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NEW COACHMAN

T

Tandjo

Collected our new Coachman VIP 575 this morning and we are really chuffed. After a break from caravanning with a motorhome, we are back. Things have moved on though so we are looking forward to working things out and getting out and about and discovering new parts of the country and, hopefully, Europe.
Please be patient if I ask stupid questions. Motorhomes are different.
 
Tandjo said:
Collected our new Coachman VIP 575 this morning and we are really chuffed. After a break from caravanning with a motorhome, we are back. Things have moved on though so we are looking forward to working things out and getting out and about and discovering new parts of the country and, hopefully, Europe.
Please be patient if I ask stupid questions. Motorhomes are different.
Click to expand...
There are no stupid questions only learning questions. Ask away.
 
Tandjo said:
Collected our new Coachman VIP 575 this morning and we are really chuffed. After a break from caravanning with a motorhome, we are back. Things have moved on though so we are looking forward to working things out and getting out and about and discovering new parts of the country and, hopefully, Europe.
Please be patient if I ask stupid questions. Motorhomes are different.
Click to expand...
i hope you enjoy your new caravan and plenty of breaks booked 🙂
 
Its a nice caravan and welcome back from the dark side. We ourselves looked at the VIP range closely, but chose Bailey in the end.

The only daft questions are the ones you don't ask, and then make a pigs ear of things.
 
Nice caravan, hope all goes well when you pick it up.
I would hope that your motor home and caravan experience will help you get back into the swing of things although possibly the gadgets now fitted will be new to you. I would record the bits you need for the future at the handover.
 
We got her to the storage yesterday and, stupidly, couldn’t work out how to unhitch. Tried everything looking for the brake release button so phoned dealer who said to use brute force which I did and it worked! Apparently when new, everything is very tight and takes some strength. Now I’ve sorted that I registered the tracker but found it doesn’t work and neither does the alarm (they are connected). Waiting for the dealer to find out from Phantom and Coachman what the problem is.
just working my way through half a ton of brochures now.
 
Ok, I might not have this exactly right, but someone will give you the full story. As I understand it, if you have reversed the caravan, the compression on the hitch means that some thingymebob in the watchmacallit makes it difficult to unhitch and the thing to do is pull the car forward a bit first to stretch out the hitch.
Only caravanned for about 14 years so still a bit hazy.
mel
 
Mel said:
Ok, I might not have this exactly right, but someone will give you the full story. As I understand it, if you have reversed the caravan, the compression on the hitch means that some thingymebob in the watchmacallit makes it difficult to unhitch and the thing to do is pull the car forward a bit first to stretch out the hitch.
Only caravanned for about 14 years so still a bit hazy.
Click to expand...
Thanks Mel. I had pulled the car forward as you said but the brake and stabiliser handle wouldn’t move. I looked to see if I should press a button but couldn’t find one and I didn’t want to do damage so I called the dealer who said it was probably just stiff and he was right. I’ll know next time. Every day is a school day. Just got to get the alarm/tracker problem sorted now.
 
The Alarm and Tracker could be that the Alarm battery might not be fully charged it can take 48 hour to charge up , or it may not be recognised yet.
All little learning bits.
Also the awning light if switched on by the key fob, through the Alarm, can stay on and will not be switched off by the awning light switch on the door panel. Only by the light button on the fob, Not the Alarm on /off switch. Unless thats been sorted.
 
Hutch said:
The Alarm and Tracker could be that the Alarm battery might not be fully charged it can take 48 hour to charge up , or it may not be recognised yet.
All little learning bits.
Also the awning light if switched on by the key fob, through the Alarm, can stay on and will not be switched off by the awning light switch on the door panel. Only by the light button on the fob, Not the Alarm on /off switch. Unless thats been sorted.
Click to expand...
Thanks Hutch. I wondered about the battery but the dealer has had the van for weeks and it has been plugged into their mains for some time so I would have thought that would have been enough. I have also noted that the fob does not switch the awning light on so I am wondering if the fob is at fault. I’ll go up today to try the other fob and see what happens.
 
Spoke to Phantom direct this morning to see if they can help. He said it sounded like a wire has worked loose but he is going to check with “the network” to see if there is a problem there. Mrs Tandjo said there was an electrician working on the van when we arrived to pick it up so I am wondering if he has left something loose. Intriguing.
 
Thingy said:
Its a nice caravan and welcome back from the dark side. We ourselves looked at the VIP range closely, but chose Bailey in the end.
Click to expand...
Hi Thingy,
We are comparing a Coachman with a Bailey (two very similar models). Can you say more about why you chose the Bailey? We started off looking at the Coachman vip 520 and then found the Bailey Unicorn Madrid later. The videos launching the new Baileys and the technical specs look very impressive. If this info is off-topic, I would appreciate direct mails via this forum. Thanks!
 
There is a wire inside the Sargent Alarm that powers, the awning light when you switch the alarm on/off from the fob, but there is an awning light switch on the fob that keeps the awning light on. Even if you switch it off on the door panel.
 
Alarm now working. There is a button on the PIR which resets it. You have to press it until it flashes twice, if it flashes three times, you have to start again. I wish it said so in the manual! Waiting for an answer on the tracker now.
 
Tandjo said:
Alarm now working. There is a button on the PIR which resets it. You have to press it until it flashes twice, if it flashes three times, you have to start again. I wish it said so in the manual! Waiting for an answer on the tracker now.
Click to expand...
That a great result on the Alarm keep us updated about your tracker when it sorted 🙂
 
For Carandcaravan

To answer your post we have Sterling Cont 530 which is the same layout as the 520. Its a top of the range van, basically a swift elegance.

Firstly we have had some insurance issues and repair problems so we decided to cut our losses. So, our choice was a fixed bed or beds.

First thoughts were the Pegasus Grande SE but that has blown air heating and now we have had Alde we realised we didnt want to revert to Blown air.

The next thought was Coachman VIP but having had Swifts Smart HT, we thought Coachmans aluminium sandwich was a step back. So alutech was a sort of compromise and with wanting Alde the Unicorn fits the bill. We are also very limited on storage length and many of the Swifts are just too long by inches, its that length critical. To add to this i have been highly disappointed by Swifts Internal fit and finish, though the body shell is excellent. Inspecting the Bailey i found a lot of the issues i had with Swifts offering were much better in the Bailey.

So, to sum up.
Alde heating
Best body shell compromise
Good fit and finish
Right length and layout.
Overall very nice feeling to the Unicorn.
And finally the dealer owed me a special deal and has been true to his word. I have tested his deal at other dealers and they cant get close to it. Being a Swift and Bailey dealer the choice was narrowed and ruled Coachman out anyway.
 
Tracker now working! It appears that whoever installed it at the factory had pulled one of the little blades out when he or she was taping it all together. Once it was working I got an immediate message from them to say my leisure battery was low. Checked it and the solar panel didn’t seem to be charging the battery. I asked the nice tracker man to have a look for me and he fixed it: exactly the same problem as the tracker, the tape was wound it so tight that it pulled out a connector. You would think a qualified tradesman would check his or her work when they finished, wouldn’t you. Anyway, all working now so very happy.
 
Tandjo said:
Tracker now working! It appears that whoever installed it at the factory had pulled one of the little blades out when he or she was taping it all together. Once it was working I got an immediate message from them to say my leisure battery was low. Checked it and the solar panel didn’t seem to be charging the battery. I asked the nice tracker man to have a look for me and he fixed it: exactly the same problem as the tracker, the tape was wound it so tight that it pulled out a connector. You would think a qualified tradesman would check his or her work when they finished, wouldn’t you. Anyway, all working now so very happy.
Click to expand...
Pleased everything is now fixed enjoy 🙂
 
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