Servicing Costs

[Reg]

Is £200.00 too much to charge for servicing?

I think its far too much in fact its £10.00 more than to have a Jaguar serviced. Any remedial work necessary is charged above that. Looking at the work schedule it consists of checking wheel bearings, greasing legs and couplings, gas leak check and water leak and tyre inspection.

Next year its a DIY job.

 

[RogerL]

And your Jaguar will probably have

 

[Dustydog]

Reg

Have you ever watched your caravan being serviced? It's no 5 minute job and involves structural as well as gas , electricity and plumbing etc. My dealer charges

 

[Dustydog]

Reg

Have you ever watched your caravan being serviced? It's no 5 minute job and involves structural as well as gas , electricity and plumbing etc. My dealer charges

 

[Reg]

Kind of servicing blackmail really!

Would it really hold water (pun not intended) if put to the test?

Car manufacturers lost their case over servicing in the european courts I think.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Reg,

Yes the car industry took a bloody nose when the courts ruled that some of their stipulations in their guarantee policies were anti-competitive or not in the customers best intrests.

Unfortunately the same issues have not been tested for caravans. There are some subtle but important differences between the way the car dealerships operate compared to caravan dealerships, and I believe that these differences may prevent the them from being subject to the same ruling.

You might find that you can have the caravan serviced anywhere, but to retain the water ingress guarantee you may have to have the caravan inspected by a registered dealer. That might save a few

 

[RogerL]

Why do dealers change the hub nuts during a service?

I do know they're one-shot and can't be replaced.

Al-Ko DON'T require the brake drum to be cleaned or inspected on a annual basis so it's an unneccessary job invented by stealers to increase their revenue.

 

[Dustydog]

Roger,

that's very interesting. I was under the impression that part of the service involved checking the brake mechanisms, reversing actuator and shoes , all of which need the drums removed.

I'll check out my service handbook over the weekend.

Maybe Paul Jones from Al-ko could comment please?

Cheers

Alan

 

[Damian]

The hub nuts have to be replaced as part of the service requires the drum to be removed for the reversing mechanism and brake adjuster to be cleaned and regreased to ensure they work properly.

It also gives the opportunity to inspect the brake linings for crazing and delamination from the backing plates, and to remove dust accumulations which result in squealing brakes.

It is correct that as a rough guide, the thickness of the pads can be seen through one of the inspection holes in the rear of the backplate, but you cannot see the whole web of the brakes, and it is surprising how much can be hidden from view.

 

[RogerL]

Damian - if your check the Al-Ko User Manual that should have been provided with your caravan - I doubt it specifies annual cleaning and inspection of the brake drums.

As you state, the brake lining thickness can be checked through the inspection holes in the back plate.

Drum brakes have been around a long time - checking the lining thickness is important - cleaning and internal inspection isn't.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I have recently payed

 

[Damian]

Roger, the drum is the minor part, and I have not said it is necessary to do anything with it, they are usually ok.

It is the other parts which need attention, and to get to them, the drums have to come off, which means new hub nuts.

On the older Knott hubs, it was no problem as they has castellated nuts and taper roller bearings, all that was needed was a new split pin.

Thats progress for you.

 

[Reg]

Most cars only require a service at 12,000 miles. A caravan would probably only do about half that per year at the most and I would guess that the majority do a lot less. Surely caravan technology has moved on at a similar pace to that as cars and with so few moving parts they should require fewer services.

Also can anyone tell me what the servicing of the mechanical parts has to do with body leaks.

If manufacturers insist on an annual body inspection then that is an entirely different matter.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

It would depend on the suspension units and brake problems as either if neglected, could cause the chasis to distort and then twisting of the bodywork.

 

[RogerL]

Reg - sadly caravan chassis HAVEN'T moved on at the same rate as car development.

Caravans still use cable/rod operated brakes last seen on cars before WW2 and use suspension systems that Issigonis put on the Mini in the '50s but long since dropped. British caravans don't get dampers as standard even though cars have ALWAYS had them and continental caravans have fitted them for a long time.

 

[Gareth111278]

On the brake drum issue, its only a couple of quid for the nut so i'd rather my brakes were fully inspected, the few miles that caravans do is thier worst enemy , i'm worried that the brakes will seize up!

On the price thing, my 'local' place [Conway Touring Park] do reduced price servicing during the winter [in an effort to spread the work a bit i expect] they also do partial services e.g body only , chassis only, gas only.

gareth

 

[Reg]

Had a look at the Alko web site and it states that "the axles are fitted with maintenance free wheel bearings (greased and sealed for life) and no adjustment is necessary." Then it goes on to say "Check wheel brake linings for wear every 10,000Km or every 12 months via the inspection hole. Adjust if necessary"

No mention of changing any nuts!

 

[RogerL]

Had a look at the Alko web site and it states that "the axles are fitted with maintenance free wheel bearings (greased and sealed for life) and no adjustment is necessary." Then it goes on to say "Check wheel brake linings for wear every 10,000Km or every 12 months via the inspection hole. Adjust if necessary"

No mention of changing any nuts!

Exactly !!!