Flying Roof Strip
An SOC member from Oxon experienced a problem when the rear roof beading became detached from his 1999 Corniche 15/2 as he travelled down the M3. The type of strip concerned was introduced to Swift Group vans during the 1998 model year. Its purpose was to provide a neat finish to the sealant applied to the roof joints on the new design of roof. This replaced the previous one-piece roof moulding, which was discontinued at the end of the 1997 model year. On Corniche models this had the effect of moving the front and rear panel-to-roof joints onto the roof itself. On other Swift models the front design remained unchanged so that only the rear was affected. This type of roof design is still current and the strips feature on the 2000 model year vans.
The strips are attached to the roof by a special adhesive sealant compound. Under normal circumstances this should be more than adequate but experience has shown that both surfaces have to be thoroughly primed to ensure a good bond. Swift is aware of this and has introduced new procedures to prevent any recurrences. My dealer enquiries have only revealed one other case of roof beading detachment (actually on a Bessacar van) so it does not appear to be a common problem. In the unlikely event that any part of the strip does become detached then it is just possible for the separation to include sealant from the joint between the two panels. This may give the impression that water could get into the van but this is very unlikely because of additional sealing further inside the joint.
If your caravan was manufactured during 1998/9 and you have any doubts about the integrity of these strips ask your local dealer to carry out a check. Do not try to pull the strips off!! If you have an early 1998-model year van you may well find no evidence of a strip on your roof joint. Don't panic, they weren't fitted at that time, as the roof joint was of a slightly different design. However, as with all roof joints, it is always worth checking periodically that they appear to be in good condition. Note that roof joint inspections do not normally form part of the annual service.
Jumping Fire Covers etc.
Several members have reported problems with the front covers of their Carver space heaters coming detached during towing.
Carver tell me that in the early stages of production they did experience some problems whereby the fronts on a few 1800sc/3600stc heaters had come loose whilst in transit. A modified bracket was introduced to resolve this problem, which was detailed in a newsletter (bulletin) to all Carver dealers, some two or more years ago. So if your heater is one of these then pop along to your local dealer and ask for the replacement parts.
More recently problems have arisen on one or two 4000 model heaters. Their cover has a domestic bullet type of clip which it was hoped would cure the detachment problem. In practice it seems that the spring on the female half of the connector is flexing and allowing it to part company. Carver tell me the fix involves fitting an additional clip similar to the one they ended up using on the 1800/3600 models. Your dealer should have details.
If your fire suffers from this problem it may also be worth checking the integrity of the wall plate to which it attaches. Mine had a small tear near the top that meant that the top of the front cover was not being securely located. The cure was to drill a couple of holes through it and screw the two halves of the tear to the wooden surround.
Other problems reported with these fires include an associated disintegration of the control rod assembly and lighting problems on gas with the piezo electric system. A cure for these latter problems can be to retrofit electronic ignition. I have the details if anyone is interested.
Incidentally Carver's water and space heating products have now been taken over by Truma. You can reach them on 01283 511092.
Disintegrating Locker Stays
Several members have reported problems with locker stays which fall apart with a bang. The problems relate to a brown plastic telescopic stay which Swift used for a number of years. These stays were use on some vans up to around two years ago. Failure normally involves the fixed end of the rod parting company from yoke bracket which is screwed to the locker frame. The two halves of the yoke tend to move apart under the force of the rod thereby allowing it to part company. One cure is to drill a small hole through the two halves of the yoke and use a small self-tapping screw to hold them together.
Occasionally the tube holding the rod splits apart as the rod breaks loose from its mounting. A temporary cure can be effected by cutting a ring from an old piece of caravan semi-rigid water piping and slipping it over the split end.
Thetford Toilet Warning
Thetford issued a warning regarding their toilet models C2, C3 and C4 manufactured between November 1998 and June 1999. (These are not the swivel bowl types)
To find out if your toilet was manufactured within these dates look for the model reference on a sticker which may be inside the exterior door or on the underside of the sliding cassette.
A problem arose with the screw heads on the seal retainer; this is the plastic ring which holds in place the rubber lip seal. In some instances the screw heads in question may have caused damage to the underside of the bowl flange as the waste tank slides in or out. It is recommended to all members with these models of toilet to remove the waste tank and inspect the flange above looking for signs of scratches caused by a protruding screw head which in severe cases will cause leaking of water every time the flush is operated.
Carver Fanmaster and Flat Batteries
I have now come across several instances where caravanners believed that their new Carver Fanmaster space heaters were flattening their batteries in around a day whenever they used the blown air option. The Fanmasters involved are all of the type which allow you to use gas and mains electricity at the same time. In all cases the problem did not lie with the Fanmaster unit but with the way it was being used. I have to say that the instructions in the Carver handbook (and copied by Swift in theirs) were not quite as clear as they might have been.
Basically the fan will only operate automatically (ie slow down when desired temperature is reached) if the selector switch is set to this position. The confusion arises because in the handbook this position is shown under the column headed 'Gas and Electricity'. The individuals involved all thought they had to have both before using it. They had therefore opted for the gas only, manual operation, and set the fan slider to maximum. Being a manual setting the fan continued to run at high speed even when the desired temperature had been reached. Hence the flat batteries. The column heading should have read Gas and/or Electricity to try to make the operation a little clearer.
IDM 3 (also known as IDM 2000) Alarm Systems
If you have one of these on your van you will know that it comes with a separate power block lead for charging its internal lead acid battery. This is a departure from earlier system which came with an integral charger. The design has been changed to comply with European type approval regulations. Some members have experienced flat batteries especially when their vans have been in storage for some time. If the battery is left flat for any length of time it may not accept a new charge. If this happens then the control unit will need to be changed. The cost of a swap is currently £12 (plus call-out fee if appropriate). The unit is easy to remove so the cheapest option could well be to take it to your dealer.
Once you have the alarm system working how do you avoid it going flat again? Well you need to know how it works. Obviously whenever it is on it is consuming power. If the alarm is triggered it consumes much more power. There is a built in function check which lets you check the state of the battery and whether the alarm has been triggered (see instructions). If the system is fully charged and is not triggered then it should last 6 months between charges. This is the recommended interval given in the handbook. If the alarm is triggered occasionally (e.g. because you're a dealer and you have a constant steam of inquisitive punters through your van) then you will need to charge more frequently. This is why dealers have been advised to charge IDM3's every 3 months. Remember though that the alarm unit will also charge from the caravan's 12 volt supply. This means that as long as your van is not laid up for long periods without the main battery you should never have a problem.
Battery flattens whilst towing?
You set off with a fully charged caravan battery but by the time you get to sight it is flat (very long journey) or reduced capacity (shorter journey)? If this has happened to you and you are certain everything was switched off before you set out then the likely explanation is that your car has been fitted with one double pole relay rather than the more normal two single pole relays (controlling supplies to the caravan battery and fridge) and that the 25 amp fuse feeding the two from your car battery has blown. In these circumstances the caravan battery will power the fridge whilst you tow. As the fridge takes about 9 amps you can soon flatten your caravan's battery.
TV Problems
A number of you have asked me to look at 12 volt TV installations where the TV was not working satisfactorily even though the caravan’s battery seemed ok. The symptoms were either a smaller than normal picture or a complete failure of the TV to work at all.
In all cases the problem lay not with the battery (which was delivering in excess of 12 volts) but with the wiring between the battery and the TV set. Certain colour TV sets can use 6 amps or more and this can cause a significant (1 volt plus) voltage drop along the wiring loom. Some TV sets cope with this better than others. This may explain why a neighbour’s set may work fine in your van but yours doesn’t. Some Thompson multi-standard TV sets seem particularly sensitive about their input voltage.
If you suffer from this problem you will need to get your caravan’s wiring upgraded. Your local dealer or competent electrician should be able to advise. Alternatively you can arrange to feed your TV directly from the battery (or better still a spare battery). If you choose this direct option use wire of at least 2.5sq mm conductor size and ensure that you fit a 10 amp fuse local to the battery.
Glass-topped Sinks
My attention has been drawn to a number of cases where small amounts of water have been found in the cupboard space underneath the new glass-topped sinks as fitted to many 2000 (and later) model-year vans. In all cases the plumbing appeared OK so my suspicions fell on the seal around the base of the tap. However this too appeared OK. The next step was to insert the plug in the upper (draining board) drain and fill the area with water. This is when the problem occurred. Investigation revealed that if the water was sufficiently deep it would overflow down the access hole provide for the micro-switch wires within the tap.
The answer is simple - don't plug the upper drain. I can't really think of any need to do this anyway. Any water should then drain away before if reaches a level to cause trouble. It's worth remembering that the problem may also manifest itself if the van is significantly out of level such that water can build up around the tap base.
Tow Sensor
Just a quick note about the tow sensor fitted to IDM 3 (sometimes referred to as IDM 2000) alarms. The tow sensor checks the connection of the 12S plug to the car and sounds an alarm if it is disconnected. However it will not work if the van's battery selector switch is set to the car battery. Indeed if you activate the alarm with the switch in this position it will think the 12S plug is connected and display the 'tow sensor available' light, regardless of whether the plug is connected or not.
Access Door Closing
One or two members have reported that their 2000 model-year van access doors are not easy to close properly, especially from inside. I suspect this is a result of Swift making them a tighter fit to reduce the chance of water ingress. If you look at the top and bottom door sections end on as the door shuts you may well see that they do not form a straight line. The interface between the two (i.e. where the lock is fitted) may be slightly further away from the doorframe than the top and bottom of the door as a whole. This is quite normal. It means that when the door is in the closed position there is adequate pressure on the seal in top and bottom areas away from the latch. A reduction in the closing force required can sometimes be achieved by lightly lubricating the door hinges and striker mechanism. Also door operation often improves with use.
Forgetful Radios
Many members fit radios to their caravans. Until recently all was well but with the latest vans some radios lose their programming when the van is towed. The reason is that to comply with European legislation caravans are now fitted with habitation relays. These cut the 12-volt power (fridge and battery charging excepted) within the van when it is being towed to reduce the risk of fire. The downside of this is that the loss of power causes some car radios to lose their memories. The answer is to run a separate feed from the caravan battery to the permanently live terminal on the radio. This feed should be fused with a 2 amp fuse at the battery end of the feed wire. A check with my local car radio dealer revealed that some of the latest sets now have a 12-hour memory backup so if you fit one of these you should be OK. Alternatively try a Philips radio - the ones I've tried don't seem to suffer at all from the problem.
Replacement Windows
I am sometimes asked where to source replacement windows for older caravans. After a little digging I have managed to come up with a couple of potential sources. If you are aware of any others please let me know.
The first company is D J Russell (Sales) Ltd, from Burton on Trent. Not only are they are the UK importers for Polyplastics windows but they also carry stocks of replacement windows going as far back, in some cases, as 1979.
The second company is the Exhaust Ejector Co. Ltd, from Shelf, which is a small village midway between Halifax and Bradford. As well as holding stocks of windows this company can actually manufacture them.
The full contact details of the two companies are:
|
D J Russell (Sales) Ltd, Tel 01283 531541 |
Exhaust Ejector Co. Ltd, Tel 01274 679524 |
Bulkhead Regulator Failures
I am aware of a significant number of cases where Truma gas regulators, as factory fitted to the bulkheads of many caravans from the 2004 model year onwards, are failing. The symptoms include a loss of gas pressure, especially if more than one appliance is running, or even total failure of the gas supply. The cause of the failures appears to be a build up of residue within the regulator.
Initially theories abounded about 'dirty' gas but, as the problem occurred with all makes of gas right across the UK, this theory quickly faded away. Considered opinion is that plasticiser is being leeched out of the high pressure rubber pigtails used to connect cylinders to the regulators. Where regulators are mounted below the gas cylinder take-off points and/or fed from the top (as is the case with just about every caravan manufacturer) any residues formed (regardless of origin) will end up in the regulator.
Failures have occurred with both butane and propane but there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that a higher percentage of failures are happening with butane. Initially Truma has been supplied replacements under guarantee but once it was 100% clear that the problem was not of their making this practice ceased. Even so the diaphragms in the replacement regulators are believed to made of a different material from the originals. Also dealers have been advised to fit replacement regulators as high as possible on the bulkhead and to fit an elbow to the inlet so that any residues in the the high pressure hose drain back towards the cylinder rather than towards the regulator.
The best way to avoid this problem is to use stainless steel connecting hoses such as those supplied by Gaslow.
Interestingly one make of caravan, Avondale, is unaffected by the problem. They apparently use a different make of regulator, Clesse. These regulators are available from Calor's online shop (30mb Euro Regulator) for £19, so it may be worth carrying one as an emergency spare. Be aware though that the only examples of these that I have seen have a 10mm outlet whereas Swift uses 8mm pipework. A short length of 10mm pipe and a 10x8mm reducing coupler would there fore be required to fit one. Be aware also that this work should only be undertaken by suitably qualified personnel as the bulkhead regulator forms part of the caravan’s factory installed gas system.