A'van Aspire Hardtop Series Questions & Answers (page 3 of 3)

http://www.avanspareparts.com.au/

tried them first time about wiring diagram. Said they had asked around and could not locate one. Emailed a second time about water monitor and other questions. Received no answer at all. They are as helpful as a mobile phone with a flat battery.

Ouch! Not good,
I'm no expert on solar, the 499 we have was bought second hand and had no battery so we installed a sealed job, I thought that being underneath the bed a sealed or gel battery would be safer. As for solar we are still investigating solar before we buy and install, there Is a lot of misinformation about on this subject and it is easy to get ripped off like you were. However keep persevering seek good advise and you will have a good set up.
Cheers and happy Avaning.

I have a 499 Aspire. At the time I bought mine they were fitted with a Proster awning. Other than the brand they look very similar to the Thule. They are a lightweight awning and suitable for holidays/weekends. Most awnings are prone to failure in bad weather and strong winds. The awnings fitted to the Aspire range are a little more prone. It pays to buy awning support 'ribs'. When rain is expected, drop one end of the awning a little to allow run off. There are stronger awnings however you need to express your concerns to the dealer if buying new and see if there are options. I hope this has been of some help.

Thank you for your response. We will take on board your valuable information and ideas.

Hi Lozza. Dale55 is correct. We have a 499Ht with the Prostor awning. We like the way the awning works and Have been in some nasty weather with it but it is a tad flimsy and collects a heap of water during rain, We will get some ribs if we can! Getting parts from Avan seems to be almost impossible. Also when we bought the van the camp room walls Had been put away wet and were stuffed, Dometic told us that they were not importing the camp room as they were too flimsy and were going to make their own. But we never heard back from them also, our local canvas maker made us a new one that works fine,so far. Hope this helps.

Hi Leanne
We never used the van shower so can't honestly comment on your issue. Our van towed well, looked good, layout suited us but we couldn't live with the many minor defects resulting from poor quality control in the factory and the poor response from Avan. We sold it after just one year, feel better already!
I hope you enjoy your van for many years as I have no doubt they do build some good ones.
RPtas

Hi Leanne,
I did not have this problem with the AVAN, however I believe that it is a problem with a lot of vans, my latest Jayco is the same, however I have now plumbed a separate waste line for the shower as it is so low, and problem is now fixed! before that I used a chamosis to clean up excess water!

Hi Leanne,
We fixed this problem by putting a small bucket under the outlet and plumbed the bucket with the sullage hose with fittings available from an irrigation shop.
also we bought some plastic matting from Clarke rubber shop which is highly slotted on the under surface so the water drains freely so you can use the toilet whitout standing in a puddle of water.

Hi Bernie,
My biggest problems with Avans are the way they finish off the interior wall joins, their lack of attention to detail and their "well that's how we build them" attitude from both the factory and dealers.
The internal wall joins are covered with a wood grain tape which can not hide the gaps behind and can look hideous especially with a little side lighting. I have removed all the tape, filled the joins with plastibond and re-taped. I now have the finish which should have been provided by the factory. Avan have carried out some minor warranty work and I am currently waiting for a promised new awning to replace the factory damaged unit. Hopefully when this is installed I will have a van which I can use without getting annoyed every time I see it. Would I purchase another Avan ? After 12 months of frustration dealing with both the factory and dealer -- no, I don't think so. Hope this helps. RP tas

Hi Sam, No, the issues have not been dealt with as yet but we are still talking with our local Tas. agent and Ian Stokes from the A van factory in Pakinham. We will drop in to the factory on our way home from Perth in August and sit on their doorstep! Very dissapointed with the lack of service during the past 7 months but we will stick at it until they fix the worksmanship issues. The van design suits our requirements for layout/ function and size but poor finish takes the "new van" gloss away. Hope this helps.
RP (Tas)

Hi Sam, We not long ago bought the Avan Aspire HT 499 with adventure pack. We love the van and the budget was right for us. General speaking from my experience you always get what you pay for! The AVAN for us is exactly what we wanted, covered all the bases without the too hefty price tag. I believe that when purchasing a caravan of any brand you have to consider how far away you local dealer is and look at the review of your local dealer, as to how they deal with warranty issues!

With the Aspire, we have found that the toilet stopped working, after researching the Thetford toilet has a 3amp fuse hidden inside after removing the cassette, however this fuse was OK, there was also a 3amp fuse under the bed which had blow, which also runs a few of the lights! After replacing that one with a 5amp have had no probelms! Also minor design fault, that the door to the van if leaving open and clipped back on the van, does not allow the window above the sink to be opened ( does not worry us too much), and also covers the two vents for the airflow for the fridge! ( once when we were using LPG for the fridge and had the door open all day, it appeared to heat up a bit, but we just closed the door and the temperature around the fridge enclosure reduced fine! Lastly the Adventure pack towball height was mounted to the bottom of the drawbar, which for me with a lifted Prado, was way too low. I have purchase 40mm thick steel billet, drilled holes, fitted longer bolts to raise a bit for my vehicle, if you owned a normal sedan the height is probably OK but if you have a remotely high towball mount you will probably need to raise also!

With Avan, we are really happy, Compact, light weight, VAN, but I would recommend having that desire to fix minor things yourself if buying an AVAN, ( being a tinkerer like me)

Hope this helps!

We fixed the problem with the door covering the window and vents by buying the door plastic retainers that are attached to the door and body from Avan and attaching them to a bent piece of aluminimum that then clips into original retainers and holds the door away from the side of the van.