenia called Slavica Sterk who is based at long melford, both of these two people are missed by ourselves and especially our son.

 

Thanks clubadria and Denzil for your contact info at Adria. I will let you know how we get on as we will phone/write to give them our comments.

 

Steamdrivenandy is correct, there is no halfway stop on the sliding door. Didn't mention it as didn't know such a thing existed. It would be really handy as you don't want to open up the whole door in the middle of the night or in winter and let out all the heat. The drop down shelf you mention would also be great - we plan to sort this ourselves but it would be good to be fitted as standard.

 

Thanks to everyone for all their input.

[rowley]

Quote from Mrs Sea-Not only does back wall slope inwards due to shape of roof, but the front also slopes inwards creating a rhomboid type shape in side profile. Not surprisingly when you open the cupboard items falls out

 

I have removed the "secret compartment" lids from the base of the overhead cupboards. This has increased storage space and items do not fallout of the cupboards so easily. Have fitted a barrier to the cupboard under the wash basin to prevent items fouling the tambour door.

 

The door to the rear storage area has been removed along with the bottle holder. In their place I have built an open top box section which runs from the fridge to the rear door, and is inline with the fridge surround. This holds my leisure chairs and other items securely, and allows a clear passage through to the rear when the bed is raised.

 

I was not happy with the operation of the remote handle for the waste drain valve. I have removed the handle assembly and extended the pipe so that the valve is adjacent to the sill. This also helps when positioning the vehicle over a small drain.

[b6x]

rowley - 2007-08-17 9:40 PM ... has been removed along with the bottle holder.

Hi there.  Would be interested to know how easy this was,  and what it looks like after.  I can see me wanting to do this also as not really sure we'd ever use it.

cheers,

Steve

[rowley]

Yes this was very easy. The bottle holder and the gate are easily removed. To make the box I used a sheet of `contiboard` from Wickes. The wood effect was very similar to the Twins. By the way, I topped up the fuel today and since it's first top up it has done 30.6mpg.

[b6x]

Cool. Thanks. Thats handy to know as we were looking to put a small fold down table in the rear bedroom area - for cups of tea etc.

 

Has removing the bottle holder left any evidence it was once there? I assume the metal bar across the floor continues under it etc?

 

Went up and had a look at our Twin yesterday. It's finally in stock. Had a good look around and tested and pulled most things. Leisure battery was not connected, and no gas bottle so couldn't test everything - but overall very impressed with the build. One found one *very small* issue with the conversion, and one pretty major issue with the Fiat side in that the rear doors don't seem to shut flush with each other.

Also have the well documented issue of a soaking engine bay, but was expecting that.

 

So, all in all, very pleased. Probably regret the beige interior as, although I do prefer it, I'm not sure it'll look pristine for too long and it doesnt appear it can be washed.

Also, given the chance to order again I'd probably have gone for the white and not the silver, but hopefully I can get my front bumper colour coded and it'll transform the looks.

 

[Mel B]

Even if you're really careful in your 'van you'll still get grubby seats so I'd suggest you make some seat covers then you won't be worrying. We have dogs and the first thing I do with any new motorhome is to make seat covers for all of the seats, front and rear as well as a cover for the table (one thinks she's a mountain goat!). I did this for our Rapido and after nearly 4 years they were as new. We didn't have to worry at all.

 

I'll warn you now, though, that the front seats can be an absolute sod to fit covers to (and I'm quite adept with a needle, thread and sewing machine) so you'd be better of buying some ready made ones if you can. We got some cheap car seat covers and put them on (to give the seats a bit more protection in case the dog one day decided to try to make a bed of one!) and then over the top there's a set of breathable waterproof ones which we picked up from the Peterborough show for £10.00.

 

 

[b6x]

Thats definately some good advice.  I think I may seek out a professional upholstery company and get an idea of prices.  (as I'm not so handy with the thread and needle).

Only thing that makes me a little uncomfortable with the covers idea is that I'd bought the van to enjoy, and not sure I have the desire to keep it looking pristine ready for the next owners.

 

Definately doesn't hurt to look into it though.  I'd be more than happy with some very well fitting replacement covers.

 

Did take a note of the symbols on the care label of the seat covers,  and apparently the "p" in a circle with a bar underneath means that they can be dry cleaned (the bar specifying to the dry cleaner the process to use apparently).

 

[Mel B]

The covers don't have to be anything fancy. The first set I ever made for a converted ambulance were done in a cotton material ... ruddy things shrunk in the wash and were an absolute sod to get back on!

 

Second set which I made for our Swift were out of a poly-something material which was easy to stretch to fit (no you didn't get sparks when sitting down too quickly!8-) ). I just made like a giant elongated shower cap with thick elastic around the hemmed edges and they fitted very well, I just had to put a tuck in each of the corners to make a nice square finish, nice and easy and quick to take off, wash and put back on. By having removable covers it meant that I could wash them whenever I wanted and they kept the van smelling nice and fresh.

 

Alternatively you could get some nice fleece throws, quick and easy to put on and take off (not too thick so they won't bunch up under the seats).

 

It is nice to see the orignal upholstery but I'd much rather have a relaxing and enjoyable time in it and not worry about marking it and having all the hassle (and expense) of having to have it professionally cleaned.

 

You can also get a spray on upholster protection, we had it on our suite at home and it does work but it's not cheap and after a few years it can looks some of it's protective qualities.

[b6x]

We have looked into the Paintseal upholstery protection and is probably something we will go for.  Not cheap,  but like you said,  peace of mind is more important. 

 

Does seem very stupid of a manufacturer to put dry-clean only fabric into a vehicle somewhat designed for "outdoor" living.

 

[steamdrivenandy]

The 'boss' and I are in 'discussions' about this very subject with regard to our next van.

Our current Horizons Unlimited Innovation was a demonstrator and as such was fitted with blue/grey leather seats when we first saw it. Roy Wood Transits gave us the option of swapping them out for either cloth seats in standard Ford Transit material or another material that they'd sourced. We chose to keep the leather and with three (now two), often wet and muddy bearded collies using the van with us we're glad we did. If the seats do get mucky at all it's just a quick wipe and they're like new again.

However that convenience comes at a current cost of an additional £1,400 for the driver's and three passenger seats.

There's also the exclusivity, as there can't be many Transit vans with leather upholstery and, of course, that wonderful smell of leather when you jump on board.

However it does seem slightly 'odd' to be sleeping on leather rather than cloth, albeit inside a sleeping bag.

 

[b6x]

steamdrivenandy - 2007-08-21 9:00 AM  However that convenience comes at a current cost of an additional £1,400 for the driver's and three passenger seats. 

 

Unless it's Adria that you are buying the optional extras through,  then it's a massive (and complete rip-off) extra £2750!!!

 

[steamdrivenandy]

I wonder if you could get the seats re-upholstered in leather in this country for a lot less.

Chatting with RWT they said they use a specialist firm to recover the Tranny seats in the front and make and the two rear passenger seats. I think they use the same firm for both leather and cloth facings. On the Twin you've got a small rear bench which I would suggest involves slightly less work/materials than two single seats.

IF RWT are charging £1,400 they must've built in a good margin on their buying in price so if you could find the firm the price direct might not be so bad. Certainly I can't see it getting near the Adria inflated price.

Talking of Adria options prices I can't believe the prices they charge for Fiat factory fitted items that other converters sell at about half the price. Seems a v odd marketing strategy for a company that's supposed to be operating at the lower cost end of the business.

[b6x]

Yep. Agreed. We purchased a few options for our van - 120bhp upgrade, cruise, metallic paint and alloys. Although not cheap, I'm glad I did the cruise crontrol as I much prefer these options to be factory integrated and not an aftermarket add-on. That was still £400 though, when Fiat Vans charge something like £140.

 

Engine upgrade and metallic paint were "in for a penny..." upgrades as maybe something I'd regret not getting in the future. The alloy wheels however were probably a bit extravagant and unnecessary.

 

I'm am very surprised that Adria add such a massive markup to items that require them to perform no additional work short of ticking a few boxes on the base-vehicle order form.

 

 

[steamdrivenandy]

It looks like we've abandoned the Twin as our 'future' van as the 'boss' has taken against the lack of worktop big style. If you can say anything to reassure her I'd be happy to hear it.

The alternative was the Murvi Morello BUT although it's v v nice we discovered that there is nowhere to store our dog grooming trolley or the puppy pen (corral) etc.

We're now trying to persuade RWT to produce an Innovation to our spec. with the same lounge/sleeping layout as our current van. The main difference would be to add back in the stove and shower room in the rear as per their Cavarno model, but still with the boot/garage across the back for the dog crate with attendant wardrobe above.

As far as I can tell that would add circa 2ft to the length so it would have to be on the LWB Tranny which is 5.68m long, still a foot shorter than the Ducato.

Personally I think the layout we're suggesting would be a v big seller (we refer to it as the Grand Innovation).

[Mel B]

Can you get a worktop extention fitted? One that either flaps down or that you can attach (ie slide in/sit on) when required? I did this in our Rapido, it had a grab handle down the side of the kitchen unit so I couldn't fit a permanent lift up flap so instead I attached some small right angle brackets, 2 lots of 2 together with a screw through them to give them a bit more strength but not to be as obvious as the single bigger one. They were placed immediately under the overlapping worktop edge so that the gap between the bottom 'L' and the worktop lip was exactly the height of the worktop matching sink cover (I also had a plastic cover so didn't loose any work surface in the process), I then fitted a swinging arm, one of those 6 inch plastic ones in the centre with the top at the same height as the bottom of the brackets 'L'. I just swung out the plastic arm, the sink cover then easily slid in on top of this between the brackets and the worktop overlapping edge (nice tight fit) and stayed put. Obviously I couldn't put anything too heavy on it but it was very useful for plates, pots etc and I could easily remove it whilst leaving the bits and pieces on top if necessary.

[steamdrivenandy]

I think I'm right in saying that the 'old' model Twin had an extension flap on the worktop that when erected sort of went across the side door entrance. It's missing on the new model and there are holes for bins in the cabinet end that would be covered by one if it was retro fitted. A right angle flap isn't really 'on' as it would block access all around the van quite severely.

We're spoilt on our current van as we have a clear work surface that's about 2ft deep by 3ft 6ins across in addition to the combined hob/sink area.

If Roy Wood Transits can do our 'future van', the Grand Innovation, for us we've asked that they try and fit a separate sink with drainer using the extra 2ft or so length of wortop that would be involved. That would be the bosses absolutely ideal layout.