Rojie

4 hours ago, Oddcouple said:

Has anyone fitted a CB radio? If so, where did you take power from. I’ve always piggy backed from the 12v socket fuse in the past, don’t have the van yet so not been able to investigate yet!

Good Morning,

I thought CB radio was illegal in the UK.

It was.

Legal now though; not only that, no licence required.

10 - 7

10 hours ago, V8Mark said:

Hello everybody,  my Name is Mark located near Witney Oxon.

I just joined yesterday afternoon after joining the Elgrand Club in the morning.

I know this sounds odd but in the morning i was test driving a top of the range Elgrand which i was smitten with until i said to the chap where is the Cruise Control.

I was informed that they don't have it due to a conflict with the auto brake system.

Then after a few phone calls i was devistated to find out that you also can not retro fit Cruise either. 

So yesterday i called my good friend David at Valley Cars and Classics and begged for help.

He obliged and i have just ordered a 2009 Alphard 3.5 7 speed with 55k grade 4.5 with a grade A interior. 

But i must wait until early July for it to arrive.

I know that there are plenty of Alphards out there but i am fussy after being in the car trade for Donkey's years and David at Valley Cars and Classics is as fussy as me so i know it will be a lovely car.

So now i am going to work out how everything works on here for now.

Back soon and thank you. 

 

Not all Alphards have cruise control. 

Some can have it retro fitted.

More on that topic contained herein.

12 minutes ago, Oddcouple said:

Secured £285 with Adrian Flux, happier now!

Hi again,

AF is a broker, not an insurer.

It may be worth your while understanding which company is insuring your vehicle.

1 hour ago, Oddcouple said:

Yeh, it’s already registered and the conversion going in is being done by Adrian Bristow but he doesn’t normally do them as an advertised service. I’m feeling this is starting to become an issue lol.

I don't understand why you think you have an issue.

Did you phone Scenic yet.

There are, of course, other Insurance companies as per the list; but the situation does seem to change quite frequently.

Hello again,

Just to be clear about this, less ambiguous.

The DVD player will still operate correctly.

I play my concert DVDs whilst driving.

They work fine, if you don't want to skip tracks etc..

But you cannot watch them while the parking foot brake is not in the park position.

I am struggling to understand why you would want to, and the Traffic Police .....

Hope I have not confused anyone !

45 minutes ago, Sparkie19 said:

Does anyone know how to go about removing the mirror from the rear spoilers?

 

It's the last thing on my to-do list for the Alphard now the roof, rock and roll bed and floors all done.

 

Cheers in advance!

Hi Sparkie,

I have no experience of this, but have read on this Forum that it is not easy, and best left alone.

What year is your Alphie ?

19 minutes ago, Ian24 said:

All sorted. It's linked to the head unit to fool it into playing a dvd when park break is off.👍🐉

Hi Ian,

Should not be necessary, but why not. Is yours Gen 1 or Gen 2 ?

I don't have one (on my Gen1 facelift) and my DVD works fine.

I'll check mine because I don't always put the foot brake on.

It is best practice to use it, but auto gearboxes have a locking pin that locks the transmission.

The gear shift does need to be in Park though.

Glad it's sorted.

Hello Mark,

Welcome to the Forum

3 hours ago, Ian24 said:

Hi all, does any of you lovely people know what this is for?

Is it probably your rear fog light switch.

Test it. Make sure your lights are on when you do.

Lots of Alphards received modifications / personalisations in Japan.

So I guess it could be anything !

Good Luck.

3 hours ago, Oddcouple said:

Had a look at scenic online. One question….as I can’t register the vellfire as a campervan after conversion I’m guessing they won’t insure it as a campervan? It will still be MPV on documents which may be an issue? Please tell me it’s not!

They are insuring my Alphard, 2006, MZ G, with rear conversion by a professional specialist.

Nowadays it is near impossible to reclassify a vehicle. Why do you want to reclassify ?

DVLA only approve about 5% of all applications. You can read about it on the DVLA website.

Phone Scenic directly.

If they still won't; ask them who their sister company is (Safeguard at a guess) that will, although you converted will need to be approved/recognised as a professional outfit.

Many conversions involve what were commercial vans, and many won't meet the DVLA requirements anyway.

Is the Vellfire registered in the UK yet ?

Hi Charlie,

You have the Theatre System, don't you ?

You sure you haven't blown a speaker ?

They emit a buzzing sound, which can be very quiet to very loud depending on any damage.

Too much bass might sound good, but it is a speaker killer.

If it is a plastic panel (why start now) but it could be caused by resonance.

It could be harmonic vibration where the bass speaker is actually causing the plastic panel to vibrate and behave like a speaker.

Try a piece of tape across the seat back panel to test if that prevents and or dampens it.

Otherwise, turn down the volume !!

Good Luck.

1 hour ago, Geralt said:

I Googled around and bought the Ancel JP700 reader. This works for my 2.4L 2003 in as much as it seems to connect at least and offers to Read and Erase codes which is the most I can expect I think. Note that I don't have the MIL illuminated right now so I don't have any codes to read or erase but I'm 99% confident this will work if I do.

 

I think what might be useful is a compatibility table (MY and engine against OBD hardware) to help others in future. I guess only admins can set that up.

We could probably set it up, if someone provides us with the (correct) data tables.

5 minutes ago, wjvh said:

My Aviva quote went up …. By £10! And then I added Euro cover for £28, so £288 total. I didn’t even bother shopping around and took that. It even offers ‘business use’ as standard, not that I need it. That’s on 8000 miles per annum.

You may see quite an increase if you convert to LPG; or they may ask you to find another insurer as they did with me.

..... And I only have a small Campingaz 907 bottle

Just be careful if you want to use the Chunnel.

With LPG you can't !

1 hour ago, ALSALPHARD said:

Hi, I'm in need of a pair of struts  for ANH20R manual rear door, I tried sgs engineering  but  couldnt find the strut dia (guess 12mm) plus  need bespoke brackets on ends.

only place I could find something that might fit was Amazon at £93

Please could I have a link to your purchase site.

.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002900173406.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.0.0.61511802DUcvXV

You could PM me an offer for my unused new ones, as they can take quite a while to deliver !

They are plain black.

Via PM I could send you dimensions, may be a photo.

Just now, Oddcouple said:

Seems the issue is as soon as I mention conversion it becomes a problem, which is frustrating..

Most conversions have compressed gas, i.e. hobs.

Scenic has a sister company that will insure a conversion provided the conversion is completed by a conversion company they 'recognise'.

My converter was not on their list.

So they passed me to Scenic who were only too happy to help.

It can be the same with LPG conversions too.

Some companies are OK with them, others are not.

Good hunting.

44 minutes ago, Jellybean said:

Surely by now, someone must make a head unit that does all that this unit does, plus has inputs for the front and side cameras!

Clarion I believe, but wallet busting !

1 hour ago, Oddcouple said:

Managed to get a decent quote with Adrian Flux for £440 for both of us…

Yes, I was bumped by Aviva.

Just a small point with Adrian Flux.

Check which company is actually underwriting your vehicle.

The quote I received was from an unknown company, wasn't competitive, and charges to pay monthly were silly (polite version).

I then went with Aviva, but the market keeps changing. Am now with part of LV.

4 hours ago, Oddcouple said:

In the process of buying a vellfire, just tried to get a quote from Jap Cover, as soon as I said it was getting a conversion, it was a straight no. Which is painful….any advice?

Try Scenic, part of the LV Group, but there is a maximum value they will insure.

7 hours ago, Gordio21 said:

HI Wjvh I'm also on e10 and it seems ok on my 3L can't do mpg because I'm still nearly full. I only do one mile and it switches to LPG. I'm getting around 420k to a tank @ 77.9 per ltr. Let you know petrol miles when I fill up again. Good luck. Gordio 

If you are running on gas most of the time it should not make any difference. Should it ?

It might.

I have read that E5 (many of which have no ethanol at all) is less likely to separate in your fuel tank if not used for long periods.

If water (moisture in E10) does separate out, it can cause issues.

Wish I could remember what issues, and where I read it !

Hi Chris,

I finally got around to checking which tailgate struts I have.

Annoying thing is all the wording is in Japanese; except for this very large, and obvious, letter K !

Until your message, because of my oversight reading the EPC, I had not paid any attention to it.

Talk about can't see the obvious !

My struts extend almost fully, just half an inch extra if I push them to their maximum extent.

I have decided not to renew them yet, but wanted to thank you again for your help.

Just to satisfy my curiosity I still have to decode/translate the several Amayama options to find the correct one.

There's always something else to do, isn't there.

Disappointing to hear Wellhouse cannot help !

There is a VERY helpful Owners Manual available on Ebay.

It is published by JPNZ in English.

There are two versions that I know of for your vehicle.

One covers non hybrid variants, and the other includes hybrids.

Neither are maintenance manuals.

JPNZ are expected to issue a Maintenance manual; it is hoped later this year.

Depending on the head unit you have eightseater.blog.com (also in English) could be very helpful.

1 hour ago, Padrino said:

Hi All,

Just joined the forum. Looking forward to some new learning regarding Toyota's Alphard and Vellfire
👍

Hello Padrino,

Welcome to the Forum.

Plenty to learn n here to enhance your vanning experiences.

2 hours ago, OldWellhouse said:

I'm in the process of buying an older 54 plate Wellhouse conversion(not direct from them) that has no owners manuals and a few other bits. 

Did they come with any user manuals from the factory for correct use of the battery/solar, roof etc. or any maintenance guides?

Any help appreciated.

edit: I nearly called it an 'Alfie' in the thread title, is that frowned upon?

 

Hello Oldie,

Welcome to the Forum.

Alphie is how many of us describe our vans, buses, campers, limos, etc.

This Forum will be able to help with most issues regarding the vehicle.

I suggest you approach Wellhouse themselves. I doubt that they will be unable to help you.

Good Luck. Happy vanning.

56 minutes ago, Joseph said:

Hi all, dropping a line saying hello as we have just purchased a fantastic V6 V in white. It's 2005 model with leather seat covers from Toyota (so I'm told anyway), brand new over mats throughout the van and a new Pioneer DAB coms header unit. It drives very well indeed with no noticeable issues except a small head gasket weep. Took it out the other day into the Peak District and we  really enjoyed it. Purchased the usual stuff, cooker, cool box, camping chairs etc. Let us know if there are any meets planned for this season. Cheers.

Hi Joseph,

Welcome to the Forum.

The company I was referring to is neither of the above, but they are there in that vicinity.

A google search should find them.