It did not take long to get used to driving this large vehicle and after the second trip I felt quite confident in handling it on UK roads. The Mercedes 316 CDI powers it effortless and driving comfort is not too difficult to obtain with the multi positioning air ride seats. I was a little apprehensive about reversing but with the large electrically adjustable wing mirrors, which give an excellent rear view plus the ability to see right through the accommodation area and out the back window, reversing aids are not required. Fuel consumption averaged about 24mpg.

Although we packed to minimise rattles and loose items, on our first trip the level of noise whilst travelling was not to our satisfaction and clearly more work was needed to reduce this. The wheelchair ramps were the major offending item. A half an hour with a saw and sandpaper before the second trip soon produced some miniature wooden wedges which were used as spacers to stop metal meeting metal at every bump in the road. I later replaced these with miniature rubber wedges found it a hardware store. I believe the original purpose of these wedges was for use with sash windows!

We quickly appreciated the ease of setting up on site, a real benefit in the wet. A quick dash outside to connect up the electric and turn the gas on and the kettle was on a minute later. The cab heater is very efficient and the accommodation section was warm on arrival and it required very little heat from the fire to bring the whole van up to a comfortable living temperature. Swivel the passenger chair round and Wendy was soon part of the scene without the laborious process of transferring from car to caravan. When the time came, she had no difficulty using a transfer board to make the transition to the wheelchair.

The toilet area was managed without a hitch and if anything it was slightly easier to transfer onto the toilet than in the caravan, there being less of a gap between chair and toilet seat. However, a standing transfer onto a free standing shower seat is required. This was unnecessary in the caravan so Wendy has lost some of her independence. There is also not quite enough depth to sit without tucking your legs underneath the shower chair. This could pose a difficulty for a larger disabled person. However the increased privacy and spaciousness of the large rear bathroom is much appreciated by us both.

The kitchen is designed to be utilised by only one person. Unlike the caravan, two is a real crowd and the layout is not as effective as that of the caravan. The sink draining board is on the right and is the wrong way round. It is impossible for one to wash and the other to dry. We solved this by buying a free standing draining top from John Lewis which when placed on the cooker top on the left allowed washing up service to resume as we like it. With the folding kitchen work top set at wheelchair height we have developed food preparation, cooking and washing up routines to make living in the motorhome pleasurable and very comfortable.

The make up of the double bed is a fiddle and far too bitty. I could see my temper getting the better of me if I had to do this every night so on our second trip we tried making up single beds, a lot less trouble and much easier to make up and stow away. Neither way presented Wendy with transfer problems. We stow the 'bedrolls' in the luton, this being by far the easiest place to put them and I was glad Wendy had persuaded me to purchase the Hi-line model rather than the Lo-line version. The storage space and flexibility of the luton is invaluable and for our long trip we even managed to store a collapsible standing frame in it.

We still found too many rattles on our second trip and pinned them down to the fire. A close inspection revealed it was loose in its frame and on removal of the cover further loose screws were discovered inside. All were tightened and extra frame fitting screws added to make the installation more solid.

I was not happy with the sink, unlike the enamelled caravan one, it is made of fibreglass and was not adequately supported. It flexed too much and the surrounding seal broke. Whilst it is not difficult to re-seal this, I see this as a potential problem in that water will quickly find its way into the sink top woodwork and the cupboard below if this weak point is not continually monitored. I increased support by adding extra screws and the edges were resealed . Two months of subsequent everyday use did not resulted in any problems but further use resulted in the seal breaking again and the sink developing a minor crack. Apart from this and the loose fire the build quality is excellent. The sink was subsequently replaced in August 2002 under the guarantee. I noticed the new sink supplied by Autotrail is of a better quality and it has been additionally supported by a batten across its width. We hope that is the end of the problem. Subsequent models no longer have this type of sink.

The Mohican on the Mercedes base has up rated camping suspension, even so, it is quite soft and I found distributing a full load to keep the weight carried by each axle within limits difficult. Rear ground clearance was not helped either by fitting a tow bar. Ground clearance and handling were improved by fitting 'Airide' rear suspension aids.

We have not found the lack of a car inconvenient but early in 2001 I had the opportunity to acquire a Ford Fiesta, this has now been fitted with an 'A' frame and is towed on some of our UK trips. On our continental trips, we changed sites more often than if we had been caravanning but to have the motorhome and its facilities handy on days out was a huge benefit particularly where wheelchair accessible toilet facilities were so sadly lacking.

And now - December 2007
Our Autotrail is now about to enter its eighth year of use and after numerous UK and continental trips and 52,000 miles later, what problems have we had during ownership and what do we now think about our Autotrail Mohican?

Mercedes Chassis
In the first year Mercedes issued a recall to change the drive shaft, apparently a faulty batch had been fitted to some vehicles and it included ours. I also found the cab airconditioning did not work. This was repaired under the guarantee but on our continental trip in 2006 it was observed not to be working again. Apart from this and the glue holding the veneer on the glove compartment door melting allowing the veneer to slip, we had no chassis problems until January 2006 when the gear lever linkage broke resulting in an abandoned trip and a minor repair. In November 2006 I also had to replace the screen washer pump. Nevertheless, every time I step into the cab I love it. It is a pleasure to drive and it copes easily with hills and mountain passes. In the UK we sometimes effortlessly tow a Ford Fiesta with hardly any change in the 24m.p.g. average fuel consumption. In spite of the electrically adjustable wing mirrors which provide good rear visibility, I found the near side mirror (left hand) had a bad blind spot when driving on the continent. This was quickly solved by buying a 'stick on' wide view mirror of about 2 inches in diameter which was glued to the left hand wing mirror to cover the blind spot. I found this was also useful when negotiating UK roundabouts where lane discipline often leaves much to be desired. I also fitted a Fresnel Lens to the rear window primarily to improve the visibility of the area immediately behind the motorhome to keep an eye on our towed car.
Following starting difficulties in the winter of 2005/2006, the starter battery was replaced in November 2005.

Auxiliary fittings
The waste full alarm regularly fails to function due to it becoming clogged with fats and waste deposits. It is a simple float switch fitted to the side of the tank using a rubber bung. This can be removed and the mechanism cleaned but quite honestly when it is working, it is an irritation. Unless the waste tank is completely empty, any waste water left in the tank slops around when on the move and sets off the alarm. An alarm on/off switch should have been fitted. The Whale 'Universal' water pump stopped working in 2004 after 2-1/2 years use, the seals failed and the pump would not prime. Replacement seals could not be obtained and Whale replaced the pump free of charge within 2 weeks of contacting them. Fortunately the pump is fairly accessible on the Mohican and a trip to the dealer was not necessary because it was not difficult to change. The seals again failed in early 2006 whilst on a trip in the UK. Fortunately a large dealer was not too far away and I was able to purchase and easily fit a replacement. They do cost over £70 and I now had two duff pumps with perfect working motors! I decided to pursue the purchase of replacement seals and the best I could do, after some difficulty, was to obtain a complete new head from a caravan dealer at a cost of £33. I now carry it as a spare, this being much lighter than carrying a complete pump. In May 2007, noting the pump was showing signs of failing again, and seeing a representative at one of the shows, I complained to Whale who took my details and sent me a set of replacement seals free of charge. It was not too difficult a job to fit these in December when the pump had again totally failed and would not prime. It is worth noting here that the pump is not fitted to a solid enough bulkhead and can be rather noisy when running even though it is mounted on rubber shock absorbers. I don't think these are large enough because in operation the pump eventually moves enough for the body or the pipe work to touch the bulkhead with a resultant increase in pump noise. I have padded in between the pipework, pump and bulkhead with pieces of foam rubber and wait to see if this has cured the problem. It is also worth noting that the new pump seals were a different colour and I am suspicious that Whale have changed the compound that these are made from. Further discussions with a Whale representative suggested these premature failures might be caused by the chemicals used to clean the water tank. I have annually been using Puriclean but have now stopped this practice. Only time will tell whether these seals will last any longer and if the pump runs quieter! Everything else has performed faultlessly, although I decided for the second time in six years to replace our two 85APH leisure batteries in April 2006. At the same time I also fitted a Van Bitz Battery Master which facilitates the charging of both engine and leisure batteries from a mains hook up. This is keeping the engine battery in better condition and because the cab stereo radio/CD player runs off and the engine battery, I no longer need to worry about draining the engine battery with excessive use of the radio whilst on hook up.

Because the accommodation entrance has been widened to 30 inches to allow wheelchair access, it is fitted with a non standard stable door. This is not burst proof and also the door fly screen had to be omitted. Door security was improved shortly after purchase by fitting a Fiamma door lock and a net curtain was added to replace the lost fly screen.

In late 2006, Heo dead locks were fitted to the cab doors to improve security and an FM Modulator was fitted to the cab radio. A two port audio switch was fitted to the modulator input and, with the modulator switched on and the radio tuned to its frequency, audio inputs can be fed to the vans stereo speakers at the touch of a button. One port of the switch is connected to my PDA, which will run my TomTom navigation system or play recorded music. The other port can be connected to the TV/DVD or my laptop. Whilst I was doing this job, I discovered the accommodation speakers had been wired incorrectly to the cab radio by Autotrail. They had simply wired them in parallel with the front cab speakers rather than connecting them to the rear speaker outputs. The correction of this fault and the ability to connect my audio devices to the radio has dramatically improved the sound quality from these devices.

AutoTrail Coachwork and Layout
We do not believe the layout is optimum for a wheelchair user but we still live very comfortably in the Mohican. There is plenty of internal storage and external storage is adequate for the smaller items but there is limited storage for large items like chairs and a windbreak. We have fitted a topbox and the chairs are stored in this but even so the windbreak being a long item would only store in the shower compartment. In year three, I made a tube carrier from out of four inch waste pipe. With this fitted to the roof bars the windbreak poles are now stored in this. Only one of the aircraft style lockers was equipped with a shelf. Much space was wasted in those without shelves so we fitted shelving to a further three lockers to improve storage of smaller items. There was also some wasted space in the wardrobe above the hanging rail. A small open shelf was fitted here to facilitate the storage of very light items like hats. The replacement sink has caused no further problems and the soft furnishings are wearing well although some wear is now beginning to show on the driver and passenger seat arm rests.

If the wind is in the right direction, a bad draft enters the accommodation compartment via the fridge vents. A magazine articles points out that this should not be the case and criticises several well known suppliers for failing to install fridges correctly. Autotrail was one of them. The fridge vents should be sealed from the motorhome interior but this has not been done in our van. Apart from the draft, this may also affect fridge efficiency.

The lighting is very good with the exception of the front cab. Reading whilst sitting in the comfort of the swivelling passenger seat in a failing light was impossible. We solved this by fitting a further mains socket in the luton where we can plug in a suspended lamp to illuminate the cab area. This socket also improved the distribution of mains electricity and it can be used for other purposes when mains power is required at the front of the vehicle.

During the second year of use, a small crack about an inch long appeared in the exterior aluminum skin in the top right hand corner of the door frame. I have had a similar problem on a caravan and believe it is due to inadequate strengthening of a wider door. I had not expected to see it happen on a motorhome which is a much stronger built vehicle than a caravan. The insurance assessor was also surprised but nevertheless the cracked panel was quickly replaced under the guarantee and we were assured the door frame was strengthened at the same time. A further year of use did not resulted in it occurring again but after our Norwegian trip in 2004 it appeared again. Following discussions with a coachwork builder this was repaired in April 2005. During repair, no sign of damp or strengthening was found. This time, a metal plate was fixed behind the crack reinforcing the area and the whole lot was filled with resin and repainted. It is hoped this is the end of the problem? It wasn't, and a hairline crack started to appear again 6 months later. Over a further 6 months this had not become any worse and close inspection shows it to be only on the surface. Perhaps a cover plate is also required but for the time being I am just monitoring it. I had this checked in mid 2007 at a habitation service and received confirmation that this was not a problem. At this service, I also had a water leak in the large accommodation window repaired. This was discovered during the heavy rains experienced early in 2007. Fortunately it only occurred when strong wind and rain came from a certain direction and it had only intermittently leaked. I had also discovered it early and no damage had resulted.

Cost of ownership
For those who maybe wondering what it costs to own a motorhome, excluding insurance and depreciation, the costs of maintaining and repairing our Autotrail Mohican over the last 7 years have averaged £560 per annum. In addtition, insurance costs average £350 per annum. Costs of extra equipment, fuel and holidays are not included in these figures. Total running costs all depend on how much you use it, the more you use it the more benefit you get. We use ours on average 100 days a year, rarely wild camp and cover just over 7000 miles a year. I have calculated our total costs at 53p a mile or £40 per night but, if you include depreciation, this rises to 83p a mile or £62 per night. Not as cheap as some might think but still thoroughly enjoyable and excellent value for money

General comment
We would like to change our layout for an A Class model with a fixed bed or a rear lounge and a combined toilet/shower compartment. We would also like to fit an electric wheelchair lift instead of using ramps. In a vehicle with a good payload, this layout and a lift would give Wendy greater independence. If we find the right model from a supplier willing to make modifications we would like to change. So far, in spite of regular visits to shows, this has not been the case and I often wonder why many of the big manufacturers cannot at least have one model in their range, built in such a way, so that options for wheelchair users could be offered. I don't think this is impossible, it just needs a little more thought than most are prepared to give! Unless we opt for a custom build, it is looking increasingly like we will be unable to improve on our current van.

We are still thoroughly enjoying our travels and think the following completely captures the spirit and pleasure of owning a motorhome.

Buff's motorhome ode:
Buying a camper van was the best thing we ever did, and I am sure you will feel the same. Our van is our cottage in the country, our beach hut when on the coast, a seat by the window in a restaurant with the best view possible, and a hotel with the best view possible from the bedroom, the kitchen and the loo!!! Our van isn't male or female, it is just heaven on earth! It represents freedom to roam and make the very most of every free day you have. Enjoy!

Buff Eagle - Motorhome List, August 2002