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Hi,

There have been numerous posts on this and other forums regarding cracks to front and/or rear panels on various makes of caravan, a very serious and expensive issue.

I wonder if somone could enlighten me?

Do they happen on both GRP and ABS panels, is one material more prone to failure?

When did they change from GRP to ABS, and for what reason?

Where on the van, and how long does it take for these cracks to appear?

Then finally do we know the reasons for said failures?

Thanks, Dave.

Cheers for that succinct and thorough reply old chap. That makes the whole can of worms a bit easier to understand. Strange though that there doesn't seem to be a recall or investigation programme to deal with any suspect units before water ingress shows itself.

ABS is an incredibly tough material, its what Lego bricks are made of. Perhaps now that they have had more experience working with it these problems will disapear in time. The company in Hull of which you speak is no more, were they the sole or main supplier to the industry and who is making them now?

Do we know if the replacements are a permanent fix, is there any likelyhood of it reappearing? Anybody had more than one of the same panel fitted?

Dave.

Apart from collision damage this must be about the biggest and most expensive repair anyone with a fairly recent caravan could encounter. It must be the leading issue that caravaners dread, especially where the warranty cover has for whatever reason ceased.

With the amount of replacements carried out by now the manufacturers who are doing this remedial work must know the root cause. It seems so unfair that there is no admission of liability when that particular criteria is discovered in a van, warranty or no warranty.

Maybe I am just being naive and its not good business practice to admit a problem but problems do happen in the real world. The true value of a company's worth is only apparent when a problem occurs and how they resolve it.

Dave.

feel sure the cracking problems finished avondale.unless you have a warranty the problem is yours attitude is wrong i my eyes.a caravan should last longer than 6 years before cracking.

hi all my ACE JUBLEE is almost 3 years old, itis going in for its 3rd service next weekend, i told them last year of a crack on the front corner of roof   where it meets the rail.was told it was OK.

i have spotted 2 more on the roof sheet but at the back ,again where it meets the awning rail should i be woried !!!!!   "advice please"

thanks a anderson

i have spotted 2 more on the roof sheet but at the back ,again where it meets the awning rail should i be woried !!!!!   "advice please"

thanks a anderson

YES if it was mine i would tell them to put it right.how can it be ok it is cracked and could let water in.

Sorry to hear that you have an impending problem with your Ace Jubilee my friend. I am personally not competent to offer much in the way of Tech Advice but my gut feeling is that you should be worried as its only going to get worse. Have you got warranty cover?

I totally agree with you Michael, how many of us here would entertain buying a caravan if we knew the outer shell would begin to crack up after say, three to six years?

In the not too distant past problems like this would happen to an individual who may just think it was bad luck that it should happen to him. The Trade of course would see a pattern develop but it probably wouldn't become public knowledge. However, with the advent of the internet and forums like this one, the buying public are much more informed and less likely to be fobbed off that it is an isolated incident and demand better treatment.

Dave.

thanks michael - dave

the caravan has full warranty for another 2months and body warranty for another 2 years+ . will see what the firm, whom i bought and have serviced from have to say. 

patch up or "new roof"  will try to let you know on here

again my thanks

andy

Thats good news old chap. I suppose this fix is much cheaper to do than a complete panel change. Was it a solution that they had worked out themselves locally or did the salesman suggest that it was the industry wide standard cure? Any more insight as to what is involved with the "cold welding", is this a very specialist technique?

Sorry to hear of your plight too Natalie, it must be extremely worrying especially as the original manufacturer is unable to help or advise you. Have you a caravan cover you can use to keep the amount of water damage to a minimum?

Dave.