Hi,
I am about to get my first car. I will be needing a van/people carrier. It is between the VW Baywindow, or Toyota 'Ace.
I think the Ace will be more reliable, and also much more comftable, but the For sales on this site, and some of the FAQ's dont make the engines out to be all that great in them. This problem with cooling sounds like a serious one - sort of putting me off.
Is it really some thing to be scared of?
Also, do the rear seats fold flat on all models of 'Ace, as I would be using it to sleep in also.
Thanks very much for any advise,
Joe
- (#9633) Joe Baxter, 27 Mar 04 14:22
Paula (Dorset)
Paula28lux@aol.com
3/26/04 11:15 AM Seats into bed ?
I have looked through the site and at the seats,
can not figure out how to make the seats into double bed & husband has to sleep in it tommorow. We know how to turn the seats & at the moment have the middle row facing the back.Do we some how move the back row forward? cant see anything to move them ?
Superextra model by the way(H Reg).
I do intend to buy a manual soon,so hopefully wont need to ask silly questions!!
Any clues and Husband will be grateful!
Clive (Bristol)
3/26/04 11:22 AM Seats into bed ?
Middle row face forward, move as far forward as they can, remove headrest, recline backs, recline 2nd row and there you are.
If you have a Royal Lounge suggest some form of mattress!
Paula (Dorset)
Paula28lux@aol.com
3/26/04 12:11 PM Seats into bed ?
Thanks Clive,
I feel qiute silly now, It's simple!
I think I could not see it because I have got the seats the other way,well thats my excuse anyway!
John Davis (Leics)
3/26/04 1:34 PM Seats into a bed
Paula. Exactly as Clive mentions and, your Husband might be surprised how comfortable it is. At my advanced years, I was persuaded by my Grandson that we HAD to spend a night in the Masterace. I cut some fairly crude curtains and "velcroed" these onto the windscreen and front side windows, and the built in curtains and roof blinds made for complete privacy. We had sleeping bags and a duvet over the folded down seats for extra comfort. We also took one of those open fronted, beach windbreak/tents, which only cost about a tenner and, with the open side against the side door of the vehicle, we had a very well laid out breakfast/cooking area. It all worked so well that we had another night in Norfolk.
The advantage of the Town/Masterace vehicle is that, even with the seats flat to form a bed, there is still plenty of room, in the front of the vehicle to stow luggage etc overnight and, it's much cheaper than hotels.
- (#9633) dennis, 27 Mar 04 14:57
Joe,
Human nature, is to complain about those things that annoy us. It's all to infrequent we hear " Things are great, life is good " or "My liteace is going fantastic" ! Most or us use this site to help diagnose problems we have or to help others with problems. Maybe we should say more often - I've a XXX townace and its been trouble free for X years ( Bit like an alcoholic ) that would reassure many readers like you !
I've a 92 Liteace and have had some problems, ( will not stop me buying another ) but these are problems that can be avoided by simple periodic checks that do not require "mechanic" skills. There are loads of threads on this site to help you identify things to be aware of, but that does not mean that all of them are frequent of re-ocurring problems. Like any vehicle there are some "weak" points. In my opinion I would go for the ACE for what it's got it's the best value.
AS far as I know all the rear seats will go Flat.
- (#9633) stephen judge, 27 Mar 04 15:00
Hello Joe,
Its a wise person that is concerned about overheating, but it isn't something to fear. True there are a lot of FAQ's related to overheating here and on Ace Answers, but to put it in to proportion, there are also hundreds of these Aces all over the country.
They can overheat for many reasons and whilst its probably true that a blown head gasket will cause overheating, it doesn't automatically follow that if its overheating it must be the head gasket. The common belief is that overheating is likely to happen at some stage sooner or later. For some of us it comes all to soon and turns out to be the worst case scenario, whilst others have carried on for years and still no overheating.
For my part I bought a good Ace from a dealer as a direct import, and the head gasket blew after only 9 months. Ok it cost the fat end of £1,000 to fix it, but it hasn't put me off, I even went and got a second one!
All models have seats that fold down to create a bed, but if you are going to sleep in it regularly then I would steer clear of the Townace Royal Lounge, or Masterace Super Custom. They have very comfortable brushed velour seats to sit on, but are about the most uncomfortable thing I have ever tried to sleep on.
If you are anywhere near Bournemouth and would like some help, let me know.
Regards
dave Bright
- (#9633) dave Bright (Bournemouth), 28 Mar 04 01:58
Joe,
If you are near Bristol and would like to crawl over my Ace let me know.
- (#9633) Clive (Bristol), 28 Mar 04 02:21
I agree with all of the above. I have not had mine very long, but being a mechanic I have gone over it pretty thoroughly and cannot fault the cooling system at all. It doesn't overheat and leaks not a drop. I did have a couple of small faults to sort out, but believe me, any second hand car can turn out to be a nightmare. I really like the very clever use of space in these vehicles, and the specs are far better than you would find in any comparable european van even for twice the price.
- (#9633) John Shaw, 28 Mar 04 05:02
I've only spent one night in my Royal Lounge and I agree that you would need more than a sleeping bag to overcome the discomfort of the sculptured shape of the seats.
On the other hand, especially if two are sleeping, there is the issue of where to put everything and the gap between the two RL middle seats does at least provide a "locker" space. Another point is that, at 5' 9" I found I didn't need to fold the back seats down at all - leaving all the stowage available behind them. My feet were relatively comfortable on the bench/engine cover (behind the front seats).
- (#9633) Dave (Sussex), 29 Mar 04 08:17
hi we & our baby slept in our ace for a 2 week hol last year, flat seats & a blow up double air bed on top of them. plenty of room & very comfy. the older kids had the tent! you couldn't do that in your average people carrier! aces are well ....ace!!!!!!!!!
- (#9633) sandra (Lincs), 29 Mar 04 13:24