The threat of chopping my lad’s feet off has had a similar result lol
Hillside Birchover
- Thread starter Grainfoot
- Start date
Not sure exactly, talking to a couple who have a birchover a couple of weeks ago, they had been contacted by Hillside to have the habitation check but once they said it was chargeable at £200 they decided against it on the grounds that the conversion had the 2 year warranty anyway, but saying all that it does make you wonder if Hillside may use it against you if you do not have it checked .
@Davenjo have you had the habitation check as you’re coming up to 2 years.
It was always my intention, but I forgot, so no. With the warranty coming to an end soon I will probably look to someone more local to do a habitation service, though, getting Hillside to do it would help to highlight any warranty related issues that they can sort.
Hi all, just updated the panel bubbling thread but the easy to replace section is being done by Hillside and the other (tiny) they are going to cover. When we went to have our SCA canvas replaced (the fly net had come away from the stitching) we asked them to look at the cupboard doors under the bed as the edging had come off too. One guy said that that had never happened before and suggest that it hadn’t been looked after the other guy fixing it said it had happened a lot with the hot summer! We also had a bit of an issue with the wheel under the cupboard door etching the floor. They have seen it a few times but say it happens when you overload the door! We asked what was considered the right load and they didn’t know! Ours doesn’t have big bottles in or anything like that and has been well used for 4 months this year but that isn’t that long. We don’t mind the groove as also like the functionality but it isn’t that easy to stop it being a discoloured line which doesn’t look v nice.
As per my comment above, the floor groove is something we expected when we first saw the van so not at all unexpected - so far we have managed to keep the groove reasonably clean but still interested if anyone has found a long term solution that still enables us to keep loading the door to the max
Glad you seem to be arriving at a good compromise with your issues and hopefully your Birchover will earn you loads of money over the next few years and enable you to build your blossoming campervan empire -all the best - Dave
Fortunately we have had nothing similar on our Fiamma. However, we have had a couple of minor issues over the last 6 months with our water pump and a leak around solar panel connection - both dealt with without fuss or hassle under warranty - one just before the 2 years was up and the other just after. With our van and the brilliant after sales we have received from them since purchase I would have no problems buying from them again and/or recommending to others.
...actually there was another issue I'd forgotten about; we had a bubble appear in the GRP/paint the top of the SCA roof shell fairly early on - it was out of sight so didn't really bother us and I'd forgotten about it - when we took the van in for them to sort the water pump just before the 2 years was up, I mentioned it - van was booked in for the 3 days they needed to cut out, fill, respray, etc., now looks good as new and again, no fuss and or questions with getting done under warranty.
The shortcomings of the traditional VCR leisure battery split charger used by Hillside have hit home...…..
The leisure battery in our 2016 Birchover died whilst away this summer (inadequate power to run fridge after 24 hours off grid - with disastrous consequences ie. warm beer!). Fortunately we found a place in Dresden that replaced the battery for us.
I accept that leisure batteries have a limited shelf life but I don't accept Hillsides view that 'anything over two years for a leisure battery is a bonus' . Our van is regularly driven, has a solar panel, and we often elec hook up on uk sites. In my view the shortcomings of the split charger have significantly contributed to the premature demise of the leisure battery.
As VW still use a VCR split charger on the Cali's I have no basis to argue that Hillside should do better (I have tried!), but I am none the less a little peeved.
In the short term I will be plugging in regularly whilst at home in the hope of keeping the leisure battery in better condition. In the longer term I may well fit a DC/DC charger that is certainly a superior approach for vehicles with smart alternators (such as the T6) and should keep the leisure battery fully charged (rather than the 80% max that will never be bettered by the current split charger set up).
The leisure battery in our 2016 Birchover died whilst away this summer (inadequate power to run fridge after 24 hours off grid - with disastrous consequences ie. warm beer!
). Fortunately we found a place in Dresden that replaced the battery for us. I accept that leisure batteries have a limited shelf life but I don't accept Hillsides view that 'anything over two years for a leisure battery is a bonus' . Our van is regularly driven, has a solar panel, and we often elec hook up on uk sites. In my view the shortcomings of the split charger have significantly contributed to the premature demise of the leisure battery.
As VW still use a VCR split charger on the Cali's I have no basis to argue that Hillside should do better (I have tried!), but I am none the less a little peeved.
In the short term I will be plugging in regularly whilst at home in the hope of keeping the leisure battery in better condition. In the longer term I may well fit a DC/DC charger that is certainly a superior approach for vehicles with smart alternators (such as the T6) and should keep the leisure battery fully charged (rather than the 80% max that will never be bettered by the current split charger set up).
I totally get the warm beer argument but don’t let this split charge vs DC-DC charge issue detract from your enjoyment of what is still a great van. The leisure battery should definitely last more than 2 years - ours, apart from the regular driven part, is a similar set up to yours and appears to be still going strong after 3 years (though we do have an issue with the solar panel no longer charging when the sun shines but I think that is the charge controller - trip to See @travelvolts soon me thinks!!). Up until a couple of months ago we had the fridge running 24x7 for months on end without EHU and the van standing without being started for weeks.
Ultimately you will need to balance the cost of replacement leisure batteries (circa £80 for a 75ah AGM that fit under the seat with the Eberspacher outlet) with the cost of upgrading to a Dc-Dc charge system to get the extra 20% (£100 upwards).
Longer term we will be looking at lithium but not until the original AGM no longer does what we want.
Ultimately you will need to balance the cost of replacement leisure batteries (circa £80 for a 75ah AGM that fit under the seat with the Eberspacher outlet) with the cost of upgrading to a Dc-Dc charge system to get the extra 20% (£100 upwards).
Longer term we will be looking at lithium but not until the original AGM no longer does what we want.
I've just this minute come off the @travelvolts website looking at doing the same thing, i think i need a trip down there
Is your Eber outlet still under the drivers seat as well?Small pleasures.....twinkly indicator lights doing what they should be doing!
And the added bonus of 100% charged leisure battery
All in all a pretty straight forward swap.
View attachment 51160
Yup! (Not that the Eber and Charger will ever be working at the same time).
I have also added a sizeable cut out vent in the front panel to provide plenty of ventilation.
calvert2468
New Member
Hi. I have just taken delivery of mine and I can’t work out how to operate the hot water. I have looked but can’t see a switch? I was also told the hot water only works when connected to a mains 240v supply? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Have you found the mains rcd panel. I believe it’s in one of the cupboards in the kitchen area. There is probably an rcd specifically for the water heater that needs to be in the on position when on hookup. I don’t own one I’m afraid but that would be my first point to look for.
There is a switch on the main panel for 12v (ours glows red when on and the ignition is on) whilst driving and another in the cupboard nearest the back for 240v - you will see a orange glow from this when you open the cupboard
calvert2468
New Member
Hi. Thank you. I didn’t realise but next to the Rcd is an isolator switch that needs to be turned on. Thanks for your help.
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