ELDDIS AUTOSTRATUS EK

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MY COMMENTS... This was our first ever motorhome so we had little to base this opinion. The base vehicle was a Peugeot Boxer with a 2.5 diesel turbo engine, from the first day i was impressed with the vehicle performance. The ride and handling was easy, power from the engine was more than enough for this type of body and we could easily "keep up" in the outside lane at 70mph when needed. On the two trips to Spain it ran as smooth as could be and in the 10 months i kept it there was no oil or water used. I was confident to jump in and drive anywhere.
The caravan  had a 4 seater dinnette behind the drivers seat that could be converted to a double bed, opposite was a long "bench " type seat that went from behind the passenger seat to a storage unit prior to the nearside rear entry door.
This could be used as a 5th bed and was of reasonable length and width. One problem is that when the dinnette is made into a double bed this leaves only a small gap of about 8" between it and the bench seat, so anyone using the overcab bed would have to get up there early and move the ladders before the bed could be made. The overcab bed was roomy for one, the side windows helped with light and ventilation, 2 adults up there is "nice and snug" but the wife has pledged never to go up there again. 2 kids would love it !!
Across the rear of the van was the toilet/shower in the left hand corner. Adequate and functional plus useful for extra storage when on the move. The Kitchen was a full cooker with oven, grill and 4 gas rings. Next the sink with fridge located underneath and finally cupboard space to the right and above.

A good layout for 2 adults or 2 + 2 children. There was no access to any storage from outside, i kept my main hook up lead in with the gas bottles, everything else had to be under the seats or in the top lockers. The experience in this vehicle gave me an insite of what to look for on the next motorhome..

ELDDIS AUTOSTRATUS  model EB.  

OPTIONAL EXTRAS ALREADY FITTED WHEN PURCHASED.
Bike rack for 2 cycles
Large tow bar
4.5mtr awning
safari room (harrison)
Storage "top" box on roof
Fold out step

MY COMMENTS...  The layout of this 6 berth suited us better, the overhead cab bed is a must.. It provides the facility of a bed plus, when travelling and during the day, allows for the storage of all our bedding. Now with the rear "u" shaped lounge we have a larger seating area where 4 adults can easily relax or watch tv etc. 

 AUTOTRAIL  SCOUT  

We took delivery on December 27th 2001 and after a quick trip to Weston super Mare to "test" the engine and an overnight stay on a site to check all the internals we knew we had made a good choice. Only a week later and we headed off to Spain and the Costa Blanca for a 3,000 mile trip, leaving Walsall with only 400 miles on the clock.

FIAT 2.8 JTD DIESEL.    With the engine being new i have not bothered to do any checks on fuel consumption as yet, this i think is best left until it has some miles under it's belt. The performance was faultless with plenty of power up hills and good pulling away power that kept me up with most of the other traffic. I am no motor freak so lets just say i am more than happy..

CARAVAN.   The layout is the same as the former Elddis EB, that is overcab bed, dinette behind drivers seat with kitchen opposite and rear of passanger seat. Toilet / shower is in the centre facing the entry door and opposite a wardrobe. The rear section is a "U" shape that converts into a large double bed.

WEIGHT... One thing that started to worry me when i started to use the Motorhome more was "Gross weight" that is the total laden legal weight of the vehicle on the road.. When i bought the first Elddis EK it was something i never thought about and when i bought the Elddis EB you would think to look at a vehicle that size and stated as being able to sleep 6 that carrying 6 people with provisions would not be a problem, otherwise why built it..   WRONG !!!  The Gross weight of the EB is only 3,400 kilos, when you look at the specs from the manufactures you find you only have just over 400kg of payload.
Fill your water and fuel, take in some provisions and all your bits for a trip, jump in with the wife and go on a weighbridge in an Elddis EB.... We were overweight by 20kg with just us 2 !!! How can you carry 6..
With this experience in mind i looked carefully at the Autotrail.. It has the higher rated 3,800kg chassis which i am told is not available on the Peugeot. The build is also a bit more weight friendly which gives a payload in excess of 700kg. I have not done the weigh bridge test yet, so will report on that later...

STORAGE.   Not lacking at all on this model. Outside there are 2 rear lockers that are located under the bench seats in the "U" lounge. The doors are quite large, I can even fit in reclining chairs with ease. On the rear on the vehicle is a neat locker that is ideal for storage of all those bits you need when you set up, ramps, electric cable etc. The gas locker is large enough for 2 bottle with ample spare space if you needed to squeeze in something else on top of the bottles. The rear steps are hinged and access to the roof is easy, up top is a sizeable roof rack type arrangement that would be ideal to fit on a top box or just use to tie things onto.

PICTURES TO FOLLOW...