Attention Lunar Clubman owners !

[Dave_5040181]

I would really appreciate your help if you own or know someone who owns a Lunar Clubman. I am particularly interested in the 2002 475CK and would ask anyone who has one to see how many fingers you can get between the tyre surface and the wheel arch. When, at 18 months of age, there was no longer sufficient room to achieve one finger or a wheel lock for that matter, I was convinced that there was a problem with the suspension. I had already had lots of niggling problems, some caused by shoddy workmanship with wrong parts being fitted. Fuses blowing, lights melting etc so after my dealer had failed to do anything to repair my van after 2 months in their yard I contacted Lunar direct. I was persuaded to accept new, bigger, wheel boxes to rectify the problems. Sure the gap was restored .. for a while, but the problem was still there and after a few months I had to return to the dealer. They took a couple of digital pictures and said they would send them away to be looked at but as I had heard this last winter I decided to take my van elsewhere. The suspension was at fault as I had originally suspected so it was sent back to AL-Ko to be reworked and I now have my van back. It's only 33 months old and has spent 6 months in dealers yards.Al-Ko were very helpful as were Harringtons who fixed it. I still haven't heard from the dealer who sold me the van, their aftersales care is dreadful. I had my van serviced there after the wheel boxes were replaced and have a service certificate to say the suspension was fine. I have written to Lunar via e mail but my request for their comments has been ignored. So I am building a case, I have checked a couple of identical vans that I have found on dealers forecourts and they have a similar problem. I would love to hear anyone else out there share the same information. In my opinion the weight of the van over the offside axle is much greater than the nearside even before it has been loaded. My previous van was also a Lunar Clubman 475Ck but that was a 1995 model and the payload was greater. Unwittingly I just transferred all my gear from old van to new and possibly you could say I am to blame even though when I weighed the van with the contents I was within the maximum payload limits. However, the design of the van has water heater, battery,battery charger,table,fridge,cooker and heavy shower unit all down one side. Add to that a potential 17 kg in water in both the toilet and hot water tank, the fact that you use the space provided for crockery and cookware and obviously store food and drink in the fridge. Hey presto problems. So, if you have a similar situation, please let me know.I personally don't believe I will be compensated for my problems and expense but at least others can judge the situation for themselves and ask the necessary questions when considering their next purchase whether it be new or second hand. I have only ever been able to afford the luxury of one brand new van, I hope that your experience is not as bitter as mine !

 

[PeterT_5040535]

Dave, We had the same gap on our first (and last) Lunar, a Clubman 400 in 2003. There were so many faults and problems that we had to drop it after 20 months at quite a loss. Having been caravanning for 45 years and owning 15 'vans, we knew it was the 'van at fault. In the factory, on a recent visit, we could see no form of quality control, justa few tatty notices exhorting workers to do good work. I guess Lunar are selling a lot of vans at present and not really caring about the design/detail of keeping customers satisfied. I hope your new Alko fix sorts your troubles.

Peter T

 

[mick_5041113]

I have a 2001 Clubman 475 CK2. I can just squeeze 2 fingers between tyre and wheel arche at 12 o'clock position. I have not noticed any variation in this measurement and do not have any obvious running problems. I do agree that this distance is rather small. Have you had any other replies?

 

[OldBean]

We had the same problem, but with our Swift 490. After our first trip out from new, on return to the storage facility, we noticed a lean to the left when the van was parked. The gap between the wheel box and tyre on one side appeared normal, but there was no gap at all on the left side. We towed the van to our nearest Caravan Repair Shop (not the Swift dealer) and they investigated. They decided the problem was the rubber inside the Alko suspension, something about it being triangular, but moving within the tubular construction. It was returned to and 'repaired' by Alko and returned and refitted, but the fault was still present. Alko then took the van on a lorry to the midlands, replaced the whole Alko axle and suspension system, and returned the van within two days (as we were due to go to France on holiday). Since then we've had no problems - so not really a fault of the manufacturer (Swift), but actually the suspension unit itself. And, thanks to Dickinson's of Bradford (the dealer who dealt with the problem) all was sorted out extremely efficiently. We can't thank them enough.