I have just bought a 2014 Elddis 515 with this new ariel ( my car ariel is bigger!) and have heard mixed reviews. Has anyone had any experience of these and should I be taking my satellite dish with me on holiday or indeed buy a free standing ariel as a back up?. I can't get a picture on my drive and we mostly caravan in Scotland. Is there something I can do to boost the signal/improve it's performance?
if you are getting nothing at all that it is likely down to the installation and a possible shorting of the wires where they come through the roof. This was a common problem in 2013 builds.
Another problem, common again on 2013 builds, was the woeful quality of the C-Line fittings that went into the van. In Elddis' quest to take as much quality out of the vans as possible, they used IMHO, very inferior fittings. I changed ours for CBE fittings and the reception improved 100%.
Saying all that though, I always take the sat now.
I have an avtex aerial and it won't get a signal on my drive, because of the housing estate - it simply isn't high enough on top of the caravan... that's why house aerials are on the roof or the chimney! However, I have always got a signal when away, and a lot of the time in Scotland. I would check the places you intend to visit and see if they have a tv signal and if not, that's the time you'll need to take a dish, etc.
IMHO the avetex aerial is one of the best. Mine often gets a good signal from the top of the wardrobe inside, I don't even have to go out and put it on the roof of the van.
Thanks for all that. is it easy enough to replace the cabling?. In the last van we had,the ariel cable was easy to trace through from socket to the booster where it connected with the roof ariel.Early on,we realised that the quality of the cable impacted on the quality of the picture and it was easy to replace as the socket was right next to the booster in the adjacent wardrobe. On a quick glance at this one I can't trace where the cable goes from the roof booster and there were no instructions or anything with the van. unlike the last van where we got an entire booklet just on the ariel. The manual has one paragraph. Avtex are a good make and I would like to think that it will work.Fingers crossed but I think if I could, I would replace the cables it wouldn't do any harm and then if I don't get a picture I can rule it out.
We have the Ariel fitted to our van and have found an improvement over the Status Ariel fitted to our previous van. Signal reception is better on sites we use regularly, when we visit Scotland or other hilly areas we use the satellite system to obtain a reception.
Biggest load of junk ever. Had my second one fitted,replaced cables ,added a booster,fitted a anttenuator ( sorry for the spelling,but it's a device to reduce the signal.as so many of us have found,the aerial gains to much signal as well as not enough. ) I've done direct feeds,changed sockets. Still a piece of junk.
I'm in the process of going down the root as not fit for purpose as I'm fed up being passed pillar to post over it. On are last trip we got nothing,while everyone else with directionals had no problems. Sadly the site did not have a feed,so had to sit with nothing for 4 days.
Think I'll take my satellite dish just in case.Sorry to hear about your experience Scoobz. It's ridiculous when you think of the amount of money these vans cost that you cant get an ariel to work. I'm starting to subscribe to the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" club. The more "sophisticated" things become the more unreliable they are. Take electric flush toilets. Whats's that all about?. You need a hook-up to flush the toilet and that's progress.just another thing to go wrong. Ooops , I'm off on a rant. Who needs the telly anyway but it just grates after spending all that money that the things don't work.
We have a 2014 Elddis and have had great TV reception from the arial. We have been to Cornwall recently and it was picture perfect. The only problem we have had was near Dalby Forest but the digital signal is very poor there anyway. All in all we are pleased with it.
------------- 2016
Feb - Bridlington CC Site
March - Bridlington CC Site
May - West Ayton CC site
May - Thorpe Hall
June - Polmanter
August - Hawes CC Site
Aug - Thorpe Hall
looks like more people have good experiences than bad. I suppose only time will tell. Am off to Aviemore and then Glen Nevis in less than 2wks time, where the reception isn't great at the best of times,
so it will be hard to judge it but will let you know how I get on. Will take the sat dish just in case and some dvd's. hopefully the weather will be good and the tv wont be on ( I think with 4 kids and the commonwealth games that might be wishful thinking!)
You will get a good picture with these aerials in good signal areas, just as you will if you use a piece of damp seaweed ot a wire coathanger. When the signal is weaker you need a good aerial pointed in the right direction with correct polarity. A std cheap house aerial fixed to an alloy pole and clamped to the jocky wheel is ideal (and cheap)
We have just returned from a months stay on a CL in Yorkshire, and were pleasently suprised by the quality of tv reception from our Avante ariel.
Last season, like others on here we struggled to get a picture when using our Avtex ariel, and complained to our dealer. He talked us through the set up process, and its been 100% better ever since. I think we may have been at fault in the way we tried to tune in once on site, and failed to press and hold down the red button on the hand set for long enough when trying to set up.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
Just back from hols.we were the only people on site with no signal(apart from another avante owner!)we did get a signal of sorts on our last night but nobody could move a muscle as it kept pixilating.Turns out that was the least of our worries.in the hottest summer in Scotland for years(29 degrees in Fort William)the fridge packed in completely.we had to rely on bags of ice and our electric cool box.The bathroom handle fell off.The panel on the door which houses the blind kept falling off.the bin snapped and on the way home(or should I say back to the dealers) the fridge vent fell off.oh and to cap it all apparently the jockey wheel had been over tightened and the threads were done.we traded our 2005 avante 636 for a brand new van but it was built to a far higher spec.everything in the new van just feels cheap and plastic.The keys dont work properly and the door doesnt lock securely and oh the pump kept switching on and off.I feel let down by elddis as we chose another one because we thought it was a good make.another new avante owner on site also advised to look out for cracks in the so called solid construction as he had already had his back for repair on a van bought in April.I have noticed other threads on the forum about the same things.all in all it's taken the shine off getting a new van.hope to get it back next week.I have faith in dealer so hopefully all will be resolved but I will be checking/looking out for cracks and that's no way to "enjoy" a new van
Sorry to hear another story regarding the quality of the current Elddis caravans and the distress that this causes.
We feel that the quality of the current Elddis vans is inferior to previous models. The 18 months that we have had our Avante 540 has been spent wondering what is going to break next, the list of faults is now, 2 broken locker catches, from new, 1 locker having no catch fitted, 2 warped wardrobe doors, 3 collapsed corner steadies, 12 volt socket blowing fuses, broken door fly screen, awning light switch faulty and finally the water pump continuing to run continuously when no taps are turned on. When we had the van in for repair we were told that the replacement corner steadies had not been authorised by Elddis, after travelling back to the dealers to confront the service staff the steadies were repaired with a split pin in each, no problems since. When we were at the dealership we complained about the condition of the caravan and said that for the price paid these faults should not be happening, a new car would not be failing with so many faults from new, the dealer's answer was, you cannot compare a caravan with a car, they are different, a better comparison is to compare a caravan with a new house, there are always snagging/teething problems that are rectified under warranty. The quality of caravan production/workmanship is, in my opinion poor.
we spent june touring scotland no tv signal in glencoe or parts of skye other west coast locations weak signal or non existent so to be sure of a signal take your satellite dish.
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Topic: Avtex ariel in new Elddis
