Hi
Does anyone out there own a Grand Salute Royal Guard Series11. Would like some feed back on this van please.
macka17 said
09:58 AM Sep 10, 2017
Hi.
Try some of the other forums.
Nobody here seems to have heard of.
Which does not (normally) bode well for the Item, or quality of.
There's a lot of rubbish and a lot of good on market.
Stick with the named. REPUTABLE ones,
and you'll have fewer problems.
The pricing of a van should be near the back of the list.
Buy a smaller. Better. proven quality.
over a larger unknown or not so good quality.
You'll thank yourself later on in life.
Have fun.
Cupie said
10:36 AM Sep 10, 2017
Couldn't find any reviews on line. All I found was sales stuff & the usual 'magazine' reviews that IMHO are not worth much.
Looks like pretty swish van, with a price to match. But there are lots of them on the market these days. Some good, others not so good but all look great with lots of (heavy) bells & whistles.
I didn't look too closely at the weights (GVM 3251?) but I presume that you have checked all that sort of thing out & have the appropriate tug lined up .. with plenty of spare load capacity. Perhaps a V8 Cruiser/Patrol or bigger .. A yank tank or real truck? Be very cautious if you are considering one of the vast range of pretty utes being widely used as tugs at the moment. (I'll duck for cover after that observation).
I loved the layout that I saw with the club lounge at the front, central side kitchen & individual shower/toilet separating the rear bedroom with its North South bed .. great! Perhaps eliminated the need for my first preference of recliners. It did say a 'Micro fridge' What's that?. A big 2 door fridge freezer is a must for us. Perhaps I should have a closer look at the specs. Ah, a closer look revealed that 'Micro Fridge' meant Microwave and Fridge, silly me, & large 3 way or compressor fridge options were offered.
Personally I favour the well known & tested brands, but you get lots of negative reviews on some of them too. Though all the Bushtracker & similar famous off roaders are lots dearer than this. So I would consider it a soft roader with all the mod cons & not a serious Off Roader as advertised.
You are doing the right thing in seeking user feedback before spending that sort of money.
If you can't get any owner reviews on that particular van then perhaps you could investigate the dealer or their network. Can the dealer provide a list of previous customers?
Good luck. Sorry I can't give any specific info but I enjoyed my look at this van .. & am rather envious of you despite the angst of the decision making phase.
Edit ... Had another quick look at the ' fit out specs'
6" frame .. good. Meranti frame .. not so good .. I prefer welded pinned Aluminium though some off roaders have meranti for flex i think, Suspension .. more choice (& cost perhaps), 3x95L water tanks .. lots of weight, 19"TV too small for me, External grab handles .. Why? useless, TOP LOAD Washing machine ..good. Most of the other goodies too but no anti sway ... because of Off Road ? No grey water holding system. The options for Gene + fuel cans on A frame etc. along with the 285kg of water have significant weight implications.
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 10th of September 2017 10:54:01 AM
macka17 said
08:58 AM Sep 14, 2017
Cupie.
It's more the way the framework is PINNED together.
Than the materials used.
Most timber ones "were Glued and ling stapled. with cladding to hold them together.
Then Aluminium came out.
Greeeeat. In theory. Then the dollars stepped in.
Too thin and small in tube dia.
On Our "Smooth" roads and tracks. They ( a lot of) vibrated and tore the joints\welds apart.
Even with the gusseting.
Until quite recently. the very good True offroaders, were still NZ timber framed.
Glued. screwed Stapled / PLUS Bolted to chassis and main connections. with thicker sheet cladding.
They were built for strength and longevity. Not the $$$ and light weights.
I Believe Coromal were one of the earliest Ally frame builders.
Their early ones were. "Interesting". but they got their heads round it.
Eventually.
Plus they have one of the BEST. Rolling suspensions on the market
For Bitumin and some dirt. Even without shockers under there.
Smooth as.
I always travel for a coupla km's. In ALL the vans I buy. Inside of.
Just to know. how hard they are.
Some you wouldn't believe.
But, getting back to your choices Koko..
Myself.
I'd figure out just how much I NEED. What sized van I can get away with,
While Being within safety limits and the law.
Make sure when all the figures. Reductions etc. are met.
that the tug you buy. Comes SAFELY, inside those limits.
Just cause it SAYS you can tow 3.5 ton.
It doesn't really MEAN 3.5ton.
Do NOT buy MAX size, weight of either.
and TRY to have as near 1\2 ton MORE Physical weight. in the tug.
OVER the van, as you can get. I class 350kg as minimum.
Yea. and I'd let somebody else try out "NEW" versions of everything.
Buy a KNOWN. Proven Good, reliable for yourself.
Less hassles.
Even if you do want to be different.
Try some of the other forums.
Nobody here seems to have heard of.
Which does not (normally) bode well for the Item, or quality of.
There's a lot of rubbish and a lot of good on market.
Stick with the named. REPUTABLE ones,
and you'll have fewer problems.
The pricing of a van should be near the back of the list.
Buy a smaller. Better. proven quality.
over a larger unknown or not so good quality.
You'll thank yourself later on in life.
Have fun.
Couldn't find any reviews on line. All I found was sales stuff & the usual 'magazine' reviews that IMHO are not worth much.
Looks like pretty swish van, with a price to match. But there are lots of them on the market these days. Some good, others not so good but all look great with lots of (heavy) bells & whistles.
I didn't look too closely at the weights (GVM 3251?) but I presume that you have checked all that sort of thing out & have the appropriate tug lined up .. with plenty of spare load capacity. Perhaps a V8 Cruiser/Patrol or bigger .. A yank tank or real truck? Be very cautious if you are considering one of the vast range of pretty utes being widely used as tugs at the moment. (I'll duck for cover after that observation).
I loved the layout that I saw with the club lounge at the front, central side kitchen & individual shower/toilet separating the rear bedroom with its North South bed .. great! Perhaps eliminated the need for my first preference of recliners. It did say a 'Micro fridge' What's that?. A big 2 door fridge freezer is a must for us. Perhaps I should have a closer look at the specs. Ah, a closer look revealed that 'Micro Fridge' meant Microwave and Fridge, silly me, & large 3 way or compressor fridge options were offered.
Personally I favour the well known & tested brands, but you get lots of negative reviews on some of them too. Though all the Bushtracker & similar famous off roaders are lots dearer than this. So I would consider it a soft roader with all the mod cons & not a serious Off Roader as advertised.
You are doing the right thing in seeking user feedback before spending that sort of money.
If you can't get any owner reviews on that particular van then perhaps you could investigate the dealer or their network. Can the dealer provide a list of previous customers?
Good luck. Sorry I can't give any specific info but I enjoyed my look at this van .. & am rather envious of you despite the angst of the decision making phase.
Edit ... Had another quick look at the ' fit out specs'
6" frame .. good. Meranti frame .. not so good .. I prefer welded pinned Aluminium though some off roaders have meranti for flex i think, Suspension .. more choice (& cost perhaps), 3x95L water tanks .. lots of weight, 19"TV too small for me, External grab handles .. Why? useless, TOP LOAD Washing machine ..good. Most of the other goodies too but no anti sway ... because of Off Road ? No grey water holding system. The options for Gene + fuel cans on A frame etc. along with the 285kg of water have significant weight implications.
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 10th of September 2017 10:54:01 AM
It's more the way the framework is PINNED together.
Than the materials used.
Most timber ones "were Glued and ling stapled. with cladding to hold them together.
Then Aluminium came out.
Greeeeat. In theory. Then the dollars stepped in.
Too thin and small in tube dia.
On Our "Smooth" roads and tracks. They ( a lot of) vibrated and tore the joints\welds apart.
Even with the gusseting.
Until quite recently. the very good True offroaders, were still NZ timber framed.
Glued. screwed Stapled / PLUS Bolted to chassis and main connections. with thicker sheet cladding.
They were built for strength and longevity. Not the $$$ and light weights.
I Believe Coromal were one of the earliest Ally frame builders.
Their early ones were. "Interesting". but they got their heads round it.
Eventually.
Plus they have one of the BEST. Rolling suspensions on the market
For Bitumin and some dirt. Even without shockers under there.
Smooth as.
I always travel for a coupla km's. In ALL the vans I buy. Inside of.
Just to know. how hard they are.
Some you wouldn't believe.
But, getting back to your choices Koko..
Myself.
I'd figure out just how much I NEED. What sized van I can get away with,
While Being within safety limits and the law.
Make sure when all the figures. Reductions etc. are met.
that the tug you buy. Comes SAFELY, inside those limits.
Just cause it SAYS you can tow 3.5 ton.
It doesn't really MEAN 3.5ton.
Do NOT buy MAX size, weight of either.
and TRY to have as near 1\2 ton MORE Physical weight. in the tug.
OVER the van, as you can get. I class 350kg as minimum.
Yea. and I'd let somebody else try out "NEW" versions of everything.
Buy a KNOWN. Proven Good, reliable for yourself.
Less hassles.
Even if you do want to be different.
Do it with their 10 yr old model mod's in place.
Have fun.