ThuMentaliss

I would be interested to know if owners of Alphard's and Vellfires who have converted their vehicles to camper van's have had their vehicles weighed ?

Exactly right, we travel down to our caravan located on the Spanish Med' coast every year for three months utilising toll roads and countryside roads never been able to achieve more than 22-28mpg..the secret to even achieving this mileage is to try to keep your engine rev's under 3000rpm ( Alphard 2005 3.0ltr cash cow )

you ve picked the wrong person to preach to, I Have owned a Merc, Jag, Corba, Several fords. plus in the good old days raced with Surtees............ suspect Ive been around a bit longer than you..😁

JUST an update to this cash cow ! Vehicle just failed its MOT.. broken rear suspension spring which was fitted Thirteen months (1020 miles) ago to replace the lowered springs (causing the vehicle to bottom out at every pot-hole) and now we have an engine oil leak, (camshaft housing to the Cylinder head )... The interior heater does not heat up. Sorry the love affair has ended, the previous Japanese owners probably had the best time with it ! As a retired IMI Master craftsman I should have known better Not a good investment, anyone interested in purchasing this ?

Let's be clear there is no such thing as an TOYOTA Supported ALPHARD/VELLFIRE dealership in this country or for that matter in Europe, the majority of ALPHARD. VELLFIRE Vehicles imported into this country are from private business who have never owned a vehicle Manufacture supported Dealership most of them do not employ mechanic's and from my experience, they tend to shy away from this subject so in the majority of cases you could be on your own when problems occur however the 'Alphardclub' forums must be commended for their support and helpful advice.

DURING MY PERIOD many years ago AS a master craftsman mechanic with a speciality in overhauling hydraulic auto transmissions, changing the transmission fluid was never considered a priority, indeed it could only be carried out successfully if the 'fluid Torque' convertor had a drain screw plug built into it and one processed the very expensive special drainage suction pump...

Have you a campervan conversion, if so check out the split relay unit that might be taking too much of its share of voltage to your start battery.

Yeah, the space inside once the seats, runners etc are removed is in fact only slightly bigger than a Mazda Bongo the depth of the Alphard floor to ceiling is misleading from when the vehicle is (viewed from outside) my point is the so called converters are making a nice healthy profit.

I actually paid just over £6000 for the van it came with chrome wheels quite something at the time , most Alphards and Vellfires conversions with pop-tops are selling from so-called dealers around £19500-25000.......

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ My disappointment Put it this way I've spent (including side conversion ) over £21000 on my Alphard. series one, Today I managed to find what was causing the interior front heater to only blow cool air, (another money drain problem)... from my checks it appears there's a problem with the control unit and the flap device... although this vehicle considering its age looks better than most people carriers out there however ask yourself this would you go out and purchase a 16-17 year old European car with over 70,000 miles of use.. most people wouldn't this is what we call in the trade A cash cow

I believe you may have the wheels offset incorrect also 20" wheel might be too close to the rear nearside front edge of the bodywork, (I have same year vehicle)

Best quality (adhesive doubled - sided IBM) is from my experience nigh on impossible to shift without the use of a heat gun, how do I know this ? because I've applied this knowledge to three vehicles number plates (customers)

Anyone? Also, where does it stipulate within the general servicing requirements that the Auto transmission oil must be changed ?

Lithium batteries are generally not recommended for use as an engine start battery (Burstner source)

As above were their issues involved

Look through your On-line Browser there are many sellers offering different products for cleaning plastic headlamp lenses, for instance 'Halfords'... you might get lucky and find a new lens for sale be (careful) as the part may only be available by shipment from Japan...you could try Toyota Breakers for a complete light unit..I have used several manufactures deglaze solvent products over the last three years, all worked but the glaze issue on old Alphards comes back especially if you live in a Sunny environment (South Coast)

To be clear i've fitted coilovers to several racing touring cars when situated at Brands Hatch in kent ..they are not designed for the alphard type vehicle ,, they are designed t to be a repacement adjustable coil/spring suspension for the standard suspension of saloon cars and single seater race cars

nice photo, lowered vehicle with skinny depth wheels definately a no no if your considering camping in some of the awlfull 'field type' campsite's in the UK

To get by you can of course always use Goole maps off your phone ...Taxi drivers now mainly use this tech'

AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE BUY A 'FIN' DAB AERIAL MOUNT IT ON THE ROOF REAR MOST AWAY FROM THE DASH AREA... THEIR EXPENSIVE!!!

Sorry glarhzilla but i think if you measured storage space of your Leon against the Alphard you will find there very litte in it, having done several conversion myself over the years the actual storage ( if campervan converted) is no better than a Bongo or a VW Transporter but of course the Alphard build quality in most cases is far better.

Bought mine at Halfords, right size, good quality 'turn over' on screen correctly not cheap but I own 3 vehicles always renew my w.w from Halfords☺️

...and the tyre load is......

Alphard series one 2005 3.0ltr Fitted my tow-bar nearly three years ago, never been queried by any law enforcement officers here in this country or Europe

Nobody does any reserching anymore !! Highlight your request with your mouse right click , click on the box up come's some answers pick the one you want this case YOU TUBE