views on the atlas oakwood super

[Brian]

my wife and i have just purchased an oakwood super made in 2004 on aldborough leasure park,and i would like any views on this van.
we have bought with a view to living on a permanent basis(that is for 45 wks per year). brian:)

[caravanwindowman]

hi Brain
is it the type that has to bay windows in the dining area?? if so ive just took out one of the middle windows and put a pair of french doors it, its on my website.
buy the way iam up at skipsea

[Brian]

thanks for the reply Darren,
no it does not have a bay window in the dining area,it has patio doors already fitted but it has bay windows on the front of the van in the lounge,
it has blown air c/heating-how does this compare to radiators? brian

[indianwells]

It will have Johnson & Starley blown air heating. A very efficient system, no hot spots etc but the only drawback is you are heating every room whether you want to or not, so heavy on the gas.
They are relatively trouble free though as they are a lot less complex than a combi. Make sure you regularly clean the fluff filter that pulls out about half way up the unit. If the thermostat is in the main bedroom be sure to leave the door to that room open during the day otherwise the burner will cut out before the heat has time to reach the lounge.
Bleeding the gas through at the beginning of the season can take up to half an hour, just be patient, it will light in the end!
The only minor problem I have had with the odd unit is when it kicks in as the temp drops, usually in the middle of the night, there is a roaring noise sometimes. It's quite loud and can be worrying if you don't know what it is. It is the burner igniting wrongly. Simply turn the thermostat down, then back up and this solves the problem. Sounds worse than it is to be honest and a glitch on a tiny amount of units so the odds are yours will be fine, although if you do have this and it continues be aware that a new burner assembly is costly as the firm no longer make this model.
Hope that helps!

[Brian]

thanks for the information indianwells.
we have not moved in as yet,having been a HGV driver all my working years to the back end of my driving career some hgv's were fitted with forced air heating to heat the cabs,they were very efficient, pity all the rooms have to be heated is it not possible to fit opening and closing vents?
another question-is it possible to change the lounge heater for a gas fire it is a log effect fire that has an electric fan heater underneath,so if the electric goes off we will have no heating anywhere as i think the forced air c/heating needs electric to run the fan! brian

[indianwells]

thanks for the information indianwells.
we have not moved in as yet,having been a HGV driver all my working years to the back end of my driving career some hgv's were fitted with forced air heating to heat the cabs,they were very efficient, pity all the rooms have to be heated is it not possible to fit opening and closing vents?
another question-is it possible to change the lounge heater for a gas fire it is a log effect fire that has an electric fan heater underneath,so if the electric goes off we will have no heating anywhere as i think the forced air c/heating needs electric to run the fan! brian

Hi Brian,

I'm not sure if you could fit opening and closing vents, a corgi engineer would be able to tell you but i'm not sure if it would unbalance the system?
He could certainly fit a gas fire, although the electric fire won't have a flue so there's extra work (and presumably cost) there. I think it's worth it though as you'll be living in it. What electric supply is there to the van? Maybe ask the park owner, a lot of sites haven't upgraded their supply as the vans have got bigger over the years with more in them, ie fridge/freezers, dvd's, toasters kettles etc. Some of them around here still run on a 5amp or 10amp fuse so early and late season they have the power going off every 5 minutes! I would say a minimum of 16amp is fine but preferably 32amp which is what we have.

[Caraconnect]

Hi Brian,
Welcome to the world of caravanning I am sure you`ll enjoy it especially living it.
As far as fitting closable vents I would check the ones fitted, as some are sometimes openable but this is not always the case, and if they are not it is not wise to fit closable ones as it can have a detrimental effect on the system and how efficent it is.
It is often possible to fit a gas fire, however this will need to have a housing for the flue and without seeing it I cannot tell you if it has. I donot recall this particular model with an electric fire fitted as new, and therefore may of had the gas fire removed and the electirc fire fitted at a later date. If this is a case then a gas fire may well fit straight back in.
I am not sure where your particular park is located, but if you would like to phone me I could certainly discuss this with you and may even make a site visit to see what is possible.
Ian

[caravanwindowman]

Ian, his site is about 15miles north of hull where we meet

[Caraconnect]

Cheers for that Darren. I know where it is now.
Ian