Charlie Brown

No, never found a solution, but not really bothered as the cruise control works fine.

The handbook states the oil to be used as Toyota Auto Fluid Type T-IV. I believe it is available from Toyota dealers and many other outlets such as ebay. The handbook says it takes 8.6 litres.

Just renewed our insurance with Lifesure, who are brokers for Axa. £483.98, which is £55 more than last year. It is a motor home policy, and is recorded as a converted camper van with them. Includes Motor legal expenses of £30.00. Full NCD. I am 72.

The handbook calls for an API SL, or ISLAC GF-3. These days these specifications are at API SP and ISLAC GF-6. So any good quality engine oil will do the job. Also, the viscosity needs to be considered. Here, the handbook calls for anything from an SAE 5W-20 to an SAE 10W-30, depending on ambient temperature. Personally, I use an SAE 5W-30. For the transmission the handbook is much more specific, calling of a Toyota product, Toyota Auto Fluid Type T-IV. I believe this is readily available from various outlets. I hope this helps.

The handbook says 'SECURITY DISPLAY LIGHT. The display light will flash when the key is pulled out of the ignition and the security system starts operation.' On our 2008 model it goes out when you lock the car.

On our 2008 face lift model, it is hard plastic. I have the same problem. In places the wood finish has worn through to the black plastic underneath.

Our Alphard is registered as 'Body type MPV', and the 'Taxation class' is PRIVATE LIGHT GOODS (PLG). I believe it was registered as this before it was actually converted to a camper van. Since conversion there has been no contact with DVLA to change it, and I further I also believe that there is no requirement from DVLA to do so.

The leisure battery is on its own tray. The fittings look the same as the one that hold the starter battery. I don't know for certain if the starter battery tray is original and in its original place, but it looks it. It is a great use of space but the relatively small leisure battery mentioned previously, only just fits. Anything bigger would not fit. Let me know if I can be of any further help.

Very strangely, I had exactly the same experience last year. I obtained one from the nearest Toyota main dealer to me. This was Listers at Cheltenham. All they needed was the registration number. It did have to come from Japan, which they said would take up to a month. It actually took about two weeks. From memory it was about £470. I then got a local window fitter to fit it. In the mean time, many layers of duct tape and cardboard kept the old window in place, as it had shattered but not actually fallen out.

I recently had a smashed side window. It went through my insurance company but I sourced the part and the company that fitted it and sent the bill to the insurance company. I bought the part through the local Toyota dealer. All they needed was the registration number, with which they confirmed the serial number of the vehicle. It had to come from Japan. They said it would take up to a month but in fact came in less than two weeks. It was about £460 but the insurance paid for that. The parts department could not have been more helpful, but the service department didn't want to know about fitting it, but I used a small local company.

Hello Hannah We have an Outdoor Revolution Cayman Air Low drive away awning, and we are very pleased with it. But, there are quite a few options available on the market, from other established makes like Vango, etc. We chose the pump up type and are glad we did, it only takes a couple of minutes to erect it, poles would take much longer. There is a lot of discussion on this forum about awnings, you should maybe search through them. We found the biggest problem was securing it to the van. Solutions vary from having a 'C' or Kador rail fitted to various type of magnets. Again, there is much discussion on this forum. Good luck in your search.

I had our Alphard weighed. It was 2220 kg. This included our kit for a weekend, a quarter of a tank of fuel and my wife and I. The logic of doing it this way was that this would be somewhere about the weight we would have if we were stopped by the DVSA (formerly VOSA) and it gives me some idea of what the all up weight is when we are travelling. We have a 2008, 2.4 ltr Alphard with a full side conversion, rock and roll bed and a pop up roof.

My insurance with AXA with Lifesure as the broker has just come up for renewal. For our 2008 Alphard converted to a camper van the premium has gone from £323 to £423. I have full no clams discount and my cover includes fairly normal excesses. I have legal and NCD protection. I had to put in a claim for a broken window this year. I am 71. Looking on the forum, there doesn't seem to much about very recent insurance premiums. So would anyone like to comment as to whether they think this is in line with current insurance costs for an Alphard camper. Any comments appreciated. Thanks.

The handbook states to use oils compliant with API SL/EC, SJ/EC or ILSAC GF-3. In the moderate climate we have in the UK SAE 10W-30, 5W-20 or 5W30 viscosities are recommended. Actually these days most reputable oil manufacturers will be on ILSAC GF-6 and API SP standards. In my opinion an oil from a reputable manufacturer, probably of 5W-30 viscosity would good to use. I believe the recommended oil change interval is 15,000 kms but am happy to be corrected on this. I think this is very conservative. Again, in my opinion, I think 15,000 miles between changes is more realistic. I hope this helps.

Hello Our Alphard has a very neat installation of the leisure battery in the engine compartment, which I thought I'd share with you. Please see picture. This was done as part of the conversion. You can see it fits just behind the starter battery. There is not much room but an Autolite 75ah Leisure Battery ULTRA 80 85 just fits. You can buy them direct from Autolite on ebay. The split charge relay is close by as well. You can see it in the picture. I don't know if the starter battery is part of the original vehicle or whether that was part of the modification. Not sure about the heat from the engine, there's not much room in there. I hope this helps.

I thought old fashioned thermostats failed open, which means the fluid circulates without restriction, therefore running cooler and therefore not boiling over as a fail safe. Modern electronics may have a different result.

We ended up buying an Outdoor Revolution Cayman Air Low and are very pleased with it. We went to the Caravan and Camping show at the NEC, Birmingham, where a good half dozen or more were on display. Apart form getting one that is low enough for that type of van (low), another critical feature is the width of the fitting to the van. It must be wide enough to contain the open sliding door and the doorway that you need to get in and out of. Other features are personal preference, like number of doors and windows, price, quality etc. Definitely glad we bought an air beam type.

I have pretty much the same rig as you. I also drive about 60 mph and in similar conditions I'm averaging about 27 mpg. I did get over 29 once. Fitting a cruise control made about 2 mpg difference.

I replaced this bulb without removing all the panelling. In spite of being as careful as I could be I broke one of the small plastic lugs on the light. In my view these are not actually critical but that is for each to decide themselves. Please see the attached you tube videos. They do give a good idea of what you can expect and an honest evaluation of the problems for a DIY person. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ8mH-FhVwk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se0yZcCqCfE

Hello Sinbad, Sorry, but the wheels are now sold.

First there is the question of viscosity. SAE 5W-30 and SAE 5W-20 are recommended in the hand book. The Mannol oil you were looking at meets this requirement and Liam's experience is worth noting. If you decide to go down the route of a more recognised brand, then the big majors would be a good place to start. Shell, Esso, Mobil, Castrol (owned by BP, who also own Duckhams), etc. Don't buy from a garage, they will charge a fortune. Accessory shops (eg. Halfords) and Motor Factors (eg. Euro Car Parts) are good places to go, or look for a deal on the internet. I hope this helps and that I'm not stating too much of the obvious to you.

This caught my interest as I used to sell lube oil for a living but have been out of it for over 15 years. Never heard of this German company but a few minutes on their web site I was quite impressed. It was very professional. https://www.mannol.de . They have a very complete range of oils across every market. They claim to have actual manufacturers approvals in quite a few instances. Product information is a backed up by H&S and MSDS sheets. Price is unbelievably cheap. I'm naturally sceptical but cannot see any catch, but If you have any doubts stick to a brand that you know. Even an expensive engine oil is cheaper than a new engine.

Hello. I 'm selling a set of four Work Schwert alloy wheels with tyres. Wheels are in good working order. Will need some cosmetic attention to bring them to as new condition. Complete with wheel nuts including locking nuts. 245x45xR18. Two tyres have a minimum of 5mm tread, the two others have a minimum of 3mm. Will accept reasonable offers. Collect from Stroud or I will deliver if a reasonable distance from Stroud. PM me if you're interested.

Hello All. My experience is very similar to this, I fitted cruise control, which works fine, but no cruise control light on the dashboard, (no ECO light either). I thought it was because I have a new speedo head fitted (which is in miles and mph) and thought they hadn't connected it up or something. Have others who have followed this process got a cruise control light on their dash or is this something that does not work with this method. Thanks.

Hello. I followed this topic with keen interest as I also did not want to have anything permanently fitted. I bought several of the Parkside magnets. They really do work. Our awning was up in a filthy storm last weekend and the magnetic rail on the roof did not move at all. One mod I have done is to cut some slots in one of the magnetic bars and bend it slightly to follow the curvature of the roof at the front, see picture attached. It now sits firmly on the roof along its whole length. I think I might curve one for the rear, as it doesn't quite sit flat. I do love this forum for the ideas you get. Thanks All.