Fleetwood Heritage

[TheTurk]

Does anyone out there have views on the Heritage 640ES end bedroom. Any problems and any experience of customer care/after sales with Fleetwood?

 

[Richard_5041394]

Hi Ian -

I have a Heritage 600CB. Bought new in 2002, have towed this van over 10,000 miles - including three continental trips. As you will appreciate this van has been well used (and cared for!) for its still modest age, so feel well able to comment on it for you. We thoroughly enjoy the facilities/equipment level of this van. The Alde heating particularly is excellent. The high spec frig/freezer, microwave etc all get top marks and well used. The overall build quality has been pretty good in as much as we have not got any significant problems to deal with. The van is passing a full damp test every year too. The niggles have been : poorly fitting entrance door, had bottom half changed but did not improve much. Poorly sealing external hatch doors (under bed area and toilet access hatch) required some attention to prevent water ingress around the closures. Had 240v electrical fault manifest within first two months of life, solved by replacement of consumer unit under warranty. Have not found Fleetwood factory particularly helpful/customer focussed, and did not get good after sales service from the supplying dealer, so now go elsewhere for servicing etc. However, in spite of the above I DO recommend this van. The Heritage range is still class-leading and is a smashing caravan that you can live comfortably in whatever the season. We use all on-board facilities constantly and find everything works as it should. The rigid plumbing is particularly good, the washroom is excellent and the bed comfortable. I have had a mover fitted (Powrtouch), added more speakers to the stereo, oh yes, and I fitted a fully plumbed in dishwasher inside the large kitchen cupboard (yes, really..! I don't go away to wash up!!) It is also very stable on the road. In fact the only ongoing moan is that the carpet in my model is fixed, and is a very light colour (as is all the upholstery), so it's a challenge to keep it all clean. If you get a Heritage hope you enjoy it as much as this one. I WOULD buy another. 'nuff said..??!! Richard.

 

[robertlansdowne_5041455]

hi everybody i owned a couple of british vans and had eneough of their problems i decided to buy a twin axle fixed bed with all leather upholstrey hobbey caravan we had a problem with our toilet on delivery but the after sales was fantastic they came on to our site and repaired first class we are year long seasonal tourers we use our caravan every weekend i would like to know if anybody knew of any hobby owners club thanks

 

[phil_5065471]

Hi Ian -

I have a Heritage 600CB. Bought new in 2002, have towed this van over 10,000 miles - including three continental trips. As you will appreciate this van has been well used (and cared for!) for its still modest age, so feel well able to comment on it for you. We thoroughly enjoy the facilities/equipment level of this van. The Alde heating particularly is excellent. The high spec frig/freezer, microwave etc all get top marks and well used. The overall build quality has been pretty good in as much as we have not got any significant problems to deal with. The van is passing a full damp test every year too. The niggles have been : poorly fitting entrance door, had bottom half changed but did not improve much. Poorly sealing external hatch doors (under bed area and toilet access hatch) required some attention to prevent water ingress around the closures. Had 240v electrical fault manifest within first two months of life, solved by replacement of consumer unit under warranty. Have not found Fleetwood factory particularly helpful/customer focussed, and did not get good after sales service from the supplying dealer, so now go elsewhere for servicing etc. However, in spite of the above I DO recommend this van. The Heritage range is still class-leading and is a smashing caravan that you can live comfortably in whatever the season. We use all on-board facilities constantly and find everything works as it should. The rigid plumbing is particularly good, the washroom is excellent and the bed comfortable. I have had a mover fitted (Powrtouch), added more speakers to the stereo, oh yes, and I fitted a fully plumbed in dishwasher inside the large kitchen cupboard (yes, really..! I don't go away to wash up!!) It is also very stable on the road. In fact the only ongoing moan is that the carpet in my model is fixed, and is a very light colour (as is all the upholstery), so it's a challenge to keep it all clean. If you get a Heritage hope you enjoy it as much as this one. I WOULD buy another. 'nuff said..??!! Richard.

hi Ian,

i bought a new Heritage640cb last year, so far still waiting for some of the curtain ties, hole in fly screeen to be fixed, battery keeps going flat plus a host of other minor but niggleing little things, nice van, good quality when fixed... make sure you buy locally

phil

 

[iain_374224090]

I have a Fleetwood Heritage 640ES 2004 model first registerd in 2005. Whilst I like the overall van and its features we have experienced a number of problem.

1) Leaking rear sky light over the bed failed and caused a major leak soaking right through the matress.

2) Leaking fron heiki

3) Leaking side window

4) Front of caravan has now seperated from the A Frame !!!! awaiting repair

What can I say excellent van after sales service and attitude of Fleetwood very poor not what I would have expected from a

 

[gypsy]

We have a Fleetwood Volante, we have only had it since July, so far so good, I love the layout (twin Beds) this model has now gone into the Heritage range 560/4.if anyone has a Volante I would like to hear their opinon.

 

[Mikey1]

We bought a Heritage 640 at the caravan show in 2004 which we picked up in March 2005.Had loads of quality problems,sratches on the wall boards,furniture and shower cubicle these were big scratches,poor position of fridge which tried to pull itself out of its housing when opened,poor lighting which didnt pick up at show,broken window and loads of other faults,after much hassle they agreed to change the van,but the last straw was when away for our first weekend 2 weeks after we bought the van all the 12volts failed on a non electric site.Took Van back and said im not going until we get a refund and our old van back in front of a few customers.Customer service said not there problems sort it out with the dealer,his answer was people expect to much from a 20k van.I know there also a van which have loads of problems from new but ,but found them all unhelpful and saying i was too fussy about it and i should just accept that they are built by humans and mistakes happen!!!

 

[Barrie_374245987]

We have exactly the same caravan , ownership has been a night mare. Rear roof light leaked all over the mattress destroying bedding. Battery locker seal failed, if ever fitted, water leaked into front cabin and damaged kit stowed under the front seat locker. Front blinds fell apart, water pump failed, now replaced but noisy and low pressure, front window on offside had to be replaced, wall and ceiling jointing tapes always peeling off despite replaced several times, water leaks from the extractor unit in kitchen, microwave will not operate on anything less than 13amps, problems with paint coming away, front aerial socket faulty still not working. Many more to add to this list. Service from dealer only fair they took several attempts to fix even minor problems. Service from Fleetwood? While at first they were keen to listen they have now withdrawn offers of replacement caravan or special deal to exchange so it looks like we have a fight on our hands. By the way we are talking two caravans here with similar problems since friends have exactly the same van bought together in 2004. We are pondering our next move against Fleetwood we would like to hear from anyone else suffering at the hands of this pretty dismal outfit from Suffolk.

 

[Arthur_374246009]

Re Fleetwood Heritage

We are the other party referred to in Barrie's message. Our 3 years of ownership have been frought with many problems. On every occasion our trip has been spoiled through one failure or another including leaking windows and rear skylight(this last one lead to ruined bedding and wet mattress).

The water pump failed 3 times, central heating pump failed 3 times, we have had various electrical failures, repairs to cupboards,flooded battery locker, 2 replacement alarm systems and currently the system has failed again so will have to be replaced yet again. In total there have been 24 serious faults! We have personally spoken to a Director of Fleetwood who indicated that owing to a high failure rate with models built in 2004 they would look favourably on a replacement caravan. However, we have now recieved a very terse letter ignoring previous admissions and only offering a 12 month extension to the warranty and a free service. This cannot possibly compensate us for 3 years loss of enjoyment and travel (we normally tour extensively in Britain and abroad but could not possibly contemplate any trip abroad because of the continuing problems with the caravan. Fleetwood appear to have no policy of customer satisfaction and refuse to accept any responsibility for their extremely bad product despite the fact that this caravan is their top of the range model. If you have also suffered at the hands of this unethical treatment please let us know as we do not intend to let the matter rest.

Arthur

 

[Pelyma1]

We have a 2006 640ES, but we have changed the rear end to accomodate the kids (Fleetwood have used this layout for 2007)

We bought ours at the Earls Court show, but unfortunately due to our dealer retiring and the modifications we want delivery missed our easter target and it didn't arrive until June. The new dealer up Manchester way was caught in a tough place (we live on the south coast) but delivered the van free of charge but with no hand over.

Richard Allen the sales manager was pretty good over all and we have been very happy with the van. I recommend you don't do without the hand over as the alde heating needs a little thinking about, but is the reason we bought the van.

The water pump is due to be replaced at the first service as there is a quieter model and everything else has worked fine. The front locker leaks, but then so do many vans.

When we were looking we wanted a TA with Alde heating and a layout at the rear with bunks and a side dinette. Bescarr didn't want to know about altering a spec, Vanmaster thought I couldn't afford one of their vans and Fleetwood were the only ones to take the time to go through what we wanted. We met Richard Allen and his boss from Slovenia (?) Before the show I was adamant that I was not buying a Fleetwood because of what I had read, but so far I am happy with the purchase I made and would recommend them.

 

[lisa_374297385]

We have a 2006 640ES, but we have changed the rear end to accomodate the kids (Fleetwood have used this layout for 2007)

We bought ours at the Earls Court show, but unfortunately due to our dealer retiring and the modifications we want delivery missed our easter target and it didn't arrive until June. The new dealer up Manchester way was caught in a tough place (we live on the south coast) but delivered the van free of charge but with no hand over.

Richard Allen the sales manager was pretty good over all and we have been very happy with the van. I recommend you don't do without the hand over as the alde heating needs a little thinking about, but is the reason we bought the van.

The water pump is due to be replaced at the first service as there is a quieter model and everything else has worked fine. The front locker leaks, but then so do many vans.

When we were looking we wanted a TA with Alde heating and a layout at the rear with bunks and a side dinette. Bescarr didn't want to know about altering a spec, Vanmaster thought I couldn't afford one of their vans and Fleetwood were the only ones to take the time to go through what we wanted. We met Richard Allen and his boss from Slovenia (?) Before the show I was adamant that I was not buying a Fleetwood because of what I had read, but so far I am happy with the purchase I made and would recommend them.

hello paul

I was interested to hear that you're having your pump changed at your 1st service to a quieter one. We have a new 2007 heritage and our pump is extremly noisy. Is the dealer replacing your pump free of charge or are you just changing it yourself.

 

[kevshore]

We have a 2006 640ES, but we have changed the rear end to accomodate the kids (Fleetwood have used this layout for 2007)

We bought ours at the Earls Court show, but unfortunately due to our dealer retiring and the modifications we want delivery missed our easter target and it didn't arrive until June. The new dealer up Manchester way was caught in a tough place (we live on the south coast) but delivered the van free of charge but with no hand over.

Richard Allen the sales manager was pretty good over all and we have been very happy with the van. I recommend you don't do without the hand over as the alde heating needs a little thinking about, but is the reason we bought the van.

The water pump is due to be replaced at the first service as there is a quieter model and everything else has worked fine. The front locker leaks, but then so do many vans.

When we were looking we wanted a TA with Alde heating and a layout at the rear with bunks and a side dinette. Bescarr didn't want to know about altering a spec, Vanmaster thought I couldn't afford one of their vans and Fleetwood were the only ones to take the time to go through what we wanted. We met Richard Allen and his boss from Slovenia (?) Before the show I was adamant that I was not buying a Fleetwood because of what I had read, but so far I am happy with the purchase I made and would recommend them.

Wow, sometimes its best not to use the internet. Lol.

We collect our new 640es in two weeks. Looks like I'm going to have a couple of weeks wondering if I bought the correct van after these last few messages!

There MUST be someone out there with something good to say about these van.

Anyways, I hope you got all the probs sorted out and wish me luck!

Kev.

 

[kevshore]

Wow, sometimes its best not to use the internet. Lol.

We collect our new 640es in two weeks. Looks like I'm going to have a couple of weeks wondering if I bought the correct van after these last few messages!

There MUST be someone out there with something good to say about these van.

Anyways, I hope you got all the probs sorted out and wish me luck!

Kev.

Well!!

We've just had our first trip out with the new van. Gas locker does leak and the pump is very noisy! To the extent that it actually sounds like an old central heating system. The pipes to the shower actually have a 'banging' sound straight after you switch a tap off. It must be air in the system, but I can't stop it!

Any ideas? I've tried the latest idea from Fleetwood, which says turn on the hot taps first, but no improvement.

Apart from that I think the van is superb.

 

[kevshore]

Well!!

We've just had our first trip out with the new van. Gas locker does leak and the pump is very noisy! To the extent that it actually sounds like an old central heating system. The pipes to the shower actually have a 'banging' sound straight after you switch a tap off. It must be air in the system, but I can't stop it!

Any ideas? I've tried the latest idea from Fleetwood, which says turn on the hot taps first, but no improvement.

Apart from that I think the van is superb.

Mmmmm...., just returned from a 3 week trip to France. Problems so far - Oven doesn't work, (thermocouple fault). Pump still very noisy.

Fleetwood seriously need to sort this pump issue out for owners. When you can't wash your hands in the night for fear of waking the children up, then things are bad.

Not what you expect from a