To service or not ?!

[Rioja]

My five year old van was serviced evry year for the first three years of it's life. It was being used very regularly..30-40 trips per year, and also needed the service to comply with warrenty.

It has not been serviced for nearly two years, but in that time it has only been on 6 trips.

At a cost of £190 last time, I wonder what benefit there is, I have a gas flow fitted which should detect leaks. There is no sign of damp, although at the last service they re-sealed the windows they claimed had damp ingress ( extra cost to service).

The corner steadies and jockey wheel need some grease which I can do.My only other concern are the wheels and brakes.

We are taking the van abroad this year, and safety is very important. However, I somehow feel that the service offers poor value. They don't actually do much do they ? just check if things are working, which they are.

What is the general concensus...is it worth the money and how often ?

 

[emmerson2]

Rioja, your van must have a safety inspection before you take it abroad, but I must agree that the rip-off charges for dealer servicing is a disgrace for what they do. I'm fortunate in being able to service my old van myself, so don't have the problem. Is there not a mobile fitter in your area who could do an inspection for you? After all, not much can have gone wrong in 5 or 6 trips! What mileage did it do in that time? probably a few hundred, if that. Would you have your car serviced after such a short mileage? I'm not saying don't have it done, but you know yourself whether there's any thing wrong with the van.

Now I'll stand by for the flak!

 

[nick_374224697]

It should be remembered that the length of time should be taken into consideration between services and not necessarily the amount of miles only. Particular attention should be apid to the brake drums and also brake lines on the underside of the van.

Here endeth the lesson.

 

[nick_374224697]

It should be remembered that the length of time should be taken into consideration between services and not necessarily the amount of miles only. Particular attention should be apid to the brake drums and also brake lines on the underside of the van.

Here endeth the lesson.

Paid not apid !!!

 

[Cathryn1]

Rioja - if your only concern is the wheels and brakes, could the garage only check those at a reduced charge?

The garage that serviced ours replaced a couple of pipes including the gas pipe for no extra charge. We paid

 

[Nigel_374301722]

A service on a caravan should be considered in the same way as an MOT for a car .. you hope nothing is wrong but do it anyway for peace of mind (I know it is not a legal requirement for caravans before anyone points this out! ).

If you are happy to check the living compartment then ask for a chasis service only. The engineer will then only check the brakes and running gear of the caravan for a greatly reduced price.

The thing to remember is that the nuts on the axles are single use and need replacing if you remove the drums. The torque required to fit new nuts is far in excess of a standard DIY torque wrench so beyond most average DIY'er so maybe this is the way forward for you.

If you are not comfortable in checking for gas safety, damp etc. then shop around for a good price. And yes there are mobile engineers out there who may charge less! (Looks innocently about whistling to himself! )

 

[RogerL]

The brake drums don't need to be taken off to check the brake shoes as there are inspection holes just for that purpose. Although dealers routinely clean out the brake drums and replace the one-shot nut this isn't a service requirement, EVER, if you read the Al-Ko information leaflets.

 

[Nigel_374301722]

It is true that there are inspection holes through which you can get an idea of the condition of the brakes shoes. However it is good practice to remove the brake drums as a visual inspection of the entire brake assembly can be undertaken.

I have seen caravans only a few years old with completely worn out brakes and even had the linings fall off when removing the shoes due to bad adjustment causing overheating. Using the inspection holes did not show this.

If you don't do too many miles the inspection holes are fine but once in a while it is a good idea to remove the drums especially if the caravan is doing a lot of miles.

 

[NorfolkMike]

Please explain, preferably in noddy speek, why? when my V.W. Toran requires service at 20K+ my caravan brakes, which I assume are not of a deliberatly lesser quality, should need a service/check every (say) 3000 miles and thats for a fairly high caravan use per annum. Sorry guys but the great British public are getting ripped off again. Mark my words.

ttfn