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Quote: Originally posted by davie G on 15/1/2009

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Here Here averagejoe! Totally agree. I've had no problems with my 'van nor have I heard of any of my numerous UK caravan owning friends/family suffering any major problems. There may be good quality non-UK caravans which may be superior to some UK makes but I think some of the posts on this thread have gone a little over intensive and over the top. How some of the comments have been worded and styled have been quite insulting, not to the commercial operators but to the thousands of UK 'van owners who do not have any problems and who enjoy and look forward to their pastime of caravanning in their UK van. Many worship these 'vans and their lives literally revolve around their 'little second home'. They have been made to feel that their units are inferior when this is not always the case. How many thousands of UK 'van owners are satisfied with their units? Of course, as you say, we don't hear this side of the argument.

There are many sensible and fair posts regarding views of german and foreign 'vans been superior which is fair enough, people form views based on their own experience but to belittle the majority of UK 'van owners whilst getting their point over is, in my opinion, distasteful.

As long as I am happy with the product I will support British Industry everytime. Does this make me guileable? (spelling not a strong point).

davie

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I certainly hope that none of my posts have been construed as mocking or insulting toward owners of UK vans - this was certainly not my intention.

I feel genuinely sorry for the many ordinary families who have spent a great deal of money on British caravans - only to encounter damp problems within a year or two.

I know that sick feeling when damp is discovered in your pride and joy, and the difficulty in getting matters resloved by a dealer who, very often, is completely disinterested once he has your money.

As I've previously stated, I been there, and done that.

I cannot accept that these problems affect on a minority of UK vans - I've had experience of caravans for a long time and have seen so many damp and rotten UK built examples that I can't remember them all.

In the days before the internet these problems could not be widely reported - but even that fact didn't stop some makes from gaining reputations for water ingress. 

Now that we do have the ability to interact with each other it's far easier to share experiences and to (hopefully) put pressure on the industry to resolve these long standing issues.

Certainly, in the last few years people have become more aware of damp, and also aware that they are not the only ones with problems.

But no personal insult is intended,

Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 15/1/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 14/1/2009

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I would love to see an independent survey and analysis of caravans. What % of vans have minor/major faults, what is the average life, are any particular models more prone to snaking etc.

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I think the NCC have strict rules regarding caravan design and weight distribution for the internal layout and fittings.  The snaking of any van will more than likely be due to one, or a combination, of bad outfit match, incorrect loading, poor driving technique, and driving too fast in adverse conditions.

Bertie.

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Our Sterling Europa end bathroom model was very badly balanced. The spare wheel was mounted in the front locker and if it was left there the noseweight was far higher than the accepted 7% and it needed weight putting in the bathroom to bring the noseweight down to 75kgm. We also had a Conway Crusader folding camper, and that had to be very carefully balanced otherwise snaking was an issue. The camper was unlike any caravan I've had in that the tyres seemed to flex a lot and the camper could be readily rocked sideways.

Easy to always blame the driver, but IMHO some vans are more stable than others. What harm would there be to see if there is a pattern of particular makes/models/layouts being prone to snaking.

freeatlast:  I would not disagree that some vans may have a slight advatage over others where stability is concerned but, as I said previously, the NCC have strict rules and so I believe any differences would be insignificant.  And in my previous post I also forgot to include variables due to degree of maintenance.

For all the reasons given, I do not think that such research would produce a viable or reliable comparison for stability.  The vans would have to be tested in their ex-factory (unloaded) condition, and also in their loaded state. Who determines what the "loaded state" should be?  MTPLM? 

I think the manufacturers and any testing body would feel vulnerable to still further aftersales criticism when the end users found they disagreed with the test findings for their chosen van.  Not to mention legal exposure if a van rated to have poor stability was involved in a serious accident.  Neither the van makers, nor a testing body, are likely to stick their necks out for that one.

Bertie.