Feeling a lot of negative vibes out there!This is how my mind works...I am assuming that everybody on this forum has something in common with me..we all enjoy the great outdoors.We might have a different way of doing things.. but we are all looking for the same end result. I CHOOSE to use a tent...nothing against caravans or owners and I am also assuming that we have all worked hard to finance our "hobby".So..be it caravan-tent-campervan-trailertent or whatever...I do not mind sharing my knowledge with anybody and sincerely hope it might help you from making a costly mistake.My friends ask advice regarding outfits-sites etc and I am only to happy to help. There is a problem with Swift vans at the moment and I think a new thread asking for owners to comment with a one line answer would show this. Something like Model-Year-Damp area.I wont be asking as it doesnt really affect me--I would be interested in the results though.Whilst on the subject....big problems surfacing with Bailey alutech..cracks appearing at floor level and letting in water...or is this just another spurious claim...message from mars etc. Just trying to help..make your own mind up-Im off back to my camping page
Without naming names but sadly we have heard bad news about 2013 Elddis and Swift vans from a reliable source, so i have now lost confidence in both and we are ready to buy as well. How ridiculous in this day and age that I am afraid to buy a brand new caravan from most manufacturers because of the risk of manufacturing faults.
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Not heard anything about Elddis vans and our new 2013 Swift Conqueror is as dry as a bone and well built. There were problems with some 2011 vans from Swift and that also applies to some Bailey vans. I know because I had one.
Haven't heard any reports on 2013 Swift or Bailey vans leaking but who knows?
Lots of unfounded rumours flying about so you have to make up your own mind.
Quote: Originally posted by BRYANMITCH on 23/6/2013
Feeling a lot of negative vibes out there!
Hardly suprising really when you suggest to folk that the caravan they have just paid £18k for is likely to be faulty based just on you returning a few to the factory...
...But I see you poor old caravan transporter drivers now have to slum it in a sleeper cab. Yr ago in the days of Ford D1000s the drivers would kip in the caravan for the night...
Looking back through automotive history, there were always complaints of bad builds until the use of robots on the line helped to automate as much of the work as possible. The only way this became possible was due to the amount of vehicles being made.
Unfortunately, caravans are a small-numbers build and remain a very manual process. Problems are always going to creep in unfortunately, irrespective of the company involved. The only hope is that any issues are highlighted in the QA process and fixed before issuing to sales.
I am one of those who has had to think long & hard about whether or not to get a caravan given the issues reported on so many forums. In the end we decided to get a van that was a couple of years old, based on the premise that any build issues would have been found by then and hopefully remedied. Would I be willing to risk £20k on what is almost a lottery with a new van? Not for me, thanks.
What a load of old tripe I read. it seems people don't like it when others but new caravans ! ! . what ever you buy new that his made by human hands you may get problems. like a new house for example guarantee there will be minor issues. I say stop scaring people with pointless posts like this.
Rant over :)
------------- Loads of CC sites to many to mention.
You only ever hear the bad ones reported, how many are sold every year, hundreds? The happy far outweigh the bad. Sadly there will always be issues with some things, wether it be caravans cars houses bikes you name it. It shouldn't happen but it does, and that's life.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Nice one Jack+Jon...I served my time when the truck was a bull-nosed bedford with a petrol engine..way before posh trucks like your ford d series.I would be a bit miffed these days if I were to collect my new 20k caravan and be told not to worry about "those dirty marks" on the beds..it,ll just be where the dirty-oily-sweaty truckers were sleeping when they delivered it!....But on a serious note...this isnt about a "few" caravans...we are talking about massive amounts! No-body wants to think they have been "HAD"...Most owners seen to be in denial...not My caravan.I wish all caravanners well...they pay my wages!Just have a good look around--check for damp--get it sorted before your warranty runs out!!!If any major manufacturer was to announce a major recall of 1000,s of vans due to a serious problem...the public might lose a bit of confidence in them for the next few years...hence the quiet approach. P.S will now have to change my i.d. for obvious reasons.
Hmm this what we were told about swift massive problem but as of yet not admitted it and very low key. Shame as I think we'd have bought Swift this time too, but source was exceptionally reliable.
Quote: Originally posted by gilb29 on 23/6/2013What a load of old tripe I read. it seems people don't like it when others but new caravans ! ! . what ever you buy new that his made by human hands you may get problems. like a new house for example guarantee there will be minor issues. I say stop scaring people with pointless posts like this.
Rant over :)
no need for shoddy build quality in a 20 k caravan.what if it was your 20k with mushrooms growing out of the floor and mouldy blankets for bed time,nice.there is a lot of working hours in 20 k.they can build them correctly if they want too.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Quote: Originally posted by gilb29 on 23/6/2013
What a load of old tripe I read. it seems people don't like it when others but new caravans ! ! . what ever you buy new that his made by human hands you may get problems. like a new house for example guarantee there will be minor issues. I say stop scaring people with pointless posts like this.
Rant over :)
+1....... I so agree. I have a 10 year water ingress warranty with my new Swift van providing i have it serviced and checked once a year by a recognised service engineer. Fair enough by me then
Quote: Originally posted by gilb29 on 23/6/2013What a load of old tripe I read. it seems people don't like it when others but new caravans ! ! . what ever you buy new that his made by human hands you may get problems. like a new house for example guarantee there will be minor issues. I say stop scaring people with pointless posts like this.
Rant over :)
+1....... I so agree. I have a 10 year water ingress warranty with my new Swift van providing i have it serviced and checked once a year by a recognised service engineer. Fair enough by me then
This is why choosing your dealer as carefully as your caravan is so important though. These manufacturers will try and wriggle out of it if they can and you really need your dealer to fight your corner for you. We had some very minor warranty issues which Lunar tried to charge us for but our dealer successfully negotiated us out of it. At least Swift are taking the faulty vans back I guess, rather than leaving the owners high and dry - no pun intended!
Very happy with our 2013 Elddis Crusader, the new solid build and feels it, had it since December and been all over, so far so good, would love some evidence from the person claiming Elddis have issues, particularly given the revolutionary new build process, like to read it if that is true
As has already been said caravan manufacture is very much a manual process and mistakes will sometimes be made. These mistakes will cause a small percentage of caravans to leak or fail in some way. All manufacturers will suffer from these types of fault. Most of these types of problem are probably fixable by the dealer.
The more worrying scenario is when a manufacturer changes something in their build process which then causes problems later in the van's life. For example, the manufacturer may change the formula for the sealant (either due to a cost saving or they feel it is a better product). In this scenario it doesn't matter how diligent the workforce are as they are working with a faulty product, and the resultant van will be faulty. Its these problems that I feel are the most worrying and will tend to affect just one manufacturer.
------------- The Chinster
Some people are just all show. I don't mind that if the show is worth watching, but .....
cant speak for other makes, but we took delivery of a 2013 swift challenger sport in march this year and so far so good. not even teething problems. we purchased it as it has a 10 yrs water ingress warranty. im not saying it will always be wonderful, ive had many cars and even some tents that have all had faults with them, but after doing my research, this was the best caravan for our family. we intend to treat it well and keep it for the full 10 years. would i buy swift again? yes, this is my second as we had a charisma before, again no problems on this 2006 model except a replacement water tap that my hubby fixed with free parts from our obliging dealer.