# Hello Auto Trail bye bye Swift



## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

Well we finally took the plunge and with many thanks for all the great advice we recieved from here we purchased the new Auto Trail Scout SE. As much as we loved our Bessacarr E495 and shall miss Swift we are thrilled (so far) with our new Auto Trail.

We were lucky enough to see one on show at the Carmarthen Motorhome Show and then to be able to go and view her again on two seperate occassions over two days at Continental Caravans\Motorhomes in Crosshands. Finally we took the plunge and agreed to go ahead with the purchase. This was on Monday 28 Apr and we arranged a pick up date of the 9th May. Continental agreed to fix extra sockets, a microwave (which we paid for) and a bike rack (included in the price) all by the time we collected her, the SE pack was already installed and included in the asking price.

Two days prior to the collection date Continental rang us all apologetic that the bike rack they ordered didn't fit and that they had spoken to Auto Trail who had advised them only one type would fit and they had now ordered that instead. They were very apologetic but we said we didn't mind and have arranged to have it fitted next week instead.

We collected the new Scout on Friday 9th as arranged, following a very thorough 2 hour hand over. We spent Saturday packing her up, Sunday we drove to Eddies at Van Bitz and on Monday we had the alarm fitted. Tuesday we drove to Warminster to go and visit Longleat (a trip I've been hoping to make for ages) and spent two nights there but didn't dare take the MH around the park so caught the bus instead which was much better anyway as it had a very informative guide on board. 

Today we have travelled from Warminster up to Brecon enroute to our way home. 

So far we love everything about our new MH. We love the quality of the build, all the quirky gadgets such as the outside shower which is great for washing off the muddy dog after a walk, the Cruise Control which we've never experienced before and was great to use on the way to Eddies and on our way back today. The beds are easy to make up and the shower is great. 

Only problem we've had is that we couldn't close the blinds on the main front screen as the mirror was in the wrong location, so we now remove the mirror at night in order to close the blinds but will get this fixed next week. We also need another lesson in how to use the whole DVD/Digibox/TV thing.

One other slightly bigger problem is that we managed to ground the MH when we tried to park it in our usual place at home. This involves driving from a flat driveway up a shortish slope to a flat area at the top, alas the stablisers at the rear of the MH became embedded in the driveway causing us to have to very carefully reverse back out and abandon all attempts at parking there. We've no idea where we are going to park her now but for the next few days it will be in front of the house and every one else will just have to drive around her. We might resort to taking the stabilisers off but we're not sure this would resolve the problem. The E495 came close to touching the floor but didn't so we are mulling over solutions. Any suggestions are welcome.

I plan to write a company report on Continental when we return home tomorrow, they were very good and have so far delivered on every promise they have made. 

So we are now officially members of the Auto Trail family and look forward to talking to our fellow Auto Trail owners out there.


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## mark_2cv (Sep 13, 2006)

Hi TravelBug 
Rear air rides may fix that problem. Our parking spot sounds very much like yours, and to park or leave I just give the back end some extra pressure and it clears the rise! 

Mark.


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

Hi, thanks for that suggestion, we hadn't heard of these before but have now looked them up and can see that they might do the trick. We will contact our dealer tomorrow to see if they can find out if there are some suitable for our MH and how much etc they are.

Would we pump them up so to speak each time we wanted to go up the drive or do they automatically pump up when we switch the engine on?

This certainly looks like a better option to some of our solutions such as digging up the driveway and trying to re shape it somehow! Will let you know how we get on.


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## Chetty (Mar 23, 2007)

*Enjoy your Autotrail*

Travelbug
Now you have taken delivery of your Autotrail, take advantage of becoming a member of the owners club and experience our great rallies and join in the fun with like minded enthuiasts.

Best wishes Chetty


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

Hi Travelbug! Congratulations on your new MH. I hope you enjoy it half as much as we enjoy Our Coral.

SNAP! I too had a practice at 'grounding' the rear chassis of our new MH. I was reversing into a driveway which sloped up more rapidly than I expected. The scraping noise frightened the life out of me. So embarrassing too!  

I aborted the manoeuvre and drove to a layby to inspect the damage. I feared for the whole of my back bumper.

Lady Luck was smiling on me! The road had not touched the bumper, but it had scraped and slightly dented part of the rear subframe. I can fix it.

So, what can be done to avoid similar mishaps in the future. We have a ferry to catch in June!! :roll: Paranoia!

I had thought about adding some hardwood skids to the chassis subframe. I'd be happy for those to skid. I had even thought about some heavy duty castors!! 

I haven't found a price for the air-rides yet but would guess they're too expensive for us.

I'll have to keep my brain in gear and do some lateral thinking! :lol:


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## bobandjane (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi All. I saw a Concord in germany and I think some RVs with little wheels on the rear end to stop any damage, that would do the trick if you can find some. We live in a bungalow with a really steep drive, when we moved here the lorry had a taillift and we tried to back up .No way that just dug in, so we turned around and drove up (big scrapes in the concrete) I had visions of no being able to get it out again but once it was empty it just mist it. Our Kontiki had a long overhang and its about 3 or 4 inches off the drive driving or backing in so that OK.I know what you say about the ferry even worse when its rough. Maybe you could get some sort of roller system made up,better to catch that than the van!. Good Luck. Bob.


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## mark_2cv (Sep 13, 2006)

I would be very concerned about fitting rear skids or "castors", what sort of stress would be placed on the rear of the chassis when any firm contact was made to the ground? 8O


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

Hi Mark and all! Thanks for the interest.  

Surely the stress would be no greater than that already imposed on the chassis subframe when 'grounding'.

I guess we're talking damage limitation here. A couple of heavy-duty castors, or some hardwood skids, protruding maybe an inch, would ALLOW the contact without damaging the actual MH. 

Don't motorcyclists wear leathers for the same reason? Better to skid on leather than skin! Ouch!


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

I bent the subframe on my Coral 650 in Spain, whilst driving off a tarmac road onto rough ground. From the noise I thought I'd ripped the whole rear end off. Have managed to straighten it a bit but it's still kinked. Since then I have been on and off all the Dover Ferries and not bottomed out once.


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

"Since then I have been on and off all the Dover Ferries and not bottomed out once."

But it is rather a drastic measure to concertina your rear end to stop it scraping


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

Actually the kink points down so it's nearer the ground than it was before the scrape. The point I was trying to make was that going and off ferries should not present a problem in a Coral 650.


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## pomme1 (May 19, 2005)

I own a Cheyenne 696G and have a very steep drive, consequently, I have experienced exactly the same problem. 
If your corner steadies are anything like mine, you can shorten the mounting brackets by half an inch or so and that may be just enough.
In my case, however, it wasn't and I had Air-Rides fitted. Best investment I made. I don't bother adjusting mine, I keep them at 40psi which has the added advantage of improving the handling and reducing roll/sway. They should cost no more than £500 fitted.
There is a new company, however, whose name escapes me who have a system which is adjustable from the cab. They also do a system for Al-Ko chassis I believe.
If it's any consolation, despite the horrendous noise, there was actually little or any sign of damage when I looked under the van, just a few scrape marks on the steadies.


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## DJP (May 9, 2005)

> Travelbug
> Now you have taken delivery of your Autotrail, take advantage of becoming a member of the owners club and experience our great rallies and join in the fun with like minded enthuiasts.


Could not agree more!
We had Airides on our Mohican and the van was very stable when travelling on the motorway in cross winds or passing HGV. You can adjust the pressure to improve rear ride height according to weight carried. Also good for levelling on site. It will also solve your grounding problem.
Enjoy the new van and why not come along to a rally. Autotrail have one in Monmouth soon.
I can also recommend MHF rallies as well. Good one here at Newbury show now.
Dennis


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

> shorten the mounting brackets by half an inch


Thanks will try this. Am thinking the air things are our best option so have now posted a seperate posting relating to these and their availability within Wales. As you will see we've had no luck so far.

I have put post under parts and accessories as thought it was more appropriate.

Thanks for all your help and advice. TravelBug


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## lindyloot (May 20, 2007)

Hi Travelbug, welcome to the club. 

We are going to have the same problem with our Chieftain at the moment it is parked up a friends farm whilst we carry out some alterations, as the front of our garden is straight on to the road and we have a small fairly steep drive. about 30/35 degrees We ( rephrase that the builders)are knocking down the double garage and putting it back to a single. Have removed all the conifers from the perimeter wall of the side and rear of the garden and putting in a double garage at the far end. Then we are putting a driveway from the front to the rear . I am considering putting a hump at the lower end of the drive so as the rear of the vehicle gets close to the drive the rear wheels will raise the vehicle when travelling over the hump. By that time the rear will be clear of the slope to enable me to drive further up and straighten out. If that dosen't work I'll think of something else. :sign7:
Rich


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## Broom (Oct 8, 2007)

Hi Travelbug

The waste pipe and exhaust didn't catch the drive, as your original concerns, can't you somehow level the drive out to avoid the back end catching, even some sort of removable ramp.

Glad your happy with the Auto Trail and hope you get the TV working ok, there should be 2 recesses in the windsceen blind which push back around the mirror allowing you to leave the mirror insitu.

Happy Motorhoming

Best regards
Broom


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

Hi Broom, alas we can't alter the layout of the driveway. We are now looking at the air rides and I have emailed the company based in Warrington I think it was to ask if they know anyone in Wales that fits them. 

If not we'll have to work out a way to visit them and get them done there. I might also remove the stabilisers and see if that helps.

Still baffled by the TV but are going to go back on Wed when we have the bike rack fitted and get them to go through it again. We thought if we plugged a tv in at the rear of the MH it would automatically pick up the freeview etc but it didn't so we shall have to get them to show us again how to use it.

With regards to the front blinds they don't seem to line up with the mirror, we found the recesses, it's the same as our E495 had but they don't quite match up. So for now we are simply removing the mirror once we are on site, but again shall get the dealer to double check it on Wed.

We love the Scout, there are so many things we are really enjoying about it and can't wait until our next trip out.


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

Good morning all!

Just a quick update on what I did to accommodate my next attempts at 'grounding' the rear chassis of Our Coral.

The first issue was to straighten the decorative plate that linked the two chassis extensions. Big hammer wealded delicately. The plate was reversable so the damaged part could be put out of sight! Job One done! :roll: 

The extension cum subframe at the back of the Coral is box-section aluminium. The last 6.5inches are cut away slightly, exposing the innards. Into each space, I fitted a piece of hardwood measuring 6" long, 5" deep by 1.25" thick. I opened up predrilled holes to 12mm.

Each block was knocked into the subframe channel until it touched the bottom of the MH, thereby supporting it. Through each hole I fastened an M12 bolt. About one inch of each block is exposed below the subframe. If anything makes contact during a 'grounding' exercise, it should be the wooden blocks. Job Two done! :roll: 

Job Three entailed producing a memo for the dashboard area, to remind me of Our Coral's dimensions and warning of the

DANGER OF GROUNDING!​
Let's hope further grounding can be avoided.


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

It sounds like you are a very clever person. This all sounded very technical to me. I do hope it works for you.

We're still at the mulling over 'the removal of the stabilisers' point.


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## averhamdave (May 21, 2005)

I hope you continue to enjoy your Autotrail. This is our second one and we still consider Autotrail to be the best of the UK builders. (The last time I bought anything Swift was a new top of the range caravan in 2001 and it was the biggest pile of junk we've ever owned although I'm sure things have moved on).

A couple of observations about the points you raise: - 
We think the screen blinds are crap and use silver screens or a press stud fitted curtain that Sally has made for overnight stops when travelling. The blinds in ours didn't fit well around the mirror or the bottom central support bracket. The dealer had to re-position them.

The rear TV point does not pick up freeview but I think some re-wiring of the aerial cable at the front may take care of that, if you can be bothered. Don't forget if you do though, you will have to go to the front of the motorhome with the remote to change channel! When I can't get non digital I'll probably just use Sky.

The front drop down TV is I believe in motorhomes of our layout, nothing more than a gimmick. I am on my third screen. Someone else I know with a Cheyenne is on their third and another aquaintance is on their second. The operation of the thing is so fiddly i suggest you jus won't bother. I have been called to several new Autotrails on site to setup/demo the operation of the TV. I think if you have a smaller motorhome, say a Tracker or small Cheyenne with front only lounge then they may be OK but in yours I don't think you'll bother!

Whilst my cheaper 700 is of the same layout as your Scout it is also on the Fiat 4 tonne chassis rather than the Alko so comparison cannot be the same, however, ours did't come with rear steady legs - they are an extra cost option. It had been my original intention to buy these after purchase of the M'H but I have come to realise that they aren't necessary as the van is perfectly stable even in strong winds without them.

Best of luck otherwise, you've got a nice van!


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

Travelbug glad you are enjoying your new Auto Trail, we love ours inspite of the water ingress issue and the horrible judder when reversing.

Re the TV as we had our satellite transferred to the new mh we had the Humax digi box taken out as it was a pain. So we just use the satellite which is Oyster and our tv screen is the bigger one and so far we haven't had any problems with it.

When it was first set up with the humax digi box we couldn' get the satellite tv to work so we had the technician change it, so no digibox. the Oyster dish logs on and all is fine. As we also have a Sky box the chap also connected that. 

what i like is the fact Oyster is on 12V and the Sky box is set up to use mains or / 12v via an inverter. In my previous mh with only my own tv it was set up so that the inverter was always in use, the oytser dish was on 12v but couldn' watch tv without also having inverter and sky box on. So of course I used more 12v juice.

Now I can save more of my 12v juice by using just Oyster when not on hook up and when on mains use Sky. I have checked using Sky box via the inverter when not on mains and it does use quite a bit more 12v juice so I am saving whilst touring here in France and on Aires.


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

Thanks. We are loving the Scout. We had wondered about the TV in the back not appearing to pick up the digi box so now we know not to even try.

We're very impressed with the build quality and with all the features. We can see why people have had problems with the TV at the front as it seems quite flimsy when we turn it around. I assume the 3 year warranty covers that as well but I've yet to sit down and wade through the pile of books that came in the owners pack!.

Thanks for all the responses, it is great to see everyones comments and support. TravelBug


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## UncleNorm (May 1, 2005)

*Anti-grounding device!*

Hello TravelBug! 

Further to our posts, please find attached a photograph showing the device about which I tried to explain. :?

You will notice that my corner-steadies are not an issue as they are at the side of the subframe.

I trust you will be sufficiently stimulated to find a solution that doesn't cost a fortune! :roll:


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

I'm very impressed. 

I have a friend who is a mechanic, am going to show him the photo and see if he thinks he can create something similar. Our only concern would be whether it could invalidate the warranty if we made an alteration to the body of the Scout.


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## 92859 (May 1, 2005)

*skid*

Greetings,

Nice job Norm, should protect your rear end in slow scraping situations, the only drawback is that now your clearance height is lower than before.

The set of wheels you mentioned could be better, using a U section mild steel bracket, drill a hole to take an axle with a small wheel at each side of this, this should give you more ground clearance and the wheel, if suitably sourced would take some of the weight.


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