17' Series Urgent help required. Annex wall issue

[Trouble_Within]

Hi all,
Have an issue with our new 17.56-1 expanda. We had annex walls made by a local company through jayco and picked up along with the van. Upon our first setup we noticed the annex walls were actually hanging off the ground. We had the axles underslung on a standard model for extra clearance. We took the van back to jayco today to have this checked out as we thought they had made an error in measuring however, they tried to sell the idea today that annexes these days are not made the same and the actually sit up a bit off the ground so only half of the white flap sits on the ground. This also means that when you peg the tabs in your pegs are also out of the ground about 2 inches. I am of the belief that this is bollocks and they have just made a mistake. Can anyone please tell me if this is the case? On our old jayco eagle our annex sat perfectly on the ground and the flaps all folded out nicely. I would assume the pegs and tabs should be pegged firmly in the ground. Any help would be great!

 

[jdove]

To put it in your own words.Thats a load of bollocks from the dealer.
The annex walls should go all the way down the the ground,they have made a mistake and they know it.You are right in thinking that the pegs and tabs should be firmly in the ground. Go back to the dealer and stand your ground,they have to fix it.
Good luck

 

[POD]

Utter cr@p.

Why do companies do that sort of thing???

Ask them to show you some pictures of one as they say it should be or even better show you one on the lot.

 

[Burnsy]

What sort of drugs are they on!! that's ridiculous, tell them you want new ones that reach the ground!

 

[leesy]

Go hard back at them, no way thats correct!!!!!!

 

[Burnsy]

Hey TW, further to my previous comment don't accept any modifications, it sounds to me like your van was measured before the underslung. That white flap should sit flat on the ground and your canvas/vinyl should reach the ground. Nothing annoys me more than when someone tries to treat people like fools! Sorry for the rant!
Let us know how you get on mate.

Cheers.

 

[Brad]

What cr&p.
Since when do pegs never go all the way into the ground.
Good luck at getting it replaced.

 

[Hit the road]

Absolute rubbish, get stuck into them

 

[jim74]

They are on drugs for sure, Ring Kakadu or someone similar and ask them, i think you will find youve been told a little bit of bs.

 

[Xpandafan]

Agree with the advice you're getting here. I do like the canvas bit of annexe walls just off ground (1") to avoid wicking if you're on a wet site. Pegs go FULLY in the ground not half-way, where they'd be accidents waiting to happen. The peg down eyelet tabs allow for this. Mind you, if you never fully seat screws, never drive nails or staples home properly, and leave nuts loose on bolts then maybe it's all OK...and some of us have been wasting a lot of energy.

 

[randl007]

We had issues with ours as well, more that the company had done the measurements and marked where to drill the holes. they had left Jayco to drill them and in their wisdom they had drilled in totally different places. The crosses where still there on the awning so now we have two sets of holes in the drum. I would take it back. Not sure the annexe company but ours ( Australia wide annexes) sent a bloke who met us on a roundabout and drilled the holes properly so we could continue on our holidays

 

[Trouble_Within]

Hi all, had our meeting with jayco and the annexe company and they have agreed to remake the annexe and lengthen to only be 20mm off the ground which is a good outcome. My final question is before we confirm it all, should the awning arm that is permanently attached to the van be completely horizontal when the annexe walls are on? Our on road van has underslung axles and the way they set it up to show us, the arm was on quite a lean downwards. Is this how it should be? Does anyone have a photo of their annexe walls up? Is the arm going across to the van completely straight when the walls are on?

 

[Pace]

TW, have a look at my album, theres a few pics of the awning set up with both the sun shades (no walls with arm diagonal) and with the whole annexe set up. Ours is made so the wall velcro wraps to the upright post. Hope this helps. Pace.

 

[Trouble_Within]

Thanks pace, in your pic where you have the legs off the van and upright with the full annexe setup, see how the top bar comes out straight from the van and creates a 90 degree angle both at the van and the upright leg. My question is, should this bar always come straight out from the van when the full annexe is up? As we are being led to believe this is not the case and it should be setup on a downward angle? Where my thoughts were always that it should be straight and any rise or fall in the ground level you simply adjust the vertical legs up and down to suit?

 

[Pace]

TW, yes mate that how it is, creates a 90o angle i have allways done it that way. best that ive seen around the traps is the same though having said that, yes have seen some at a slight angle as you say. given that due to higher off the ground these are vans like outback chassis type.

i guess it comes down to manufacture styles i guess (ours is tebbs), get on the internet sales sites (van setup shown for sale) and see what others are set up like.

Glad to be of help. Pace.

 

[casiochris]

Hi, Just looked at the pic of opur setup and the arm does not come out at 90 degrees but rather is on a downward angle. You can just see it in this link

http://www.expandasdownunder.com/showthread.php/1497-Our-Van

Hope this helps. Like I said the annex company marked the hole that the legs needed to go into to ensure they are at the correct height for the wall. Have you tried setting up the wall with your legs adjusted into different heights to see if that makes a difference?

 

[Trouble_Within]

Hi All,
Have been butting heads with the canvas company and Jayco in regards to the annexe and have reached a compromise. They have agreed to add an extra 50mm to all the annexe walls (remaking all panels just longer). I have gone back and forth numerous times and am just getting told the same thing. The annexe manufacturer have confirmed they make each annexe side wall at a standard height of 1.9m which in our case, due to underslinging the axles means the horizontal bar is on quite a slant, 200mm difference in height ath the barrell end from where it is apparently "setup correctly" to if the bar was completely horizontal. So we will see what the outcome is with the extra length on the walls. Does anyone have any other ideas for a fix? Thanks all for the above suggestions.

 

[expanda]

Couple of questions -

1) Was the annex ordered as part of the van package and where you involved in the annex ordering in any way?

2) Do you have any photos of the horizontal bar and how it sits?

That will help me with what you should do as it depends really on those two factors...

 

[Trouble_Within]

Hi expanda, the annexe was ordered as part of a package through jayco so it was all measured and ordered through them. So I had nothing to do with the ordering. We had the issue when we first put the wall up and it was a mile off the ground, mud flap and all.

I don't have a photo of the bar sorry. We were under the impression that the horizontal bar should be perfectly straight. If you picture dropping the height (the adjustable vertical legs) from perfectly straight, down 200mm you will get the angle I mean.

Hope this helps!

 

[expanda]

Depending on the company they used I am guessing Kakadu as that is who most use the van should have been measured once it arrived from Melbourne and the annexe manufactured from that point.

All annex manufactures don't have a standard one size fits all and each require you to provide the measurements as you have mentioned.

To me it seems like this has not happened and they just ordered walls for a standard annex ignoring your under slung axle.

Regardless of that I would box the annex up and go back to the dealer who sold you the van and annex and ask for either of the following -

a) Refund the cost of the annex so I can go elsewhere and get one that fits

b) Get me a complete replacement made to measure to suit the van I have

Just be polite and calm, take the annex with you in a box and give them those two options.

I don't really want to sound harsh and I understand they have agreed to extend it but really if it is a standard fit the dealer should be able to keep it for the next van but if you want a complete one that is how I would approach it myself and it is only fair on your part to get something you paid for.

Other than that maybe ask the canvas maker how they plan on extending it and if it is going to look weird or what process they will follow to extend it?