Want to see what the Explorer Group has in store for its Elddis, Compass, Xplore and Buccaneer caravans for 2018? Please click here.
2018 Explorer Group vans
- Thread starter LizziePope
- Start date
They do appear to be very well designed and are impressive to look at. I would need to know that Hymer have tackled the quality issues though before I would buy one.
Damian
Moderator
Quote " The Explorer Group was bought by the Erwin Hymer Group in February but, as Managing Director Rob Quine pointed out at this year’s launch, it had already finished its decision-making on the new season by mid-December, so there are no signs of German input yet."
That will be a NO then Ray !!!
That will be a NO then Ray !!!
Damien, I took it the quote meant into the design rather than anything else which to my mind is some of the best of the UK companies. Given the Explorer Groups dismal showing in the PC readers surveys then you would hope that the new owners would be concentrating on getting the build standard up rather than tweeking what are already good designs,
Until Hymer tackle the management structure the van structures won't change.
Are Hymer and other foreign brands really that much better than UK vans anyway or is the quality just a perceived better quality?
Are Hymer and other foreign brands really that much better than UK vans anyway or is the quality just a perceived better quality?
A valid point Martin.Martin24 said:
Our Bosch washing machine and Miele dishwasher have served us well for many years. Excellent German engineering. However the VW debacle on emissions has clouded the issues. Plus I read in the press recently that the German motor industry is a very long way behind the rest of the world developing alternative fuelled vehicles.
Do Hymer still use timber construction?
I long came to the conclusion most caravans will leak at some time but we don't hear of many Hymer or Burstner failures
Maybe the Germans use a more advanced adhesive and their construction methods are less slapdash than the UK :woohoo: :evil:
BTW Sir Sproket's Hymer is very well built and sturdy. Have a look when you see him.
Despite not having a continental caravan I do think the build quality in some is better but that tends to come with a weight penalty. They all use the same appliances as ours though, so I can see the problems with them still appearing, and I cannot get my head round the idea of a fixed bed at the front, it defies all logic.
Martin24 said:
Hello Martin,
There is certainly a widely held view that continental caravans (esp the German brands) are better made than most UK products.
Whether it's justified or not is open to debate.
There are fewer of them being used in the UK, so if they were having the same failure rates then by simple proportions of the numbers sold in the UK we would see fewer reports about continental manufacturers.
It is several years since I attended any of the caravan shows, but when I did go, I was always very impressed with the quality of finish that the continental manufacturers were displaying, little things like rounded edges on projecting furniture, the perceived quality of the veneers (no peeling joints), Taps always seemed to be more robust, it was the attention to detail that always impressed me. However It was likely the manufacturers were showing only their best export models, so again the details I picked upon may not be so present in their bread and butter models.
But the has been one foreign manufacture selling more basic models for a longtime Adria. I have seen several of them being used, and in general they did seem to last well - except, their outward appearance of looked less good - but looks can be deceiving, of the four people I knew personally who had Adria's nothing but praise for them.
So I do think there was something in the general perception, Continental caravans did seem to have a better reliability record than equivalent sized UK made ones, but I cant really comment on product younger than about 5 Years.
I wouldn't fly in an aircraft designed and built to German DIN standards for the same reason a twin screw mixing extruder was rejected
for the same reason a twin screw mixing extruder was rejected 
I hope the 2018 caravans are better than junk they were flogging in 2015 and 2016. I now know of 4 other people who have also rejected their Buccaneer caravans and with us that makes it 5 so there must be a lot more out there. I have not heard of people having major issues with the 2017 Buccaneer models yet so maybe there is hope for the 2018 models. We are still fighting for a refund on our rejected caravan but in the meantime we are paying the repayments, the insurance and the storage fees!
Dusty, I just hope the germans get the new car right, that'll do me! :cheer:
Prof, I agree whole heartedly, the ones I have seen at the shows have seemed better but the main thing is the construction methods and I don't really know enough about that at the moment. My brother in law had an Adria motorhome which he sold following damp issues.
Prof, I agree whole heartedly, the ones I have seen at the shows have seemed better but the main thing is the construction methods and I don't really know enough about that at the moment. My brother in law had an Adria motorhome which he sold following damp issues.
DianneT said:
According to Elddis's own web page,
http://www.elddis.co.uk/hub/article/343/the-explorer-group-ltd-becomes-erwin-hymer-group-uk-ltd
"Erwin Hymer Group acquires The Explorer Group Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of motorhomes and caravans in the UK."
That is not a merger but a buy out. However the Elddis name will probably continue as its a well established brand in the UK. Though on second thoughts Truma buried the Carver name in caravan accessories market.
EDIT
The page is very clear as it also states
"manufacturer of motorhomes and caravans, and the Constantine Group PLC, an investment company with its registered office near London (UK), have agreed that the Erwin Hymer Group will acquire 100% of the shares of The Explorer Group Ltd., including all of its subsidiaries."
Parksy
Moderator
Dustydog said:Do Hymer still use timber construction?
I long came to the conclusion most caravans will leak at some time but we don't hear of many Hymer or Burstner failures
Maybe the Germans use a more advanced adhesive and their construction methods are less slapdash than the UK :woohoo: :evil:
BTW Sir Sproket's Hymer is very well built and sturdy. Have a look when you see him.
Sprocket told me that he'd rebuilt the floor at the back of his caravan DD, so it's probably a lot sturdier now than it was originally.
I'm not convinced that continental caravans are significantly better than current UK models, I just don't think we find out about the issues that regularly. affect the continental models.
I agree that given the small numbers of continental caravans sold over hear you are less likely to hear of problems. We have looked at show models of them though and they do feel more robust and leaks are generally down to poor quality control so if the continentals firms have that then leaks should be less of a problem.
Raywood said:
We looked at a Knaus Starclass with transverse bed layout. It is well built but comes at a high price of over £30k with no ALDE heating, chest of drawers, alarm and tracker, no onboard tank, no aerial distribution system, no aerial etc. When we tried to pull down the skyscape blind in front, it fell apart. Also strangely enough all the blinds on the windows only came to the to of the bottom of the window. So with the blind down, if you got on your haunches you could see out under the blind. In the morning it would be like daylight in the caravan!
We have looked at Knaus caravans and the body seems to be built like a tank. The weight though would put us off, and the lack of standard equipment at that price is almost beyond belief. We did however look at the smaller models, and the lack of Alde heating would not make any difference in those, as the Truma system is well up to the job. I do think on many models the Alde is fitted more to make the caravan appear better rather than there being any real benefit. Did not try the blinds though so cannot comment on that one but it sounds like a major error.
Facebook
Twitter