Ask Elddis About Solid Construction

[Elddis Rob]

We have just took delivery this weekend a new Bailey unicorn and love it . When we were looking at the new caravan ranges on show at Raymond James caravans we did look at and liked the new affinity with the new SoLiD method but we also liked the large front window (personal choice i know) in the Bailey and Swift caravans. Is this something you may look at putting in your new caravans in the future.

 

CHEERS DAZKIM

Hi Dazkim

 

I agree that it is a personal choice - and I think it is great that all customers are given a choice by manufacturers. It would be sad if they all looked the same

 

I think the choice across all manufacturers is terrific for customers at the moment - and I hope that you enjoy many happy years with yours ( and then come to see us when you are next ready to change )

 

We may well do something similar - but we will learn from others' experiences - You will just have to wait and see !!

 

Regards

 

ROB

[Elddis DavidW]

I will be looking seriously as one of your caravans when I change mine for two particular reasons.

 

Firstly I'm sure you have "got it right! with the construction method and secondly because you offer mounting points on the rear of the 'van for a cycle rack.

 

As a matter of interest are the fixing points designed to accommodate a particular cycle rack and what weight would you say can be safely carried not to stress the caravan panel. (Incidently do you bond wood inside the end paneHl into which fixings may be made or do you use a different technique.

 

As others have said it's really good to see you here. Thank you for giving the Forum your time.

Hi John B

 

The 2013 range of Elddis caravans is designed to take the Fiamma universal bike rack with a maximum load of 60kgs

 

The inner rear wall has timber fixing rails but we would not recommend that you puncture the external panel as this could effect the integrity of the external wall. we would recommend that any bike rack be fitted by your Elddis Retailer

 

Regards

 

David W

[caraman1]

Hi Dave, we have Three As in Carmarthen. You can find your nearest retailers here: http://www. elddis. co. uk/my-elddis/find-a-retailer It's one of the many handy functions we have on our website, including 'Get the Best Deal', virtual tours, Customer reviews etc. Let us know if we can help you find your perfect Elddis model!

 

Many thanks

 

Rachel

Unfortunately, over 70 miles from us in Cardiff. I did do your Dealer Search before posting. Wouldn't consider without seeing first.

Dave

[Elddis AlanB]

Hi Elddis, I am the owner of a Hymer caravan and I believe they were the first to use adhesives to put their caravans together and are still doing so. Is the adhesive you are using of a similar type to Hymer? Can you say that your caravans will be as enduring as Hymer too? We are all waiting for a British manufacturer to produce something that will rival the German build. Peterjohn

Hi Peter John,

 

Yes, I believe Hymer do use adhesives and are still using them today; we were the first to fully bond both caravans and motorhomes, all joints and components. I can’t say if theirs is similar to ours or not as we don’t know what brand they use. We use the German manufactured Henkel bonding products

 

All I can say on endurance is that we have fully tested our vehicles on various test tracks, in the UK and Europe. One of our show vehicles has done the equivalent of 27,000 miles and was on show at the NEC in February. Nobody noticed any wear and tear the only giveaway was the GB sticker on the back.

 

I agree with you we need British manufacturing to get the perceived German engineering accolades. SoLiD construction will definitely do this.

 

Regards,

 

Alan

[Markt1891]

Hi Elddis. I collected my new Affinity 530 on Friday. .. very impressed so far . Please thank the person that designed the side dinette, my constantly growing 8 year old is very happy with her new big bed.

 

Is there is a reason why some ranges have two piece sides and some don't?

 

Thanks,

Mark.

[TD 42]

Hi,Problems with water ingress in some marques have been traced to inconsistent adhesive/ sealant application (possible human error) can you tell me what precautions are employed by you to ensure that this cannot occur on the production line

 

TD

[Guest Campervan]

I understand that additional rigidity can be achieved by bonding the chassis to the caravan floor. For additional safety, are the normal mounting bolts still used for the chassis and corner steady mounts, or do you rely solely on the bonding?

Secondly, on motorhomes, can you say how the habitation section (wood) is joined to the cab (metal), is this bonded in the same way as the floor to chassis?

Interested in how achieve good metal to wood adhesion.

Thanks in anticipation.

Campervan.

 

PS well done Caravan Talk for hosting this evening

[ElddisGroupMarketing]

Unfortunately, over 70 miles from us in Cardiff. I did do your Dealer Search before posting. Wouldn't consider without seeing first.

Dave

Hi Dave, I understand. Hopefully by the time you come to make a decision we may have appointed yet more retailers. Otherwise we hope that you may be able to join us at a big show like NEC in Birmingham in Oct - or if you fancy a weekend away you can come to our Factory Open Weekend on 21-22 Sept (details coming soon). Perhaps Three As might make you an offer that would make your trip more than worthwhile!.. We would travel that little bit further for SoLiD!

Best regards, Rachel

[Elddis Gary]

Hi Elddis. I collected my new Affinity 530 on Friday. .. very impressed so far . Please thank the person that designed the side dinette, my constantly growing 8 year old is very happy with her new big bed.

 

Is there is a reason why some ranges have two piece sides and some don't?

Thanks,

Mark.

 

 

Hi Mark

 

Thank you for your kind comments on the Affinity 530. We have many customers saying similar things. Our design team will be delighted with your feedback.

 

As for the side panel question this is purely down to price and specification, which helps us distinguish across ranges.

 

Regards

Gary

 

PS Rachel says that you should keep in touch with us on Twitter and Facebook and share your holiday pics with us and other Elddis owners

[chrisbee]

Is the GRP sheet bonded to the underside of the floor? I'm slightly worried that should any water penetrate between the GRP sheet and the wood it would not be able to dry out.

[David Bell]

I have an 18 year old 'Golden Crown Signet' - one of your former sub brands from many moons ago.

 

Having had to repair a delaminated floor in my van - has the technology of floors advanced in the same way as your jointing methods?

 

Surely any sandwich construction floor will suffer over time with continued use?

 

What method do the SoLiD 'vans use?

 

Thanks

 

David

[Elddis Rob]

Many of the questions which we have received so far and our answers have been placed on our web site.

If you are interested, please follow this link :

 

http://www. elddis. co. uk/solid/solid-faqs

[NickJ]

We still have 81 guests viewing this topic - don't miss your chance to ask you SoLiD question. ..we only have 35 minutes left!

Click here to create an account and sign in now! It's free. It's quick. It's easy. What are you waiting for?!

[stanrover]

Traded our Unicorn Barcelona in, decided to down size to a Affinity 482,I was impressed with the SOLID construction, collected our van on May 1st, first impressions, very good, wish you all the best, and hopefully our van will last 10 years.

[Elddis David]

I understand that additional rigidity can be achieved by bonding the chassis to the caravan floor. For additional safety, are the normal mounting bolts still used for the chassis and corner steady mounts, or do you rely solely on the bonding?

Secondly, on motorhomes, can you say how the habitation section (wood) is joined to the cab (metal), is this bonded in the same way as the floor to chassis?

Interested in how achieve good metal to wood adhesion.

Thanks in anticipation.

Campervan.

 

PS well done Caravan Talk for hosting this evening

Hi Campervan

 

Although we bond the caravan chassis to the floor we still use some bolts for added safety. One of our first test vans had no bolts between the chassis and the floor. Although the results were fine, the fixing of the A-frame to the front of the caravan is very critical, we have no reason to take extra risks despite our confidence. The corner steadies are still bolted on as normal for ease and maintenance.

On our motorhomes the steel cab is bonded to a GRP link panel. We use a different adhesive for this compared to the chassis and body structure.

Bonding wood to metal may seem challenging based on most peoples' DIY experience, however, the hi-tech strucutral adhesives from Henkel are incomparable in their performance compared to what most people are used to. We measure "Dyne" values (stickability!) to all our materials before using them in SoLiD construction. In this way we can achieve good bonding results with apparently disparate materials.

 

We appreciate the opportunity to speak with you through the Caravantalk forum.

 

Regards

David

[Diavolo Rosso]

As one of the early buyers of SoLiD - we ordered our Clipper at the factory event in September - I must say that so far, I've been very impressed with this construction method. What also gave me confidence was the fact that you introduced it across your entire range of caravans and motorhomes at the same time, displaying your confidence in SoLiD!

 

It's also very encouraging that you're engaging with caravanners in this way via CT, and I hope that those members with questions (other than SoLiD) about 2013 models are able to engage on those subjects effectively too.

 

You deserve to succeed with such an innovative method, and I hope that Elddis can go from strength to strength with it. I'm sure others are already looking forward to future discussions with you on other subjects!

 

So, Rob and the Elddis team, thanks for this, and best of luck for the future with SoLiD and the new range!

 

Regards,

 

Al.

[Elddis Rob]

Traded our Unicorn Barcelona in, decided to down size to a Affinity 482,I was impressed with the SOLID construction, collected our van on May 1st, first impressions, very good, wish you all the best, and hopefully our van will last 10 years.

 

Thanks very much stanrover

 

Thanks for putting your faith in SoLiD construction

 

We all hope that you enjoy many years of happy touring

 

Regards

 

ROB

[Elddis Ross]

Hi,Problems with water ingress in some marques have been traced to inconsistent adhesive/ sealant application (possible human error) can you tell me what precautions are employed by you to ensure that this cannot occur on the production line

 

TD

Hi TD 42

 

When we started the process we realised building caravans this way was considerably different to what we had been used to. We have invested in various types of semi-automated adhesive applicators to eradicate this potential problem. We have also undertaken a vigorous training programme for all operators The training was carried out onsite by Henkel. We have created over one hundred new standard operation procedures (SOP) which are audited regularly by Henkel.

 

Ta

Ross

[David Bell]

Is there any way I/we/the public can take part in helping out with early stages in the design/layout stages?

 

There's some 'vans these days (and I'm not talking about one specific manufacturer) - ALL manufacturers to me have some really daft design niggles that just could have done with thinking through a little better.

 

I'd happily give my input FOC in layout plans / ideas.

 

David (wannabe caravan designer!)

[Elddis Rob]

As one of the early buyers of SoLiD - we ordered our Clipper at the factory event in September - I must say that so far, I've been very impressed with this construction method. What also gave me confidence was the fact that you introduced it across your entire range of caravans and motorhomes at the same time, displaying your confidence in SoLiD!

 

It's also very encouraging that you're engaging with caravanners in this way via CT, and I hope that those members with questions (other than SoLiD) about 2013 models are able to engage on those subjects effectively too.

 

You deserve to succeed with such an innovative method, and I hope that Elddis can go from strength to strength with it. I'm sure others are already looking forward to future discussions with you on other subjects!

 

So, Rob and the Elddis team, thanks for this, and best of luck for the future with SoLiD and the new range!

 

Regards,

 

Al.

Thanks very much Al

 

We all appreciate you taking your time to contribute to this event

 

We will continue these events in the future and hope to cover all subjects that customers want to talk about in the future

 

Regards

 

ROB

[PaulR]

Hi Guys, We have an Avante 540, with the new Solid construction is it okay to travel with a Fiamma type awning on the awning rail? Thanks for doing this forum.

[Elddis Rob]

If you are interested, you can learn a bit more about our partners Henkel – the world renowned structural bonding specialists – by watching this short video :

 

[Guest Campervan]

Hi Campervan

 

Although we bond the caravan chassis to the floor we still use some bolts for added safety. One of our first test vans had no bolts between the chassis and the floor. Although the results were fine, the fixing of the A-frame to the front of the caravan is very critical, we have no reason to take extra risks despite our confidence. The corner steadies are still bolted on as normal for ease and maintenance.

On our motorhomes the steel cab is bonded to a GRP link panel. We use a different adhesive for this compared to the chassis and body structure.

Bonding wood to metal may seem challenging based on most peoples' DIY experience, however, the hi-tech strucutral adhesives from Henkel are incomparable in their performance compared to what most people are used to. We measure "Dyne" values (stickability!) to all our materials before using them in SoLiD construction. In this way we can achieve good bonding results with apparently disparate materials.

 

We appreciate the opportunity to speak with you through the Caravantalk forum.

 

Regards

David

Thanks David,

Your answer makes perfect sense, so I thank you and the rest of the Elddis team for taking the time to help your customers, both present and future.

You deserve respect for facing up to us on the forum.

Well done,

Campervan

[Elddis DavidW]

Hi Guys, We have an Avante 540, with the new Solid construction is it okay to travel with a Fiamma type awning on the awning rail? Thanks for doing this forum.

Paul R

 

So I can help you, please can you explain your question in more detail. Exactly what type of awning are you planning to have attached while travelling.

 

Regards

 

David W

[Elddis Gary]

I have an 18 year old 'Golden Crown Signet' - one of your former sub brands from many moons ago.

 

Having had to repair a delaminated floor in my van - has the technology of floors advanced in the same way as your jointing methods?

 

Surely any sandwich construction floor will suffer over time with continued use?

 

What method do the SoLiD 'vans use?

 

Thanks

 

David

Hi David

The floor now has a GRP underskin, which is impervious to water. Another first for the UK touring market !!!

The way we have tested the SoLiD construction gives us great confidence the structure is working together to improve the durability of our product.

Our approach with SoLiD construction is to prevent the water getting in as opposed to managing the terrible consequences once the water gets into the vehicle.

 

Regards

Gary