Oh heck ... yet another very, VERY expensive show ...

[Minxy]

More observations about the Carthago during our current trip to Spain, these are also on my other thread:
Broken Link Removed

• Getting steamy: At first we had a heck of a job to keep the cab windows/screen clear whilst travelling, this was after initially clearing them with the Karcher (it should be supplied as standard with all A-class MHs!) but we think we've cracked it now (not literally!) by experimenting with the climate control etc.
  
  
• A pump with the hump: En route we topped up with water and did the waste as planned but have an issue as we simply cannot get the air out of the system and it's driving us potty! It keeps running when the taps are off unless we let a good load of water out then it reluctantly gurgles and stops. No idea why as we took the opportunity when filling with water to try to draw all the air out but it hasn't worked. The books says adjusting the pump pressure may help so we'll have to play with it once we get a bit further South and feel like prating with it.
  
  
• Magic Roundabout Fridge: The fridge likes to swing open on roundabouts! We have to push the centre near the catch to get it to fully click shut, it may be a simply matter of adjusting it but we'll just get into the habit of checking it 'clicks' fully before travelling for now, again something I'll look at in due course.
  
  
• Thank you for the music ... or not: The media centre is very finnickety and doesn't like some of our USB sticks with music on, apparently this is a known issue according to the web and there is an update for the system to sort it out but it's quite a big download and pratty to do so that'll wait until we return home, for now we've got a couple that it likes so we've just transferred the music to those 2 for now.
  
  
• Rub a dub DAB: The cab centre 'pop up' holder is where we put our tablet which we use as a sat nav, it fits perfectly and works a treat however we've noticed that the back of the holder has rubbed against the top surround of the media unit's facia. We've stuck something over it to prevent it getting worse but is something that others may want to check as this may not just happen with the Carthago units but other media units too.
  
  
• Chinese water torture: There's a noisy 'drip, drip, drip' when its raining at the front which is driving hubby mad overnight as he sleeps in that bed ... I managed to find when I went outside that it was emanating from behind the bonnet so it must be dripping onto something in the space behind it and be being 'amplified' ... future investigation is planned.
  
  
• Viva Las Vegas: The lights inside are great, lots of them, and it's like Las Vegas, BUT there is one stupid thing about them - the ones over the dinette can only be used in conjunction with the main ceiling lights, ie they cannot be used independently, this means that if we want to 'see' what we're eating we have to have the lot on which means 9 main lights plus ambient lighting and, apart from being wasteful of energy, I prefer not to have to wear sunglasses due to the glare off the crockery! I've got a plan though to make it so we can use dinette ones on their own - there are two 2-way switch for these lights, one at the hab door and another over the dinette, so I will isolate the dinette lights from the hab door circuit which will mean the main lights only can be turned on and off from there alone, then put a separate power supply to feed the dinette switch and lights which will allow us to put them on on their own.
  
  
• Soggy bottom: I absolutely LOVE the SOG ... it's FANTASTIC! When hubby goes to the loo for a poo I can actually breathe without risk of keeling over ... it ensures that ALL of the poisonous pong is drawn out with none coming into the MH at all ... pure bliss ... well until he and/or the dogs' fart that is ... I wonder if I could invent a wearable 'human/dog' version ... ?

 

[MichaelT]

More observations about the Carthago during our current trip to Spain, these are also on my other thread:
Broken Link Removed

• Getting steamy: At first we had a heck of a job to keep the cab windows/screen clear whilst travelling, this was after initially clearing them with the Karcher (it should be supplied as standard with all A-class MHs!) but we think we've cracked it now (not literally!) by experimenting with the climate control etc.
  
  
• A pump with the hump: En route we topped up with water and did the waste as planned but have an issue as we simply cannot get the air out of the system and it's driving us potty! It keeps running when the taps are off unless we let a good load of water out then it reluctantly gurgles and stops. No idea why as we took the opportunity when filling with water to try to draw all the air out but it hasn't worked. The books says adjusting the pump pressure may help so we'll have to play with it once we get a bit further South and feel like prating with it.
  
  
• Magic Roundabout Fridge: The fridge likes to swing open on roundabouts! We have to push the centre near the catch to get it to fully click shut, it may be a simply matter of adjusting it but we'll just get into the habit of checking it 'clicks' fully before travelling for now, again something I'll look at in due course.
  
  
• Thank you for the music ... or not: The media centre is very finnickety and doesn't like some of our USB sticks with music on, apparently this is a known issue according to the web and there is an update for the system to sort it out but it's quite a big download and pratty to do so that'll wait until we return home, for now we've got a couple that it likes so we've just transferred the music to those 2 for now.
  
  
• Rub a dub DAB: The cab centre 'pop up' holder is where we put our tablet which we use as a sat nav, it fits perfectly and works a treat however we've noticed that the back of the holder has rubbed against the top surround of the media unit's facia. We've stuck something over it to prevent it getting worse but is something that others may want to check as this may not just happen with the Carthago units but other media units too.
  
  
• Chinese water torture: There's a noisy 'drip, drip, drip' when its raining at the front which is driving hubby mad overnight as he sleeps in that bed ... I managed to find when I went outside that it was emanating from behind the bonnet so it must be dripping onto something in the space behind it and be being 'amplified' ... future investigation is planned.
  
  
• Viva Las Vegas: The lights inside are great, lots of them, and it's like Las Vegas, BUT there is one stupid thing about them - the ones over the dinette can only be used in conjunction with the main ceiling lights, ie they cannot be used independently, this means that if we want to 'see' what we're eating we have to have the lot on which means 9 main lights plus ambient lighting and, apart from being wasteful of energy, I prefer not to have to wear sunglasses due to the glare off the crockery! I've got a plan though to make it so we can use dinette ones on their own - there are two 2-way switch for these lights, one at the hab door and another over the dinette, so I will isolate the dinette lights from the hab door circuit which will mean the main lights only can be turned on and off from there alone, then put a separate power supply to feed the dinette switch and lights which will allow us to put them on on their own.
  
  
• Soggy bottom: I absolutely LOVE the SOG ... it's FANTASTIC! When hubby goes to the loo for a poo I can actually breathe without risk of keeling over ... it ensures that ALL of the poisonous pong is drawn out with none coming into the MH at all ... pure bliss ... well until he and/or the dogs' fart that is ... I wonder if I could invent a wearable 'human/dog' version ... ?

A pump with the hump: En route we topped up with water and did the waste as planned but have an issue as we simply cannot get the air out of the system and it's driving us potty! It keeps running when the taps are off unless we let a good load of water out then it reluctantly gurgles and stops. No idea why as we took the opportunity when filling with water to try to draw all the air out but it hasn't worked. The books says adjusting the pump pressure may help so we'll have to play with it once we get a bit further South and feel like prating with it.

Could be you have a leak on the high pressure side somewhere, take a look at all the pipes and manifolds in case.

 

[Minxy]

Could be you have a leak on the high pressure side somewhere, take a look at all the pipes and manifolds in case.

Yes, that's another thought I've had too, hopefully not though as it will be a s*d to find! When we get a bit further into the trip and the weather's warmer I'll have a good play and see what's up with it.

 

[Wagoneer]

We get the dreaded Chinese water torture, but ours seems to be caused by drips of rain from the back of the roof dripping onto the rear plastic bumper.

Re: air getting into the fresh water system. It could be that the dump valve is leaking a bit. This would draw air into the top of the boiler via the breather valve (NRV incorporated in the boiler outlet elbow connector). Consequently, the pressure in the system drops and the pump starts. Also check you don't have any water discharging down the clear plastic pipe from the elbow which would indicate the NRV is faulty. This happened recently to someone on the Carthago forum with a van under warranty.
Alternatively, you could have a leak at the plastic T-piece joints, probably located in your case, under the kitchen sink (and in the boiler enclosure). I carry spare joints (readily available in Spain at a Ferreteria) as mine have a habit of developing pinhole cracks. It's possible to purchase 10mm dia metal T-pieces, I understand.

Keeping the water system leak free has been one of my main problems (to stop the pump triggering unnecessarily), apart from the draws opening in transit (but that problem now seems to have been sorted on newer vans).

Best of luck, hope you get it sorted soon

 

[Pausim]

there are two 2-way switch for these lights, one at the hab door and another over the dinette, so I will isolate the dinette lights from the hab door circuit which will mean the main lights only can be turned on and off from there alone, then put a separate power supply to feed the dinette switch and lights which will allow us to put them on on their own.

We have the same issue with our Carthago. Good idea. When you have made your alterations I would be interested to know where you have separated the circuits and where you have picked up the separate power supply.

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[Pausim]

If you have the oven and grill located below the cutlery drawer take care when using the grill. We recently melted the trim on the bottom of the drawer front whilst using the grill. It curled up, broke in two and peeled off. There is no heat shield. I think fitting the oven and grill in this position is a new option and perhaps not fully thought through.

I have ordered some heat shield tape to replace the damaged trim but meanwhile care is needed. I will let the dealer know.

 

[Lenny HB]

A pump with the hump: En route we topped up with water and did the waste as planned but have an issue as we simply cannot get the air out of the system and it's driving us potty! It keeps running when the taps are off unless we let a good load of water out then it reluctantly gurgles and stops. No idea why as we took the opportunity when filling with water to try to draw all the air out but it hasn't worked. The books says adjusting the pump pressure may help so we'll have to play with it once we get a bit further South and feel like prating with it.

Well if you will buy a little Girly Carthago, now if you had brought a proper Man's Carthago it would have had an accumulator (expansion tank) fitted. You should be able to pick one up from a Motohome/Caravan dealer. It will give you something to do.

Viva Las Vegas: The lights inside are great, lots of them, and it's like Las Vegas, BUT there is one stupid thing about them - the ones over the dinette can only be used in conjunction with the main ceiling lights, ie they cannot be used independently, this means that if we want to 'see' what we're eating we have to have the lot on which means 9 main lights plus ambient lighting and, apart from being wasteful of energy, I prefer not to have to wear sunglasses due to the glare off the crockery! I've got a plan though to make it so we can use dinette ones on their own - there are two 2-way switch for these lights, one at the hab door and another over the dinette, so I will isolate the dinette lights from the hab door circuit which will mean the main lights only can be turned on and off from there alone, then put a separate power supply to feed the dinette switch and lights which will allow us to put them on on their own.

What's wrong with using the the dimmer, every Carthago I've seen has one, just hold the light switch on for a few seconds.

Soggy bottom: I absolutely LOVE the SOG ... it's FANTASTIC! When hubby goes to the loo for a poo I can actually breathe without risk of keeling over ... it ensures that ALL of the poisonous pong is drawn out with none coming into the MH at all ... pure bliss ... well until he and/or the dogs' fart that is ... I wonder if I could invent a wearable 'human/dog' version ...

Taken you long enough to discover how good they are, only one problem with Carthago's roof vent on small vans. You get your own back if the rooflights open.

 

[camoyboy]

What's wrong with using the the dimmer, every Carthago I've seen has one, just hold the light switch on for a few seconds.

Only the C line and above have the dimmer switches, Lenny, the C Tourers and Compactlines don't get that feature.

 

[Lenny HB]

Only the C line and above have the dimmer switches, Lenny, the C Tourers and Compactlines don't get that feature.

My mates C Tourer had them.

 

[PJGWiltshire]

In our C line I noticed that the rear/bedroom roof hatch had no rubber seal on. Water does not enter but there is a small draft.
If your compact is the same, do not worry. I was informed by Carthago that this seal is removed to enable the van interior to receive fresh air ventilation

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[Clarky]

Viva Las Vegas: The lights inside are great, lots of them, and it's like Las Vegas, BUT there is one stupid thing about them - the ones over the dinette can only be used in conjunction with the main ceiling lights, ie they cannot be used independently, this means that if we want to 'see' what we're eating we have to have the lot on which means 9 main lights plus ambient lighting and, apart from being wasteful of energy, I prefer not to have to wear sunglasses due to the glare off the crockery! I've got a plan though to make it so we can use dinette ones on their own - there are two 2-way switch for these lights, one at the hab door and another over the dinette, so I will isolate the dinette lights from the hab door circuit which will mean the main lights only can be turned on and off from there alone, then put a separate power supply to feed the dinette switch and lights which will allow us to put them on on their own.

Do you not have dimmer switches on the main lights?
On our C-Line the light switches at the door and over the seating area both have dimmers so you can get a nice comfy level of light.

 

[Jaws]

You get your own back if the rooflights open.

Stop laying on your back trying to pee out the rooflight then you weird person you !!!

 

[WESTY66]

My mates C Tourer had them.

Crikey Lenny HB even Brit Elddis’s have em ????

 

[Lenny HB]

Crikey Lenny HB even Brit Elddis’s have em ????

More light =more heat, helps dry out the damp.

 

[Rapidoman 2011]

Best thing l ever did was get rid of my Carthago 150, you will regret it. If its the A class, then the bed is too high and takes up to a third of the van, the seating area is small and the table top will need changing as when you turn it, it will just be in the way, keep what you got and enjoy it.... l could go on

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[Pausim]

Best thing l ever did was get rid of my Carthago 150, you will regret it. If its the A class, then the bed is too high and takes up to a third of the van, the seating area is small and the table top will need changing as when you turn it, it will just be in the way, keep what you got and enjoy it.... l could go on

The layout suits some and perhaps not others. I am very happy with my Carthago which I chose carefully to suit my needs

 

[Minxy]

Best thing l ever did was get rid of my Carthago 150, you will regret it. If its the A class, then the bed is too high and takes up to a third of the van, the seating area is small and the table top will need changing as when you turn it, it will just be in the way, keep what you got and enjoy it.... l could go on

You had the Queen bed version I take it? Now they DO take up a silly amount of room IMV and even though the rear bed is high is has 2 steps up to it and I have a stool which I used in the Globecar Familyscout when we had it to aid getting in/out so that gets over that the access issue. The lounge in the 150 is smaller than the one we have which is one reason why we ruled out the Compactline i-141 with the much smaller lounge which is badly compromised by having twin singles, then there's its weird washroom 'wall/door' arrangement which appears good to give space in the washroom area and a sort of changing area but then means you can't really used the kitchen at the same time. Oh, I've already changed the table top for a smaller one that I had used in a previous MH which is working well for us.

 

[Minxy]

Regarding the water system issue - the pump never activates on its own, just when we've used a tap or the toilet flush, so to me that suggests it's not a leak, crack, hole or the like letting air in otherwise we'd have it happening without us touching anything. When we turn the taps on the water is there so I don't think there's an issue with it draining backwards either, I think it's just a case of air which has got into the system/pump. Today we totally emptied the fresh water tank, boiler and drained all the taps, toilet flush and shower and then filled up again and gradually pulled the water through the lot of them, its got rid of most of the issue but its not perfect but certainly a heck of a lot better than it was. I might have a play with the pump pressure adjuster in a day or two when the systems had chance to settle down again and see if that helps, I don't want to do it now as I won't know which solution has worked.

Well if you will buy a little Girly Carthago, now if you had brought a proper Man's Carthago it would have had an accumulator (expansion tank) fitted. You should be able to pick one up from a Motohome/Caravan dealer. It will give you something to do.

I'm quite happy with my mini-Carthago thank you ... it's not all about size but how and where you use it Lenny (although I know some men with Hymer B678 models feel the need to have bigger ones as they believe it proves they are 'real' men! ). As for the accumulator, I've heard of them being installed in some MHs but never seen one fitted so assume we haven't got one hidden somewhere. Will have to investigate further ...

What's wrong with using the the dimmer, every Carthago I've seen has one, just hold the light switch on for a few seconds.

Do you not have dimmer switches on the main lights?
On our C-Line the light switches at the door and over the seating area both have dimmers so you can get a nice comfy level of light.

Just tried it and I can confirm we do not have dimmer lights so it will have to be a case of living with them for now and sorting it out when I get home. I suppose the alternative is to see if I can fit dimmer switches but it would still mean we'd have 9+ lights on even at low level which is just plain daft.

In our C line I noticed that the rear/bedroom roof hatch had no rubber seal on. Water does not enter but there is a small draft. If your compact is the same, do not worry. I was informed by Carthago that this seal is removed to enable the van interior to receive fresh air ventilation

Yes it's the same, many MH manufacturers do this and on some of our previous ones I've used some foam/rubber type door draught excluder to sort it, but our Globecars had the same issue so I've got a nice thick pad which I made out of an old MH internal insulated windscreen cover for them which fits nicely and stops the cold coming in.

We get the dreaded Chinese water torture, but ours seems to be caused by drips of rain from the back of the roof dripping onto the rear plastic bumper.

Not got that one thankfully but I've found out what the cause is, the water is dripping down the centre behind the bonnet and onto the metal protector shield/shelf above the radiator and being amplified, I just need to stick some rubber/foam on it and it should solve the 'twang'.

 

[Minxy]

I have one more thing to report from yesterday but I will start another thread about that shortly as I am LIVID and don't want it to spoil this one as it's not a Carthago or dealer issue.

 

[Lazyboy]

Minxy did you say you had a problem with your sat nav? Is it a Pioneer? If the problem is that you cannot reset a destination while driving it is because it probably has a handbrake connection which only allows destination to be set when the handbrake is applied. It can be altered by altering the wiring at the back of the head unit. The other "problem" I had was when the tracker was fitted, the aerial for it caused interference on the sat nav. preventing it from being used as it went "haywire" The guy that installed the tracker came and moved the aerial to a different location and all was well.

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[Minxy]

I have one more thing to report from yesterday but I will start another thread about that shortly as I am LIVID and don't want it to spoil this one as it's not a Carthago or dealer issue.

Oi ... Wagoneer and Just smiffy ... why the popcorn!

 

[Minxy]

Minxy did you say you had a problem with your sat nav? Is it a Pioneer? If the problem is that you cannot reset a destination while driving it is because it probably has a handbrake connection which only allows destination to be set when the handbrake is applied. It can be altered by altering the wiring at the back of the head unit. The other "problem" I had was when the tracker was fitted, the aerial for it caused interference on the sat nav. preventing it from being used as it went "haywire" The guy that installed the tracker came and moved the aerial to a different location and all was well.

Thanks, we don't actually use it as a sat nav as we prefer our tablet but got to the root of the problem as it says something like 'continue without a route' which rather confusingly is what we need to press in order to set a route! It doesn't recognise some of the USB still but that's no issue at the moment as we've got round it for now.

We also found out how to do get the speed etc display which is very useful - when on the map on the left just above the very bottom there's a small upward pointing arrow, by pressing that it brings up the speed we're doing, the road speed limit, the compass direction of travel and even altitude, something we've wanted for a while, so using it for that is great.

 

[Minxy]

I have one more thing to report from yesterday but I will start another thread about that shortly as I am LIVID and don't want it to spoil this one as it's not a Carthago or dealer issue.

I put info about this on my holiday thread:

Broken Link Removed

 

[Pausim]

If you have the oven and grill located below the cutlery drawer take care when using the grill. We recently melted the trim on the bottom of the drawer front whilst using the grill. It curled up, broke in two and peeled off. There is no heat shield. I think fitting the oven and grill in this position is a new option and perhaps not fully thought through.

I have ordered some heat shield tape to replace the damaged trim but meanwhile care is needed. I will let the dealer know.

Yesterday I reported the grill problem to my dealer, with a picture. Within 24 hours I had a response from the dealer saying Carthago were sending them the parts for a “grill rework” and they will need the motorhome for 4 or 5 days to do the job. Meanwhile they suggest we avoid using the grill. Methinks there might be some recalls on the horizon if ours is not an isolated problem.

 

[MichaelT]

Yesterday I reported the grill problem to my dealer, with a picture. Within 24 hours I had a response from the dealer saying Carthago were sending them the parts for a “grill rework” and they will need the motorhome for 4 or 5 days to do the job. Meanwhile they suggest we avoid using the grill. Methinks there might be some recalls on the horizon if ours is not an isolated problem.

Makes you wonder if these companies actually test the vans they design for such issues, seems not in this case?

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[Pausim]

Makes you wonder if these companies actually test the vans they design for such issues, seems not in this case?

It is a new option for the UK market but I hope ours is an isolated oversight during construction.

 

[MichaelT]

It is a new option for the UK market but I hope ours is an isolated oversight during construction.

Does not matter if it is a new option or not does it All options should surely be tested to make sure they work correctly and are not a danger

 

[Pausim]

Does not matter if it is a new option or not does it All options should surely be tested to make sure they work correctly and are not a danger

I agree but I was just trying to say that it is not something likely to affect many Carthagos, indeed it may only be something that was missed on ours.

 

[Minxy]

If you have the oven and grill located below the cutlery drawer take care when using the grill. We recently melted the trim on the bottom of the drawer front whilst using the grill. It curled up, broke in two and peeled off. There is no heat shield. I think fitting the oven and grill in this position is a new option and perhaps not fully thought through.

Ours has a heat shield, it was fairly well tucked away at the top though, and I've never come across one without a heat shield so I suspect it was missed when the grill was originally made. Stuff like this does happen even by the builders of MHs/PVCs themselves - Globecar built our previous Familyscout with no support frame under the shower tray so it cracked, they would not believe me that it didn't have the framework until the dealer came to fix it and confirmed my findings. I have heard of at 2 others of a similar age that had the same issue so it looks like the production monkey didn't get enough peanuts that year!

 

[Minxy]

Unfortunately the water issue isn't resolved and although the hot water seems to behave itself most of the time the cold doesn't, we get gurgle, gurgle, splutter, splutter ... squirt then a flow with a bit of a stutter! Its driving us mad and we don't know what is causing the issue ... I'm wondering if it should have a non-return valve inline but hasn't so the water is draining back.

Does anyone know if a NRV is/should be fitted and if so where?

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