twin wheel ace equerry.

[james_5040718]

after having our eldiss avante only two years we have come to the conclusion that we have out grown it we have three children and the make up bunk at the back isnt strong enough.we like the look of the fixed bunks and the big bathroom at the back on the equierry .the van is a twin wheel and 1.5m bigger than our current van we have a kia sorento 2.5 crd which i am confident will pull a big van .we also have a motor mover on our current van because it is awkward to get it into our shed which we keep our van in. so i would want a motor mover put on the twin wheel .i dont mind towing and we go abroad to france for our summer hols ,when i look at the twin wheel they look huge but ithink i would get used to the size. any body out there who has a twin wheel and can share threre views ,are they easy to tow ,have you had problems getting onto pitches etc. also what are ace vans like ,we have liked the eldiss avante 505 and have had no majer problens whith it.

 

[john_5042169]

Hi James,

I purchased a Compass 640 twin axle a couple of months ago and had the same concerns as you, however I found towing it a dream behind my Sorento auto, the two are a perfect match.

I have a powrwheel mover fitted and I must admit it is different to a single axle, in the way it manouvers because of the slow start up, it does take some getting used to but it does the trick, although I have found it does not like to much of incline.

I have no experience of the Ace but can certainly vouch for Elddis or Compass (maybe because they are only built 40 miles away)best of luck in your search

John

 

[GrahamW]

James

I changed my ABI about 12 months ago for an Avondale Landranger, have had no problems towing, the stability of a twin axle is a joy. I have however had problems in France with pitch sizes and access but nothing a motor mover would not have cured. It seems to be the consensous of opinion elswhere in theads that motor movers are only for those who struggle reversing....not true I have 30 odd years experience of reversing caravans, trailers, articulated vehicles etc but found it impossible to get my van off a site in France recently due to the combined length of the oufit. A motor mover would have solved this, the answer then is dont worry about it if you are having the mover fitted.

 

[Lol1]

Hi James, we too switched to a twin axle and were initially worried about the shear size of the thing! It hasn't been problem though. If anything, they are easier to reverse onto a pitch, due as mentioned before to the slow turning of the beast. As for this fabled stability while towing, to be honest I have not noticed much of a change from the single axle we had. One thing they susceptible to, is tow ball height. The one on my Sorento was too low and it meant the leading pair of wheels on the van were doing too much work, so if you have the facility to move the ball up to create a level tow, then I would recommend it.

Hope you enjoy your new found space!

 

[Icemaker]

James, i purchased a ace celebration 590 from glossop caravans 3 month ago, my van is basicly a equirry that has been specced up to a much higher standard than the factory equirry for round about the same money so if you live any where near glossop or don't mind travelling then its a much better purchase, alternatively barrons do the same layout and identical van based on the swift charisma and at the moment they have some 2005 models available for around 12000 quid which is a bargain. From my limited time owning this van i have towed it for about 500 miles and found it to be very stable, no problems at all with snaking or pitching and it is quite light for a twin axle so my seat alhambra has no trouble with it. as far as build quality is concerned i do have some issues although perhaps a little unfairly i am comparing the van to my previous van which was a coachman laser which is far superior to swift vans in both standard of equipment and build quality, although the vans are also considerably more expensive so i suppose you get what you pay for. my main concerns are the new lockers which i have had to tighten twice already as the doors tend to drop down on your head as you reach in, funny the first time then damb annoying, laso had problems with quality of finnish from factory, eg; dinette window falling out of hinge, damage to panel near main door, drawer above fire not level, damaged edge trim on dinette seats and a wet locker door that could not be locked due to miss aligned catches.

Apart from the above we are quite happy with the van its very easy to live with and a dream with the fixed bunks (our main reason for buying it) the removable carpets are a must these days and trim is very easy to keep clean on site. my wife finds the bed a little uncomfortable although i have no problem with it and both kids say the bunks are great, the bathroom is very good, its the first van we have had where the water pressure is good enough to have a shower without running round the cubicle to get wet and the wardrobe is huge with double doors and double hanging rails plus a couple of shelves infact if swift had added a couple of drawers they would have created the ultimate washroom, (are you reading swift ?). overall we are quite happy with the van and can recommend it to you but do try to get a dealer special they are far more value for money, if you need any further advice please ask and i will give you the relevant information. happy hunting. Gary.

 

[Icemaker]

James, forgot to mention above that we have a powerwheel twin axle mover fitted to van which has no problems moving it. we had it transfered from our laser to the celebration by glossop, i think originally it cost about 1000 pounds fitted.