Has anyone had a trouble-free caravan?

[mistermac]

Hi All

Just wondering - is there anyone out there who's had a new/nearly new 'van and had NOTHING go wrong with it (not taking into account wear and tear)?

I'd be interested to know - to see which 'vans come out on top.

Mac

 

[anotherDavid]

I have had an Hymer Nova for 6 years now and for the first 5 years the only problem was a reich tap that split. I put this down to frost but have now had another go. At the moment I have a short list of accessories to fix, a pump, sink tap and a locker stay. However since the van has been lived in for a total of 2 years and covered 37k miles I think it qualifies as trouble free.

Dave

 

[rayc]

Mark, I have bought 4 new caravans and have had no faults on any of them:-

1991 Elddis Hurrican XL bought from Sovereign Caravans Southampton - built to order.

1997 Bailey Pageant Magenta 1997 from Michael Jordan - built to order.

2000 Herald Magnum 490 { really a Compass )from Mendip Caravans - stock caravan.

2006 Ace Award Brightstar from Weymouth Caravans - stock caravan.

I have not had any problems with the build or any heating / water / gas services etc and when each van has been traded in their was no damp detected. I have done the majority of my own servicing especially after the first annual service.

 

[DeliDave]

probably doing your own service helped,i,m sure most of the time service consists of very little it wouldbe interesting for PC to take a van with known faults to a few dealers and see if they find them or set a few cameras in hidden places.Unfortunately it may affect advertising revenue so a non starter.

 

[Russ2]

Bailey Pageant Imperial, bought when it was 3 years old. No problems at all. Never have and never will buy new caravan or car for that matter, because of depreciation.

 

[martin_374344332]

Hymer again. Had mine for nearly 8 years and reckon its done well over 50k miles. Nothing other than servicing and a new set of tyres.

 

[alanlmc]

had an lmc dominant from new 2000.. nothing gone wrong any were. brilliant vans and well built..

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Mac,

In the last Caravan Club reliability survey of over 4100 UK caravan owners in 2005, Eriba owners were unique in reporting almost zero defects - and aside from the different (tubular steel frame rather than wood) caravan build process - I'm pretty sure this result was in no small part due to the way PDIs are handled by Eriba UK (and Jandi in Scotland).

I'll quote from the June 2005 magazine:

"Cupboards are not complicated things really, but they scored only 78.6 per cent satisfaction overall. It seems strange that

Vanmaster (97.7%) and Eriba (98.8%) seem able to manage this..."

"Top black spot seems to be doors and locks, with only a 74.7% satisfaction rate overall. Most UK-based manufacturers are not far apart on this, but what stands out despite the smaller samples is that the likes of Hobby and Eriba can deliver

caravans with doors that work properly - both recorded satisfaction rates around 96%..."

"If foreign caravan manufacturers can come up with higher satisfaction ratings (all in the 90%-plus range) then the UK just has to match that or..."

In all our years of touring, we've only ever owned two Eriba caravans - and both were zero defect on delivery and remained so...

Robert

 

[weejock]

Hi All

I am on my fourth caravan first Cotswold 0 faults in 5 years. I am now on my 3rd Swift and the only fault I have had was a cracked shower tray which my size 11 with hikeing boot on did but the dealers insisted they do it under warranty even though I had the van for 2 years.

I put this down to the dealership I have used that has theses 3 crusty old guys that have a real if its done right first time attitude. Bad news is dealer has now changed hand and probally will sell 3 times as many caravans this year. I just wonder if the service and attention to detail will remain the same.

 

[Icemaker]

ive had 2 coachman pastiche 2 coachman vip and one coachman laser and not one of them has given me any faults apart from the van i have now a vip 530/4 which has been faultless apart from the hartal door lock that every manufacturer is having problems with.

We are very happy with this manufacturer and the 2 dealers we use glossop caravans and cambells caravans.

 

[RogerL]

It was a long time ago - I bought a brand new 1983 ABI Ace Globetrotter - after fixing the initial brake imbalance myself, nothing went wrong or broke (apart from fair wear & tear) until it started leaking at 16 years old. That was all reasonable.

The replacement was a new 2001 Bailey Pageant Magenta which had a list of tasks at each warranty service and now gives the odd problem every year. To my mind, it's unreliable but it seems to be on a par with other UK-built caravans.

I really do wish we could get the Japanese or Koreans to build caravans - the UK caravan industry ignore you if you tell them what they're doing wrong !!

 

[Gumbo]

Hi Marc

Bessacarr Cameo 645GL brand new almost 3 years ago. No Problems, only the shower mixer tap cracked along the thread. Replaced under warranty with no quibble.Use the van in Braemar in the winter time without any problems

 

[JTQ]

Familiar story here, another Hymer Nova new in 2002 and the van itself has been excellent in most respects. Two tyre blowouts {Matador, also familiar to many} and even the spare found with manufacturing defects, seriously letting down an otherwise well sorted product. As others also one Reich tap fractured [

 

[mostavern]

i purchased a bailey ranger brand new last year and this year the front window had to be replaced,

 

[Alf_374346853]

Coachman Amara 380/2 purchased new last year from Kenmores. Been out all winter, real feeling of quality. CD player refused to play (didn't like Stone Roses apparently) but fixed under warranty and hardly Coachman's fault that Blaupunkt ain't what they used to be.

 

[Guest]

We have an 11 year old Senator that has been faultless and a new Senator that seems fine. Daughter and son in-law also have a two/three year old Senator and that has also been perfect to.

 

[Pat_374304630]

Coachman Amara 520/4 2002 secondhand last year.Brilliant.Best caravan we've ever had.No faults.

 

[Dustydog]

I guess it's all relative. My Pageant Vendee needed a new battery charger,

the Senator had problems with it's tv. Some very minor trim needed regluing and of course the mandatory problem with the Hartal door lock.

So most of the issues were outside manufacturers not the actual van manufacturer.

My old Castleton Rovanna just ploded on, no problems.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Del_374232870]

Current van is Linar Delta 640EW had it for 18 months and so far only problem was a flat battery which was not caused by the van.

 

[Lawrie_374365311]

Hi again I own a Hymer Nova, Matador tyre blowout and Dometic fridge element failed. Not bad for 5 years and 40 weeks use all over Europe including ski holidays in Andorra!

 

[CameronBurns]

i have a 1988 abi award dawnstar, which has nothing wrong with it. it is in storage most of the time, and i can pull it out after 12-18 months and everything works and fires up first time.

people don't look twice at older caravans, because there is a general idea that they have too many problems compared to new caravans, from experience i have found that it is the other way around.

i know someone who has a 2007 swift caravan and over 12 months they have had no end of trouble. infact they can't go on a rally this weekend because the fridge won't work on gas.

it isn't just appliences, it can be the finish too. the dawnstar has wrap aroung curtains with pelmets which make it alot more cosy at night. it has a front shelf with drawers wich is usefull and the dawnstar looks stunning! it is an off white/cream colour with a boated roof which goes into a grp spoiler at the back. while the swift is a blinding white, with a flat roof that gets puddles on it when it rains. who says old caravans are no good?

 

[hymerman1]

Hymer Nova caravan, on my second had 1st over 7 yrs had second over 1 yr No problems. When I had british I had the full set of problems, I will not return to British built.

 

[Bannedtom]

Hi

We have a new Swift Conqueror 540 and just returned from the innaugural outing to Hawes for a week, the van is 100% faultless everything works perfectly and could not be better, definately worth a look . Buld quality is excellent and the comfort level superb.

 

[Graham_374228415]

Another Nova bought secondhand when it was two years old, it will be five years old in Sept. no faults at all and we do about 20 to 25 weeks a year touring Europe each year.

 

[bigbilly]

I bought, in the past, 6 new Elddis caravans and the first 4 had absolutely zero problems - first class. The 5th and 6th were hopeless.

I changed brands and bought a new Swift and now own an 18 month old Bessacarr. Both have been nightmares.

All work has been carried out under warranty with no real problems except for the huge delay in supplying parts, especially Swift, and the inconvenience, and cost, of the round trip to the dealers.

Looking to change vans early next year and haven't a clue where to start looking.

Bill