Ask Elddis About Product Development

[NickJ]

The Elddis team will be LIVE on this thread from 6. 00-8. 00pm this evening, answering all YOUR questions and feedback on Product Development.

This open forum evening is just that - open

Whether you're an existing Elddis owner, a prospective Elddis owner, or an owner of any other make or model, you'll have your own ideas on how caravan manufacturing could be improved or developed, and what you'd like to see in your ideal 'van. At 6pm this evening, you can take your opportunity to speak directly with the product development team at one of the UK's leading caravan manufacturers.

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How the Ask The Expert Evening will work. ..

This evening is all about product development, and the CT team will be working away behind the scenes to keep things on topic.

To make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible this evening, all posts in this thread will require approval by a member of the CT team, because:

• It will allow us to direct any non-product development queries to Elddis for a personal response
• We only have two hours of discussion time today, and straying off topic could cause those with product development ideas or questions to miss out
• Elddis has specially selected Experts from their team who are best placed to discuss product development. Further Ask The Expert Evenings will cover other areas; we'll keep you posted.

Off-topic posts. ..

If your question or comment is not related to product development, you'll notice that:

• It won't be posted in the thread, but. ..
• You will receive a friendly personal message from one of the CT team requesting a few basic details. We will then pass these onto Elddis who will be in direct contact in due course.

Elddis' last open forum evening was a great success, with no hitches technical or otherwise. The CT team will be doing their best to ensure this is the case this evening too, but, as before, please bear with us.

The Elddis team is delighted to have this opportunity to chat openly and honestly with you all about product development; don’t miss your chance to join the discussion this evening. You never know, your idea could become part of the future of caravanning!

 

[NickJ]

This thread is now open. ..ish.

 

We'll be unlocking it just before 6. 00pm, but it's now open to the masses so you can see where the discussion will be occurring this evening.

 

See you then

[Elddis Rob]

Welcome to the second in our innovative series of live forums where representatives from a UK manufacturer of motorhome and caravans are available to answer any questions you have on a specific subject.

Tonight the subject will be Product Development

We are interested to hear any suggestions which you may have – no matter how weird or wonderful they may sound – about how you would like to see us develop future caravans and motorhomes.

So, if you've ever wanted to have a word in the ear of the people behind your caravan or motorhome of the future - This is the moment you've been waiting for.

We would like to hear as many ideas as we possibly can in the next two hours – and whilst we expect to be very much in listening mode, on line tonight are some of our most influential employees who are involved in our Product Development process, and hopefully are therefore best placed to deal with whatever questions you may choose to ask us :

They are : Alan Bateman, Rachel Moncrieff, Rob Quine, Angela Robson, Graham Robson & David Whitehead

We look forward to hearing from you

ROB

[caraman1]

Greetings and nice too see you taking part again. What are your views about motor movers being factory fitted as part of the package on perhaps the more expensive ranges. Most vans seem to have them retro fitted and it would bound to be cheaper due to volume if fitted on manufacture?

Dave

[Lefthand Down]

Do you see more vans having Solar Panels around 80 watts factory fitted and set-up with wired loom and controller?

[Elddis Alan]

Hi Dave

Generally we prefer to give the customer the choice rather than aligning ourselves with one particular manufacturer. Also there are weight considerations which would affect the payload available to the end user. In addition many customers prefer to retro fit their old units from the vehicle they are part exchanging. Out of interest, if we were to go down this route is there a motor-mover you would prefer?

Regards

Alan

[caraman1]

Bailey have removed wood from their shell, and are researching a composite floor, what are your views on this??

 

Dave

[dreadly]

I would like to propose the possibility of a bunk bed type design that can effectively be adjustable by having a modular shelving type construction instead of just fixed beds, I would not have thought this would be a major technical challenge but would allow the addition or removal of an additional bunk or two if required or more space if less kids.

 

As a largish family we are finding most vans these days seem to be all 4 birth fixed bed. .. I believe a modular bunk system would allow for true layout flexibility in a family van.

 

Also I would very much like to see solar panels as factory fit options, or at the very least a factory fit cable gland in the roof.

 

And another idea. ... What about the concept of a pull-out roll up memory foam mattress type bed? Not sure if this would work but again, layout flexibility is key.

 

Thanks

[Lefthand Down]

Connecting water to the van has been hit and miss for some time now. Is there any chance of more robust connectors being installed in new vans than those currently fitted? Better hinged covers are also needed. They are getting very flimsy at the moment.

[peterjohn]

Hi Team, Welcome again, First may I say that a lot of discussion takes place on here about water filters, have you ever thought about leaving them off and saving everybody a lot of money? They are a complete waste of time.

Now, my wife and I have discussed layouts in caravans and the one thing we really miss about home comforts is a proper reclining chair with footrests. Our ideal caravan would be similar to your Affinity 574 but instead of the front dinnette, to just have the middle set of drawers at the front and then have 2 swivel recliners that could be put upright and turned towards each other for eating, then could be turned through 90 degrees to face a T. V. at the front. Then if we wanted we could use the recline position to watch T. V. just like we do at home.

I realise that the floor may need maybe an aluminium honeycombe insert to add strength to the floor to take this but I am sure you are more than capable of designing such a modification.

Should you ever get around to making such a 'van, we would be queueing up to see it. Peter Martin.

[caraman1]

You align yourselves with one manufacturer when you choose heating, cooking etc so why not with this. The weight consideration is worse for us as it takes off our payload which is low already. Yes about the retro fit my old unit but I would prefer not too on a new van especially as the price you can get them for is so good. The main thing about the mover is ground clearance so something like the Al-ko would do.

Dave

Hi Dave

Generally we prefer to give the customer the choice rather than aligning ourselves with one particular manufacturer. Also there are weight considerations which would affect the payload available to the end user. In addition many customers prefer to retro fit their old units from the vehicle they are part exchanging. Out of interest, if we were to go down this route is there a motor-mover you would prefer?

Regards

Alan

[AndyN16]

One possible improvement to the Affinity 530 would have been to make the depth of the shelved wardrobe slightly deeper to make it more useable as it's very narrow and not ideal

[Alphonso Delard]

Love the ideas given from the first two posts. .. Factory fitted solar panel to keep that leisure battery charged, so the van is already to use the factory fitted motor mover - the two sort of go hand in hand. ..

 

I'm what a "prospective" Elddis owner. Absolutely love the Afiinity 530. ..

 

I'd like to know what changes, if any, are planned to the 2014 model?

 

My main question I'd also like to know if it's possible to somehow squeeze in a larger fridge? We never seem to have enough room in the fridge in our current van, nor in the table top fridge we used when we camped, so we always seem to have a cooler box on the go in the awning. We eat oodles of fresh food and fruit, it'd be great to fit it all in the fridge! Alongside the beer :-)

 

Cheers,

 

ADL

[Elddis Angela]

Do you see more vans having Solar Panels around 80 watts factory fitted and set-up with wired loom and controller?

Hi Lefthand Down,

More recently we have seen the introduction of solar panels with a relatively low wattage as standard. We are not sure this adds much value to the product due to the limited output. We are very interested in your views on the output required from solar panels and the associated benefits. We have noticed that you have a solar panel fitted yourself, do you find that the 65w is more than adequate?

Kind Regards,

Angela Robson

[Lefthand Down]

Thanks Angela. I would have preferred 80 watts but the £300 for the 65 watt was my budget.

 

Prices have almost halved since and the 80 watt does allow a better top up after using an invertor.

 

One very good reason to have a fitted solar panel is that it keeps the battery in better condition during storage for many owners. They can't leave a loose panel when in storage so even a 40watt would be better than nothing at all.

[Elddis Rob]

Bailey have removed wood from their shell, and are researching a composite floor, what are your views on this??

 

Dave

Hi Dave

 

We are not here to comment on other manufacturers development choices

 

For our part, Wood has been maintained in the overall construction as it is easy to bond to and does not require any complex surface treatments which other possible alternative materials may.

 

Unlike other caravan/motorhome manufacturers, we don’t ‘manage’ or ‘channel’ water ingress.

 

Just one of the many major benefits of SoLiD Construction is that there is NO point of entry for water to get in. The water will not get through our bond !

 

Regards

 

ROB

[Elddis Alan]

I would like to propose the possibility of a bunk bed type design that can effectively be adjustable by having a modular shelving type construction instead of just fixed beds, I would not have thought this would be a major technical challenge but would allow the addition or removal of an additional bunk or two if required or more space if less kids.

 

As a largish family we are finding most vans these days seem to be all 4 birth fixed bed. .. I believe a modular bunk system would allow for true layout flexibility in a family van.

 

Also I would very much like to see solar panels as factory fit options, or at the very least a factory fit cable gland in the roof.

 

And another idea. ... What about the concept of a pull-out roll up memory foam mattress type bed? Not sure if this would work but again, layout flexibility is key.

 

Thanks

Hi Dreadly

This sounds like an excellent idea, there are however NCC strength testing requirements for the bunk, having the bunk adjustable may affect the strength. Generally the distance between the bunks is also determined by the NCC, which require minimum distances between each level, but we will give this more consideration and may develop it in the future.

At this time we prefer to give the customer choice of which solar panel they prefer, ie size etc, as our customers have different requirements and preferences for manufacturers. Do you have one in mind ?

Regards

Alan

[A11]

I'd love to see a double bed which folds up to the wall, so children or dog can have space during the day

[AndyN16]

 

 

Do you see more vans having Solar Panels around 80 watts factory fitted and set-up with wired loom and controller?

Yep I would like to see that. This would avoid any concerns in impacting the 10year body ingress warranty.

In addition, it would help keep the alarm battery charged via the leisure battery being charged through the solar panel. Anything above 100w panel would become very usable. I tend to caravan in non ehu sites several weeks at a time

[Elddis DavidW]

Connecting water to the van has been hit and miss for some time now. Is there any chance of more robust connectors being installed in new vans than those currently fitted? Better hinged covers are also needed. They are getting very flimsy at the moment.

Lefthand Down

Hi lefthand down

With reference to water connections we have found the current Whale connector to be reliable and has been proven over many years. However your comment on fitting a better cover is one we will discuss with our supplier.

On our higher ranges we also supply a Whale waterline which is a connection system to allow the customer to connect directly to the water outlet on a fully serviced pitch.

Out of interest what would you propose as an connection system for water using either a aquaroll or a water outlet?

 

Regards

David

[A11]

if you won't fit a solar panel, what about the wiring - it could terminate in a connection box on the roof?

[Elddis Graham]

Hi Team, Welcome again, First may I say that a lot of discussion takes place on here about water filters, have you ever thought about leaving them off and saving everybody a lot of money? They are a complete waste of time.

Now, my wife and I have discussed layouts in caravans and the one thing we really miss about home comforts is a proper reclining chair with footrests. Our ideal caravan would be similar to your Affinity 574 but instead of the front dinnette, to just have the middle set of drawers at the front and then have 2 swivel recliners that could be put upright and turned towards each other for eating, then could be turned through 90 degrees to face a T. V. at the front. Then if we wanted we could use the recline position to watch T. V. just like we do at home.

I realise that the floor may need maybe an aluminium honeycombe insert to add strength to the floor to take this but I am sure you are more than capable of designing such a modification.

Should you ever get around to making such a 'van, we would be queueing up to see it. Peter Martin.

Hi Peter John

We do fit on line water filters to our vans and obviously had no complaints to date but what issues do you have with your water filters?

It is a really interesting thought to have 2 swivel recliners which could turn through 90 degrees, but do you think there would be a large demand for that product?

[dreadly]

Hi Dreadly

This sounds like an excellent idea, there are however NCC strength testing requirements for the bunk, having the bunk adjustable may affect the strength. Generally the distance between the bunks is also determined by the NCC, which require minimum distances between each level, but we will give this more consideration and may develop it in the future.

At this time we prefer to give the customer choice of which solar panel they prefer, ie size etc, as our customers have different requirements and preferences for manufacturers. Do you have one in mind ?

Regards

Alan

Baa, what do the NCC know about caravans . With regard to solar panel size, I use a 60w, but it is just a little too small sometimes. I think an 80w would have been better in hindsight.

Mainly for off grid camping and winter storage. 60w is great for storage requirements all winter, it keeps the battery in perfect working order.

The addition of the roof gland would be my main requirement because this is the thing that usually invalidates warranties and causes leaks. I think if this component whee factory I would have invested in a panel a lot sooner.

[Elddis Alan]

I'd love to see a double bed which folds up to the wall, so children or dog can have space during the day

Hi Tiger

This is a good idea and one we have looked at several times in the past, the issue has been what to use the space for during the day, for example if you put this in the bedroom then you would be using your bedroom space for other things during the day. Want do you think about using your bedroom as living space?

Also a lot of our customers like having the fixed bed as totally fixed so they do not have to make the bed up before bed time, the fold out bed system acts against this to a certain degree, would this not give you an issue?

Regards

Alan

[Caravanmedicswindon]

Hi Dave

 

We are not here to comment on other manufacturers development choices

 

For our part, Wood has been maintained in the overall construction as it is easy to bond to and does not require any complex surface treatments which other possible alternative materials may.

 

Unlike other caravan/motorhome manufacturers, we don’t ‘manage’ or ‘channel’ water ingress.

 

Just one of the many major benefits of SoLiD Construction is that there is NO point of entry for water to get in. The water will not get through our bond !

Can't wait to service some of these vans, currently very disappointed to find water ingress in 95% of the caravans and motorhomes I work on, old & new,

Pity though we won't be able to change simple items like rails, water inlets etc on the new Solid constructed vans.