We took possession of a brand new Nova reviver caravan on the 15th of June, Very nice van, comfortable and working wel....until after having travelled about 600 km on our first trip, just outside Dubbo, we were traveling at a speed of between 80 and 90 on a 100KM/H road, when I looked in my mirror and thought we had a flat tire, as the van showed a lean to the right. We could not pull of the road as there was no shoulder, so we slowly drove for an other 500 meters and found a rest area on the right hand side of the road. Big surprise, the whole wheel had come of and the bolts in the plate were all sheered of. The funny thing is, that I never noticed when it happened. An Lady pulled in behind us and said it just flew across the road. She had been driving behind us for a while, because she was happy with our steady speed.The van is now in Dubbo and we are back home. so much for spending 60000 dollars on something New. The dealer RV Penrith said all the pre delivery items had been ticked of, Insurance said if it is a manufacturing fault it is not covered. Any comment??
My guess would be the dealer hadn't tightened the nuts enough after refitting the wheel. No doubt the insurer will be holding the manufacturer at fault unless you can get the dealer to confirm otherwise. Best of luck with it ivydale, I hope this episode is quickly resolved for you and you get many years of enjoyment from your new van after you get it back after the wheel refit.
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There are three types of people: Those who can count, and those who can't.
boy - you guys were lucky that you obviously had a dual axle 'van and were able to stop safely with no injury to yourself caused by the van rolling over had it been a single axle unit.
I would be climbing into the Dealer and also the manufacturer about it - this was a life threatening fault caused by carelessness or poor manufacture.
If RV Dealers had (and most don't) have any decency and cared about their customers, you would expect a full explanation, a rapid fix and some sort of compensation (a gift for your van from their shop). Likewise the manufacturer should be offering a full apology, an explanation and an offer to pay for an independent inspection of the axles, wheels etc to give you peace of mind - as well as a couple of years free servicing. Bet they don't do any of that !
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
I wouldn't think there would be any insurance company that would accept this has an insurance claim , But it would have to be a warranty claim for sure , This sort of thing should never happen .
You were only 600 meters Ito your 1st trip, however you must have towed the caravan back to Dubbo from Penrith, not a problem there but did you notice anything amiss on the way there, obviously not.
Either the dealer or manufacturer has erred here and are at fault, but it just goes to show, we should always check our tyres, wheels and safety gear after any service and when we take possession of a new vehicle or caravan as we simply cannot rely on other people.
The problem was most likely an over tightening of the wheel nuts. Put on with a rattle gun that has not had a torque setting. The nuts stretch the studs then after a suitable bump the studs will shear. Can happen even after a few thousand k's. Had this happen on our camper trailer.
You should have Brought a Jayco, They fix these things three months after the event.
Get stuck into them, and take no Crap! Sorry. Hope you get a second pre delivery check before collecting your new van. This is not acceptable in the first place.
No it is a single axle, therefore I noticed the lean as it was driving on the axle, but I never noticed anything at the time the wheel came of, We have an of road McHitch, so it did not put any strain on the tow ball, and thanks for all your good wishes. The assessor from the NRMA just rang that he will put his report in to the Insurance
-- Edited by ivydale on Tuesday 28th of June 2016 05:30:05 PM
the OP said they were 600km into their first trip, just outside Dubbo, not 600 meters into a trip from Dubbo, so they hadn't towed it to Dubbo until the trip, and wouldn't have noticed anything untoward obviously.
That said, losing a wheel on a single axle van and not being aware of it coming off is a bit worrying.
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Regards Ian
Chaos, mayhem, confusion. Good my job here is done
I have a nova as well ,from what I can gather they don't make there own chassis ,with my Van the dealer handled the precheck and the warranty problems that we had,so they should sort this out for you,let us know how you get on they have been good with us....
I was parked alongside a caravan at a caravan park and the spare tyre on his van was a mess, Steel cords hanging out ect, The guy said he noticed the puncture straight away, narrow road nowhere to safely get the van off the road.
I have often done the exercise with Van and car and the area you need to pull completely off the road , and find a wide enough parking area,that's the problem and that's why the spare tyres are destroyed ...
Welcome to the gang ivydale, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Sounds like you were one lucky camper indeed. I hope it all gets sorted sooner than soon and to your advantage so not only will you be a lucky camper you will be a happy camper.
Keep Safe on the roads.
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G'day ivydale. Welcome to the mob from us as well. I'm bloody glad that did not happen to us on our maiden voyage. Good luck with your repairs and hope you are on the road again soon.
Cheers.
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Jack Cherie and the memory of the four legged kids.
just remember that if your Insurance company pays out, you may possibly have to pay the excess and also your premium will go up next policy renewal. Id be checked with them to make sure you wont and that they will claim against the Dealer/manufacturer.
But I'd still be right up the Dealer to do all the repairs and then pay for an independent check to make sure your chassis and axle is still as it should be - both may have been damaged and at the least you will cut out tyre tread on that side all the time. (I'd also be doing the same with your insurer if you decide to have them fix the problem). Potentially you may have a dangerous van that put you in an accident situation sometime in the future - remember the axle was being dragged along the road so I'd be surprised if at the least your axle is now out of alignment
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Mate had a 2 bad leaks in his Revivor and I had a bad one in our Vita. Same mob couldn't find mine and weren't to concerned. We both solved the problem, for us, trade to other brands.
Montie. You cant get rid of the post entirely once its up - as far as I am aware, but if you have a look at any of your posts, on the top right side it has 3 boxes each with "reply" "quote" and in your own post "edit post"
Click on edit post and highlight all the text within the post and then delete it or back space - whichever your operating system works with.
It will still leave the post there - but with no text in it. Most people will then type in something like "whoops - posted same thing twice"
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
