starider

Thanks for the help. Regards.

Hi again,just had a thought,is there a dip stick for the transmission oil?

Hi Picasso, is it possible to purchase a suitable reader for the Alphard? I am of the "old school" of motor engineers when cars had few if any sensors.The tuning/ testing equipment I have is steam powered by todays standards!! Many thanks for your interest.

Hi, my Alphard has just developed a problem,the engine warning light comes on after driving for several miles,the temperature gauge shows normal.When I stop for a period of time and start again the light does not come on again for some time.The only fault I can find is that the expansion tank had been over filled. Both cooling fans are working as they should.Oil was changed recently and is at the recommended level. I can't find any other problem.Any ideas would be appreciated.

Hi, For 22 years I have had all our tyres fitted to our cars,vans,tractors and farm machinery by Advance Tyres in Holsworthy. My most recent visit was to have 2 front tyres fitted to our Duster, as the tracking had been put out by pot hole damage.Some of the fitters have worked there for over 22 years. Great advice and workmanship. Highly recommended[sensible pricing]. Haven't needed any on the Alphard yet. 01409 254446

Not with standing the previous comments, speaking to the mechanics who MOT my Alphard,the general census is that the "spongy" feelings when braking is due to the ABS,I must admit that on occasions when needing to brake hard, the "feeling" can be "is it going to stop?" but I have noticed if I press the pedal harder the brakes do work as you would expect. My Alphard always passes the MOT brake test with no comments about the brakes.

Hi Chris, We live up the A30 just past Roadford Lake. Didn't realise there was so much fog around Exeter.

Sounds good,thought about doing something similar, but went with the easier option. Thought about putting one each side in the rear skirt, but couldn't because the tow bar was just behind the skirt, which left no room to fit the lights in..

Hi, some considerable time ago there was much discussion about rear fog lights and rather than huge expense fitting different lights and reflectors and special switches, I used the one fitted for the MOT,a rocker switch which lit up when switched on. A simple bracket each side of the rear under skirt with rectangular rear fogs, which work well. Glad I went for the cheap simple fitment as in 3 years ,I've used them once!!!

Hi, I posted some time ago about wheels and tyres. Having been in the motor trade and involved with the motor trade since the mid 1960s and teaching school pupils,11 to 18 yrs Motor Vehicle studies, I always stressed the importance of fitting the correct sized wheels and tyres as specified by the vehicle manufacturers. Several of my motor trade customers/friends fitted different sizes in tyres and wheels to their vehicles,in some cases failed the next MOT Test and several who had accidents found their insurance company wouldn't pay out for repairs. My advice[for what it's worth], is to stick to Toyota's specification on wheels and tyres. Our 07 is on standard alloy wheels and recommended tyre size, giving an excellent and comfortable ride. At the end of the day it's your choice, Good luck.

Sorry, didn't answer all the questions,as far as I know there isn't an Alphard tow bar with a detachable ball hitch,I've had my tow bar for 3years and so far haven't cracked my shins[hope I haven't tempted fate!!].

Hi, No problems with mine, towing a caravan or trailer does not interfere either.

Hi, The ABS light came on in my Alphard a few weeks ago when towing our caravan down to Cornwall. The only thing I can remember was having to do some very heavy braking when some idiot didn't give way on a roundabout.I parked up a little while later for a break and when starting up the light went out. Returning home[having left the caravan], I once again was forced to brake very heavily and the light came on again.We stopped for a break and on starting the light went out and has been fine since.All the front pads were renewed 18 months ago. The only thing I think may have happened is the the heavy braking loosened some"crud" which masked the sensor?? been fine since.

Hi, I assume your van needs/has an MOT Test, if not it will not pass. I see there is much help on the different forums. I spent quite a lot of time researching the question of rear fog lights and still have a copy of the rear lights section of the MOT Testers manual[readily available on line]. If you want to have a look at the various posts, have a look at the posts on the Alphard Campers section.Remember if you are replacing the rear reflectors with fog lights you must add relectors for an MOT Test[again covered in past posts].

Hi, It's worth every one checking for a towing eye,our camper has one in the tool kit. It is impossible to have a tow without one, to be towed safely. A tow rope can be used to tow without the eye, but to find a safe place to connect a rope will be difficult and dangerous. With the advent of towing eyes many breakdown services now use a solid metal bar which connects to the towing eye. The problem with a rope is most folks are not used to being towed,because the towee has to try to keep the rope taut when slowing down using the brakes carefully,if not when the towing vehicle accelerates away the rope re-tensions[snatches] and often breaks the rope. Believe me,when I was in the motor trade,towing broken down vehicles was an almost daily chore. If a solid towing bar is used the towee does not need to brake.

Very happy with our converted 2007, now 2+ years with us, couldn't have found better. Odd fittings,such as cupboard door catches, could have been been of higher quality,but soon sorted that problem. Fitted my own awning rail,looks and works great. As I have said in the past,tows our caravan well.

I agree with Rojie,a dehumidifier is the way I keep my camper fresh and dry inside[for just a few hours now and again],we also have a dehumidifier permanently working[on a timer] in our touring caravan while it's here at home. It's amazing how much water is collected over several days. We also have one in the main house and one in our cottage[both on timers] which filter out the moisture.

My mains connections are on the back of a tall field fence away from wind and rain, so I can connect to the Alphard and our touring caravan.A tip if you have a caravan on your property for the winter is to put a largish dehumidifyer inside on a timer. I am getting almost a gallon of water every week and the inside is dry and there is now smell of damp.

I have considered turning the Alphard round 180 degrees occasionally and present the "algae" side to the sun for a period of time,but decided that having the rain[which we get in large amounts],is better blowing at the rear rather than the front.

Hi, beginning to think about cleaning the camper ready for the coming season. We live about 10miles from Bude and are subjected to salt laden winds from the various westerly coastal areas. Our property faces South so we have sun all day, Our vehicles are parked East to West so one side has sun all day,thus the other side,after a time begins to collect green algea in various places,eg behind N/side mirrors etc.This algea washes off the main areas easily, but not in all the spaces such as where the side glass joins the bodywork. I mix a little wash and wax with a small amount of water and go round all these areas and any that a normal wash/polish doesn't remove with a tooth brush[£1 for two, Waitrose].

Hi, The insurance premium on my Dacia shot up at the last renewal, after a lot of phoning around it transpired that older folks[well retired] can expect a large hike in premiums!! It appears old folks are bad drivers and a greater risk???? I,and many others see this as an excuse to grab more money from us pensioners. Each day we witness the appalling driving of the majority of young drivers[many uninsured etc.]. This group are classed as a massive risk with premiums to match, so drive uninsured. Something needs to be done to curb these terrible drivers[male and female]. Many have parents who insure a vehicle for their offspring as a named driver which means they are insured if they are not the main driver[unless of course that no longer applies. Would be interested in your comments.

Welcome to the Forum. I'm pleased that some folks are having success with sound systems , but as I have posted before, I'm no expert with fitting different devices to replace the original Japanese equipment. We are quite happy with what we can get out of the O/E and our Dewalt Site radio picks up most of the DAB stations, and it fits nicely between the front seats.

Hi, Looking at the picture of the rear and tailgate,it rather looks as though the bottom edge of the tailgate has been pushed inside the rear frame structure. It looks like judicial use of a lever could pop the tailgate back over the frame to allow the tailgate to be opened and the tailgate and frame could then be inspected.This should give a better idea of cost especially if another tailgate and straightening of the frame is all that is needed? Good luck with the costing. My Alphard has a hefty tow bar behind the rear valance, so there is a chance if I should be rear ended, the damage may not be too severe.

Hi Larry, Sorry to disagree, but I've been in and around the motor trade for nigh on 50years and have used number plates from the time we had a jig to punch holes in the new bare plates and then rivet the letters/numbers on,using star washers. I have used trade quality double sided tape since it's inception and I agree on odd occasions "stuck" on plates can be difficult to remove, but my comment is how does anyone know that plates are well stuck on. Surely it's better to be safe than sorry. Knowing how insurance companies will always try not to pay out on a claim for any reason, I suspect that having properly secured number plates[in view of the huge increase in vehicle theft] could be the next item to appear on vehicle insurance policies. I've watched CCTV clips showing thieves ripping off number plates,often with great difficulty,but even the most well stuck come off eventually.

Hi, Being a neighbourhood Watch "rep", I often receive Emails from the police with security advice. A recently item suggested that number plates fitted to many vehicles are just fitted using double sided tape and are easily pulled off,or other plates just stuck on over the ones, by thieves.I have just secured all our vehicle number plates with one-way screws which can only be removed with a lot of time and trouble.These screws are covered by appropriate coloured caps, which then prevents other plates being stuck over the top.All items available on Ebay. You don't have to do anything to the stuck on plates just drill and fit screws and caps. The caps come in three colours black, white and yellow. I measured the plates on all 3 vehicles to look neat.The yellow and white caps are obvious but some times a hole needs to be drilled through a number/letter, hence the black screws.