Avondale Seascape 5-ELX

Outside
The conversion bodywork is of a high standard with a one piece GRP roof moulding neatly joined to the front and rear sections. GRP is also used as the outer skin to the bonded side panels, giving an easily cleaned finish that will provide some resistance to minor scrapes. The side door is provided with an electric step as standard and the internal step well has an integral light that is switched on and off by tilting the lens. It would be handy to have a remote switch for this to save bending down to switch it off after having entered. There is already a switch for the awning light which is a standard fitting, although no awning was fitted to the test vehicle. A good standard of insulation is fitted, the floor is 40mm thick and the walls and roof are 28mm thick.

A slight diversion here: The electric step has, as usual, a warning buzzer to remind you that it is extended if you turn the ignition on, this is very useful, but as I've mentioned, the cab 12v sockets are only powered with the ignition on. Now, I'm sitting here typing this report in the cab and need 12v to power the inverter for my laptop, this means that I need the ignition on, therefore the step has to be retracted, what's more, because the habitation 12v power is disabled when the ignition is on, we can't use any of the electrical system - grrr! There is a 12v socket provided for running a TV, but it's not a cigar lighter or DIN type and is marked at 5A max. This problem of course isn't of Avondale's making, it seems that 'regulations' mean that the habitation electrics must be disabled when the engine is running - I know more than one motorhome owner that has bypassed this feature! However it would be nice to have an extra 12v socket over and above the one for the TV. There are sufficient 230v mains sockets, which is fine if you are on a hookup.

Externally, on the nearside, we have a gas locker with a fixed 30mB regulator, the test vehicle was provided with a 4.5kg butane bottle but there is room for 2x 7kg bottles. On the offside there is a very useful external locker with space for leveling wedges, water hose, drain hose, etc. Also on the offside is the door for accessing the cassette, together with the filler for the cassette flush tank, the fresh water filler point and the ventilation grilles for the fridge, these are removable to give easy access for servicing. Rear corner steadies are provided as standard and the spare wheel is slung underneath. Also underneath are the fresh and waste water tanks, these are a rather miserly 50 litres capacity and are not winterised (a winterisation kit is available as an extra). Draining the waste tank is very quick through a central gate valve operated by a pull handle. The valve has a bayonet connector but no waste drain hose was provided, meaning that you have to rely on an assistant to help get the van positioned over a road level drain. A drain hose would be a useful addition to the inventory, we took our own but you have to crawl underneath to fit it, if the tank drain was extended to the side of the vehicle it would be an easier job. A stainless steel roof rack and access ladder is fitted as standard, and the roof is strong enough to walk on.

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