Caravan League table

[will2]

if you had to make a league table of the best Caravan what would it be ?
And what would the table be from top to bottom.

I'm asking just out of intrest to see which manufacturer people think are best.

Thanks Will

 

[Raywood]

It is difficult to rate different makes without trying them but of the last three we have had I would say, Coachman, Avondale and Eldiss. Both the Avondale and the Coachman have been well built but the Eldiss was in my opinion rather fragile and although no major faults minor things tended to fall apart. Coachmans tend to be a bit heavy but that may be why it is top of my list.

 

[Parksy]

It might seem a bit negative to say that they are all as bad as each other but complaints about poor design and poor workmanship are posted on all caravan forums about every British manufacturer.
Far too many new caravans still leave the factories with faults that either shouldn't be present at all or should have been picked up and rectified before the caravan leaves the factory.
Having said that, in terms of customer accountability and willingness to engage with the end user rather than hide behind dealer networks I'd say that since 2006 caravans built by Swift Group come near to the top of my list but there's room for improvement all round.

 

[emmerson]

I've only owned three makes of caravan and two m*t*rh*mes over 44 years, so I'm perhaps not best qualified to give an opinion; perhaps it will suffice to say that I bought my first Royale, secondhand, 23 years ago, and am now on my third one, bought at twenty years old, which I've had for thirteen years, and have no plans to change.
Does this give a clue as to which van I think the best?

 

[Dustydog]

I've had Swift, Elldis and for last ten years Bailey. All had their faults but basically there wasn't that much to choose between them. Most of the appliances are common to all three metioned. All three now give you a 10 year guarantee of some sort.
Some may argue Bailey's latest Alu-tech construction is the way for the future.
What actually makes a great caravan over a period of time is the support you receive from your Dealer.

A good dealer will make the caravan a joy

A poor Dealer will make it a dog to remember.

 

[RayS]

Very difficult to make such a list. Many reported problems are with the appliances fitted which come from a very limited range of manufacturers. Design and construction methods have improved over the years (as evidenced by longer warranty periods).
Since 1992 I've only had 4 'vans - 3 British and my present Burstner and I have to say the present van has proved stronger and more reliable than the others but it's not perfect.
Also, if like a number of us, you are realtively handy and can fix things, then failures which would be a major problem to others become only a minor irritation such that the overall opinion of the same 'van would be quite different.
My major complaint is that the final inspection at works should pick up many more defects than it seems to, and that the dealer's PDI appears to be sometimes cursory to put it kindly. Although there should be remedies avaialble in the form of SOGA and Trading Standards, using either of these is not that easy for the average man having limitied free time, and Trading Standards staff do not, in my experience, have the knowledge to fully apprecaite the problems.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

In My ten years of caravaning I have managed to own 5 caravans 3 from the same group and two from another,sadly only one of them brand new so in summary 2 Compass ,1 Elddis although second hand faultless Ace Supreme and now brand new Sterling Elite Searcher. the van I cannot faulter what I can faulter is what is fitted too it.In its first year a new alarm had to be fitted ,a new awning light and a new Tracker.all repaired or replaced under warranty oh and the reed switch to the flush on the toilet packed up ,replaced and failed again this year sadly Thetford wouldnt replace it again so I had to cough up for a new one out of my own pocket. So although all this went on Im still happy with the Sterling (Swift Group)