starider

Hi, When our Alphard is not used for a period of time,especially during winter months, there is always a little concern about the battery discharging,so as all our farm machinery is individually conected[via a cigarette lighter socket] to a 1.5amp trickle charger, which keeps the batteries topped up when the machines are not in use, I have decided to fit a socket in the Alphard. The lighter socket fitted as standard only works with the ignition on, so I have fitted a socket in the drop down pocket to the right of the steering wheel and conected to the battery via an extra fuse box. Toolstation can supply the charger. I have 6 chargers around and just switch them on occasionally for a few days.

Hi, Just had 4 days away on the Caravan and Motorhome Club's excellent site at Merrose Farm near St Mawes, Cornwall. All went very well,the awning worked a treat and made us realise that an electric air pump would be a pointless expense, as the hand pump supplied with the awning is perfectly adequate. The magnetic awning rail worked quite well,but we're considering a fixed rail. All in all an enjoyable mini break!

Hi Rojie, Thanks for the suggestion, will post the pics you suggest in the next week or so. To add a little more info, the socket has a rubber cover which says AUX.

Hi some of the diagrams are a little small, but the overall handbook is very accurate and very useful. There is a good chance there could be a workshop manual this year!?

Hi, have found what I believe is the socket for plugging in my MP3,but cannot get any response. There is a socket on the radio facia left hand side which will accept a lead & plug, but when pressing the display which looks like the one for outside players there is no output. Any ideas please.

Hi, the first fitting went well and the magnetic awning rail worked well. Now we have fitted it once all should be well with future fittings. The one thing we did do wrong was not ensuring all the air was expelled from the inflation tubes as it would not fit in the carrying bag, but quickly finding the inflation valves and releasing the trapped air all was well so it's all packed away ready for our forthcoming mini break. We did wonder whether an electric pump might be a good idea, but the hand pump supplied worked extremely well and inflated each "tube" in very few pump strokes.

Hi again,can't find the details i.e. the company who supplied, but I did find the fitting instructions and the footnote says if any problems phone 07817565952, so I'm sure help is at hand and they will know which models their sets fit. I seem to remember these curtains were the ones the factory fitted. Hope this helps.

Hi, not sure,I'll post the contact details for the supplier and you can check with them. We started with the "stick on" blinds but they took up extra storage space and were not as convenient to use as curtains. we also went for the outer all in one windscreen and front doors cover.

Hi, we are going to have a dry run in one of our fields tomorrow and put up our new drive away awning, We have in the past owned caravans and awnings, but see these inflatable "drive aways" somewhat different so will make all the mistakes/dithering out of public view!! Will post a report on our labours.

Hi and welcome, our Alphard wasn't fitted with either curtains or rails. My wife purchased a set as a kit with rails and matching curtains. They fitted well and work well as they were manufactured specifically for the Alphard. If you are interested,reply to this and I'll ask her where she purchased them from.

Hi,just found another company who supply kits[again in North Devon] Alphard Campers, Bideford. tel.07989582863. I can't offer any recommendations, but worth a try.

Hi, the company we have dealt with in the past are Camper Conversions in Barnstaple, North Devon. We had a rear kitchen fitted to our Ford Freda many years ago. I'm not sure if they do any work on Alphards, worth a phone call 01271 373853. I've also seen a list of companies who supply kits,but for the life of me I can't remember where. If it comes to me I'll post on these pages.

Not sure,it's difficult to offer any sort of considered suggestion without experiencing the problem. I assume the engine and gearbox were removed to do the work. It could be an induction problem.i.e. there is a leak on the inlet side of the manifold/cylinder head, causing a problem with the mixture to one or more cylinders or even a vacuum hose not fitted correctly. Perhaps a spell on a rolling road? I would have thought if there is any inbalance in shafts etc.there would be a problem like this at speeds well before 70mph. I suggest fuel/air[air induction can create huge whistling noises and engine misfire,[ jerking]. Had you driven at over 70 before the gearbox refurbish? if not it's possible the problem was there before. Please let us know when sorted.

Thank goodness for wifes, it was mine who found Alphards and decided we should have one as a camper, the rest is history!

PS Sorry if this post re-appears the original disappeared but has now reappeared! An added bonus, the lens is reflective!

PS an added bonus,they are reflective!

Hi, not wanting to add much more to this topic,but I was looking through a box of "bits" today and came across a lamp which I purchased several years ago, to fit on our farm trailer and never did. It's described as a LED Marker lamp with bracket and I wish I had found it before I fitted the pair of lights as fog lghts, because it/they can be flush fitted or with the bracket supplied. I think I will buy another and flush mount them on the rear bumper. You can view these lamps on the usual market site, there are several sellers.I'm not sure what the wattage is but looks certainly bright enough. I'll mount them with double sided tape and assess the brightness,if they are not bright enough they can go on the farm trailer. They are GWAZA 15103 Marker lamps[ the15101 are white and the 15102 are amber].

Quite pleased how it went. Perhaps the Japanese road system isn't big enough to warrant or allow much cruising??

I'm happy to report that a new lead has been fitted to the Cruise Control Stalk and wired in. Reconnected the battery,started the engine, pressed the end of the stalk and the "Cruise" indicator on the dash lit up. Re-activated the electric windows and went for a test drive on the A30 [never seen so much holiday traffic], it all works as it should. I didn't drill out the plastic bar as I was concerned that the drill could wander off and damage the dividing plastic between each metal push in plug and causing major problems. I think anyone who attempts to fit the C.Stalk would need to come up with a considered method of removal. I would not want to be responsible for giving advice on this. It is possible that other Alphards like ours may not have the bar in the socket,it certainly wasn't mentioned in the video. My only comment is to make sure you get it right first time! I couldn't get just the cable, so had to pay another £11-50 for the kit. Not a vast amount and at least it all works OK.

Thanks Chris, I'll have to wait for another joining cable to arrive. Will let you know if it all works.

Thanks Rojie and Nov for sorting out the problem, brilliant-----No Adverts!!

Sorry Chris missed your reply, I can see right through on either side of the bar. There is a male pin in the socket for a connection. I removed the broken piece of the red push in wire plug and it had only gone in about 8mm before hitting the "bar". There is a bar in all the unused sockets and I am wondering if that's to prevent the wrong plugs being pushed into wrong sockets during manufacture. How about carsfully drilling out the bar? It looks so easy in the video. Our Alphard is the model which is shown in the video and all the fittings just fell into place on ours so can't see that removing the bar would cause a problem, what do you think? Tony.

Hi, has anyone else any ideas please?

Hi Chris, a problem with fitting the cruise control switch, everything went fine, soldered the black wire from O/D switch into the black wire in loom,when I tried to push the red from switch into loom plug, it would not push in and the end of the clip broke off in the plug.I can remove the broken bit,but looking into the plug there seems to be a white bar across the socket about half way down, any ideas please?

Hi Rojie, thanks for that my wife has down loaded Chrome, but we still had the ads.It looks like Nov has the same problem. No way am I a computer expert,my wife sets things up and I use what is there.