Knaus Star class
Knaus have put a fully anglicized caravan into the UK.Its quite big and around 25000 but uts a cracker.Full British kitchen, long sofas or wrap around seating (your choice) AND if you have a tow car big enough you can have 300kgs payload.There is a choice
150 200 or 300.They are happy to fit a motorhome awning for you as well which Swift for one will not do.
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Wildwood, what's missing from the Spec? At first glance it seems fine to me with everything you'd expect:
- End Washroom
- Microwave
- Freezer
- Fridge
- Heater
- Oven
- Mains electric
- Water heater
- Cassette toilet
- Shower
- Battery Charger
- Door flyscreen
- Loose fit carpets
- Stereo system
- Sun roof
- External gas BBQ point
- External 240v
- Spare wheel
- Alloy wheels
- Part exchange welcome
- Includes delivery charge
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Test.
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Basic? Seriously?
I'm starting saving now. The rest of the range are due out later this year and there will be a two berth I'm told so I will be very interested to see them.
Not that the mk 1 Starclass shows any signs of giving up the ghost
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I understand they do not fit Alde central heating, ATC, cooker and microwave which at that price level is ridiculous particularly the ATC. Not seen it in the flesh or checked their web site but according to Practical Caravan there is no microwave or oven.
Must be by far the most expensive caravan without Alde heating and at that weight ATC is essential.
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You can order them with Alde heating later this year. or so I was told by a dealer who had one to look at.
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We have an anglicised German caravan a 2015 Hymer. It is interesting what is deemed essential for the British market. Therefore it does have a microwave aka the electric bread bin cost of this item is £50 and a lost cupboard, so hardly a deal breaker either
way, even if you have to fit one, though I notice the starclass does list one. It has a full oven more space lost / weight gained. It also has like the Starclass the Panoramic roof, two cupboards lost and in my opinion spoils the look of the front the van.
The Alde heating is interesting like all heating systems it is dependant upon the quality of the installation, or how many convectors are fitted in our case it includes underfloor heating a fan assisted convector in the door way and even a warming drawer
for god's sake. So in my opinion a fairly comprehensive instalation and it keeps the van warm really well. But and for me it is quite a big But, in my opinion the hot water supply is not a good as the Truma system we had previously. The hot water tank
is only 8l and it doesn't get as hot as the Truma system, yes it can be boosted but that essentially means switching the heating off. The result is there is just enough for a shower. So Alde central heating great, Alde hot water average. Add to this the
expense of having the fluid changed in 2 years.The point is nothing is as clear cut as it might appear. The genuine advantage of the Hymer and Knaus is the realistic payload. I would also argue build quality but that is subjective.
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So Alde central heating great, Alde hot water average. Add to this the expense of having the fluid changed in 2 years.
I would not agree with the first statement, but that is subjective. However, it is possible to get the fluid replaced with 5 year spec, which is not much dearer, the main cost being the labour. Just had our 2 year old fluid changed. It is pink rather than
blue but in all other respects works just the same.0 -
Not quite sure what you disagree with? I agree it is subjective. So I will rephrase my statement by saying the Alde central heating system in our Hymer is in our opinion great. But that does depend to a large measure on the installation Skimp on the
numbers of convectors then it wouldn't be as goodI do stand by my second statement about the hot water system is average in terms of its capacity so not so great and actually IMHO inferior to the ultrastore system we had in the previous van.
With regards to the additional cost you can't deny in the second year the coolant needs changing and I would imagine most people because they don't have the equipment recommended and to maintain any warranty opt to have it done at a dealers. Therefore it
matters not one jot how much of the bill is labour and how much is parts, it still comes out of the same bank account.0 -
Not quite sure what you disagree with? I agree it is subjective. So I will rephrase my statement by saying the Alde central heating system in our Hymer is in our opinion great. But that does depend to a large measure on the installation Skimp on the
numbers of convectors then it wouldn't be as goodI do stand by my second statement about the hot water system is average in terms of its capacity so not so great and actually IMHO inferior to the ultrastore system we had in the previous van.
With regards to the additional cost you can't deny in the second year the coolant needs changing and I would imagine most people because they don't have the equipment recommended and to maintain any warranty opt to have it done at a dealers. Therefore it
matters not one jot how much of the bill is labour and how much is parts, it still comes out of the same bank account.Sorry, I did not edit your post enough, just meant to leave the Alde hot water average bit. I think the Alde system is great, including the hot water. Putting it on boost only turns off the heating for 30 mins and new vans are so well insulated they take
quite a while to cool down and of course the pipes / convectors stay hot for a while. This provides enough hot water for me to have at least a 4 min hot shower. We are so pleased with it that it will control the next van we purchase, there is no way we will
go back to blown air. As to the fluid change, it is only the first that has to be at two years then every 5 as long as you use the correct spec. So unless you keep the van more than 7 years, it will only need changing once. Ours cost £80, which spread over
5 or 7 years is fairly insignificant, and well worth it to have the Alde heating. But as I said it is all subjective and yes it will depend on the quality of the installation.0 -
I am not saying the Alde heating system is poor. In my opinion the Hot water side of the system is not as good as the Ultrastore system that was placed on the previous van. The old Truma ultraheat system came in two sizes for operation 3kW and 5kW. I don't think I have ever seen the 5kW system fitted to a UK van we had it in our last Hymer and it pumped out a lot of heat quickly. Of course the Alde system is better overall because you can time it.
£80 is cheap did that include labour? I have just spent nearly that much on coolant for our landcrusier from Toyota.
Sorry that this has gone wildly off topic.
We nearly bought a previous generation Knaus Starclass twice. The first time salesman wasn't interested so we walked out. The second time it was a toss of coin between it and Hymer we eventually bought. Not seen the current generation but I would of thought well worth a look.
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Sorry again off topic
The £80 did inc labour. Probably would not be cheaper to do it yourself, as they really sting for the fluid when bought in small quantities. A dealer of course buys it in large drums, so I suppose it works out much less.
5kw, I assume that is gas + electric combined, as if all electric it would be over 20 amps, so not viable in this country. The Alde, or at least the system on our van, can deliver 7kw, three from electric and four from gas, which can be used together. Seldom
use this though.0 -
I can vouch for the previous generation Starclass Boff but I don't know which way I'd have gone if it had been between the Starclass and a Hymer.
There are definitely advantages to the UK configuration for touring here. Homwever the Hymer Nova that I fancied was lighter.
The new Starclass has to be worth a look
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Sorry again off topic
The £80 did inc labour. Probably would not be cheaper to do it yourself, as they really sting for the fluid when bought in small quantities. A dealer of course buys it in large drums, so I suppose it works out much less.
5kw, I assume that is gas + electric combined, as if all electric it would be over 20 amps, so not viable in this country. The Alde, or at least the system on our van, can deliver 7kw, three from electric and four from gas, which can be used together. Seldom use this though.
Still off topic,
We had Ultraheat 5000s this is 5kW gas and potentially plus 2kW electric. Afaik all uk vans were fitted with the 3000s which is 3kW gas plus 2kW electric. The s stands for supplemental which is how Truma viewed the electric heating. The extra Watts makes a big difference on a cold night
I have posted this before, but a friend had his Alde boiler corrode through it was 5 years old he has always paid to have is caravan serviced. I can't remember the exact sum but it cost him in the region of 2k to get a factory reconditioned boiler fitted. That makes £80 look cheap.
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