What to expect if you buy a new Buccaneer

Jan 31, 2018
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So many questions-so many extras with this van, I've compiled this from my own findings-may save someone a bit of time-can't gtee it's 100% accurate for anything other than the 2020 Buc!

What comes as standard with the van-that you might not on lesser vans!

Leisure battery-yes top quality-since it has EP levelling it has to have a battery to operate it

Outdoor shower outlet-COLD, with the shower attachment

Outdoor BBQ point with quick fit adapter tie wrapped to the outlet

Aquamaster-ie to hook up direct to the mains

Waste master-provided because of the above

Knife and fork holder in the drawer

Solar panels and Trauma controller-space ie inputs there to allow it to control an extra solar panel

4 speaker stereo

Onboard water tank

Alde 5 year automotive grade fluid-check the level-when cold 1cm above minimum-it does settle after first use we found.

Load limiter-on the Alde panel-you can limit what the caravan heating system is using so you don’t exceed the site limit

TWO Alko wheel locks

Onboard -tracker-not the best as it’s passive but hey ho.

Alarm with awning light fade in out. 2 remotes plus two little fobs to fit in the slot above the Alde panel to reset the alarm

Satellite feed



Common questions / issues

Heating

Why is the underfloor heating greyed out on my Alde panel-that’s because we have underfloor water tubes-nothing to do with this Alde optional extra electric element heating-nothing to do -if the heating is working you should feel it on your feet.

OFFSET-because the thermostat is by the door-you can add one-you may need to use this-we have it on -4 -perfect.

Alde panel-you can have day, with hot water on or off and a set temp, night with same and nothing-so you can have a gap between when day and night occur so in the evening you can have it warmer etc. basically at least 4 programmable sessions.

Oven

The oven has a thermostat controlled fan that cuts in to prevent the carcass overheating-yes it is loud!

EP levelling

Nose must be down-if the site is uneven this might be hard to achieve-to go into auto mode. You can manually adjust instead. The lit arrows on the panel show which side is needing levelling ie is out-when the blob in the middle lights it’s level.

Use pads esp on the central rams if the ground is soft

To put the Alko locks on-if it’ s uneven or sloping some pop offsite ram down and even heard of the fronts, then lift the van on the nearside but generally no need. Simply apply hand brake and chocks on offside, raise nearside release handbrake rotate wheel fit locks and drop. When you drop the van you will see the wheel rotate-nothing to worry about-it’s how the suspension works-the receiver of the lock moves with the wheel so it won’t cause stress on the bolt.

Keep rams clean and sprayed with silicone spray.



Toilet

Flushes from the onboard tank or the aquaroll or mains-no receiver for the pink stuff. Just like your home loo; if you want you can dilute some pink stuff and pop it down but beware it stains-some use toilet ducks.



Water-panel settings



A switch for on , plus another by its side- marked int, 0 and ext

Fill the internal tank from the external water source by pressing EXT

To use the internal tank use INT when it’s full

To use the ext source or aquaroll leave it on 0 ie in the middle

Pressure from int tank is just a bit better than all the rest-if you run out it’ll switch to the external source so they say-never done or tried this though.

Percentage full of internal tank is shown as a picture on the screen-you can tap the little diamond on this screen and it lights up.

Sink tap has a water filter in line so might be a little slower to run than the others. Some dealers swap this at service but might not!



Fridge

Has gas or mains 240v cooling. On site it won’t work on 12v-that is the setting for when you are attached to the car and want to maintain the temp as cool. It will struggle to get cold from room temp and many cars with smart chargers simply don’t seem to provide enough current for this feature. Don’t expect a cold fridge when you arrive-bonus if you do!



Switches by the door-top one on its own-12v on or off-ie needs switching on when you arrive onsite, off when you travel.

The two below are the offside and nearside awing light switches=ours seem the wrong way round-really ie left switch does offside, right switch, nearside! Yours may be different.
 
May 7, 2012
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They are a very nice model, but the Eldiss reputation would worry me, although having bought a Lunar I am in no position to talk. The one thing that would definitely prevent me buying most models though is the payload allowance of 159 kg on so large a van which is completely inadequate, if you fit a motor mover it looks even worse. You can upgrade this according to the website, but only to 2,000 kg which is probably still inadequate.
This criticism applies to many current models now though, where the MTPLM has been brought down to the point where loading a pair of socks could be the limit. The magazine and clubs should be highlighting this when testing models, the CAMH has started to do this with motor homes, so why not caravans.
 
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Jan 31, 2018
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WE did the upgrade and it really doesn't worry us-we only ever carry one gas and load the car not the van-we've always done that-just think lots of weight on our roads is recipe for stress on the body work and increased chance of damage. So far this is the most perfectly built caravan we have ever had the pleasure to buy! Let's hope it stays that way!
 
May 7, 2012
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In your case the Nav has the capacity to carry your extras and you are aware of the problem. I do find it wrong though for a caravan which can easily take a lot more than the load allowance without being obviously overloaded, or look even near it, to have that tight a margin. This is not a criticism of Eldiss alone though, but the various makes in general. I do wonder how anyone can sell a caravan with a 50 kg, allowance which is probably the worst example.
 
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