5 things we HATE about our van...
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- Buying a motorhome is a compromise- there are things you love and things you don't. The trick is to find a van where the things you dislike you can live with.
Having said that, there are things we HATE about our motorhome- the Swift Escape 685. Here are the 5 worst...
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Thanks for watching!
Thanks Kat. We're doing loads of research for our first m/home or campervan so knowing not only what we do want but also what we don't want is most useful. I want to add that all the comments from the community you've created are also SO helpful and valuable with all their real life experiences. Thank you to all of you as well.
Interesting. We chose the scape 684 so we could have fixed beds and a massive garage. No making up beds every day. The snake alarm issue is the same in our van we have to keep moving it to cook. But it is put there by Swift. PS The reason the window can't open I suspect is because it is adjacent to the fridge vents and to ensure CO2 can't enter the van form the top vent.
Thank you so much for saving me from wasting my money on a Swift!
We’ve only had our for two months so not quite annoyed yet, still too excited! We needed a big garage for our bikes and beds that were all ready made up. Hiring a motorhome for the first holiday was a good thing to do as it showed us what we didn’t want in our van! So as newbies I’d say that hiring is something worth doing for people choosing their first van. Great to see you producing more content Kat and the slant on beginners tips is very welcome !
Put a shower cap over the smoke alarm just while you are cooking,problem solved 😊
Your base bed solution, using shelves, could throw up a potential problem with condensation. Slats allow the mattress/cushions to breath. Laying them directly onto solid wood could cause your body heat to create condensation which could potentially leave you with a damp mattress.
We’ve got one of those non opening windows and feel your frustration. Our research revealed it was due to its proximity to the Truma outlet. You’re so right about listing your priories while keeping an open mind. A large garage for my husband’s road bikes was a must but we didn’t want a transverse bed. Guess which was sacrificed? Fortunately we both love our king size, transverse bed 🛌!
Great video . Another point to consider is the depth of the shower tray and if there is more than one drain hole. Our Trigano shower is so shallow and has just the one drain and even when the Motorhome is precisely levelled,the water can run over on to the floor of the washroom.
We must have got ( fairly ) lucky ! We love our ( 2nd hand) Chausson Flash 14 on a Ford chassis. Maybe the kitchen could be a bit bigger ( but I'm going to add some flip up worktops) . Table was too big ( I cut it down) and the shower is a bit small 😅. The best thing about it ? The large twin single beds ! 🛌 and the 140 ps Ford Transit chassis... love it !
04:02 ... "when we're 'moving around' on it" 😂
My GF and I are currently umming and arring over RV options. Insightful info, thank you.
We have a 2018 Swift Rio and the thing we love most of all is the fully opening tail gate.Where ever we go people think it is great.We can open it and create an outside room inside.It helps to ventilate the motorhome on a warm day, and it allows access from two points in the van.
We use a storage box like yours which we carry inside when travelling and it sits perfectly between the two bench seats in the lounge area.We can use the open tailgate to get it in and out very easily.
The thing I hate is the shower tap which requires you to hold it when showering.Not easy in a very restricted space.
Fire alarm same problem as you.
Would be much nice if there was still a ferry from uk to Denmark or Norway , would open up more travel possibilities for motor home owners.
Yes I agree
Hi, just watched your channel. I also have a 685 which we also love and had from new. The smoke alarm is fitted there by swift, the window that doesn't open is this way so the fumes from the boiler don't come into the motorhome.
Very useful, we’re on the hunt for our first van in Sept/Oct, we think we know what we want, your video is very helpful! x
We have an Auto Trail F70. We've done PVC's, blingy A Class & older C Class. Over time you realise what's important and what is simply a waste of payload for two... such as dinette's with travel seats and dropdown beds with little head height... a combined 75-80kg which could be utilised elsewhere.
The compromise for us was losing the inbuilt microwave we had in our previous AT, we now carry one under one of the seats and site it over the cab. Must have's for us are a fully lined shower cubicle, facing bench seats and we possibly couldn't do without a rear garage again now that we have one.
With so many pet hates in your Escape, personally I don't think it's the van for you and your partner especially as you've needed to remove parts of the build which will need refitting prior to resale. Overall not too much of a negative if it's a lifestyle you continue for many years... you now have more insight into what you can live with or without over a prolonged period. Don't worry too much about not having external access to under seat storage as whatever wildlife is attached to EHU leads, water hoses etc is essentially going inside your van anyway.
Swift no longer produce the 685 which, after such a short time in production, speaks volumes and the Escape range is now rapidly disappearing from the hire industry partly due to a couple of topics you've highlighted.
Great vlogs! We need more produced from younger owners.
Hi Kat, really enjoying the videos. Sorry to send this message after this video but I don’t have Facebook and thought if I commented on your video about travelling with dogs you might not see it. One of my dogs and my cat have Italian pet passports. But, since January 2021 your pet cannot have a rabies booster in England that can be recorded in the passport. Anything written before January 2021 is fine but from that date on the European passport cannot be added to in England. This means that my cat, whose booster needs doing on 12th February 2022 one month before we hope to travel, will have to have a health certificate. My understanding is that to get her Italian passport up to speed we would have to start again with the rabies vaccines. I think my vet is currently charging around £156 per pet for health certificates. I didn’t want you to fall foul of this with Mac’s passport as he now has a French one. xx
Our van has an opening window above the external boiler vent but has a micro switch which turns off the boiler if window is open. Easy fix.
Some great views, exactly what people like me who are thinking about buying our first motorhome. Excellent!!!!
No such thing as the perfect van. As you said its all about living with the best option for you. Just about to take delivery of our new van. Hope we have learned a bit more about what is right for us second time around.
Solution for the smoke alarm problem: Get a second one and install it in an appropriate space. Then take the batteries out of the original one (or if it is hard wired, cut or disconnect the wires). That way you are still safe, and Mr WB doesn't have to look at screw holes. Simples.
Always glad to see your post! You give me hope when we eventually go on our first trip!
We have that same, stupid non-opening window on our 2021 niesmann+bischoff iSmove. I can’t figure our why they did that... I thought not having an oven would be an issue, but so far no problems. One thing I don’t like is the warm water boiler being only 10 litres, which makes showering a pain. At double the volume it would not need much more size but would mean a lot for comfort. I hate that even luxury manufacturers cut corners to save a bit on such an expensive vehicle :( thanks for the channel, love your videos! Cheers from Finland
I bought a Roller Team T line 590 2021 model for the reason that the drop down bed with all it's bedding in place and a topper for the lower make up bed still gave me an inch of head clearance (I'm 6ft tall!). I't important to consider Wandering birds comments when buying a new motor home, a niggle you think you can live with will always remain a niggle!!
The smoke alarm is a factory fit. Ours is the same on our 684. We’ve changed the fan for a maxxair fan. We put that on when cooking and it really helps.
My van is a self build and therefore I love it all :) Anything my wife dislikes will be put on the to-do list.
If such small things drive you nuts perhaps your not a real camper. Motorhomes are a compromise and you should find out if you can live with them before purchasing. Pre purchase research is essential.
I bet you are fun at parties🙄🙄🙄🙄
Hi it's me again,I have to agree with you about the lack of shelving, I've got round that problem by buying a sheet of single ply wood and making my own.As for the Smoke and gas detectors they are actually fitted there at the factory,my kitchen is the same as yours and mine are in the same place.They have to abide by the NCC (national Caravan council) and gas safe regulations.as for your rear window you can buy the catches to convert it to open.
I think that window at the rear is fixed as the flue from the heating and water system is directly below it - also part of the reason for the annoying heater ducts along the other side under the seats.
As for the smoke alarm, I’ve seen some other 685’s with the same design of alarm, in a pretty similar place.
Sadly many of the designs appear to be made by people who have never had to use them in the real world.
We have the Bessacarr 524 with a similar looking bed. It has two heights upper (makes double bunk beds) and by disconnecting the locking straps and removing backrest cushions cupboards rest on the seats
1 things i don't hate ,watching your videos
Thanks for this informative vid. All these points I hope, will be used for we get our camper next year
Good video, I slightly dislike the door to my wet room. Its an opening out one and I’d rather have a sliding one. I love to change it but unsure how to do it.
Thanks Kat, always very informative and helpful, really enjoyed this video x
Hi we love to watch your vlogs. We have just started our motorhome adventures and our channel.
Kat, what is your dream motorhome? For me it would have to be the Wildax Elara which is a 2 berth but would suit me down to the ground. I would have the fixed island double bed which then allows for rear opening doors and some garage space..
Use a shower cap over you smoke detector while cooking. Easy on and easy off. Cheap & easy fix.
Thats why i bought a German motorhome Malibu no hates as yet
Hi Great Vlog,
If you were to choose another Camper Van which Would It Be ? ( I'm Buying Soon ) 👌
Swift put the smoke alarm where it is situated. Just flick off when you're cooking.
Did you discover what happened with your fuse fire?
Thanks for the tips, we haven't bought our van yet but after a hell of a lot of research, I think the Roller Team T-line 740 has the perfect layout. A fixed island bed and a garage are ideal, while still having a modest seating area. The drop down bed above the lounge ideal of the kids (I agree about the head hight being 6'3). Im absolutely buzzing at the prospect of buying the motorhome but patiently waiting for the next cryptocurrency bull run in 2025 before making my leap of faith and also handing in my resignation to take on full time van life as a family of four.
It's all about price points I guess. They want to get product "x" onto the forecourt under a certain price and so they start looking at all those "nice to have things" which they can cut to trim down the price which won't impact the overall product too much.
I don't think the designers actually use these vans. They probably don't even listen to consumers. The salesman are exactly the same and just accept that people will buy them whatever.
Thanks for this Kat! Lots of good food-for-thought. I'm not in the market for a camper van at the moment, but have spent a good amount of time in a few, with varying levels of comfort and "success". Is there such thing as a "good" shower in any camper van you've ever used?!
Bed slats are evil - both at home and everywhere else.
we have recently bought a 2017 Escape 685 - and this is how I found your lovely youtube channel :-)
- Blocked window - the previous owner swapped the hinges and bracket from front left window (the one behind the passenger seat) with the right rear one. I've asked the dealer to order a new set of bracket so we can get both windows opening - but the one at the back is because of the Truma vent.
- Beddings - we use both the dropdown one and the one at the back - I need to set up the reinforcements under the plastic rails in the back before they crack though
- Fire alarm - so it's not only my wife... we had them going off every single she cooked, we will move around the wardrobe area, good suggestion
- Fuse box - after watching your "fire in the van" video I'm very wary of that, but all good so far
- Storage space - it's good but access it's quite complicated in some cases, and a pain the "free space" at the back has no direct access than from the big cushion side
- Skylights - love them but if opened and windy they can become "sails" and break, I would have preferred flat opening ones...
Overall we love it :-)
I would like 5 minutes alone in a room with the person who decided to put a normal lever door handle on the bathroom door of our auto trail, it’s right next to the waist high bed and I catch myself on it so often I now have a mark on my side that won’t heal.
No cup holders in a van? Seriously Fiat!🙄🙄🙄
The rake on our van drives me nuts. The rear is so high that even on perfectly level ground I have to put levellers under the front wheels, we almost always have to park our van the wrong way round to what would be preferable to get level.
You cant put toilet roll on the toilet roll holder because you then have to hold the toilet lid up whilst having a pee, it should be on the inside of the door where it’s easily accessible and not in the way.🙄🙄
The steering wheel blocks the speedo, I don’t know whether to blame Fiat or Auto trail on this one, it’s Fiats cab but auto trails captain chairs which I guess sit higher than normal van seats.
Too many buttons on the plipper to unlock the doors, it just needs one, press to lock, press to unlock, simples. No that’s far too easy let’s have 3 and a million options of what doors you want to lock or unlock.
The only 12v socket that runs off the leisure battery is in the back over the bed.🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 the 2 in the cab only work when the ignition is on, we’ll that’s a work of genius.
Multiple small internal lights rather than one central large one, each with their own switch which is placed randomly nowhere near the light it controls. Our van has 12 internal lights and 8 switches that control them, all hidden in random places. Just baffling design.
Hi all that puts me right off swift elldis seem better our smoke alarm goes off every morning and sited by hab door and opposite cooker wife takes battery out every morning I put battery back every day
Better to buy a well designed van. Possibly German. French Spanish. Next time
I think you've bought the wrong van for your needs. Thought you downsized to a drop down bed with rear lounge van so as to avoid the hassle of making the bed every night.
But removing the door wouldn't your clothes smell of cooking?
Take the battery out of the smoke alarm when you are cooking?
I try to remember…. But usually I only remember when it goes off 😂😂🙈
We have just put a deposit in your old van ,a Bessacarr, I know you downsized & I know we've compromised on the washroom for the large lounge area but are there any other things we should be concerned about before we part with our hard earned cash 😄x
The electric drop down bed! That thing drove us crazy. Check yours is working properly.
A fixed table that prevents me from being able to get into some of the cupboards! Also some of the cupboards are too high for someone 5'4" or smaller. Island bed that is difficult to get around and make up - that's all I think.
If the smoke alarm goes off every time you cook. You have burnt the food. I know it’s a women thing my wife does the same. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
How else do you know it’s ready???
Ref your poorly situated smoke alarm. Take out the battery to neutralise. Situate another smoke alarm in a better location thus avoiding leaving the unsightly holes. Hey presto , problem solved.
Never ever ever take a battery out of a smoke alarm.🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
@@Jabber-ig3iw LOL
Simple solution DONT BUY SWIFT years ago in the 1980s/early 1990s Swifts were the Caravans to have Sadly not made the same anymore this includes Swift Motorhomes really poor Build Quality.