I post this review a few weeks after picking up my motorhome from AndrewJames Motorhomes after all work was finished. Unashamedly this is a rather long post but I hope it is informative, and that will illustrate why I recommend James so much.
My Autotrail Delaware is a registered 2016, 2015 model that I bought when it was six months old with 1500 miles on the clock. I have stored it every winter in the open without a power supply. In the last five years I have replaced the vehicle battery twice with similar lead acid batteries and the leisure batteries once, with secondhand Gel batteries. After boosting a flat battery in December 2022 and blowing the electrics of the driver airbag last winter, I decided to buy a spare vehicle battery and swop the two every two or so weeks to prevent a repetition. This worked fine but was inelegant.
Before Johns Cross closed that had been my go-to service and MOT place and a post on here led me to James Percival at AJM. I trusted James absolutely based on my past experiences so rang him to discuss my options. One (minor?) hiccup was that I waiting for a second hip replacement operation with no idea when it might take place - I was “on the list”
.
The first plus was that James wasn’t phased by my enforced indecision. He simply said “You can drive now, leave it with us and we will decide together what your actions can be”. Two days later I left it with James.
My problems were:-
leaking bedroom skylight
broken button lock on outside locker
leaking rear large lockers
habitat door silver plastic cover fell off
habitat door rasps (noise) when opening and closing
gas locker catch broken
Three way fridge not operating on 12volt (turned out to be a major problem)
I tow a Morris’s Minor on an A Frame and have large back box obscuring the rear camera and reversing camera views, so wanted an improved rear view. I also had a real problem viewing oncoming traffic at an angled junction and when leaving a parking space on the right hand side of the road. A first world problem was that I also had difficulties exactly placing the motorhome at waste water campsite drain points.
I listed these needs and wishes and initially spent some time with James when I left the motorhome with him May. I picked it up after he had fixed the roof light leaks (3)
, and dropped it back after attending the UK Morris Minor rally.
Before relating the “journey” further I need to point out that, whilst we are not rich by any standards, I wanted the best job, not the cheapest, and told James this. To solve the winter storage problem James suggested two 150AH lithium batteries to replace the Gel batteries, two additional 100W solar panels, a Victron MPPT regulator, a battery master, a 70A BtoB charger, a Victron Multiplus 11 3000 inverter, a Victron Digital Multi control, and a Victron Smartshunt battery monitor. Extended really cold weather may need my intervention, but this would deal with a normal winter. An added benefit was that we should be able to ”wild camp” and stay on sites with minimal services.
AJM fixed all the faults and came up with superb resolutions for my camera issues. I now have a 7” dash mounted monitor which can show one, two, three or four camera views at once. The length of time my vehicle was with AJM was to suit me and I am very grateful for their flexibility. The cost was considerable and I am simultaneously in awe and cynical about those who say they carry out DIY work at a fraction of the price I paid. The benefits of using professionals such as AJM is the knowledge and experience that they have, and the many hours they spent trying to identify and solve the problems that I am sure I haven’t been fully charged for (shouldn’t have said that).
I cannot thank James enough for his attention to detail and the company’s attitude that no job is too small. James even drove my motor home to Vanbitz to investigate the fridge issues!
Whilst the motorhome was with AJM they moved to larger premises and can now welcome more of us to tell them our problems and maybe fix them
.
My Autotrail Delaware is a registered 2016, 2015 model that I bought when it was six months old with 1500 miles on the clock. I have stored it every winter in the open without a power supply. In the last five years I have replaced the vehicle battery twice with similar lead acid batteries and the leisure batteries once, with secondhand Gel batteries. After boosting a flat battery in December 2022 and blowing the electrics of the driver airbag last winter, I decided to buy a spare vehicle battery and swop the two every two or so weeks to prevent a repetition. This worked fine but was inelegant.
Before Johns Cross closed that had been my go-to service and MOT place and a post on here led me to James Percival at AJM. I trusted James absolutely based on my past experiences so rang him to discuss my options. One (minor?) hiccup was that I waiting for a second hip replacement operation with no idea when it might take place - I was “on the list”
.The first plus was that James wasn’t phased by my enforced indecision. He simply said “You can drive now, leave it with us and we will decide together what your actions can be”. Two days later I left it with James.
My problems were:-
leaking bedroom skylight
broken button lock on outside locker
leaking rear large lockers
habitat door silver plastic cover fell off
habitat door rasps (noise) when opening and closing
gas locker catch broken
Three way fridge not operating on 12volt (turned out to be a major problem)
I tow a Morris’s Minor on an A Frame and have large back box obscuring the rear camera and reversing camera views, so wanted an improved rear view. I also had a real problem viewing oncoming traffic at an angled junction and when leaving a parking space on the right hand side of the road. A first world problem was that I also had difficulties exactly placing the motorhome at waste water campsite drain points.
I listed these needs and wishes and initially spent some time with James when I left the motorhome with him May. I picked it up after he had fixed the roof light leaks (3)
, and dropped it back after attending the UK Morris Minor rally.Before relating the “journey” further I need to point out that, whilst we are not rich by any standards, I wanted the best job, not the cheapest, and told James this. To solve the winter storage problem James suggested two 150AH lithium batteries to replace the Gel batteries, two additional 100W solar panels, a Victron MPPT regulator, a battery master, a 70A BtoB charger, a Victron Multiplus 11 3000 inverter, a Victron Digital Multi control, and a Victron Smartshunt battery monitor. Extended really cold weather may need my intervention, but this would deal with a normal winter. An added benefit was that we should be able to ”wild camp” and stay on sites with minimal services.
AJM fixed all the faults and came up with superb resolutions for my camera issues. I now have a 7” dash mounted monitor which can show one, two, three or four camera views at once. The length of time my vehicle was with AJM was to suit me and I am very grateful for their flexibility. The cost was considerable and I am simultaneously in awe and cynical about those who say they carry out DIY work at a fraction of the price I paid. The benefits of using professionals such as AJM is the knowledge and experience that they have, and the many hours they spent trying to identify and solve the problems that I am sure I haven’t been fully charged for (shouldn’t have said that).
I cannot thank James enough for his attention to detail and the company’s attitude that no job is too small. James even drove my motor home to Vanbitz to investigate the fridge issues!
Whilst the motorhome was with AJM they moved to larger premises and can now welcome more of us to tell them our problems and maybe fix them
.
