my bailey has cracks on front and rear panels has any one had them repaired with plastic welding if so any good and who from.
cracked panel help
- Thread starter david_374333798
- Start date
David
Sorry to hear this. I had the same problem on my Seies 5 Pageant and it was not the happiest period of my caravanning life to say the least.
My warranty was the non transferable kind so I was 'on my own'. However. I contacted Bailey and they agreed to replace the front panel FOC which was excellent service. Unfortunately about a year later I found cracks in the rear panel and they 'drew the line' on a complete replacement. After some negotiation with them they did agree to provide a new rear panel FOC and I paid the labour for fitting which was about
Sorry to hear this. I had the same problem on my Seies 5 Pageant and it was not the happiest period of my caravanning life to say the least.
My warranty was the non transferable kind so I was 'on my own'. However. I contacted Bailey and they agreed to replace the front panel FOC which was excellent service. Unfortunately about a year later I found cracks in the rear panel and they 'drew the line' on a complete replacement. After some negotiation with them they did agree to provide a new rear panel FOC and I paid the labour for fitting which was about
It is curious but since most manufacturers swopped from using 'old fashioned' aluminium sheet to 'modern' ABS plastic, these problems seem to have arisen. Is this a case of progress in reverse?
plastic repairs, if done correctly using the correct adhesives, is perfectly fine. we have been repairing cracks to plastic panels for some years now which must run into several hundreds of repairs. we repaired at least 100 for avondale alone and also numerous repairs on bailey, elddis and compass. and over the years we have only had one crack again.
- Jun 20, 2005
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Thanks for that Read Caravans.Good to hear from experts outside of teh manufacturers.
Did you discover the main cause of the cracks?
Was it inbuilt stress loads at the time of manufacture ?
I have heard some of the manufacturers screws were wrongly installed without spacers. Is that the case?
It's good to know successful repairs on out of warranty caravans are possible. As mine is still within warranty I think I'd want the panel replaced if it failed.
Cheers
Dustydog
Did you discover the main cause of the cracks?
Was it inbuilt stress loads at the time of manufacture ?
I have heard some of the manufacturers screws were wrongly installed without spacers. Is that the case?
It's good to know successful repairs on out of warranty caravans are possible. As mine is still within warranty I think I'd want the panel replaced if it failed.
Cheers
Dustydog
If your dealer isn't as on the ball as Read, you could go to these people...
http://www.panelworks.co.uk/
http://www.panelworks.co.uk/
Just because its in warranty doesn't mean that the replacement is a brand new one - it might be a refurbished one, or even your old one repaired!
My Bailey champagne had cracked front and rear panels that one of Baileys production foreman told me was caused by a reaction of the glue used to secure the panel with the ABS plastic itself!!!
I have since parted company with that van!!!!
HTH
Trev.
I have since parted company with that van!!!!
HTH
Trev.
there have been many reasons for cracks in ABS panels over the years. We now repair all cracks regardless of whether the caravan is under warranty or not. we do this because of the very good success rate and the fact that we are not disturbing any seals, and not waiting for months for new panels. the repair once authorised can be completed in days rather than months, therefore address water ingress concerns quickly.
Can Read Caravans tell those of us who have been affected by this issue how the cracks are repaired - not in a full technical sense obviously, but just 'in a nutshell'.
The reason for asking is that when I had this problem I was given all sorts of conflicting advice. Firstly I was told that plastic welding was only succesful in the long term if both sides of the panel could be accessed - in my case this would have entailed removing the panel anyway.
I was also told that adhesives were not a long term solution anyway BUT things may have moved on in the last year or so.
Grtaeful for the comments by Reads - nice to have someone who seems to know what they are talking about on this particular issue.
The reason for asking is that when I had this problem I was given all sorts of conflicting advice. Firstly I was told that plastic welding was only succesful in the long term if both sides of the panel could be accessed - in my case this would have entailed removing the panel anyway.
I was also told that adhesives were not a long term solution anyway BUT things may have moved on in the last year or so.
Grtaeful for the comments by Reads - nice to have someone who seems to know what they are talking about on this particular issue.
Hi, Repair methods depend entirley on the type of plastic used, some repair well with adhesives, some with hot melt some with fusion welding, providing the correct method is matched to the correct type of plastic there is no reason why a repair should'nt last as long as the original substrat.
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