hi, were new to this site and have recently bought an adria 542 dt. as soon as we seen it ourselves and the kids decided this was the one for us. weve had time away in my mother in laws tourer but this is our first. love the layout and the light airy feel to it. will be our first time towing this week and feeling slighty nervous. all the feedback on the adrias seems to be excellent
thank you! although i think we made the right choice in caravan, we had no starter pack included so were just trying to make a list of things we,ll need. only things included were electric hook up and steps but did manage to talk them into giving us a free full size awning.
Great van Nikki, we had one. We chose ours for exactly the same reasons you did.
It is a very stable van to tow, but it can be a bit nose heavy if you put too much into the front locker and store too much bedding under the front seats.
If we had two full gas cylinders, we tried to put as much heavy stuff under the side dinettes seats and the cupboard under the oven and in the wardrobe. We stored the waste master and water barrels in the washroom with towels packed around them to stop them scratching things when moving.
We only had a Sunncamp 390 lightweight awning and we were able to pack that between the seats under the dinette table. If you've got a full awning I'd be tempted to to put it into the back of the car, but if not, put it over the axle to keep the weight away from the nose. Just be careful it doesn't slide around and scratch your cupboards, etc.
We used to find that on the return journey, we would put our dirty washing into bags in with the waste master, etc into the washroom. We stopped doing this as I found it made the back end of the van a little 'waggy' and reduced stability. I've read other posters call it a pendulum effect. In the end, we just used to put it not the back of the car.
We did have an Alko 1300 stabiliser on our van, I don't know if you've got one. I don't really know what difference it makes as I've never towed without it. It might be worth considering.
Check your tire pressures - it should be printed above the wheel arches - 65 psi from memory.
Remember to turn the gas off in the locker and on the cylinder. I forgot occasionally.
It was a lovely van and we had some great holidays in it. I hope you do too.
Nearly forgot.
We changed to Calor Light gas cylinders. This helped a lot with the nose weight. I was able to put more of the kids' junk into the locker then.
thank you for the tips and advice, we will be looking into a stabiliser and motor mover in the future. we will be towing it with our honda civiv 2.2 which has a fair size boot so will keep what you said in mind and pack the heavier stuff in there. really cant wait to take it away now! bring on the fun times
Great choice of Van, we got ours about 4 weeks ago and have been away twice so far. Have to say we absolutely love the van and we are very impressed with the build quality and the light airy feel that it has. The kids love the huge bunks.
As for the nose weight, it's the best van we have had so far. With one gas cylinder (we only ever have one), the spare tyre, and the waste master in the front locker, along with all the outside chairs under the front seats it comes to bang on 75Kg. We put the awning under the side dinette table for a bit of stability and weight over the axle.
When towing it's by far the most stable van we have had. It seems rock steady and even when being overtaken it doesn't seem to move. We have the Alko 1300 stabiliser fitted.
As for the negatives - not found one yet
Good to see another member of the Adria fan club !
great choice, we are well into the first year with our new adria, and we love love love it.
it tows really well, and is perfect for us and our two young girls.
like others we exchanged the gas for light bottles and it gives you more weight for toys.
hope you enjoy it.
------------- Life is too short to not spend it camping!
Great choice of van! We bought the sportline DT, picked it up last day of May and had 25 nights in it so far with more planned :0) perfect for us and our 3 children. The layout works amazingly well and the storage is beyond fantastic. The cupboards are huge without being imposing. We've found that for weekend jaunts, the kampa rally 260 awning is great! Easy up, easy down and quick to dry. The extending front legs make for a great fit too :0)
I'm sat in ours at the minute enjoying the sunshine, nothing better!! Hope you have many happy years in your Adria :0)
Thank you for all the replies. We are pickin up oyr caravan on wednesday afternoon and it will be our first time towing it. We are in wales and will be bringing the adria from england so its quite a journey to give us some experience. Will let you all know hiw its goes. We have found a good storage place with a really reasonable annual fee. We are booking our van into a local park for the weekend after next and the kids are counting down the sleeps till we go, again thanks guys for the replies x
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Topic: adria altea 542 dt 2011
