By Chris Littley
Throughout the CaravanTimes’ Classic Gold series, we’ve seen some much loved models come under scrutiny, but today we’re looking at a motorhome that failed to impress. In fact, back in 2014, our reviewer was driven to despair by the Sterling Eccles Jewel. So, was she just unlucky or did other owners of this caravan have similar experiences?
Barbara Feather gave the Sterling Eccles Jewel just one star out of five for an overall rating, but what could possibly warrant such a response? She said: “Whenever we arrived at our destination, I would open the door with trepidation, wondering which bit would have fallen off this time.” Oh dear!
First it was the shower, with the door falling off not once but twice, and then she was concerned for the microwave, which looked like it might fall out at any moment. And it seems like the plastic trim was not good at staying in place either, with pieces coming off with every trip.
If it sounds like things couldn’t get any worse, Ms Feather goes into more detail, with the oven door falling off and the toilet fill light not working reliably. She elaborates on this caravan farce, stating: “But the crowning disaster was when the hitch lost the two of the three bolts holding it onto the chassis at less than three years old.”
At this point we can see why our reviewer might have given the Sterling Eccles Jewel such a harsh rating. Did the model have any redeeming features? Ms Feather did like the layout and the locker space, but opted to trade the caravan in for something else, as it obviously failed to meet her needs.
Did you ever own a Sterling Eccles Jewel? And if so, did you experience the same litany of disasters as our reviewer? We’d love to know your thoughts.
