S A P Doncaster

Great job by Mick and his team, dropped off on Tuesday and walked short distance to train home, picked up yesterday (14/11/2022) This morning I went out to try out the system, which wouldn’t let me use the auto rise function due to slope being ‘ out of range’ (side to side in my parking spot) so resorted to manual manipulation and it all went a bit wrong, I obviously need more practice and/or read the instructions a bit more, as all I achieved was lifting the wheels completely off the ground and getting my knickers in a twist, thinking I’d completely messed it up. So I rang Mick ( off duty and out) Mick talked me through it, all I had to do was lower everything to the ground and start again. Thanks Mick, sorry to disturb you on your weekend, but great service. Pictures below show installation, looks rock solid. Fitted to Hymer B600 Whiteline.

I wanted a levelling system installed on our new Hymer BMC motorhome and had heard good things about SAP in Doncaster so I booked in with them. The guys at SAP were brilliant particularly Mick the boss who is so friendly and helpful. He worked late into the evening on the second day to ensure everything was done so I could get away that evening.

They managed to tuck the control box away at the side of the garage with only a small loss of space, the control panel is also in there on a dock but can be taken out of the dock and acts like a small tablet computer to control the levelling. They did offer to put the control panel somewhere in the cab but they said with new vans they prefer not to be running wires and drilling holes in there unless the customer insists. I was quite happy for it to go where it has. If the tablet fails there are a couple of reset style holes in the back of the tablet docking point which can be pressed to raise or lower the jacks (but in automatic mode only) which would allow some functionality until they can send you a replacement. E&P seem to have hundreds of dealers across Europe so support shouldn’t be an issue.

The levelling process is either automatic or manual. Automatic only works where the levelling required is not too great, otherwise you have to use manual which involves controlling the pairs of jacks in turn until the screen indicates level. There is a spirit level type device somewhere on the chassis which the controller is able to detect and that indicates on screen which levellers to lift to get the van level. Sounds complicated but it isn’t.

Normally they recommend running the engine while levelling to help keep the battery charged (the pump runs off the engine battery), however with the electric parking brake Sprinters they can’t do this. This is because normally letting off the handbrake would trigger the automatic retraction of the levellers (to prevent driving off with them down). However they can’t wire this into the electric parking brake so they have to set the automatic retraction to occur on starting the engine - obviously meaning it can’t be running when you deploy the levellers. Mick said the Sprinters have a good battery so this shouldn’t cause any problems.

He’s done 3 SLC chassis now and he said they take about 4 hours longer than a Fiat but he doesn’t charge any extra. He also did a neat job of fitting an external BBQ point, normally these go close to the gas locker if possible but in my case I needed it the other side and he was happy to do the extra work to achieve this. As well as Mick the boss, there's another chap called Rick who handles all the bookings and although I didn't get to meet him in person he was equally friendly and helpful.

Just got back with our Dethleffs from SAP Doncaster. Had updated front springs and E&P levellers fitted. Delighted with the results. Van rides and handles much better and the levellers are decadence. First class service from Mick and all the team, plus a thorough and clear handover by Rick. So glad we chose SAP on recommendations from other Funsters. Thank you.