Bailey Olympus faults - Beware

Jun 8, 2010
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Picked up the Olympus 534 today.Many faults and I wonder if other owners have noticed the same.Also it is something for potential buyers to be aware of.

The shower door clip is pathetic.The dealer and Bailey are aware of this - it allows the door to flap about as soon as you drive off.The dealers answer - it's a common problem so put an aquaroll or similar in the shower enclosure to prevent the door from swinging about!Could you make up a more stupid suggestion? Bailey were their usual "not bothered,go away"selves.I have clipped a length of timber across the doors to hold them while I wait( I wonder how long?) for a solution.

Look at the front offside RH window catch.It is UPSIDE DOWN. Baileys answer "they do not make the correct handed catch so they ( the window manufacturers) fit the wrong one instead.It is a cost cutting exercise as the correct one is available with a stay attatched.The outer two front windows are each fitted with only one stay.Strangely,the brochure shows 2 stays - in reality there is only one and the catch on the right (from inside)points up and looks awful.

Don't try to hang a dry towel on the "antler" type hooks in the bathroom - they are useless and things fall straight off.Do these designers test anything that they impose on us?

Don't get me wrong,I love the caravan generally.What I hate is the shoddy workmanship and the fact that Bailey do not care about valid complaints.There are many other small things that I will do properly myself and I will be glad to discuss these in the forums with anybody who is interested.

Have others been affected by any of these points?
 
May 8, 2010
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Had a look at an olympus 534 the other day at a dealer and the front window seal was hanging off inside on the demo model, I hope yours is OK
 
May 18, 2007
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At least you get a 10 year warranty and can park your car on the roof !!!!

Seems with all this 21st century technology you still get the shoddy build quality.
 
May 1, 2010
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We have a Pegasus 524 it has window two window stays on each of the front windows. I have looked at the video for the Olympus 534 on Bailey web site and this appears to show stays on both sides of front windows. Talk to your dealer they sold the van to you. The show screen catch is the same as the catch fitted by Swift to our last two Abbey caravans. We always ensure that we put an Aqua Roll in a bag in the shower to ensure that shower screen can't swing about should it become loose from catch.
 
Aug 23, 2009
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looked at the new bailey's as the coachman dealer we were visiting at the time hand some there, went and had a look just for a laugh. What wasn't funny was how much fell off in our hands!! needless to say stuck to having a new coachman instead. No faults at all yet and as there were none on the last one I don't expect any this time round either.
 
Jun 8, 2010
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We have a Pegasus 524 it has window two window stays on each of the front windows. I have looked at the video for the Olympus 534 on Bailey web site and this appears to show stays on both sides of front windows. Talk to your dealer they sold the van to you. The show screen catch is the same as the catch fitted by Swift to our last two Abbey caravans. We always ensure that we put an Aqua Roll in a bag in the shower to ensure that shower screen can't swing about should it become loose from catch.
Yes The brochure and the show models all have 2 stays fitted to the LH and RH front windows.The caravans supplied to us poor sods only have one.The RH handle of the RH front window points upside down because the correct one is not made. SHAME ON YOU BAILEY

You treat your customers with contempt to save a few pounds on 2 extra stays.

DISGRACEFUL
 
Apr 27, 2009
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have you watched the caravan channel when they visited bailey of bristol & seen how the price workers slap them together , we have a 2006 bailey its so good that i think i my give up caravanning after 21 years & buy a tent....hasbo
 
May 8, 2010
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As a trader Ive stopped buying english caravans the build quality is shocking.

I was in my friends caravan repairers last week he had a Bailey 12 months old was full of rot I sold an eriba to someone a few weeks back his Bailey was that rotten at the front it had all gone black and Bailey had to buy it back.

Until we have some harder hitting caravanning journalism which also tests for ingress on 5 year old vans and isnt obsessed with anything British and floral upholstery people will keep buying this rubbish. Pick up a copy of PC or the caravan club magazine and try and find an article or an advert that is not British !

Wake up British public and smell the coffee your car is probably not British so why must your caravan always be ??

Stick with continental and even better German trust me you will never go back to flimsy british vans again.Ive been a caravanner for 20 years, have someone who has been repairing them for 40 and Im I trader so I guess I have a fair bit of experience ;-)
 
Dec 30, 2009
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Mark, 90% of the british caravan users cannot all be wrong. Weve had 4 new BRITISH vans in the past 12 years and have never to date had any water ingress problems, yes weve had issues but so do other contry makes.

You do what you want as a trader Ill buy what I want and at this time its a well built britsh caravan.

Prahaps the all the complaints whch get spoken about is because of the huge number of caravans sold against the eu vans, I guess you would have to work out the %rather than just look at how many have had problems. No caravan should have problems, but like everything else nothing is perfect.

My brother bought a brand new Mitsubishi 4x4 3 years ago within 3 m onths they took the car back and gave him a new one as the engine was shot, their not british are they????
 

Parksy

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Nov 12, 2009
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Mark

You are entitled to your opinion and you have written more or less the same words on at least three separate occasions to my knowledge.

A forum such as this one is a place where issues involving caravans is discussed and by it's very nature there will not be too many posts which are full of praise.

Those who are satisfied with their British built caravans have no need to post on caravan forums so the picture is very one sided here.

If as you say the 12 month old Bailey was 'full of rot' then clearly it should be replaced or repaired under warranty as would be the case for any caravan British or otherwise.

German and Continental caravans have extremely poor equipment levels for the most part and from posts that I have read they are affected by the same problems as any other caravan but on a UK forum we don't find out about them.

As Trucker so succinctly put it 90% of British caravan users can't be wrong and most of us are happy to support British industry which provides British jobs instead of constantly levelling biased criticism which could cost jobs here in the UK.
 
Dec 14, 2006
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We've had our British built Swift since 2000 - and there is no water ingress, nothing has dropped off, and everything is still working. I'd welcome anyone to come and have a look around it and find a problem.

Not everything British is bad!
 
Mar 10, 2006
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Its gob smacking how such a simple thing as building a caravan, can be messed up, how can a window catch be fitted upside down?

It can only be deliberate, and probably a cost saving, but to those who pay big money, and it is big money, nothing in a caravan justifies the cost, the caravans built are basically fitted with short life items, some very short, like a couple of weeks!

Do caravan builders ever check the finished item? or do they simply send the item out to the dealer and expect them to sort out the problems?

Look how complex a car is, in comparison a car is good value for money, and go wrong less often, usually.

One thing i noticed with the new bailey is the lack of a water seal at the base of the shower tray, looks very cheap. In comparison to my 2004 senator, which has a fully sealed shower cubicle!
 
Jun 8, 2010
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Ye Gods - its enough to make your brain explode.

I have read so much on this site about bad British build and good German build - and good British build.

What in Gods name is someone expected to make of all this.

Its all very well for everyone to expound their views and opinion but for someone like me who is trying to decide what caravan to buy. Confusion !!!!!

Pro or anti British - Pro or anti Continental - give us poor prspective buyers a break.

Seems to me that a table of up to date stats concerning damp - wet rot - water ingress - quality build concerning makes of caravans might be more constructive.

Mark and Parksy make sense but why not get together and give us something more positive - you both have a wealth of experience which would be beneficial to us all to give us a clear positive answer.

I am off to take some valium.
 

Parksy

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Nov 12, 2009
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A table of stats concerning damp, water ingress etc would be absolutely priceless but if this information does exist it would be in the hands of dealers and manufacturers.

What are the chances of the information being collated and released to the general public? My guess is less than zero, such a table would be dynamite!

To try to add a bit of perspective to forum debates -

Caravan forums exist to provide members with a voice and to facilitate the exchange of information and advice. For this reason forums don't contain many posts which sing the praises of caravans because many members turn to internet forums in order to try to solve problems. This can give a distorted view of caravans in general so a UK based forum with predominantly British members will offer a distorted view of British caravans and may lead readers of the forum to believe that every UK manufactured caravan is rubbish. This is clearly not the case.

With between 25000 and 30000 brand new British built caravans being sold every year and record sales for used tourers in the past 12 months being reported the number of complaints on forums is relatively low when contextualised in that way for both new and used tourers.

For buyers of used caravans over 5 years old Mark makes a very strong case for trying to source a German or continental built caravan but newer caravans are the equal of continental manufacturers now that our manufacturers have finally decided to get to grips with water ingress and build quality problems that were once commonplace.

The most important thing is to buy a caravan to suit your lifestyle from a reputable dealership, the contract of sale is with the vendor and not the manufacturer so if problems do arise it is the dealer who will be required to rectify them. Manufacturers warranties against water ingress are these days most commonly valid for six years and in the case of the new Alu Tek Baileys ten years.
 

ALH

Mar 7, 2006
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A table of stats concerning damp, water ingress etc would be absolutely priceless but if this information does exist it would be in the hands of dealers and manufacturers.

What are the chances of the information being collated and released to the general public? My guess is less than zero, such a table would be dynamite!

To try to add a bit of perspective to forum debates -

Caravan forums exist to provide members with a voice and to facilitate the exchange of information and advice. For this reason forums don't contain many posts which sing the praises of caravans because many members turn to internet forums in order to try to solve problems. This can give a distorted view of caravans in general so a UK based forum with predominantly British members will offer a distorted view of British caravans and may lead readers of the forum to believe that every UK manufactured caravan is rubbish. This is clearly not the case.

With between 25000 and 30000 brand new British built caravans being sold every year and record sales for used tourers in the past 12 months being reported the number of complaints on forums is relatively low when contextualised in that way for both new and used tourers.

For buyers of used caravans over 5 years old Mark makes a very strong case for trying to source a German or continental built caravan but newer caravans are the equal of continental manufacturers now that our manufacturers have finally decided to get to grips with water ingress and build quality problems that were once commonplace.

The most important thing is to buy a caravan to suit your lifestyle from a reputable dealership, the contract of sale is with the vendor and not the manufacturer so if problems do arise it is the dealer who will be required to rectify them. Manufacturers warranties against water ingress are these days most commonly valid for six years and in the case of the new Alu Tek Baileys ten years.
It's not all about water ingress though...........
 
G

Guest

There has always been a 'vigorous' discussion regarding the various merits of UK versus EU vans. Of course the total EU market is much larger than the UK and quality can vary sig.

significantly from country and year.

The main factor in choosing a van is your style of caravanning. If you wish to spend lots of time in the UK, then the climate recommends a larger van with lots of internal fittings. If you wish to spend a lot of time in the sun and beach, then a simpler layout and fittings will suffice.

Size also matters as EU sites can be difficult to access for large outfits due to hedges and tight corners.

Both EU and UK vans have 'lemons' that drive owners to drink. Get a good van and you are a 'happy camper'
 
Feb 15, 2006
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roger if its was that bad i wouldnt have taken it from the dealers or paid them for that matter. if your not happy then reject it. check out google and put in sales of goods act quick facts. check out INHERANT FAULTS.

jo-anne
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Is this the start of a new era I actually fully agree with Rays posting of the 13th!

You can pay as much for a caravan as you pay for a car, and by comparison caravans are very poor value. Caravans are 90% old technology, still using the same flawed construction methods from 25 to 30 years ago. They have far less close tolerance panels and equipment than a car, and they can rarely survive more than a few months before something starts work loose. Cars do 10x the mileage and are now generally expected to run without major breakdown for 5 or even 10 years.

There are loads of lessons the caravan industry could learn from the car industry, but sadly very few really new ideas and techniques have been properly researched and introduced.
 
Apr 15, 2008
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Whether its windows failing as our Abbey did last week or poor aftersales service, the British caravan industry can seem very complacent. Its happened before. Where is our motorcycle industry? Where is our British owned car industry (apart from Morgan of course)? Unfortunately I can't see Honda or Toyota starting to build caravans, but if they did it would wake the rest of the industry up.

Although stats on water ingress etc probably would be unobtainable, there is nothing to stop a body like Practical Caravan starting a J D Power type survey on caravans. When introduced to the car industry it had a massive impact on the development of quality vehicles and enabled different manufacturers to benchmark against each other as well as giving the public informed information.
 
Jan 22, 2010
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Hi all.Just thought i`d put my 2 pennies worth in,had my new bailey since feb been away 6 time`s no probs at all.i dont by british because it`s british i buy for value for money.As for reliabilty Toyota whoops.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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My 2005 Bailey S5 Bordeaux had to have a new front end after 3 years as the original had split near the front roof seal line. Now it is due to go in for a new rear end, same problem a split near the roof seal. The dealer has been excellent in picking up these problems and the work has been carried out under warranty. Howver the van comes out of warranty next year and I am keeping fingers crossed that the issues do not re-appear.
 
Jan 8, 2009
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Hi All

Been away to France for a month with my Bailey Pegasus (new Dec 2009),had a great holiday travelled a lot of miles with no problems except dented front panel from stones off the road.I have mud flaps on my ford Kuga but the caravan front panel being made of aluminium dents very easy I am not too happy as I like too look after my cars and caravans.Other than that the caravan behaved well
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I'm of two or more minds on this issue. Given the number of 'vans sold there is bound to be some variation between even virtually identical vans.

Many years ago I had the choice of two identical excecpt for colour Ford Cortinas as my company car. I choose the colour I preferred and had almost 80,000 virturally trouble free miles. A colleague had the other one - with a consecutive serial number - and had nothing but trouble - two replacement engines and three replacement gear boxes in 30,000 miles. We were both enginneers, understood machinery, cars fully dealer serviced etc etc.

Having owned caravans since 1967 I've seen a few changes. My current van is the first non-british van I've bought- the previous two were from one of the more highly regarded uk manufacturers but they could not offer the features i wanted at a competitive price.

The German van is very well built and has virtually the same fittings as the UK van would have had. The major downside is the instruction book which takes pages and pages explaining how to arrange seat cusions but has no wiring diagram worthy of the name, nor does the legend on the fuse box bear any relationship with what each fuse controls. However, after 5 years with several months continental touring each year, the body, panel fit, hinge function etc. is in far better shape than the UK vans were after 3 years. The dealer service for the German is mediocre, but so was the service from 2 out of 3 supplying dealers for UK vans.( I should explain that I am an inveterate 'improver' of caravans and thus need access to an accurate wiring diagram - i've not needed it for fault correction)

I would much prefer to buy British but I'm afraid buying inferior products just because they come from a partticular company is not the way to strengthen home industry - witness British Leyland.
 

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