Elddis Affinity front locker door - daft design!!
We recently took delivery of a new 2019 model Elddis Affinity 574. Love the van and the layout (the only manufacturer offing this layout) apart from the idiotic design of the front gas locker door, which only opens so as to still be horizontal with the ground. This means you have to limbo down underneath the door to access anything, god only knows how less mobile owners are supposed to change gas bottles. Dear Elddis; do you actually have someone go away to a site and test your designs? Are any of your design staff actually caravanners themselves? Do you even care?? Our previous Swift challenger had a door with one handle closure and opened to a much higher position. The best design I've seen is the Lunar design where the door rises almost vertically. Why don't Elddis bother to look at other manufacturers designs instead of making something much worse. Muppets!!
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Hi LincsBob, consider yourself very lucky to have been inflicted with this new design.! We had the 2016 model Affinity. On this model the gas locker door was supported by 2 gas struts that permitted the door to be held open higher. But the struts were too strong for the door, which eventually cracked right across! Worse than this, it also excerted too much force on the hinge mounting, so cracks appeared at all the mounting screw locations! Worse than this, if left unfixed, these cracks then spread up to the front windows, necessitating the replacement of the complete front panel of the caravan! We got rid before ours got any worse. So please be thankful that you have the new design! Best of luck with your new caravan.
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No didn't check as I assumed it would open sufficiently just like on all the other vans I have owned. TBH it would not have put us off as we like the layout and currently only Elddis offer this layout. Just annoying that such an experienced manufacturer can't come up with something better
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Probably the two gas strut's are what is stopping it opening up more. Try opening the gas locker with the struts disconnected on one end, if it open's a lot more then claim two longer struts through your dealer. because you cannot live with that.
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Elddis have had a lot of good design ideas over the year's but also a lot of bad ones. We had a 2014 Elddis crusader that had two raised side rail's along the roof just above the awning rail's, which we thought would be good for stopping black lines down the side of the van, it stopped the lines but held water on the roof like a lake, so we could never pitch the van level. The year after they stopped fitting the rail's on the roof, so that one was not thought out very well.
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Elddis don't seem very good on locker doors do they. My MH, based on the Elddis Accordo, has the fixed bed framing 4" below the level of the garage hatch aperture, thus reducing its accessibility. I am currently in the throes of moving it all.
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Bought an Affinity 462 new in 2013. After 2 years of something falling off it almost every time we took it out I gave up on it and bought a Lunar Clubman. Most worrying was the front panelling cracking around the offside grab handle mounting at 20 months old.
Although the van had a three year warranty on it I was told that Elddis had so many warranty claims on the front panels cracking that the warranty on this panel was only for 12 months, so I bit the bullet and got rid of it.
My neighbour had an Avante at the same time as me and he was far from happy with it, water ingress being an issue with him as well as numerous other faults.
Having spoken to other Elddis owners on sites, or having been approached by other owners likewise I've not come across anyone who had a good word to say about Elddis.
One can only hope that there has been a radical improvement in build quality of the marque over the last five years.
Perhaps the recent changes in ownership of the Explorer Group might improve matters.
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My Elddis affinity 550 bought 2015 has so far been fault free, where as my previous caravan a Bailey verona required returning to Bristol for a complete new front and roof after 2 years took 8 weeks to do at the cost of our summer, and as we were unable to use the van during the summer it cost me a cruise in stead.
The moral of my story is all caravan manufacturers produce faulty vans admittedly some more than others you just have to hope it is not yours that has the major problems.
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Congratulations CM. You're the one that got the fault free one!
Seriously though, I had a Bailey before the Elddis and have had the Clubman almost four years now and both have had warranty work on them, but nothing like the Elddis. That was one endless string of faults and bits dropping off, complicated by the fact I made the mistake of buying at the NEC from a dealer who is based 100 miles or so from where I live.
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Hi I bought this Elddis Affinity 550 2018 at 7 months old , bags of extras fitted , I had the 1st service done , no problems except the carbon monoxide sensor failed its test , it was replaced. THE Maine issue is that the person that done the service took out OF every VENT in the floor some criss cross matting black . Question is was this meant to be in there or did the previous owner put it in the van as we are getting a lot of stuff from the road now on journeys.
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Floor vents usually have a fine gauze mesh fitted. Without the mesh you will get ingress of muck and mice. Too hefty a mesh could be considered a safety hazard as floor vents are there to let any gas leakage escape.
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Just brought my brand new Affinity 574 home yesterday. Thought I'd go out and sort out the front locker this morning. But - but - it only opens to horizontal meaning you have to crawl under on hands and knees or slide under on a stool just to turn the gas on! Do Elddis designers actually try using the thing they've just designed? It's such a simple requirement. Style over substance I reckon. It's got lovely chrome grab handle hinges (that you don't need when you've got a mover) Still love the wagon though.
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My Affinity 540 was supplied by a local agent in South Lincs, yes we had had a few issues over the last 4 years but all have been resolved through the service and warrantee structure, quickly and without acrimony and I will buy a further Elddis.
We have friends with a Swift which has been back to the factory for what amounted to a complete rebuild and the Bailey we tried 6 years back also had major damp issues. But these issues have been sorted by the dealer.0 -
Just had the same problem on my Elddis Affinity 574, albeit without the cracks in the bodywork. The gas struts are too strong and the hinge of the front locker has started to come away along the top. Seems only to have been glued on then secured with small screws through the wooden batten behind. Anyone come up with and easy fix?
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I'm afraid your caravan has already been treated for this problem. The giveaway is the black tape above the hinge. Originally the area above the hinge was just the white colour of the entire front panel.
There will have been cracks around the hinge screws before, due to the design issue. The standard "fix" seems to be to remove the hinge entirely, then drill a hole at each end of every crack (to stop it cracking further), then apply the wide black tape to cover up the whole mess. They then fit the hinge back on using adhesive only, with no screws. Unfortunately this really isn't strong enough and results in the problem you're now experiencing.
The only "real fix" is to replace the entire front panel, but of course this is expensive so people will then trade in their caravan, which is the position we were forced into.
I do hope that you can find a solution.
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Remove the struts to stop strong upward force on the hinge line and consequential cracking. Use long bolts and nuts through original screw holes. These will go through the wooden batten and you will have access at the back for nut. Use nyloc locking nuts and bolt must have a screw head to fit flush.
If you lift door above horizontal you risk it "popping " out of the hinge.
This must be the worst hinge design going 😥
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Here is Knaus's answer to the problem. Totally over-engineered like everything else - but operates on a cantilever principle and the locker door lifts upwards. The second photo shows the substantial metal mechanism to achieve this. Very easy access to the locker and the gas bottles go in upright.
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Hi - Just found the same problem on my 2014 Affinity. The locker box hinge has come unscrewed at one end so the door is slightly away from the body on that side. I have managed to get it back in line, and replaced the screw with one that has a slightly coarser threat, and this is (sort of ) holding better. We are away in the van tomorrow so can’t’ really do any more at present.
Do you think a spray of awning rail lubricant along the hinge will reduce any stresses?
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With regard to to the Elddis Gas Locker opening, please have a look at this item on ebay...
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Made and fitted a new door for £162 New gas locker door
Opens as high as you want! Still needs a safety stay fitted.
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