How did you find, and what do you love about your Fleetwood?

[limecc]

Hi everyone. I thought it would be nice to start a thread for members to share their Fleetwood story with others. How did you come across your van, past or present, and why is it so special? Have you made any modifications to make it even better? I'll start the ball rolling:

We love our Heritage. It is a 640EB 2007 vintage with raised graphics and tinted windows. It  was only by chance we came across the model. Never paid any attention to Fleetwood in the past or seen any reviews. We had been due to purchase a Spectrum 520, but the chap who was p/x?ing it wouldn?t deliver it to the dealer in Gloucester until xmas, as he was buying a new van as a present for his wife, and then the bad weather hit everyone.

We went looking locally out of frustration really, and saw a 2003 model 640EB at Derby and the layout and build quality were so perfect we knew we just had to have one. Gaynor noticed a slight bulge in the offside sidewall however which put us off this one slightly. It was as if something heavy had hit the inside wall over the wheel area. We saw another on Ebay at the same time, so went to Coventry to view. This 2006 model had had a delamination repair on part of the floor, and I wondered when the rest of it would go. This was coupled with dirty mastic oozing out of the side rails, so we never even made an offer. Finally we saw our present van in Caravanfinder.co.uk located near Boston, and it is like new in every respect.

Our budget was severely stretched to get it, but we feel it was worth the sacrifice. The ?30K Vanmaster Occasion doesn't look half as good to me, especially compared to a 2009 Heritage. If you have one - you purchased a bargain.

[JaG]

WE had been looking for months for the right van for us, having decided that a campervan did not work for us. Our requirements were specific - bedroom with single beds, L shaped lounge, at least 20 foot long, shower, separate toilet, good heating as we intended to use it all year round, able to tow with a Ford Mondeo so limited to 1700kg maximum.
We were on a meet at Carnforth, Morcambe last September and dropped in on chance to Callender Caravan, Carnforth. As soon as we walked into the Heritage 560/4 we knew that this was what we had been looking for. It was 3 years old, never been towed, only used one weekend and the plastic covering was still on the carpets. Cooker never used either. It even had a Powrtouch Motor Mover and they threw in all the starter kit as well, like lead, water/waste, step, etc.
The previous owner had paid in excess of ?18,000 for it. We got it for ?10,995, an absolute bargain in our opinion. Since having it we have been away 7 times in it and absolutely love it.

Features added:
New Alarm system - the old one went faulty (see Technical)
Free to Air box, shock absorbers
All internal bulbs changed to LED

Features we would like:
80 watt Solar Panel on the roof
Roof mounted sel seeking satellite dish (just a dream wish really)
New tyres to replace the 4 ply Chinese ones on there at present
Air Conditioning for when we travel abroad

[limecc]

Ours has had an unusual feature added by the original owner - 7 or 8off  15mm Blue LED decking lights inset into the skirt down each side of the van and a couple of 30mm white ones set an inch or two above the floor inside to act as night lights. I think he did this to his previous Bessacarr as well. I'm not a boy racer type but it does look rather smart at night. Another idea I've got is to make up some blue LED spotlights to mount in the glasses cabinet. Eagerly awaiting the club's glassware first.

There are minature soap/shampoo dispensers in the shower by Fiamma, and he put some 5mm blue LED's around the shower light fitting that makes you feel you are going to be 'beamed up' by Scotty during your shower . He took a few things off though before the van went as I can tell from screw holes. I'm looking to replace the wine glass holders, and he probably had a vertical blind between kitchen and lounge seats that I'm not bothered about.

I added the essential motor movers, and converted it to 13pin electrics. I've just changed the dim awning light to the amazing Astro LED type fitted as standard the year later. When we first got the van, we decided the grey carpet was a little tired, so we took the old ones to a local carpet shop as patterns and had some charcoal colour ones cut and bound - only ?110 and a better match to the upholstery. Kingsmill Caravans sold me the press studs I needed for it.

I added extra power points at the front which match in perfectly with the OEM sockets, by getting a combined TV, Satellite, and Phono, CBE module which freed up the space. My next plan is to add another socket in the kitchen by converting the single socket & switch into a triple module, and reusing the double in the sideboard area.

I've purchased a wireless reversing camera to go above the van number plate. They are very reasonably priced and it will display via my in-car sat nav unit. I'll probably make a separate post on this as they work brilliantly and are a great invention. I like the look of the Alko shock absorbers and plan to fit these, although there is probably less benefit for a twin axle, I guess they would cut out any pitching.

Finally, I'm looking for some 3mm laminate to match the bathroom worktop. This black marble effect will blend in nicely to the cooker and act as an anti splash and heat shield for the wardrobe which is rather too close to the burners. Anyone help or suggest where to buy?

Has anyone else done any mods we ought to know about? Please share..

[AllanandJackie]

[limecc]

Here's an external shot:

[limecc]

The LED's are very discreet in daytime.

[AllanandJackie]

Looks good, any internal shots?

Do you have manufacturer/part numbers for the external LEDs

Allan.

[limecc]

[limecc]

[limecc]

[simpygee007]

Mine was found by my Girlfriends Father, who noticed it languishing in a local camp site with a for sale sign in the window. It's a 1991 Garland 165-5. It was minging inside & out (dark, mat green), but it was an absolute bargain and included an awning all for £1,500.

It took me 10 days working 14 hours a day to make it sparkle & believe me, it sparkles. The roof vent has been removed and properly refitted, the Oven has been stripped down and fully restored. I've fitted new wheels & tyres (with special thanks to the Club for confirming the correct tyre size), new Fleetwood Decals (from O'Leary), a 19" LED Toshiba flat screen TV & a DVD Player, blue LED lighting discreetly in the forward pelmet. And every inch inside & out has been scrubbed to an as new standard.

What I love about my Fleetwood is that everything still works like new & I intend to continue making her better whenever possible!

[AllanandJackie]

Sounds to me as if it could be Better than New!!

[limecc]

This is what proper caravanning is all about!

I love everything about our current van but miss the satisfaction of the bigger jobs I've completed on older vans.

There's some real potential to have a bit of a side line in caravans. Sales are booming thanks in part to the recession and realisation of what our country has to offer. Lots of people are trying to make a buck out of the dying motor trade, but caravans seem to be overlooked. It would be easy to bag a bargain or two, and gradually work your way up the caravan ladder like people do in the housing market, having fun and a cheap holiday or two along the way.

By the way, do try to upload some photos of the blue LED's ;-)

[AllanandJackie]

Yes I agree with you Limecc!!

Just serviced my caravan last weekend, OK it took me the best part of the day, the trade can do it in half the time, but I know it's done right and to my satisfaction, and of course I saved a few notes in the bargain.

I also spent a day giving it a good spring clean on the outside finishing it off with a polish, and by gum it looks good now!

I have a few jobs left to do like renewing the gaiter on the hitch draw bar and I also need to add a few fixings to strengthen the floor within the front locker as it sags under the spare wheel and the gas bottles. Not surprising really as it only has one centre fixing.

I think it’s probably time to solve the ingress of water into the front locker through the cover seal, this has been a common issue with Fleetwood’s for a number of years and as this doesn’t cause any damage to the caravan itself most owners seem to accept it and not bother to rectify it. I’ve thought of a number of options to try, will let you know how I get on.

[limecc]

One task I've set myself, is to run a three core cable to the awning light instead of the standard two core. I'm a little nervous in case the cable gets stuck or come unjoined along the way, so I'll properly solder the new conductors and heat shrink the new cable before pulling it back.

When it's done, it will allow separate running of the blue LED's that are set into the awning light strip. At the moment, they come on with the white LED's and the effect gets spoiled.

I've found in the past, the best time to do some of these jobs is when I HAVE the time when we're out using the van. When we were last out, I did the time consuming job of running the rear speaker cables.