Bits dropping off

[DerekBrad]

Took my Abbey Vogue (2009 model) out of storage yesterday. Good lady wife was preparing it for a fortnight away starting tomorrow, says that I should have a look at the shower door ( bi-fold type). Simply put, it fell off. I was warned some weeks ago by a shower specialist that a lot of the hinges were breaking and of course, it's happened to mine. I now have to detour via the dealer's workshop and hope that they can effect some sort of repair to get us out of trouble. I'm thinking of renaming the van Abbey Nightmare. It's fair to say that the dealers fix things under warranty, but the stress and inconvenience, not to mention travelling costs involved, really do take the shine out of owning a caravan. IF ONLY the makers would spend a few quid more on better fittings instead of the cheapest possible option, then I'm sure a lot of problems would disappear. To date I've had the radio fail twice,(replaced with different make),charger unit replaced (a week without 12 volts), headboard replaced( one fitted did not go the whole width of the wall) Front window replaced, shower wall repaired after splitting, and shower rooflight replaced. The van has been used for only 12 weeks so far.I'm getting to dread looking at the thing.
That feels better!
Happy caravanning folks!
Derek

 

[LMH]

God, that's terrible. In fact, it's really bad.

I'm not going to jinx myself by saying what I'm thinking but I hope you get it all sorted.

lisa

 

[Surfer]

Why the picture of some dog attacking a bicycle tyre as nothing to do with post?

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Its a long held belief that the brochure spec is satisfied if it lists an accessory but that seems to be sufficient in many cases with quality not being a factor
Our Bailey van was almost broken into and severe damage was done to the door but the alarm only went off with the opening of a window
The previous Swift group Ace Award I removed a wheel and the alarm didn't go off
But in the brochure both vans are fitted with alarms that are also accepted by the insurers for a discount

 

[GrahamDerby]

Hi Derek
I cant believe that caravan makers are sending out such rubbish and charging such a lot for it then expecting the dealers to sort it out.
I have a Lunar Delta 2009 and the list of faults goes on and on. 3 new front windows, new water heater , faulty catches, new handle on bathroom door, front locker hindges broke off, new rear light cluster and on and on. All have been sorted by the dealer but they should never been there in the first place for the price of the van. It seems that caravaners have been programed to accept the fact that when they take delivery of a new van it will have faults. If they payed 20K for a new car all hell would be let loose. Its about time we all stood together and said enough is enough , poor quality and sky high prices will not be tollerated.

Here endeth my moan for today

 

[RogerB]

I agree that manufacturers are complacent in their attitude towards quality.Its a very competitive market but surely a few pence more spent on some decent quality fittings would bring improved sales in the future with better feedback and less warranty claims.
Take my Olympus for example.On collection the dealer stressed that it was important to secure the shower door with the turn buckle clip before each journey.He did this for us.150 mile drive home later and door (bi fold) is flapping about - luckily still on hinges.
I phoned dealer who said Bailey was aware of it and he would send out a different clip.This was also useless and would only secure 1 leaf of the door.We now use a large clothes peg to secure the second leaf.This works but can you imagine buying a car and having to use a clothes peg to hold a part of it in place?
I phoned Bailey and they were totally unconcerned and denied being aware of the issue.They would look into it they said ???I wonder if the new Unicorns have the same unsuitable door restraint?Any body know?
When I posted on here at the time people were admitting to having the same problems on various caravans and suggestions included aquarolls and awning carpets to hold the door shut.This shows the reluctant acceptance that we have to faults in the vans.In most cases its not the building of the van but the poor quality fitting used,and its sometimes the simplest component that is the biggest wind up.
Correction - the biggest wind up is that the manufacturers don't appear to care and just turn out sub standard and underdeveloped products and expect us to put them right after purchase.
Grizzle over

 

[harro11]

I'm new to caravanning this year. We bought a bailey pageant provence, and after having to mend a few things that broke, I'm amazed at how poorly they are put together in places. Arguably they arent fit for purpose. We had floods in the kitchen, which was due to the sink waste pipe coming adrift. After finally finding out how to get to it, I couldn't believe how rubbish it was, plastic pipe just pushed together, and it was a loose fit. It must have just vibrated apart. From then on I determined that as each problem arises, I'd fix it properly so that it would be one future problem out of the way. In this instance I siliconed the pipe joint together, and also fixed it securely the cupboard framework with cable ties such that it couldn't vibrate loose again.
Downlights around the sunroof intermittently working. I took the sunroof out to gain access to the wires and switch. All the wiring connector spades were loose. After nipping them together, no more problems.
If I was head of a caravn manufacturer, I would be a bit ashamed of this lack of quality control. After all, it doesnt take any more time, and often no more money to do a good job instead of a shoddy one.

 

[GrahamDerby]

Heres a good one !!. I complained about the grill on the cooker in my 2009 delta. Thetford have moved the grill burner from side to side to front to back and blocked the vent inbetween the rings where the heat used to escape. Now all the heat comes out of the front. After a while it becomes extremly hot and painfull to turn the knobe on the front. Fair play to Thetford an engineer came to my house and spent 2 hours testing the gril etc with heat probes. All tempretures came within the rugulations so nothing could be done, even though when he went to turn a ring off if burned the hairs of the back of his hand . How the hell can that be safe ?. It seams that a large maker of vans wanted to make more workspace by leaving the glass lid down with the grill on so Thetford altered the design for them.