REGULARS LETTERS

The highs and lows of motorhoming

My 2017 motorhome (make, model and dealership’s name all withheld) remains laid up after eight months. This was due to damage caused in transit during a recovery operation after an injector failed on the way to what we we’d planned would be two precious weeks off work in lovely Cornwall with my wife (whoops, in Cornwall with my lovely wife!).

As bad luck would have it, we had just arrived at our destination when the engine power was all but lost and we limped into the site.

Sitting for five hours while an argument ensued over whether to repair in situ or to recover back home was not really what we expected from our first day on holiday, but that was the fact of it!

What followed was all a bit painful, but ultimately a convoluted plan was hatched to get us and the ’van via three different sub-contracted carriers back home. Two days later, my sick ’van got delivered back home to Berkshire and unloaded from its final transporter, showing significant and obvious battle-scars sustained whilst sitting on top of the transporter, and seemingly from hitting every low branch on the way out of Cornwall en route to home.

Thankfully, I’d photographed my ’van thoroughly before it was loaded and unloaded on to the first two transporters and before we were taken away in a taxi, leaving the ’van to be stored overnight for its onward journey to us the following day. Fast forward all the high-octane discussions about liability for the damage, but it should be said that the recovery company, after viewing my photos and sending an assessor to inspect the damage, was quick in its offer to cover the total cost of repairs, so no beef with it at all.

However, the availability of the parts required for the repair from the mainstream motorhome manufacturer was not quite so straightforward, which has meant that, eight month later, the parts were still not all available for the repair work. Parts for the front skylight that was broken were the most crucial and, whilst the dealer offered no insight to the delay, possible due date or support, the manufacturer refused point blank to communicate with me at all, me being “just the retail customer”.

As a final resort, I reached out to MMM, and I was grateful for someone just to listen to the issue, but Technical Correspondent, Barry Norris, went further. He wrote a letter on my behalf to a senior officer at the manufacturer asking for answers – I’m pleased to say that within a few weeks the main parts are miraculously available and, although some decals are still on back order, at least I can now book my ’van for the repair work to be carried out. So, big shout out for Barry Norris and “MMM power”.

Steve, by email