Damp Pageant Vendee

[valinspain]

Hi all,

We are reeling from the news yesterday that the above (our 4 year old part exchange for a new Senator) has a small crack 1/2 inch long on the front panel just where the panel meets the roof and as a consequence the whole nearside front corner of the van is very damp. We are told that it will require a whole new front panel as they cannot be repaired and the whole of the nearside internal panel will need to come out to check how far the damp has spread and repair the damage. The minimum cost for this work is 2.5k at cost and consequently the part exchange allowance has had to be reduced by this amount. We have no reason to doubt the very well known and reputable dealer who explained this to us, and unfortunately we only bought the van two year ago so the water ingress warranty does not apply. It appears that someone has tried to 'codge' the crack with sealant and we are now very suspicious of the dealer we bought it from, who only sells secondhand caravans, however, it is too late to do anything. We wondered if anyone else has had this problem, and also why it is not possible to repair the front panel for such a small crack? (The cost of the front panel would form a large part of the cost of the repair we assume).We have decided to 'bite the bullet' and take the loss now rather than pull out of the deal, but it has left a very nasty taste!

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Val

Is it a series 5 or the ealier model?

I know Bailey have some fairly strict rules about the water ingress guarantee, like there must be an annual damp test carried out. Did you ever have this done since you have had the van? Also have you had it regularly serviced?

If the answer is yes to both then I think there is merit in asking Bailey themselves to look at the problem and take a sensible view as a major caravan manufacturer. If you have a good dealer , as you say, I am sure they too will try and help in presenting a case for some sympathetic treatment from Bailey. After all you are trading in the Wyoming for a new Senator.

I don't suppose you live in the Gloucester / Avon area?

I think it will be virtually impossible to hold the previous dealer responsible in view of the time lapse.

Good luck.

Cheers

Alan

 

[mike_374313686]

hello

my father inlaw bought a new ranger last year and has had to have a new front panal fitted under warranty due to cracking, apparantly it has been a common fault due to a manufacturing flaw so its worth checking if the same fault has occured on other models

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Bailey front and back panels are plastic. I found this out yesteday from my dealer when I took my van in for its first service. There not GRP. So cannot be repaired.

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Sorry me again

My dealer did say something else about Bailey,s I did not think of when I purchased my caravan. The roof is Flat and where the front and rear plastic panel comes up to the roof you have a large mastic seal front and back of the caravan there is no run off,s for water.

 

[Dustydog]

ABS -Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene replaced GRP a few years ago , certainly with the major manufacturers. I believe it is easier to create more complex shapes and teh exterior finish is allegedly more smooth and pleasing to the eye than GRP. Personally I couldn't see that much difference.

Now what is alarming is the number of failures recently being reported.

On this forum alone, Avondale, Swift and now Bailey ABS fitted panels are showing signs of failure on fairly new caravans.

Why is this ? Does anyone know?

I believe the ABS panels are manufactured by a sub contractor rather than internally. Is it the same sub contractor for all manufacturers?

Remember the first De Havilland Comet aircraft? Someone got it wrong.

I hope ABS is not proving to be a short lived material otherwise a lot of us are going to be in deep guano.

Cheers

Alan

 

[rob_jax]

Hi

The panels are more properly described as an ABS capped plastic - the ABS is like the bread in a sandwich, providing a smooth resilient surface, whilst the plastic core provides the strength and is a similar material to that used in car bumpers.

These ABS capped panels can be repaired, but the repairer needs specialist materials and specialist skills - and it's that which probably directs people to replace rather than repair.

Robert

 

[valinspain]

Hi Val

Is it a series 5 or the ealier model?

I know Bailey have some fairly strict rules about the water ingress guarantee, like there must be an annual damp test carried out. Did you ever have this done since you have had the van? Also have you had it regularly serviced?

If the answer is yes to both then I think there is merit in asking Bailey themselves to look at the problem and take a sensible view as a major caravan manufacturer. If you have a good dealer , as you say, I am sure they too will try and help in presenting a case for some sympathetic treatment from Bailey. After all you are trading in the Wyoming for a new Senator.

I don't suppose you live in the Gloucester / Avon area?

I think it will be virtually impossible to hold the previous dealer responsible in view of the time lapse.

Good luck.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Alan

Thanks for your answer.

In answer to your questions the answers are: as we could not transfer the water ingress guarantee my husband completed the services himself, so I don't think Bailey would help. The damp showed as small bubbles in the 'wallpaper' that were hard to the touch, so we thought that it was faulty wallboard. (No smell, water marks or fungal growth). We have now purchased a damp meter! Our dealer says the leak must have been there for longer than the 2 years we have owned it. We live in the West Midlands area.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Alan

Thanks for your answer.

In answer to your questions the answers are: as we could not transfer the water ingress guarantee my husband completed the services himself, so I don't think Bailey would help. The damp showed as small bubbles in the 'wallpaper' that were hard to the touch, so we thought that it was faulty wallboard. (No smell, water marks or fungal growth). We have now purchased a damp meter! Our dealer says the leak must have been there for longer than the 2 years we have owned it. We live in the West Midlands area.

Hi Val

Sorry I missed your reply.

You will know from my previous posts I have a number of concerns about Quality Control as a whole across the UK caravan industtry. I have asked Nigel Donnelly on a numbe rof occcasions to do a QC article in PC. We shall see if Nigel complies in due course.

There have been a numbe rof issues with ABS plastic panels and again you will see a numbe rof Swifts and now , very recently , Baileys are beginning to show failures.

We use Chipping Sodbury caravans who have been brilliant with us over the years but as you say , you are in the West Midlands , maybe too far for some help there.

Ok you and hubby have decided to take the loss on the chin.

But You never know, a suitably worded letter to Simon Howard at bailey may just gain you a better financial deal than that on the table now. Well it's only a letter and stamp?

It's just I have this feeling there is moe to the ABS panel failures than we all know at the moment.

Anyway best of luck which ever way you go and do enjoy the new van.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Alan_374342797]

Hi, Everyone with a Bailey should note they only warrent their products upto

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Alan

One of the reasons we have a Wyoming is that the roof does seem more solid than previous Abbey, when it was windy the Abbey roof used to bend and bow, as a result water used to gather in puddles where the aluminium sheet has bowed downwards, dealer said it was normal but more pronounced the longer the van.We had damp ingress repaired under warranty at second service on last 2 Abbeys. The Wyoming roof does not bow under the pressure of the wind and rain, but I do find the water puddles between the TV aerial and the lounge sunroof,so far no problem and Chipping Sodbury say it is normal if the van is level,I do agree that the seams at either end of the roof appear to be a poor design, but as I said we have not had problems so far. The van is series 5 2006 model.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Keith

A guy next to me a few weeks ago had a Swift Conqueror and he had loads of pooling water on the rof after a rainstorm.

The joints themselves look pretty strong to me . I think all the failed ones weren't the joints but fractures in the ABS plastic panels.

My friends S5 Pageant Vendee has the problem which is being fixed FOC by Chipping Sodbury Caravans under warranty. Thus ultimately Bailey pick up the bill.

Is this a design defect or a QA/QC issue???

Cheers

Alan