quote,with the Alu-Tec design, don't hear reports of cracked panels in them
no but there are a number of them leaking.imho the cracks are stress cracks caused by oversized panels or poor assembly on the fitted panels.look at the amount of compression used where the awning rail meets the front or rear panel.not intentional but the strain is built in,as gary says unbalanced wheels could do it or as i think going over a bumpy road is all that is required to crack the panel.or maybe when you are pushing or pulling the van onto a pitch by the handles.2005 to 2007 was a bad year for bailey on cracked panels.not confined to bailey though as swift are having same problems.Avondale caravans had a major problem with cracks before the went bust.believe the panels are now made by big bear plastics now.
Post last edited on 20/12/2011 17:29:07
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
This is not a new thing with Bailey vans I have a 2004 Ranger which had cracks in the front panel over the window the van was out of warantee so I had to folk out for the repairs myself over £2000.Ian
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my van is static for most of the year it is only moved to take it for a service and yes out of warrenty the repair would cost over £2000 per panel and both the back and front have gone on mine, its a scary thought and if buying another van i would be on the lookout, some of the cracks were so tiny hairline but definatly cracks if you didn't know what to look for they could easily be missed, so any buyers please be aware
Our on the back wasn't a stress crack it was a definate split/crack about 5/6 inches crossways, at the top just under the light. you could push the panel in an put your finger in it.
It must have gone all of a sudden while it was static as we took the cover off one weekend (we would have seen it) and by the friday it was there.
We were told that the new panels now come pre-drilled, the original ones were put on by drilling straight through the panel this probably fractured the material and caused the cracks later on.
There have been a lot of possible causes and at first they seemed to blame the manufacturer of the panels but I think in truth no one really knows.
Bailey brushed it under the carpet with the RUSHED launch of the new alutec but I feel so sorry for anyone who has bought one a few years old, has no knowledge of this, and not got the original warranty. I think knowing they had this problem Bailey should have warned people to be aware of it and replace panels on vans that have cracked even without warranty.....it was their faulty, design/manufacture.
How awful to get your lovely 'new to you' 4/5 year van and then have a bill for all those repairs. We were one of the lucky ones if you can call it that!
Sorry rant over.....first and last van I shall ever be able to afford and still paying for it so it grates....
Quote: Originally posted by neil and lena on 21/12/2011
Quote: Originally posted by manda82 on 21/12/2011the above is exactly how we feel first van we treated ourselves to brand new what a dissapointment
You bought the van brand new in 2006 so its approximately
5 years and xx months old , is this the first major problem you had with it ?
Don't know about Manda82, ours is 2007, we had issues from start, our panels were at 3 and 3 1/2 years think 2 panel in that time is too soon, infact I think 2 panels at ANYTIME through no fault of our own is too soon.
Had old vans before for years and not had any problems like this.
We had a Bessacar before the Bailey had it for 10 years and wish we still had it the Bailey is no way near the same quality and with the cracks in the front panal it took all the shine from the Bailey but since the repair we have had no prolems.Ian
no we have had issuses with the oven throughout it blows out when it is windy, they tried to deal with it throughout the 3 years of warrenty but have never cured it, they put some baffle plates under the floor and it is a bit better but it is still not right. that is now out of warrenty so they don't wanna know. The cracks appeared at less than 4 yrs it has taken them this long to get the van in to repair it!! The van is static but i'm sure if we towed it around the cracks and there were several would have been 5/6inch as some of the above have reported. It doesn't matter wether its one or five years old this is a major repair that is havin to be done to these vans and should not be taken lightly.
Although I do have to say our previous Bailey van late 90's was brilliant and I wish we still had that at 8 yrs old we never had any problems, everything is made so cheap and nasty now
Why is everyone so surprised at this problem, Bailey vans have been cracking ever since they changed from hand built to production line despite all the hype their quality would not change. Then Avondales started getting the same problems and probably went bust because of it I agree with Gary the caravan industry should have this sorted by now If they were actually interested in their customers