Bailey Electrical Sockets

[PaulT]

This seems to be a recurring theme!! I've asked Bailey parts the following question but have had no reply. Again. can any forum members enlighten me.

I want to fit an extra 12v socket in my Cartegena 3. Bailey parts list two that are suitable. 1010157 which has 12 volt, satellite and tv sockets and is priced at £5.94. There is also part 1010190 which only has 12 volt and satellite sockets and is priced at £22.13. It would seem that the cheaper one offers everything I need for nearly a quarter of the price but why is there such a price difference?

 

[Damian]

No idea.

 

[paws]

According to the online parts catalogue, the cheaper version is only for the Unicorn model and so may need an adapter to fit your van...

https://www.bailey-parts.co.uk/ProductList.aspx?CategoryID=140&SubCatId=140b&Page=4
I would be inclined to try contacting Bailey again and see what they say.
Regards
paws

 

[Dustydog]

Paws
Good news for Paul.his is a Unicorn s2 Cartagena

 

[PaulT]

No idea.

What was the point of this post?

Thanks Paws - I did say that mine was a Cartegena 3, should have said Unicorn Cartegena 3

Thanks Dusty, just changed from a 2 to a 3, have now changed "signature"

Just ordered the cheaper one, we'll see if it does the job.

 

[ProfJohnL]

No idea.

What was the point of this post?......................

I'm sorry Paul,

I could say the same about your reply. You asked a question and one of the most respected members who also has a wealth of professional experience with caravan maintenance and spares was simply responding to it.

It's most likely that no one on the forum can provide the answer to your question. Perhaps you should ask Bailey, after all its they who are selling the part and may, (but its unlikely), be prepared to justify the difference in price.

 

[PaulT]

Sorry, bit tetchy this morning, I've got the flu which is normal when I get back from the UK. I just didn't see the point to a dismissive reply which gave no useful information.

 

[Chalky9]

Sorry, bit tetchy this morning, I've got the flu which is normal when I get back from the UK. I just didn't see the point to a dismissive reply which gave no useful information.

I hage to agree with you. It doesn't matter how knowledgeable and revered the member is, if he doesn't have a useful response he should not be posting. AND he's a moderator - not setting a very good example to other members.

( Yes, I realise that I am not contributing anything to the OP's question, so really no better than the person to whom I am referring, but I'm not a mod.)

 

[Dustydog]

Sorry, bit tetchy this morning, I've got the flu which is normal when I get back from the UK. I just didn't see the point to a dismissive reply which gave no useful information.

I hage to agree with you. It doesn't matter how knowledgeable and revered the member is, if he doesn't have a useful response he should not be posting. AND he's a moderator - not setting a very good example to other members.

( Yes, I realise that I am not contributing anything to the OP's question, so really no better thapn the person to whom I am referring, but I'm not a mod.)

Chalky
That's a very ill judged comment you make.
One of our most revered and all fountain of knowledge caravan experts told you he didn't know why Bailey had different pricing. Why should He know?
A Mods life is like the unsung hero.
Most really don't know how hard they do work to keep the forum going.

 

[RayS]

Not sure why you would buy electrical sockets from a caravan builder rather than from someone like Toolstation or Screwfix at a much lower price, or from caravan accessory suppliers if exact match is important. Assuming that if buying sockets you will be fitting yourself which implies a degree of technical ability, so should be able to select accordingly.

Secondly, although I'm sure they don't really need it, must add to the support expressed for the Mods. and ask you to understand just how much effort they put in.
Some years ago i served a term as a Mod along with Damian and Steve but had to give it up for various personal readons. I was completely taken aback at the demands on time and tolerance required, plus understanding of the then websie structure and administration.
We strongly resisted a move to make moderation before publicatin the norm, which we felt would have been a retrograde step, and I can assue you there is still a lot of unseen effort being expended to maintain and improve the service.
Please remember the Mods are not Haymarket employees and give freely of their time and expertise for the befit of us all.

 

[Chalky9]

"Chalky
That's a very ill judged comment you make.
One of our most revered and all fountain of knowledge caravan experts told you he didn't know why Bailey had different pricing. Why should He know?
A Mods life is like the unsung hero.
Most really don't know how hard they do work to keep the forum going."

I don't care if he is the Pope.

If you don't know the answer to a question, don't post "don't know", leave it to someone who does know, or at least has some constructive comment to make.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Chalky,

You are correct that Damian's role as a moderator has no bearing on this thread, but his professional opinion does.

Please remember this is a public forum and any accredited member is able to post their views on a subject.. I can interpret Damian's response in two ways, its up to him if he wants to elaborate, but for my two pennyworth:-

His reply may have been a rhetorical one, just as if he had been answering a mate's question in the pub. But equally it could be based on his experience of the parts Pault mentioned and in his professional opinion he could be commenting that he could see no reason for the price difference based on what he had seen of the parts.

Its my opinion based on the description the physical differences between the two parts does not justify the price difference. I know the cost of an satellite aerial connector purchased even purchased in small numbers is less than £1, and the cost of fitting it to the standard part would again not exceed £1 inc. all production over heads. Now add a 100% profit margin for the additional parts that's a total additional cost of no more than £4 retail price Perhaps Bailey have made a mistake in their pricing, but only Bailey could answer that.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

If the OP asked the question face-to-face to a group of people I expect more than one to have said "don't know". A forum is no different.

 

[Chalky9]

If the OP asked the question face-to-face to a group of people I expect more than one to have said "don't know". A forum is no different.

A forum is quite different to a face-to-face conversation when it comes to asking and answering questions. In this situation it is akin to a teacher and his pupils. The teacher asks the class a question: if a child then sticks his hand up, the teacher does not expect the child to say "Don't know". He expects the pupils who know the answer to put their hands up and those who don't to keep quiet.

 

[Gafferbill]

......if PaulT is having the cheaper part delivered by Bailey to France then even that part is not so cheap!!

Bailey's minimum delivery charge to France is £20 hmy:

 

[PaulT]

Not sure why you would buy electrical sockets from a caravan builder rather than from someone like Toolstation or Screwfix at a much lower price, or from caravan accessory suppliers if exact match is important. Assuming that if buying sockets you will be fitting yourself which implies a degree of technical ability, so should be able to select accordingly.

.

I wanted the sockets to match exactly what was in there already complete with mounting plates and surround. It wasn't that expensive as I've bought the cheaper one. Also, the caravan cost in excess of £20k, why not get the matching sockets?

GafferBill - I'm getting the parts delivered to a friend in the UK who is coming out soon so only paid the UK delivery charge.

 

[Gafferbill]

GafferBill - I'm getting the parts delivered to a friend in the UK who is coming out soon so only paid the UK delivery charge.

.........that sounds like my sort of cunning plan

 

[PaulT]

Its my opinion based on the description the physical differences between the two parts does not justify the price difference. I know the cost of an satellite aerial connector purchased even purchased in small numbers is less than £1, and the cost of fitting it to the standard part would again not exceed £1 inc. all production over heads. Now add a 100% profit margin for the additional parts that's a total additional cost of no more than £4 retail price Perhaps Bailey have made a mistake in their pricing, but only Bailey could answer that.

My original point was that the part which gave you more, i.e 12 volt, satellite and tv aerial point is nearly a quarter the price of the one which gives you only satellite and 12 volt sockets. In other words you're paying a lot more and getting less so Prof's comments are irrevelent.

As a matter of interest, I did email Bailey again but received no reply.

 

[PaulT]

GafferBill - I'm getting the parts delivered to a friend in the UK who is coming out soon so only paid the UK delivery charge.

.........that sounds like my sort of cunning plan

Of course.......!

 

[Damian]

Well, it seems that telling the truth to a question is now frowned upon and causes a storm in a "D" cup.
Despite having been a Bailey Approved Service Agent until retirement last year, Bailey for some obscure reason saw fit not to divulge their pricing strategy to all and sundry.
Maybe it was called commercial sensitivity.
I can guarantee that if you asked every single person who attended the PCV rally, or the hundreds of thousands of people who attended football matches in the last few months, none of them would know the answer to the original question, and my reply was just the kind of reply that would have been forthcoming from even a whole meeting of all the caravan manufacturers together without a Bailey representative.
I do apologise to Paul if he took the reply the wrong way.

As for other posters negative comments, apart from pursuing the obvious displeasure and jumping on some kind of crusade, he has not provided an answer to the question either.
To make comparisons with my being a Moderator and that posting is ridiculous.
When I post as a Moderator it is always in RED , all other posts are as any other forum user and should be treated as such.
As for comparing me to the Pope, whilst it may be very gracious, it is another throw away comment and I can assure everyone that I am far from being as good as my Pope is, which is why I have accepted my position in life and quite enjoy where I am thank you.
As for being likened to a school child being asked a question , if I was ever asked a question by one of my teachers which I did not know the answer to, I had no hesitation in saying I have no idea.
I did not try and have a "stab in the dark" and come up with a totally wrong answer and yes, it did upset some teachers as it proved that they had failed in their task of teaching me, and others.

I will now dress in Sackcloth and Ashes and flagellate myself with hawthorn twigs for being so awful as to say I did not know what Bailey pricing policy was, or is.
I will however polish up my Crystal Balls in an attempt to call upon "other" forces to elicit replies to spurious questions.

P.S Paul, I am glad you have sorted out getting the bits you require and that they are what you need.

 

[PaulT]

I read Damian's reply and agreed with most of it and accept that I was feeling a bit tetchy when I sent my original reply. That was until the penultimate paragraph. My original question was a serious one - not linked in with pricing strategy. I honestly wanted to know if there was a difference between the cheap and expensive switches. Were there safety issues for instance? If there had have been, or there was some other relevent point, then I would have bought the expensive version.

To imply that my question was a "spurious one" is insulting to say the least. Yes,Damian, I have ordered the parts but I'm no nearer to knowing why one is nearly 4 times the price of the other.

 

[Parksy]

....... I have ordered the parts but I'm no nearer to knowing why one is nearly 4 times the price of the other.

At the risk of bringing down chalk clouds of condemnation upon myself and joining Damian in his suit of sackcloth and ashes I have to confess that I don't know for sure why the Bailey product is nearly 4 times more expensive.
What I do know for sure is that Bailey Caravans are certified by the National Caravan Council and they comply with codes of practice relating to health and safety issues. Bailey caravans also carry European Whole Vehicle Type Approval.
As the excerpt from Bailey owners manuals below shows, electrical items are included in the certification.
This should go some way to demonstrating that there are no safety issues involved when purchasing electrical equipment supplied by Bailey Caravans in comparison to other non-Bailey items.
My personal opinion based on touring caravan ownership is that anything and everything associated with the word 'caravan' comes at a premium price and provides enormous mark ups for the end supplier.

All Bailey Caravans have been certified by the National Caravan Council for compliance with UK and
European Standards and Legislation
along with industry Codes of
Practice relating to health and
safety issues. The approval process
covers the testing and inspection of critical areas of the
product from fire safety, weights and dimensions, to gas,
electrics and ventilation. Every Bailey Caravan carries
the “NCC Approved Caravan” badge. The NCC conducts
unannounced inspections at their members’ factories to
ensure continued compliance.
NCC Approval gives you peace of mind that your Caravan
is legal and safe.
Your Bailey Caravan is European Whole Vehicle Type
Approved.
This assures you that your Caravan meets all European
regulations and has been constructed to conform to
these rigorous standards for both manufacturing and
product safety.

 

[PaulT]

I think you are missing the point - both items come from Bailey Parts.