150 mins to build a van

[Steve L]

I read with interest today in our latest PC mag about how it only takes 150 mins to build your average caravan.

No wonder all you guys and gals who have vans less that 5 years old going back to have the leaks and malfunctions fixed under the manufacturers extended guarantee system.

150 Mins is so fast that no person could physically check all the details, like sealant behind light fittings, a roof seal strip in place, use glue as well as staples (nails and screws are rare, etc, etc.

Ok so the industry has to grow with demand, but not at the expence of the consumer.

I'd wager now that none of todays vans would stand up to the stick my 25 year old Link 575 has, and there is still plenty of life in her yet.

Just think how we hate flat pack furniature for it's inadequate fixings and lack of longevity. Now study the mag pics and write up. Then please tell me the difference?

I'll buy a 6 year old van thankyou, because by then all the problems will of been sorted at the heart ache and expence of the previous owner and his/her guarantee form.

Steve.

 

[BeemerMal]

Unfortunately what you say is a sad fact these days. The objective is to maximise profit and in doing so they minimise the labour costs to the bare minimum. I think the dealers should be more aggresive towards the manufacturers because they are the ones who bear the complaints from customers. But, of course warranty work, carried out by the dealer, is also an added income for them....so they are unlikely to bite the hand that feeds them!

We have caravanned for many years and been loyal to UK built models and our first brand new van was in 2000 (Elddis) We had few problems other than a broken Jockey wheel that the dealer replaced.

Our second new caravan (2005 Abbey Spectrum) has had a few issues the dealer needed to sort out on the first service and it has been back to them twice for faults to be rectified (faulty alarm and a broken washroom sink (very thin plastic that cracked on the waste joint).

However, on top of the dealer repairs I have carried out many "running repairs" of my own, Toilet door came off its runners on our first outing, 2 drawers fell apart, (I fitted more robust fittings to all drawers) wardrobe door would not shut, sticking roof blind, loose mirror, and all this for

 

[Garfield]

Our first caravan was a 1983 swift cottingham which was bought as a basket case and rebuilt then rebuilt again after a tree fell on it, last year we bought a 2001 Lunar Gemini that had been bumped at the back and we repaired it ourselves so I got to know the structure of both vans intimately, how the newer van stays together is beyond me!!!, it is absolutely true that if you take the cabinets out of a caravan it will fold up!

 

[Alan Partridge]

There's a video here of the CC training caravans being built at Bailey's. Note how the internal furniture and fittings are built on to the floor, then the walls and roof are added.

http://www.caravansbristolfashion.co.uk

 

[Lutz]

I think what they mean is that a caravan comes off the line every 150 minutes, not that it takes 150 minutes to build one. For comparison, cars come off the production line about every 55 seconds but it takes about 25-40 hours to build one from scratch.

 

[cris_408518]

About 8 years ago I went to a caravan and motorhome builder for a client, east of yorkshire I think it was. Can't remember the name, but near a town that flooded badly

Some of the staff would have taken 150 minutes to walk around a van. All the cupboards and stuff were hand built, and building the side wall frames muust have taken that long.

They turned out 3 to 4 outfits a day so Lutz is probably right.

 

[rayc]

in 1997 I bought a brand new Pageant Magenta for

 

[Lutz]

Not necessarily, Ray. Productivity could have increased.

 

[rayc]

Lutz, I am sure that modern production methods and squeezes on dealer margins have a considerable bearing on the price differential being low compared with 10 years ago. I don't think that is the whole story though. I do not own a Bailey Pageant now, but when I get a chance to look at one at a show or dealers they do not appear, to me at any rate, to be up to the quality of the Magenta that I owned.

On the subject of prices I brought a new 1990 Elddis Hurricane XL for approx

 

[Lutz]

Compared to what the Continentals are paying for their caravans, in many cases you are still paying over the odds, even today.

 

[rayc]

Compared to what the Continentals are paying for their caravans, in many cases you are still paying over the odds, even today.

It's not called "rip off Britain" for nothing- par for the course. I would stake my pension, {assuming it is still there}, on it that there is no thief in any continental government like Gordon Brown.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Ray we had a 1996 Pageant Magenta new just before Bailey reduced the prices .

Last year the new owners drew up next to us at Moffat and there were less dents on the Magenta(we had it for 5 years) then on our then caravan the Ace Jubilee Statesman.

The aluminium side panels certainly seemed thicker and less prone to marking with awning poles etc

 

[Steve L]

You may well be right Lutz.

On a production line the cycle build time is based on the operation that takes the longest time to complete. Thus the track speed is adjusted to allow that task to be finished.

But by reading the text of the mag you will find that that is not final inspection that takes the longest time by far.

I wonder just how many times these days, a dealer starts his PDI check and has to stop it due to major faults?

I still hold the point of view that extended warrantee's are a bargaining chip tendered by manufacturers to avoid customers taking them to court to prove poor workmanship. You see in the eyes of the law, if you provide reasonable assurance of repair of a failed product for a reasonable length of time, then you are seen as a responsible manufacturer.

Steve.

 

[Lutz]

Compared to what the Continentals are paying for their caravans, in many cases you are still paying over the odds, even today.

In fairness, you can't blame Gordon Brown in this case. The real reason is that there is less competition in the UK for large consumer products like cars and caravans. On the Continent it's easier to zip off across into another country if prices there are cheaper. I also get the impression, although I may be wrong here, that UK caravan manufacturers are quite happy with the status quo and rather complacent because there is relatively little pressure from outside.

 

[Marc1]

Four or five years ago I attended an open day at Carlights factory in Sleaford. The differance between the craftsman approach and the modern prodution line methods we see in ther media says it all. Unfortunatly that quality comes at a price and is often beyond the pursestrings of the majority. I can only hope that some of the controls that the higher cost vans have in their production will be taken up by the mass production firms.

Marc

 

[ChrisB2]

I have heard from a bloke that services static vans that they are put together in approx 25 mins.

 

[Ogre]

This is why Forums like this should get the FULL SUPPORT of Practical Caravan.

Why on earth should we be buying caravans that have not been put together properly?

Why should we pay for lousy workmanship?

Who wants to spend hard-earned money on garbage?

It's simply not good enough for these manufacturers to be led by swivel eyed little accountants (detestable specimens most of them), who in the main, are only interested in profits.

VOTE WITH YOUR FEET.

Name and Shame. It's the ONLY way to make these companies listen. PC should not let them hide.

They should shame them, with road-tests which show the whole van.....Warts and all!!

Hit them in the pocket, and they will soon wake up.

 

[Lol1]

Like the British motor industry did, Keith?

Just a thought.