The reason for my lack of posts is a simple one and one that most of us fall foul of at some time or other; a change of lifestyle.

Not a dramatic change mind you; haven’t sold the Motorhome; didn’t move house; just changed my job!

It’s amazing what changing your job does for you, or undoes for you.  Your focus suddenly changes and things just get left behind but like a bad penny I’m back.  In order to protect my sanity though I’m going to take it steady and not try to write too many posts initially; work my way into it; gently does it; quality and not quantity.

I also thought that although this site is primarily about Motorhomes I might extend the remit and talk about other things that have a strong or sometimes tenuous link to Motorhoming.  Let’s see how it goes.

Hasten to say I am very pleased to be back because this site means such a lot to me and having built up a regular audience I realise it’s going to take some time to get you all back but I’m very determined.

It’s a perfect time to come back anyway because the main camping season is just about to kick off following the hard winter we’ve had so onwards and upwards.

Regards,

Steve

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I’ve mentioned the problems I’ve had with the Caravan Club and I asked them if they were intending fitting these anti-pollution devices called a Nabic pipe interrupter to any of their fresh water taps.  They are in the process of fitting one to a chemical disposal point water pipe at Lynton but because they have realised that these devices cause a problem they have no intention of fitting them generally onto their water taps.

It seems to me that the Camping and Caravanning Club have thought about this carefully and considered us Motorhomers in the decision making process whereas the Caravan Club have not and although I do keep trying to get them to do something about it they are not interested and are not being very helpful at all. Needless to say I will not give up on this.

This is the response from the Camping and Caravanning Club that I received yesterday;

“This is quite apt as I have had to deal with a problem we have had at Lynton yesterday where we are due to fit one of these on the CDP as the current set up contravenes the 1999 Water regulations Act This device does act as prevention for back flow and siphonage and suitable for protecting up to fluid category 5. However it does reduce the pressure somewhat, which is why this will be the first time we have fitted such a device, and as its only the wash down on the CDP we have had to alter the pipework accordingly.

Anyway the answer to the original question is that we have no more of these devices fitted anywhere else on the network. If a water authority deems we have contravened byelaws we tend to try an alternative solution to this interrupter.”

Thank goodness for the Friendly Club.

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For those of you not familiar with this ongoing saga then this is about the Caravan Club fitting anti-pollution devices called a Nabic pipe interrupter to their directly mains fed fresh water taps which then make it impossible for me to fill up the fresh water tank on my Autocruise Starseeker.  You can catch up with the story by clicking on the related posts below.

So here’s where we are right now;

• The Caravan Club at the moment are not taking central responsibility for this issue and say they are not sure where these devices are fitted and that I need to contact the site wardens.

• I am trying to get them to take responsibility for putting together a list of sites where these devices are fitted and ultimately to make a comment on their website against the site information.

I haven’t yet contacted the Camping and Caravanning Club about this problem because I was rather hoping to get somewhere with the Caravan Club first but I’ll contact them this week to see what they have to say and I will let you know.  It looks like this will go on and on but we’ll see.

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I emailed the Caravan Club last week with a description of what had happened and asked for some advice and an explanation and received the following email.

“The fitment you have encountered on some sites is an anti-pollution device called a Nabic pipe interrupter. It is a mandatory Water Board requirement in some areas where for pressure reasons service points are directly mains fed rather than via a storage cistern.  Although we understand the drawbacks of this particular fitting very well we have managed to find nothing better on the market for the moment and others we have tried have been greatly inferior.  They work best if the back pressure is minimised ie gentle radius on the hose, no pinch points, and a relatively short unobstructed flow. A slightly larger diameter hose is beneficial but not all will have been modified.  The variations in motor van design are not helpful, and for the present we cannot find a more reliable system within the context of the regulations.”

I responded to this with the following;

For information my motorhome is an Autocruise Starseeker and the problem for me is that the water filler to my motorhome is not just an open hose.  The hose has a connector which limits the water pressure from the mains tap down to a level that will not cause any damage to the internal water pipes or connectors within the motorhome.  It normally takes quite a while to fill up.  Now with this arrangement it is impossible to fill my motorhome up using a tap with this interrupter fitted. Would you please let me have the names of the sites that have these interrupters fitted. I also wonder if you know whether the Camping and Caravanning Club are also fitting these interrupters?

Response from Caravan Club as follows;

“I am afraid I have no knowledge of the systems on C @ C Club sites but their choices will be the same ie convert all supplies to tank fed, fit an anti-backflow device or risk enforcement action.  I am sorry to say also that we do not have a record of where these devices are fitted – quite often it would have been a local action in response to a notice issued by the inspector for that area. You might consider serviced pitches where you would have access to your own tap and could connect this directly to your van ( which is why your vehicle has a limiter ). You would need to supply your own hose.  The handbook identifies sites which have them and we have an ongoing programme to add more. Sorry not to be more help.”

I’m very happy with the response generally and at least I know now what they are called although I will press for a list of the sites that do have them fitted already.

I’ll also now contact the Camping and Caravanning Club now that I know what they are called and find out if this issue is affecting them.

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My logbook shows it as 3400kg gross but it is actually 3500kg gross and as I explained on a previous post, because my Starseeker has a 3.0 litre engine it can actually be upgraded to 3850kg gross.  I’m actually going to leave it at 3500kg.

Now I’m not sure how this error occurred or indeed how important it is but I understand that when I next tax the vehicle I can make the change to the log book.

I do wonder if I’m illegal if I drive the van at say 3475kg gross weight when the log book shows the maximum as 3400kg.

If anyone has a view on this then I’d be pleased if you’d let me have it because I don’t understand the ramifications of this at all.

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We had been trying to get the cover plates for these from Autocruise for 12 months but with no success.

Our dealer “Heart of England Motorhomes” took up the challenge and Ian from the workshop has succeeded.  The problem is that these parts were not listed and so Ian actually took photographs of the holes to try to get Peugeot to make sense of it.

This issue is relevant to anyone with a new Peugeot Boxer cab irrespective of the model of motorhome so if you are having this problem quote these part numbers to your dealer; 1 of 8331.JS; 2 of 8331.KF; 2 of 8331.KA and get those holes filled.

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Starseeker Payload

The MTPLM = 3500kg. The Mass in Running Order = 3209kg, this includes fresh water, fuel & 2x7kg LPG cylinders.

Payload allowances are then made for compliance to BSEN 1646-2, these include-

1. Driver @ 75kg
2. Conventional load (Passenger) @ 75kg
3. Personal effects @ 86kg
4. Essential habitation equipment @ 14kg

This added together gives a total allowable unladen mass of 3438kg (leaving 68kg for options).

This confirmed that the Starseeker has a legally permitted payload.  I hope this information proves useful and if anyone has any comments then please let me have them.

If a customer feels the vehicle payload is insufficient for his needs it is possible to uprate the vehicle to an MTPLM of 3850kg giving an optional payload of 412kg.

For this upgrade we recommend the customer contacts SV Tech, contact detail below. It is not necessary to add Air ride systems for this upgrade to be approved.

Contact: – Gareth Marsh (Sales manager)

SV Tech 5b Talbot Road, Leyland, Lancs. PR25 2ZF. Tel: +44 (0)1772 621800Please note – The upgrade is for a standard vehicles, Air ride suspension is not a requirement to obtain the upgrade.

Autocruise Starseeker recall update - Nov 2008.  I’ve had very good news indeed.  This has finally been resolved thanks to a collaborative effort by my dealer, Peugeot and Autocruise.  They have successfully fitted air suspension to a Starseeker and this will be the blueprint for all Starseeker upgrades.  I’m very relieved that this has finally been resolved because I was becoming quite concerned about the pay load safety aspect.  This solution has been achieved through the diligence of my dealer ‘Heart of England Motorhomes‘ and I have them to thank for this and of course this means that all Starseekers and Darwins should now be able to have this fitted.

Autocruise Starseeker recall update - Aug 2008.    We’ve now gone backwards with this and an agreement is not now in place so we still haven’t had the air ride fitted.   It’s difficult to understand exactly what the problem is, all I know is that I’ve had an oustanding recall on my van for many months.    I know that my dealer ‘ Heart of England Motorhomes ‘ are working hard on a resolution but it is still a little worrying.

Autocruise Starseeker recall update - May 2008.     We’ve now had some very good news about this recall.  There has been an agreement that the manufacturer of the air ride is going to modify some of the bolts required to attach the air ride to the Starseeker suspension to make them longer, so that it can all be assembled in a safer manner. Once shipped I’ll be in a position to have this recall done at last. I’m very happy that my dealer  has taken this cautious approach and reached this agreement and it’s all part of the excellent service I get from them.  Incidentally my dealer is Heart of England Motorhomes based in Weedon, Northants and I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone.     They are extremely helpful and their service is second to none.

Autocruise Starseeker recall original article  -  The Starseeker was recalled by Autocruise in late 2007. Did anyone have any problems? In October 2007 we were notified by Autocruise of a Starseeker/Darwin recall.  Apparently they have found a problem with the payload on these motorhomes and need to fit air ride on all of the 2007 models and then issue an upgrade certificate and sticker. My dealer has contacted me about this but the work has still not been done due to them being concerned about the modification to the suspension and whether it is approved by Peugeot.Whilst I have been assured that there is no problem with my Starseeker I am concerned about the delay.I wondered if anyone else had either had this recall done or are having the same problems as us? If you own a 2007 Starseeker and haven’t been contacted by Autocruise you can contact them at aftercare@autocruise.co.uk or telephone 01709 571411. Image: Motorhomedeals

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