Golf Savannah Questions & Answers

Trevor I have found in the past that covers cause more damage than not having one We leave our savannah 637 outside. We use a good quality pollish to protect the paint . Seems to work here in the north tropics. Covers caused mould inside and out .

Hi Trevor
We have an excellent cover it was expensive but has done a great job. We live rural with lots of dust and don't regret it at all. Happy to let you know the brand if interested. L

Hi NooNoo
yes would be interested in brand if you don't mind.

Hi Amanda we have a savannah 637 . Just remember that three way fridges are not that efficient on 12 volt . This function is best used to hold temperature while traveling. We have found that ours works best on gas when free camping.

Hi Amanda totally agree with last response 12volt to travel. We have a 499 and if "off the grid" gas is best, it's excellent.

We don’t have an Avan Savannah we have a genuine GOLF SAVANNAH

Ticker - It is a genuine GOLF SAVANNAH Series 402 PT. As stated on the sales documents. It is a 2 person POP TOP. Have you had any problems with yours? Such as uneven electronic brakes where one Drum heats up while the other remains cool, Gas bottles retaining strap fitted back to front Extremely difficult to fit fingers between bottles to undo catch. Incidentally both bottles were empty and had not been connected to test the various gas appliances. Safety???? Hans.

Hi There. Yes we bought a savannah maxxi but a 531- expander pop top. from avan Pakenham.

Hi Lucky,
We are looking at a caravan for 6, that is compact. Just wondering if you can give us reviews on dust, canvas beds (wet weather/humidity, fade, etc), and any other cons you might have experienced with the model.

Thanks in advance

We are about to purchase a golf savannah 499. Has anyone got any feedback on them please?

Change it to its own outlet ie then connect together both away from the van through a y connection then into the park sink. We have a Jayco and they actually got that right in a 2003 Freedom Out Back some years ago and still works well. We are currently reading these Blogs with interest to buy a new Golf 390 Maxxi and trade down as age is catching up. Regards Barrington

I purchased a demonstrator 499 (Nov/2015 built) in Apr/2017 and it had the storage box as standard so I suggest you are being told porkies.

We have owned our 499 for nearly two years now and love it . Great litte van that has endured some challenging trips and conditions.
The door / kitchen window is unfortunately and unusually a very poor design flaw. When the door opens it not only impacts on the ability to open the window but when it is fully open and secured in door catches it also covers the vents for the fridge . We have the barn door that opens in two stages but you can't use barn door feature as the securing mechanism is back too front and catches on the sliding screen.
Basically when it is hot and you want maximum cooling for fridge, window and door opening you have to comprimise.
I purchased two sets of the plastic door securing catches that attach to the van and door and pop rivetted them to a 100mm length of square aluminium tube. When door is open I just clip them into place and they act as a "door stop" that keeps the door in position away from the wall of the van allowing the window to open for ventilation if cooking inside, improves airflow around fridge vents and secures door in place { even though it isn't flush against wall, you learn to not walk into it}.
I am still at a loss to explain the working/ function of the barn door.

One of the first things we did is to remove the steps and purchased a simple aluminium step { steps hang too low and will cause damage when ripped off}

The second thing we had changed was the hot and cold water connections to the slide out kitchen. We had the connectors replaced with flexible braided stainless lines that are permanently connected . So easy .

Third was to replace plastic drain hose and tap on tanks with braided stainless hose and metal tap. {lost all our water near Doomadgee }

Fourth was to replace hydraulic door holders on front boot, With storage box in place difficult to place objects in front boot. Removed lifters and replaced with a piece of stainless rod that has two short right angle bends at either ends, this works on the same principal as the rod that holds the bonnet up un some cars {my 2014 Colorado for example} . This rod is long enough that it allows the front boot to be retained in the fully open position {tat is flat against the fron of van} giving much easier access.

Fifth was to fit a stone guard to protect front tap.

Sixth was to accept that floor drain for shower will only drain when you use a theodolite to determine level, in real world situation water will always lay in one corner or the other, Floor needs to have a increased fall to drain, still trying to work this one out without having floor of shower being custom made by fibreglass company.

Seventh was to buy short adjustable tubes to support pop top roof on annex side when annex is used to prevent roof "sagging".

These are great little vans, extremely durable and reliable that could have have had just a little bit more thought put in to them.

I have the Golf Savannah 499 too. Although the door does open back toward the fridge vents and holds on a magnetic catch, there are no problems with air circulation to vent as there is still a good gap. My only issue is the magnetic catch was not lined up correctly and barely holds the door against wind. I will ;fix that myself. I don't mind not being to fully open the kitchen window as the fan on range hood works well and vents to the outside. window can still be opened enough to assist with venting. The outside vent from range hood was not fitted straight, that's the Australian caravan industry standard it seems.
Silastic heavily daubed everywhere carelessly applied [usual] But over all I am very happy with the van. Everything working as it should so far. Some doubts about real off road ability with the lightweight cabinets and cheap hinges etc, but commonsense will dictate how its treated and I intend to make a few improvements to that end.

Still. its fitted with excellent Alko Enduro suspension which is a bonus on these vans.I agree they could have thought a few things out better. I have taken note of some of your modifications too.

A few people have mentioned removing the drop down step. See Caravan Worlds review on the 499. I have put insect mesh inside the fridge vents as anything could crawl in there, the gaps are so large.