Whilst I agree, wouldn’t you think that at least one CEO would check other manufacturers reviews & think, ‘hang on, let’s get our fingers out & do better than the competition so we get a bigger slice of the market’?
Could happen, though historically its not been needed so far; as implied its in our gift to precipitate it, or try.
IMO, like the UK car industry it will fail to see in time, really hope for those that work for the owners of the caravan builders it pans out differently.
Think more likely the lucrative alternative to build houses on the factory sites will be way too appealing to the land owners involved.
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On reflection there have historically been some "do it better" moments, but these have been in the build technology rather than the execution/quality control of the process; notably here Elddis development of their bonded system "Solid", Bailey's into their permutations of "Alu-Tech", and Swift briefly into their bonded woodless system that they offered for a while before pulling it.
All sadly IMO let down by the sloppy attention to doing the build executions properly time after time. Plus, the contractual model they have with their dealers and that in turn playing through to how they treat their end customers.
A lack of interest in where the money really comes from and with it, at least in a normal market place where there is a need to be attentive to "please". However, on this last point, "a normal market place" UK caravanners collectively seem to buck market normality and be content to buy into the same deficient issues repeatedly.
Technically on top of all this, again IMO the adoption and steadfast retention by some with the use of ABS plastic for integrity critical body items where failure levels are so high because of the inherent nature of the product. Particularly its aging, degradation from UV and intolerance of stressing, make for high levels of water ingress damage to the van's critical structure. Basically, used as it is designing in high levels of failure. As elsewhere ABS can be used to good effect for styling finishers, but only where they play no part in the integrity of the product itself.
All said, IMO they face having the wrong product for the emerging market, we simply will not be able to lug our ever bigger boxed home from home around in the not to distant future. New products or a disguised reincarnation of an old one will be the only products viable in a mass market.
All sadly IMO let down by the sloppy attention to doing the build executions properly time after time. Plus, the contractual model they have with their dealers and that in turn playing through to how they treat their end customers.
A lack of interest in where the money really comes from and with it, at least in a normal market place where there is a need to be attentive to "please". However, on this last point, "a normal market place" UK caravanners collectively seem to buck market normality and be content to buy into the same deficient issues repeatedly.
Technically on top of all this, again IMO the adoption and steadfast retention by some with the use of ABS plastic for integrity critical body items where failure levels are so high because of the inherent nature of the product. Particularly its aging, degradation from UV and intolerance of stressing, make for high levels of water ingress damage to the van's critical structure. Basically, used as it is designing in high levels of failure. As elsewhere ABS can be used to good effect for styling finishers, but only where they play no part in the integrity of the product itself.
All said, IMO they face having the wrong product for the emerging market, we simply will not be able to lug our ever bigger boxed home from home around in the not to distant future. New products or a disguised reincarnation of an old one will be the only products viable in a mass market.
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How long before a manufacturer starts selling direct to end user,through stand alone showrooms ?
With their massive levels of after sales attention needed to their products, I see that presenting them and buyers with big issues.
Could be cured by paying approved workshops/etc attractive levels to rework the vans, though the high need to rework vans coupled with the higher funding to sort these number of vans is likely to be huge.
Better, IMO to build them soundly in the first place, and to reshape their attitude to the end buyer, acknowledging the blindly obvious, where the money actually comes from. However, it also needs us as buyers to wake up.
Probably a Chinese manufacturer!
Various car brands have tried the agency model and then abandoned it - Daewoo, Genesis, Polestar and VW Group - but most Mercedes dealers are owned by M-B themselves.
I agree but in my dreams I can see a high quality product, sold direct to end user, low warranty claims and an attractive margin for the seller as no middle men to pay, it is happening in consumer electricals, see Dyson, G Tech etc,perhaps an opportunity for Chinese makers, just look at how their car industry is developing in UK
Anyway, just had our caravan serviced by the local mobile guy & his most common problems are with Elddis’s. He reckons they’ve got worse since Hymer took over, which I find strange.
"Strange" possibly, but IME buying them over two decades, Hymer, even the mainstream brand were not the original quality builders even in the latter years of the family ownership, let alone whatever now they have become once sold out of the family's control.
Likely because the costs to keep up the earlier quality standards was thought too be high, but again possibly that was miss judged though as I expect their market was always somewhat limited to those prepared to pay a premium for that quality? I don't know that market sits back and accepts poorer standards, but more likely simply moves on elsewhere.
We get told "quality sells", but that can only ever be to those that can afford to.
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- Sep 4, 2011
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Had 2 brand new Elddis and both leaked at two years old. Split panels,why they still use ABS I don’t know.The first one we got rid of and went back to Swift, But unfortunaly it got damaged whilst on a site only on second time of use.Needed another caravan quick as had more holidays booked and only new caravan layout we wanted available was another Elddis. Against better judgment had to settle with that and bought it, Two years later damp struck again. Got rid of it for another new Swift and vowed would not even consider Elddis and also our dealer had dropped selling them. Had Swift caravans ever since and all been totally good caravans. Latest one bought 2023 will be our last as now in our 80’s
Pretty end panel styling comes on mass produced caravans "cheaply", so its an easy natural choice for makers where corporately its technical suitability is not a consideration.
A reasonable chance it will get off the forecourt before it fails.
Then I understand with some brands it only needs to last, or more likely its failure go unnoticed, just one year to clear a possible enforceable warranty claim!
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There's nothing wrong with ABS - as long as it's fitted to a rigid structure and isn't designed as stress-bearing - the problem with using it on caravans is that sometimes it's used as a stress-bearing panel - but even when it isn't stress-bearing, caravans flex when being towed and this causes the ABS to crack.
Exactly, which as here it can and frequently is used in applications where its watertight integrity is paramount to the caravan's ongoing viability, it is fundamentally the wrong choice.
Brilliant as a simple non integrity critical styling finisher[ eg in cars bumpers] where water tightness is not that important, its fixing have the properties of ABS taken into account and relatively the underlying structure is not flexing.
Completely wrong in caravans where towing them causes all manner of significant flexing, and here compounded by the fixing of the ABS panels not being designed with that substrate flexing in mind.
IMO the warranty often offered on caravan ABS panels reflect the van builder's knowledge of its inherent lack of suitability, as they use it.
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