Servicing and hidden charges!

[Surfer]

We had our caravan serviced yesterday and we told that the fluid in the
ALDE system needs changing as it has been in the system for 2 years. We
assumed it was part of the service, but it is an additional charge of
about £120 and the wife went ballistic.
We were never told of this additional cost on purchase and
the wife is fuming and ready to chuck it in especially as damp was found
in the front nearside area. The caravan is under warranty, but at 2
years old there should be no damp!

If we have the fluid replaced, we will probably opt for the 5 year anti
freeze as cheaper in the long run and it does the same
job. Unfortunately it will have to wait a few months before we change
the anti freeze, that is if the wife has not made me sell the caravan!

 

[otherclive]

No different to cars re brake fluid, coolant and cam belts (£750 and £400 two of ours the other being cam chain) for cars. Do they get included in servicing plans? No they are recommendations within the service handbook. Dealers are hardly likely to raise items that may make a purchaser go elsewhere.

 

[Damian]

There are a lot of things which are recommended, or even a requirement of the appliance warranty which are not included in the Annual Service, the Alde anti freeze change is just one of them.

 

[Surfer]

There are a lot of things which are recommended, or even a requirement of the appliance warranty which are not included in the Annual Service, the Alde anti freeze change is just one of them.

I appreciate that, but it would have bene nice if we had been told about the requirements for the ALDE system as previously we had blown air heating requiring no servicing. Is a charge of about £120 abour right for a twin axle for a mobile technician? Thanks.

 

[TonyG]

Recenty had ours done at second service. Who said this hobby of ours was cheap

We also were not told about the additional cost for this recommended antifreeze change, but neither were we told that ideally you should change your tyres every 5 years regardless of wear and the list just goes on and on....lol

 

[xtrailman]

Why can't 5 year fluid be fitted it silly to fit 2 year fluid in the first place.
Any way my dealer last year was offering the 2Y fluid change for £60.

 

[TonyG]

Why can't 5 year fluid be fitted it silly to fit 2 year fluid in the first place.
Any way my dealer last year was offering the 2Y fluid change for £60.

so your dealer can charge another £120 in two years time

 

[otherclive]

I suspect that the 2 year fluid is cheaper, and also that the most dirt and corrosion is likley to take place in the first period after manufacture, so by draining and renewing fluid it gets rid of that detrius, and probably protects Alde and the dealers position in the event of a problem and claim. Ie if you dont abide by the servicing recommendations your position imay be weakened. But doesnt it smack of the typical cottage industry approach to the manufacture and supply of caravans compared to the advances made by the motor industry albeit with larger throughput and competition. I now know why we have held onto our 2005 van for longer than planned......very good payload, no damp and reliable. The cash saved would pay for the most extreme damp issues some times over, but unfortunately has already been used on non-caravan holidays!!!

 

[ProfJohnL]

It is quite common to find dealers (car or caravan) offering a fixed price service, but then if you check the small print (those pesky terms and conditions) they tell you that consumables are extra or certain items are excluded and should be dealt with separately.

I suppose its easy with the benefit of hind sight to say check the small print, but its something that consumers often don't do properly before entering into a contract.

In the case of the Alde, if the change interval is two or more years, then by definition its not part of an annual service.

 

[RogerL]

Some items need attention/replacement at different intervals so the expectation of a uniform annual service charge is misplaced - cars have differently priced services, eg Interim/Standard/Extended so the same should be expected for caravans - however, if the dealer/workshop knows which service is required, eg 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc then they should be quoting prices appropriate to the amount of extra work involved.
There's no excuse for dealers quoting for a 2nd year caravan service, with the Alde fluid change as an extra.
But there is a silver lining, at least for those of a DIY inclination - if the Alde fluid change isn't part of the annual service, it doesn't have to be done by a franchised/Approved workshop, it can be done DIY although it's a time-consuming exercise without the Alde pressure pump.

 

[bertieboy1]

I don't know anything about the ALDE system but is this something you can do yourself.

 

[Martin_E]

Yes £120-£160 is about right I think if you go to Alde they charge around the upper figure.

I fill with 5 year, cost difference is pence.

I appreciate that, but it would have bene nice if we had been told about the requirements for the ALDE system as previously we had blown air heating requiring no servicing. Is a charge of about £120 abour right for a twin axle for a mobile technician? Thanks.

 

[xtrailman]

Robinsons had a offer on for the fliud change at £60, last year, give them a ring.
I thought that was expensive.

 

[RayS]

It was anticipation of just this sort of discussion which caused me to opt for Whale warm air heating rather than Alde or other wet system for my new van. It works very well and most of the floor level lockers are free of pipes and airvents.

 

[RogerL]

It was anticipation of just this sort of discussion which caused me to opt for Whale warm air heating rather than Alde or other wet system for my new van. It works very well and most of the floor level lockers are free of pipes and airvents.

I wish the Alde hadn't been standard on my latest caravan, I certainly wouldn't have chosen it as an option - however, like complaints about Truma blown-air the performance comes from the design and installation, not from differences in method of operation.

 

[Martin_E]

The Whale system is good, but then so is the Alde system

 

[ProfJohnL]

The Whale system is good, but then so is the Alde system

Deja vue - sounds like an advet for a supermarket!

 

[RogerL]

The Whale system is good, but then so is the Alde system

I only have experience of the "old" Truma Ultraheat blown-air and now a year with the Alde.
IMO the Alde is outperformed by the old Truma - the Alde is too slow to warm the caravan up, has no heat output at floor level so cold feet and hot water temperature varies from 40-80 oC depending on room heating operation, instead of a constant 60 oC. The Alde can't be used to circulate cool air in summer either.

We have to use a £10 fan heater as well as the Alde !!

 

[Surfer]

The Whale system is good, but then so is the Alde system

I only have experience of the "old" Truma Ultraheat blown-air and now a year with the Alde.
IMO the Alde is outperformed by the old Truma - the Alde is too slow to warm the caravan up, has no heat output at floor level so cold feet and hot water temperature varies from 40-80 oC depending on room heating operation, instead of a constant 60 oC. The Alde can't be used to circulate cool air in summer either.

We have to use a £10 fan heater as well as the Alde !!

Thank you Roger as this is what I have been banging on about on some forums but get shouted down by the ALDE fans. In winter we have to take along an electric fan heater. The wife prefers the blown air system over the ALDE and last year she almost persuaded me to trade it in for an older caravan with blown air heating.
Initially we with our older Lunar 640 caravan we did have issues with the blown air, but once the remote was fitted no more issues! Now we don't use the caravan much in the winter but mainly due to my arthritis and the fact for some reason we seem to have ice cold air blowing in around our feet in the front.
After the tech discovered the gas leak inside the caravan, there is no ways we woudl want to cover any vent. However by the same token, we should not have had a gas leak on a 2 year old caravan. Although we never smelt any gas, we did wonder why we seem to use more gas than normal.

 

[RogerL]

My 2013 Lunar is having major surgery over the winter, under warranty, to increase the airflow over the Alde heating elements as the standard installation falls a long way short of Alde's recommentations - this will hopefully correct the issue I didn't mention above, that the Alde can't currently cope with an internal:external temperature difference of more than about 18 oC so totally unacceptable at ambient temperatures under 5 oC.
From what I see of other brands at dealers this issue isn't confined to Lunar but may be more noticeable in caravans without a fixed bed, ie layout dependent.

 

[otherclive]

What I like about the Truma blown air is the speed of heating up and you can rebalance the heat load very easily by just adjusting the vent flaps. You also can use just the fire and has been stated above the fan is useful for helping air circulation in warm weather. In summary it is a system with considerable flexibility and resilience.

 

[Surfer]

My 2013 Lunar is having major surgery over the winter, under warranty, to increase the airflow over the Alde heating elements as the standard installation falls a long way short of Alde's recommentations - this will hopefully correct the issue I didn't mention above, that the Alde can't currently cope with an internal:external temperature difference of more than about 18 oC so totally unacceptable at ambient temperatures under 5 oC.
From what I see of other brands at dealers this issue isn't confined to Lunar but may be more noticeable in caravans without a fixed bed, ie layout dependent.

Our caravan is at the dealer on Friday. We have previously complained to the dealer about the irregular heating, but nothing was done about it.
In front by the bunks we have heat at the back of the bunk by the door area for about 2 foot and then along the rest of the bunk no heating. There is heating across the front of the bunk at the end, but there is nowhere that the heat can rise so the cushions there get very warm. We also get ice cold air blowing in from under the chest of drawers due to the large vent under the drawers.
I would be interested to know what your dealer is doing to resolve the issue especially if Lunar are aware of the poor fitment of the heating system. Thanks.

 

[Dustydog]

Why oh why do the manufacturers keep reinventing the wheel.

Our Truma Ultraheat works extremely well. It kept us very warm at minus 10deg c last winter.

Initially I thought the Alde kit was a progressive step forward , now I'm not so sure from what I read.
Thank goodness we have an onboard cold water tank and a decent sized rectangular shower rather than a circular module thing.
In fact looking at most of the new models I suspect aesethic design has ignored common sense simple usage and indeed affordablility.
Why on earth do I want to tug a full sized domestic fridge freezer around??
I can buy a new Bailey Unicorn Barcelona today but in most respects, Alu-Tech excepted it does nothing better than our six year old Wyoming

 

[RogerL]

Why oh why do the manufacturers keep reinventing the wheel.

And then keep building it with a faulty spoke - but a different spoke each time ?

 

[Gabsgrandad]

We've been looking around new vans this past week or two, and almost assumed that we ought to be looking at one with Alde heating, as we had seen no adverse comments about it. However some of those adverse comments now seem to be filtering through the system. Is this because initially every one who had it was loathe to "knock" it as they had got it and paid for it, and now are becoming disillusioned with it as it's short comings through experience are manifesting themselves? Certainly I had not seen 'downsides' to it 'til recent posts and some of these 'downsides' filtering through the forums. Certainly I'm thinking now why not stick with something we know and have been satisfied with through many years experience of it. ie Truma (Just don't fancy laying under a new van again to insulate the pipes! Why don't manufacturers fit double walled ducting?)