I have just returned from my first trip in my new Retreat caravan and can report that almost everything related to using the Thetford toilet for one's and two's went very smoothly. On advice received from this site, I added an additional quantity of Napisan to the toilet and can verify from the "OH ****" story below that this combination with the usual blue toilet chemical worked extremely well.
Now to the amusing, albeit messy story.
Like most things with my new Retreat caravan, many things did not work as expected or did not work at all.
One amusing story was that the first time I removed the cassette for emptying, I traumatically discovered that the circular plate on the top had not been screwed on by the manufacturer nor checked by the dealer.
It appeared to me that there had been virtually no pre-delivery checks by the manufacturer or dealer and this amazed me.
Once the cassette was removed (given that I did this far too quickly) the circular vent fell off and the contents of the cassette went everywhere.
The interesting point related to this story is that using the recommended chemical mix, the contents of the cassette were liquid only and I was very surprised, and relieved by this given that it ended up all over me.
My wife heard me yell, OH ****, and came running however due to the completely dissolved nature of the contents, there was no real drama.
Further to this story, here is a list if the items that did not work at all or not properly with this NEW Retreat caravan.
1. No battery or solar power from delivery and the contractor who eventually fixed this (great work Install a Gadget), said it was the worst wiring he had every seen. It took the dealer 6-7 weeks to try to fix this mess only to f---- it up significantly more.
2. Power points that did not work.
3. Ensuite door came off its hinges.
4. Redarc battery management system mis-wired (thanks to Redarc who were excellent in assisting to fix up this dealer mess).
5. Awning bolts broke off the first time I used it.
6. Hitch lock and wheel lock nuts not installed as per contract.
7. Handbrake so lose that the caravan started rolling down the driveway.
I should add that eventually Retreat did fix all these issues under warranty but only after I received significant legal advice and started writing factual summaries on their website pages.
I have about five pages of notes concerning my correspondence with Retreat.
I think I should have bought a far cheaper van and then had the extra accessories added myself as I have deduced that caravan manufacturers seem to only be able to handle the basics!
Despite all of this, my first trip (1000+ kms) went very well and my V8 Nissan Patrol was an awesome tow machine.
-- Edited by Pradokakadudavid on Tuesday 21st of January 2020 02:59:12 PM
-- Edited by Pradokakadudavid on Tuesday 21st of January 2020 08:24:30 PM
Possum3 said
04:29 PM Jan 21, 2020
David, I am so sorry that you had such difficulties in getting what you paid for. Those that have not experienced this, have no understanding of the heartbreak it causes. The sooner ACCC cleans up the industry the better off we will all be.
PetenSue said
05:10 PM Jan 21, 2020
I bet Retreat laughed when you told them about the toilet cassette episode. I know I did. Remind me never to buy that brand of caravan. I ve never experienced those kind of dramas and hope I never do. Regards Pete
cjt55 said
06:35 PM Jan 21, 2020
How much Napisan did you add?
Bobdown said
06:42 PM Jan 21, 2020
David, a very funny welcome to the caravan world..........still trying to get my missus to empty the cassette, but she is wise to me.
The problems you encountered are no different to any make or model van you buy nowadays and you will continue to find things for Retreat to fix as they have a 3 year warranty, make sure you use it.
A friend has just written a two page list for a brand new New Age that he has taken for its first 1000k trip, that needs to be rectified, including lights, water pump and hot water system etc.
Manufacturers have no pride in their work nowadays.
Cheers Bob
Pradokakadudavid said
08:26 PM Jan 21, 2020
I added about 1/4 cup to each empty toilet cassette.
Actually the product is now called, VANISH.
wendycarlene said
09:43 PM Jan 21, 2020
You have had too much fun for your first trip.
Its a pity you had not bought a Traveller Van, cost is a bit more but they install better quality appliances where possible,resulting in less challenges when one is supposed to be enjoying oneself. There really is no need to use anything in the Thetford Toilet apart from their excellent products, for urine and faeces.False economy in the long run. Also pays to use the pink spray to keep the black washer or phalange in good supple condition. What you save on cheaper chemicals comes back to bite you in a few years, .
Scenicview said
01:18 AM Jan 22, 2020
OMG what a terrible start to your travels, fingers crossed we don't have the same problems, already John is not to excited about emptying the canister
Mike Harding said
06:39 AM Jan 22, 2020
I'm sorry to hear of your problems but glad they have been sorted out. Clearly, I did not realise how fortunate I have been with my Snowy River SR-19 caravan; read my initial review and then my one year later review in this thread:
The Traveller van was most certainly my equal top choice and I am now sorry that I did not buy one. And I have told Retreat and everyone else this many times! They have fixed everything but not without a huge amount of prompting on my part!
sandsmere said
09:51 AM Jan 24, 2020
Pradokakadudavid wrote:
The Traveller van was most certainly my equal top choice and I am now sorry that I did not buy one. And I have told Retreat and everyone else this many times! They have fixed everything but not without a huge amount of prompting on my part!
Sorry to hear about your troubles.
We bought a new Retreat in 2011 and have been travelling in it ever since and have had very few problems.
In the first few months we had a couple of minor hiccups and they were fixed quickly under warranty. Since then the van has covered 94000 kms.
with very few small hiccups, most which I could fix myself.
I have spoken to a lot of
retreat owners, some with very few troubles and some with major problems.
I think it happens with most manufacturers. I have a good mate that bought a Traveller and they had huge problems with it. They have since sold it
and bought a second-hand Patriot.
Pradokakadudavid said
02:58 PM Jan 24, 2020
Gee this is really interesting as it appears it doesn't matter what you caravan you buy, there is the potential for problems with all of them.
Re the Jayco comment, my wife and I calculated that over 80%-90% of the caravans we saw were Jaycos and given the problems I have experienced with my Retreat ($107,000 + discounts) I wish I had have bought a cheaper van and then modified it using experts e.g solar panels etc.
Himble said
12:59 PM Jan 26, 2020
sandsmere wrote:
Pradokakadudavid wrote:
The Traveller van was most certainly my equal top choice and I am now sorry that I did not buy one. And I have told Retreat and everyone else this many times! They have fixed everything but not without a huge amount of prompting on my part!
Sorry to hear about your troubles.
We bought a new Retreat in 2011 and have been travelling in it ever since and have had very few problems.
In the first few months we had a couple of minor hiccups and they were fixed quickly under warranty. Since then the van has covered 94000 kms.
with very few small hiccups, most which I could fix myself.
I have spoken to a lot of
retreat owners, some with very few troubles and some with major problems.
I think it happens with most manufacturers. I have a good mate that bought a Traveller and they had huge problems with it. They have since sold it
and bought a second-hand Patriot.
I also have a 2011 Retreat Brampton, and apart from a couple of very minor problems initially, it's been basically trouble free over many thousands of km.
-- Edited by Himble on Sunday 26th of January 2020 01:00:06 PM
-- Edited by Himble on Sunday 26th of January 2020 01:01:47 PM
TheHeaths said
02:42 PM Jan 26, 2020
I think that is the thing with vans.
Take 10 different buyers of any brand on the market, and you will find 10 different purchasing and ownership experiences. You can only do the best due diligence you can, and then hope for the best when the van arrives, and you need any warranty support!
Hylife said
11:02 PM Jan 31, 2020
I also have a Retreat. 2018 semi-offroad Fraser.
Had something like 25+ faults to rectify within a few days and it took months to get just the bigger faults fixed.
Absolutely shocking quality control. Wiring and fit and finish of fixtures and appliances.
They also have developed a horrible reputation for fudging the weight figures on the compliance plate.
Straight out of the yard the day I collected it I went straight to a weighbridge.
I had specified when I ordered it directly from Steve Borg, the Retreat MD, that I needed a van with a 500kg payload or I wasn't interested because the water alone would take up 200kg.
Turned out mine weighed 100kg heavier than the tare on the plate.
Also, the ATM on the plate was 100kg less than it was supposed to be.
They had failed to tell the chassis manufacturer (G&S) what suspension system to use, so G&S fitted their new parent company ALKOs inferior system with a maximum ATM of only 2700kg instead of 2800kg.
So I effectively lost 200kg of payload. After filling the water tanks I now only have a little over 100kgs payload.
Retreat passed the buck to G&S who passed the buck back to Retreat who, like a pack of insurance attorneys said show me where that requirement was specified on the contract.
So would ALKO tell me what strengthening modifications were needed to get the extra 200kg back on the ATM?
I'd unhappily pay to fix it because I had no other choice.
Well, they were even worse than useless.
They always sympathetically listened, said they would look into it but then simply did nothing, refusing to even return my multiple calls or emails.
Retreats reputation is so bad it is no wonder they are having financial issues. They just closed down their Campbellfield sales yard Luxury RV's.
They claim that LRV is only a dealer but a simple ASIC search shows the ABNs of the factory and the Melbourne and Perth sales yards are sequential and all registered at the same Blackburn address.
Typical of a dodgy manufacturer setting up a different legal entity for sales to keep problems at arms length so you can't ever go after compensation. Just wind up the old sales company and start up another.
G'day all.
I have just returned from my first trip in my new Retreat caravan and can report that almost everything related to using the Thetford toilet for one's and two's went very smoothly. On advice received from this site, I added an additional quantity of Napisan to the toilet and can verify from the "OH ****" story below that this combination with the usual blue toilet chemical worked extremely well.
Now to the amusing, albeit messy story.
Like most things with my new Retreat caravan, many things did not work as expected or did not work at all.
One amusing story was that the first time I removed the cassette for emptying, I traumatically discovered that the circular plate on the top had not been screwed on by the manufacturer nor checked by the dealer.
It appeared to me that there had been virtually no pre-delivery checks by the manufacturer or dealer and this amazed me.
Once the cassette was removed (given that I did this far too quickly) the circular vent fell off and the contents of the cassette went everywhere.
The interesting point related to this story is that using the recommended chemical mix, the contents of the cassette were liquid only and I was very surprised, and relieved by this given that it ended up all over me.
My wife heard me yell, OH ****, and came running however due to the completely dissolved nature of the contents, there was no real drama.
Further to this story, here is a list if the items that did not work at all or not properly with this NEW Retreat caravan.
1. No battery or solar power from delivery and the contractor who eventually fixed this (great work Install a Gadget), said it was the worst wiring he had every seen. It took the dealer 6-7 weeks to try to fix this mess only to f---- it up significantly more.
2. Power points that did not work.
3. Ensuite door came off its hinges.
4. Redarc battery management system mis-wired (thanks to Redarc who were excellent in assisting to fix up this dealer mess).
5. Awning bolts broke off the first time I used it.
6. Hitch lock and wheel lock nuts not installed as per contract.
7. Handbrake so lose that the caravan started rolling down the driveway.
I should add that eventually Retreat did fix all these issues under warranty but only after I received significant legal advice and started writing factual summaries on their website pages.
I have about five pages of notes concerning my correspondence with Retreat.
I think I should have bought a far cheaper van and then had the extra accessories added myself as I have deduced that caravan manufacturers seem to only be able to handle the basics!
Despite all of this, my first trip (1000+ kms) went very well and my V8 Nissan Patrol was an awesome tow machine.
-- Edited by Pradokakadudavid on Tuesday 21st of January 2020 02:59:12 PM
-- Edited by Pradokakadudavid on Tuesday 21st of January 2020 08:24:30 PM
The problems you encountered are no different to any make or model van you buy nowadays and you will continue to find things for Retreat to fix as they have a 3 year warranty, make sure you use it.
A friend has just written a two page list for a brand new New Age that he has taken for its first 1000k trip, that needs to be rectified, including lights, water pump and hot water system etc.
Manufacturers have no pride in their work nowadays.
Cheers Bob
I added about 1/4 cup to each empty toilet cassette.
Actually the product is now called, VANISH.
You have had too much fun for your first trip.
Its a pity you had not bought a Traveller Van, cost is a bit more but they install better quality appliances where possible,resulting in less challenges when one is supposed to be enjoying oneself. There really is no need to use anything in the Thetford Toilet apart from their excellent products, for urine and faeces.False economy in the long run. Also pays to use the pink spray to keep the black washer or phalange in good supple condition. What you save on cheaper chemicals comes back to bite you in a few years, .
OMG what a terrible start to your travels, fingers crossed we don't have the same problems, already John is not to excited about emptying the canister
I'm sorry to hear of your problems but glad they have been sorted out. Clearly, I did not realise how fortunate I have been with my Snowy River SR-19 caravan; read my initial review and then my one year later review in this thread:
https://www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=106&t=79297&sid=dc86ec984cf517498b6e16ec6c47738f
......And some people rubbish Jayco??????????????
The Traveller van was most certainly my equal top choice and I am now sorry that I did not buy one. And I have told Retreat and everyone else this many times! They have fixed everything but not without a huge amount of prompting on my part!
Sorry to hear about your troubles.
We bought a new Retreat in 2011 and have been travelling in it ever since and have had very few problems.
In the first few months we had a couple of minor hiccups and they were fixed quickly under warranty. Since then the van has covered 94000 kms.
with very few small hiccups, most which I could fix myself.
I have spoken to a lot of
retreat owners, some with very few troubles and some with major problems.
I think it happens with most manufacturers. I have a good mate that bought a Traveller and they had huge problems with it. They have since sold it
and bought a second-hand Patriot.
Gee this is really interesting as it appears it doesn't matter what you caravan you buy, there is the potential for problems with all of them.
Re the Jayco comment, my wife and I calculated that over 80%-90% of the caravans we saw were Jaycos and given the problems I have experienced with my Retreat ($107,000 + discounts) I wish I had have bought a cheaper van and then modified it using experts e.g solar panels etc.
I also have a 2011 Retreat Brampton, and apart from a couple of very minor problems initially, it's been basically trouble free over many thousands of km.
-- Edited by Himble on Sunday 26th of January 2020 01:00:06 PM
-- Edited by Himble on Sunday 26th of January 2020 01:01:47 PM
Take 10 different buyers of any brand on the market, and you will find 10 different purchasing and ownership experiences. You can only do the best due diligence you can, and then hope for the best when the van arrives, and you need any warranty support!
Had something like 25+ faults to rectify within a few days and it took months to get just the bigger faults fixed.
Absolutely shocking quality control. Wiring and fit and finish of fixtures and appliances.
They also have developed a horrible reputation for fudging the weight figures on the compliance plate.
Straight out of the yard the day I collected it I went straight to a weighbridge.
I had specified when I ordered it directly from Steve Borg, the Retreat MD, that I needed a van with a 500kg payload or I wasn't interested because the water alone would take up 200kg.
Turned out mine weighed 100kg heavier than the tare on the plate.
Also, the ATM on the plate was 100kg less than it was supposed to be.
They had failed to tell the chassis manufacturer (G&S) what suspension system to use, so G&S fitted their new parent company ALKOs inferior system with a maximum ATM of only 2700kg instead of 2800kg.
So I effectively lost 200kg of payload. After filling the water tanks I now only have a little over 100kgs payload.
Retreat passed the buck to G&S who passed the buck back to Retreat who, like a pack of insurance attorneys said show me where that requirement was specified on the contract.
So would ALKO tell me what strengthening modifications were needed to get the extra 200kg back on the ATM?
I'd unhappily pay to fix it because I had no other choice.
Well, they were even worse than useless.
They always sympathetically listened, said they would look into it but then simply did nothing, refusing to even return my multiple calls or emails.
Retreats reputation is so bad it is no wonder they are having financial issues. They just closed down their Campbellfield sales yard Luxury RV's.
They claim that LRV is only a dealer but a simple ASIC search shows the ABNs of the factory and the Melbourne and Perth sales yards are sequential and all registered at the same Blackburn address.
Typical of a dodgy manufacturer setting up a different legal entity for sales to keep problems at arms length so you can't ever go after compensation. Just wind up the old sales company and start up another.