Waiting Long
- 6 reviews
- 3 likes
Air conditioner almost completely ineffective
Whatever you do, don't pay full price for an air conditoned A-Van Cruiseliner or Adventure Plus.
The Finch HD9000 underbunk A/C cools the van by one degree and sometimes 2 degrees. This was also proven by two A/C experts. A-Van and the retailer have been stalling us for a very long time. They don't care and won't be doing anything about it it seems. We have overpaid by more than $3,000 for the van as the A/C doesn't effectively cool the van.
A-Van have known about this problem for a long time and yet continue to promote air condtioned A-Shaped A-vans. It lacks integrity.
I suggest we all take them to Consumer Affairs; report them to the ACCC and ask the Caravan Industry Association of Australia to de-register them.
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BrentonGippsland, VIC
- 3 reviews
Good Design but cheap materials and poor workmanship
Easy to two, Reasonably easy to erect but seals do not provide full seal. Had to have all replaced after 8 years. Water unit broke and Avan do not sell the part. You have to buy a complete unit, and it is not like the original. Interior beading all came loose. No thought given to the interior. Lights when folded down, scrape. No latches for doors on the clothing cupboards. Leaked through the interior light fitting in a storm. After sales service is OK in customer service but goods and parts very expensive
Purchased in November 2021.
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MamaluchkaAU
- 3 reviews
Disinterested Service from Avan
Being a solo female owner of an Avan Aliner 1D, I ask myself why is Avan's service record shockingly deficient? No response to several requests for help, as I have experienced in several of their agencies. This disinterest will eventually come back to bite them! I certainly will never recommend them what their service record is concerned and warn people on consumer feedback forums like this one. I have shared with others and they agree. Just basing their business on sales and neglecting service is poor company practice! Come on Avan, you can do better than that!
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davew
- 42 reviews
- 7 likes
Aliner - take your tool kit and bandaids!
Purchased a second hand 2010 1D Aliner from a Caravan re-seller which appeared to have done very little work and apart from replacement LED tailights and an internal LED strip was in original order. we have previously been minimalist campers but wanted to have a change from grovelling on the ground. I knew from reading reviews that I would have some modifications and repairs to make. The re-seller agreed to supply the replacement side hinges which had already begun to fracture and the missing hand-nut from a top vent. The replacement hinge is ...Read more
steel and should last longer than the aluminium. They are easy to replace as long as you don't overtighten. I did them in sections so at no time was the side completely unhinged! The Avan is a great design and is all the things owners claim - simple quick and easy to erect and pack up compared to other designs, no wet or flapping canvas, plenty of storage options, good internal head room, tows well, etc; but think twice if you have mobility issues as all storage is low and erection requires some height and good shoulders. Also, you must be able to make running repairs. We continually get the impression that we have the first prototype model made all those 25 years ago! Bandaids required because of cuts from sharp edges are not the only issue. The quality of fit and finish is pathetic in this modern world and in my opinion a sad testament to Australian caravan manufacturing standards. A good example here are the flimsy teflon strips which act as the main slides for the back roof section, glued over a shaped timber block and pop riveted to the aluminium extrusion. One of my teflon strips was completely shredded from having to slide over the roughly cut and oversize slot for the side catch. I hand manufactured and fitted a solid teflon block to replace the entire slide, reduced the hole size and filed away the rough edges on the catch slot; something Avan should have been doing years ago. The hinged cupboard door under the sink (microwave space in some) has poor quality short strut arms held by short screws which pull out of the plywood. Bolts, nuts and washers are needed here. The hinged covers over the front storage bins use butterfly hinges with removable pins which come out in transit and get lost making the covers useless. The external 62 litre plastic water tank is retained by 4 nyloc nuts over thin gal steel straps. Washers were inexplicably under the bolt head going through the thicker chassis! No wonder some owners have reported losing their entire water tank down the road! A heavier washer reinforcement is required here. The hand brake mechanism is archaic and dangerous, and requires the strength of a rugby team to operate sufficiently to stop the van from moving on any slope. The cables are directed over sharp chassis edges which doesn't help. The standard ALKO jockey wheel has insufficient swing down height making it almost impossible to disconnect the van on irregular sites. I have shortened mine by 22mm. The 12 volt electrics are pathetic with no protective fuse at the battery terminal and a minimalist 240v battery charger for the auxillary battery capacity. The wiring from the front mounted merit plug to the fridge for on road vehicle supplied 12v is also too light. The location of the 240v GPO and 12v power socket on the double bed side of the island cupboard is continually fouled by bedding when lifting the bed. The lock levers on the full size opening roof windows open in transit leaving the perspex roof top vunerable.4 comments
Also .... we discovered that our fridge had never been run on gas and when I fired it up for the first time is started to smell like burning or melting plastic. No smoke. Apparently, after a mad onlin... Read more
e search, this is normal and is caused by new materials and maybe some insulation / installation debris in the metal flue. It's a good idea to run them on gas for a few hours so the smell settles down. Keep the side window above the outside fridge vent closed so it does not draw the smell inside the van. It is fine now.Update Feb, 2018. Thought I had fixed the intermittently knuckle jarring, slipping and jamming window winders by drilling out the pop rivets, removing, bending back the light gauge metal housing which... Read more
had ballooned allowing the flexible link strut to slip on the winding cog, re-greased and replaced. Not so. Poor design here means these throw away winders will forever be a source of frustration without a better solution. I have now done a quick fix by inserting a light gauge (approx 1.2mm thick, 15 x 15 x 200mm long (available from Aldi in 1000mm lengths, every blue moon!)) metal angle inside the gap between the outside housing and base, and installing the entire winding unit with 3/16" gutter bolts, with oversize washers and nyloc nuts on the outside which I then siliconed to seal against any moisture ingress. We'll see how that works. Initial signs are promising.Similar opinion? Write a review on ieatwords.com.au!
Questions & Answers
Linda K.asked
We have a 2007 aliner and we cant remove the cap to fill the water tank. Any suggestions
No answers
Rod P.asked
I have just purchased a 2003 Aliner and am wondering what the plug on the chassis near the gas cylinders is for. Could it be to run the fridge? It looks like a merrit style plug.
Thanks in advance
Rod
No answers
Gregasked
We are looking at the possibility of fitting an aftermarket air conditioner unit to our 2010 model. The van has been great for us - no issues. Tows well behind a diesel Subaru Forester. Is there a place that someone can recommend too obtain pricing ect. We are based in Sydney . Thanks . G
2 answers
All I can advise is to get your electrics checked by a good electrician! I ended up in Uluru, with my system tripping out, no refrigeration working, nor airconditioning. Only when an astute park ranger disconnected the microwave, could I get the rest to work. Yet, the microwave works fine in my kitchen! Beware of dodgy installations!
Thanks for that - appreciated
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davew
I forgot to mention the 3 way Dometic fridge which opens in transit and spills the fridge contents over the floor. Despite what the sales guys tell you the door lock is not adequate.
strap across ours to keep the door secure when travelling. The fridge works very well on 240V and gas. The 12v option when travelling and connected to your vehicles power outlet barely maintains the fridge temp but is sufficient in normal o'night stop touring.I fitted a clip ... Read more