Pat Marsden Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 We have just purchased a brand new Lunar caravan and have yet to take delivery. Whilst talking to the dealer we were informed that we would have to take the battery off our part exchange to go on the new caravan. Is this normal ? Do you not get a battery on a brand new caravan ? Whilst I have had to swap batteries when buying a used caravan I would have thought a new caravan would come with a new battery. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevan Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 You could say the same about several other bits of kit, aquarolls, steps etc. Some buyers would object to paying extra to replace perfectly good items they already have. Some buyers, like you expect new. Some dealers sometimes throw these in as sweeteners for the deal, others do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brecon Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Nothing unusual about moving battery from one van to another. Different people have different battery size requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pebble Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Leave the battery on your old caravan and buy a new one for the new 'van. Then there'll be no excuse if something goes wrong in the first few months. 2019 Adria Adora Thames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oxter Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Makers would fit the cheapest lightest battery to keep costs down. A motor mover (if you fit one) would require a 110 amp battery so you can see the problem right away. However, most caravans come with a plastic step and hook up cable and didn't used to so a battery may be next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Grouse Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Step and hook-up cable are part of the EN standards requirement - battery isn't because European caravans don't need batteries unless go they off-EHU as their on-board power supplies will do exactly that without the need for battery to smooth the output. British caravans are different! Since the Europeans, particularly the Germans, would object to carrying an unnessary battery it's unlike to be included in future versions of the EN standard. As posted above, battery type/capacity varies according to usage - if you have a mover and always use EHU, a 70Ah car battery is just fine - only if you go off-EHU do you need a leisure battery but capacity will vary depending on mover fitment or not and time spent away off-EHU. Edited October 19, 2014 by Black Grouse 2015 VW Touareg 3. 0 V6 TDI + 2013 Lunar Clubman ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 You usually have to pay for or get the gas pigtail swapped as they don't come with the van either although some dealers will fit one for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy T Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Makers would fit the cheapest lightest battery to keep costs down. A motor mover (if you fit one) would require a 110 amp battery so you can see the problem right away. However, most caravans come with a plastic step and hook up cable and didn't used to so a battery may be next. I would choose 110amp for the spare capacity - EHU's can be unavailable for 24 hours or 48 hours if there are problems on site. Happened to us a couple of times in the last 5 years. However we had no problem with a precious 85 A/H battery and mover previously. Alan 2005 Nissan X-trail 4WD diesel and Swift Charisma 540 2012 Lunar Clubman ES 2018 Lunar Clubman ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Lord Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Makers would fit the cheapest lightest battery to keep costs down. A motor mover (if you fit one) would require a 110 amp battery so you can see the problem right away. However, most caravans come with a plastic step and hook up cable and didn't used to so a battery may be next. My Hymer came fitted with a 100ah gel battery. Bill Growing old is compulsory, growing up is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weims Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) We bought a new battery for our new lunar caravan, we didnt take the old one off the van as we had a motor mover fitted to the new one and we bought a bigger battery We also found that the twin plug on our car wasnt compatible with the new single plug on the caravan. we had to buy an adaptor. We will get the one on the car changed at some point but for the time being we have an adaptor thingy Edited October 19, 2014 by weims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadly Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Leave the old one on charge in the garage on an ALDI smart charger just in case and buy a new battery for the caravan. Inevitably at some stage you will leave a light n or flatten the battery and need the spare. An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iankell Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Swap the battery over, keep your old hook up cable along with the one you get with your new van. See how you go. As the Irish say, Keep calm - Sure it'll be grand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Marsden Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thanks for all the replies, the battery I have is only a year old so I shall keep that. It still seems a bit tight to me that you can pay over £20k for a new caravan and yet still have to fork out extra for a battery. The aqua roll and other things I can accept not getting with the caravan but the battery I class as onboard equipment and therefore should be provided with the caravan. Oh well, pointless worrying about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easy T Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 It also seems daft that new vans come with EHU cables now. Come trade in the dealers normally don't want them. Steps are the same I think. Alan 2005 Nissan X-trail 4WD diesel and Swift Charisma 540 2012 Lunar Clubman ES 2018 Lunar Clubman ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl250 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) When we've traded in we have kept the step, gas bottle, battery, ehu lead and mover. If I bought a new caravan I would probably do the same. Edited October 22, 2014 by Shirl250 2007 Bailey Series 5 Senator Arizona (4 berth, rear bathroom, side dinette) towed by a 57 Kia Sorento XS Auto with Kumho KL17 tyres, Reich Mover, Kampa Rally 390, Caravan Tyres : GT Radial Maxmiler CX 185/80 R14 102R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukijb Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I was extremely pi**ed off we picked up our new Lunar Quasar and found we had to pay out for the gas pigtail! Our 5 year old part/x Bailey (which they had already sold)came with a pigtail which we left on. The dealer wouldn't budge as we didn't spot it until we got home. It won't happen on the next van! Dealers -don't you just love um! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadly Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I was extremely pi**ed off we picked up our new Lunar Quasar and found we had to pay out for the gas pigtail! Our 5 year old part/x Bailey (which they had already sold)came with a pigtail which we left on. The dealer wouldn't budge as we didn't spot it until we got home. It won't happen on the next van! Dealers -don't you just love um! Our dealer phoned us before we picked up the van and asked what type of pigtail we wanted them to fit I would maybe question your dealers practices, they seem a little poor on the customer service IMHO. An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Grouse Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Given the low cost of a basic pigtail, it's poor customer service - BUT - they don't know automatically what sort of gas/cylinder you use - butane or propane, lhd or rhd thread, clip-on or threaded. 2015 VW Touareg 3. 0 V6 TDI + 2013 Lunar Clubman ES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTQ Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Given the low cost of a basic pigtail, it's poor customer service - BUT - they don't know automatically what sort of gas/cylinder you use - butane or propane, lhd or rhd thread, clip-on or threaded. On all occasions we have exchanged van's the dealers have exchanged our gas bottles, in readiness to demonstrate the van, whilst we had a coffee and prepared ourselves to receive the new van. So all fittings were furnished to do the job. With the last two vans a battery was part of the build spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreadly Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Given the low cost of a basic pigtail, it's poor customer service - BUT - they don't know automatically what sort of gas/cylinder you use - butane or propane, lhd or rhd thread, clip-on or threaded. Exactly. . This is why our dealer phoned and asked us. .. That is the type of thing that makes a good dealer surely? An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. Mahatma Gandhi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hp100425ev Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Our 2015 Clubman came with 2 pigtails fitted (OK they were the basic rubber type ones not stainless steel, but hey ho). On the handover, while we were having our complimentary coffee, the handover chappie asked whether we used butane or propane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukijb Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Our previous Bailey when new came with both red & blue gas pigtails (Dickinsons of Bradford-shame we couldn't have stuck with them!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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