Lunar caravans Any good???

[Mikey_74]

Hi We've found a van that ticks about 98% of both my wife's and my boxes, it's an 2005 Lunar Quasar 615, really lovely looking van, but I stupidly looked on the internet last night and read some horror stories about Lunar Caravans, one guy that I read was on his 3rd roof and his van was only 2 years old!!! My wife believes that people only write about bad things so this is just a minor issue and their vans are as good as the rest, I want to believe her as we both really like this van, it's just that this van has got to last us about 5 years or so and don't want to live to regret the purchase, or would we be better going for a bailey or something like an Avondale???

Help!!!

Regards, Mike

 

[Gilbert_374242131]

Mike,I think to a certain extent your wife is right.I had a Lunar Quasar for 3 years and had no poblems what so ever and I would be happy to buy another.Hope this helps.

 

[Parksy]

Hi Mike

I'm sure that you know that your wife is correct to say that internet forums such as this one contain many posts from members seeking advice about faults and failures.

Not too many owners write posts on forums just to say that their caravan is satisfactory and trouble free. You could find 'horror stories' about every single make of caravan if you trawled the internet.

Is the Lunar being sold by a caravan dealers or is it a private sale?

It's far more important to buy the caravan that YOU like and to establish a good relationship with a reputable dealers.

Avondale produced some good caravans in their time but sadly they are no longer in business and availability of some body panels if needed might be problematic.

 

[Happy-Lappy]

Mike,

We have a (2005) Quasar615 too and are both pleased with it. We purchased this from new and apart from a few small problems corrected under warranty, have had no further issues.

I must point out that the problems were with the fitted equipment and Lunar could not be held responsible, as these faults occurred after the first year and therefore would not have been noticable during the build stage.

What we like most about the layout, is the solid door that separates the rear bedroom, as to the concertina type used by other manufactures.

If you have any further concerns, then please feel free to air them here and I will endeavor to put you and your good wife at ease,

best regards, Martin

 

[Mikey_74]

Many Thanks to all those that have responded to my post and put my mind at rest regarding quality, the caravan was from a dealer however sadly I've just recieved the dreaded phone call from the very friendly and Helfull caravan dealer saying that the caravan has since I spoke to him at 10.30am this morning been sold!!!

ARHhhhhhhh, I'm dreading telling my wife, she liked this one!

oops

Thanks again to the quick responses

Regards

Mike

 

[Parksy]

What a shame that you missed it Mike.

Have a look on the caravan finder via this website. Click on the home page and under 'buying' you will see a link

http://www.practicalcaravan.com/forsale

 

[Chrissylizzie]

Hi Mike

Sorry to learn you have missed this van, but we have a 2007 Lunar and love it. You will always hear the worst of the horror stories but Lunar compare as well as any UK manufacturer these days, so if you find another one - obviously in good condition, which suits your tastes, then take a chance and enjoy it.

 

[Del_374232870]

Currently on Lunar number 4, the reason for 4 consecutive Lunars isnt brand loyalty . It is because Lunars give us the spec and fittings we are looking for.

Current van is a 2005 Delta 640. looked at other manufacturers and whilst they met some of our requirements , the Delta was the one that ticked most boxes. As Happy lappy says the sliding wooden door between the main living area and the bedroom, other manufacturers put a plastic concertina door. A solid fold down shelf between the kitchen and bedroom, when up a solid partition, when down an extended work surface, again other manufacturers only had a small venetian blind.

Draw up a list of your own requirements for a van then search round ticking the boxes.

A Lunar model which didnt stay for long was the Delta 620 , a twin axle fixed bed model with the bed at the rear across the van . Looked at one a few years ago and nearly bought it, slightly shorter than our 640EW, they are not that common on forecourts but often when you see them they are good value.

As others have said many people post with complaints but are less ready to post compliments. You can get good and bad in all manufaturers. I was brought up with caravans in our family since the early 60's and have seenproblems over all manufacturers.

 

[CameronBurns]

whilst lunars have good levels of kit at a reasonable price, they've always been a bit on the flimsy side. we've been close to buying one before, i can't remember which model, and when we looked in it at the dealer, i turned the bathroom door handle, and the whole bathroom wall followed. so you can imagine, that put us off. a lunar is still better than an avondale, as we know someone who had a brand new avondale and on their first night in it, the bed went through. but if you like the caravan, then by all means, go for it, it's not all bad, some of our friends have had their lunar for 8 or 9 years now, relatively trouble free.

 

[Mikey_74]

Thanks for all of your comments, all have been taken into account, the layout we like is the 615's, rear bunks down the back end of the van with the kids own little table, all of which we can shut off at night superb, sadly though if a twin axle I'm limited to 1600 or if single axle about 1480 to be comfortable, and this is were the Lunars score very well, we really liked the Quasar 615, and I think this is the van we'll seek, the ideal time would be just after Christmas, from a dealer, (need Finance) in this difficult time where there is very little on the market we may have a major task on our hands and f one becomes available before our ideal time we'll just have to snap it up I think.

Once again Many thanks for all your comments

Regards Mike & Emma

 

[60North]

Hi Mike

We've had our 2004 Quasar 615 for just over 18 months now and are delighted with it. The layout suits all ages of families very well.

After a great deal of research we, like you, picked on the 615 both for it's layout and low weight. It then took us some 4 months to track down a suitable model, and that was at the other end of the country!

Our advice, keep looking

 

[Mikey_74]

Hi 60 North, yes like you the 615 is the layout we've decided on as it suits us now and I think it will be future proof with our 2 daughters, although another one we like is the avondale argente 650 with the same type of layout but seperate shower room, either way by the time we've found a van and phoned about it they're always sold!!! Still I'm hoping that everybody is going to buy a new van at the show next month and the market will be flooded with vans of that age/spec so we can pick and choose.......Pleeeeeeeease.......

 

[Martin24]

They don't call them leaky lunars for nothing

 

[Del_374232870]

They don't call them leaky lunars for nothing

How many Lunars have you had Martin?

 

[Parksy]

A Lunar built caravan is no more or less likely to leak than a caravan manufactured by any other company.

There are so many variables that could contribute to water ingress, at long last the caravan industry is starting to address these issues but the term 'Leaky Lunar' is just one of those sayings that trips off peoples tongue with no basis in actual fact with present day construction methods.

We don't see a disproportionately high number of forum complaints about Lunars build quality although every manufacturer comes under fire from forum contributors.

 

[Martin24]

How many Lunars have you had Martin?

only 1, that was enough once bitten and all that

 

[NigelHutson]

A Lunar built caravan is no more or less likely to leak than a caravan manufactured by any other company.

There are so many variables that could contribute to water ingress, at long last the caravan industry is starting to address these issues but the term 'Leaky Lunar' is just one of those sayings that trips off peoples tongue with no basis in actual fact with present day construction methods.

We don't see a disproportionately high number of forum complaints about Lunars build quality although every manufacturer comes under fire from forum contributors.

We currently have a 2009 Lunar Lexon SE, with which we have had numerous (admittedly in the main, minor) issues, and the 'van is going back to Lunar for rectification. Having looked recently at other marques, Lunar's build quality is at least as good as most, and better than some.

As well as leaky Lunar's, there are "boggy Baileys" and "soggy Swifts". All, I hasten to add, are in the main without justification.

 

[Chrisanne]

We are now on our 3rd Lunar over the last 22 years...the previous 2 lasted 9 and 10 years respectively before being traded in for our present Van a Lunar Lexon 640RS bought last year. For us they offer great spec. and lightweight...if that means flimsy..well we have never found that to be the case.. and affordable.

As for leaky Lunars...just something that has done the round over the years and now has stuck...A lot of Vans suffer from some ingress over the years anyway.

Don't believe everything you read...if you see a Van you like whatever the make..go for it..and enjoy!!

Chris .

 

[Allen774]

Hi Mike,

Sorry to say that I can not recomend Lunar to anyone,especially the Lexon EW T/A 2003 and the Delta 640 2005,to list the faults would take far too long.I did get rid of them both after owning them for nearly 6 months,they were lovely looking and had everything you could want but they proved to be far to flimsey and the fittings were not up to the job,We used are vans every other weekend and did a lot of continental touring,there are only two of us so misuse by children was not an issue.

Both of them started to fall to bits in the same way from the roof down and I suggest if you go for either of these models that is the first thing you should check,look for rippling or corrugations,you will need a ladder.

I do know people who have the Clubman with the one piece roof and they have not had any problems at all.

Good luck in your choice and I do hope that you get a good one.

Allen

 

[Peter_5124314]

I`m interested in a 2010 Luna Delta RS and for the life of me I can`t find out what the bodyshell is made from, ie aluminium or GRP? There`s no mention on there website.Any ideas folks. Pete

 

[NigelHutson]

I`m interested in a 2010 Luna Delta RS and for the life of me I can`t find out what the bodyshell is made from, ie aluminium or GRP? There`s no mention on there website.Any ideas folks. Pete

Aluminium roof and sides, with either GRP/ABS front and rear.

 

[sandt_374242043]

I`m interested in a 2010 Luna Delta RS and for the life of me I can`t find out what the bodyshell is made from, ie aluminium or GRP? There`s no mention on there website.Any ideas folks. Pete

Hi

The terms leaky Lunar,soggy swifts and boggy baileys have been around for many years and if you read posts on this and other forums you would not buy a caravan. Forums are generally used by disgruntled owners to vent their feelings about poor build quality and bad customer service very few owners comment on how good their vans are. My present van is a Lunar, I have owned it for two years and have spent 150+ nights in it. It is well screwed together and certainly not flimsy and if I was in the market for a new van I would seriously consider the new Lunar Clubman.

Sandt

 

[sandt_374242043]

Hi

The terms leaky Lunar,soggy swifts and boggy baileys have been around for many years and if you read posts on this and other forums you would not buy a caravan. Forums are generally used by disgruntled owners to vent their feelings about poor build quality and bad customer service very few owners comment on how good their vans are. My present van is a Lunar, I have owned it for two years and have spent 150+ nights in it. It is well screwed together and certainly not flimsy and if I was in the market for a new van I would seriously consider the new Lunar Clubman.

Sandt

 

[Peter_5124314]

Aluminium roof and sides, with either GRP/ABS front and rear.

Many thanks, Pete

 

[JulieandStuart]

Hi

The terms leaky Lunar,soggy swifts and boggy baileys have been around for many years and if you read posts on this and other forums you would not buy a caravan. Forums are generally used by disgruntled owners to vent their feelings about poor build quality and bad customer service very few owners comment on how good their vans are. My present van is a Lunar, I have owned it for two years and have spent 150+ nights in it. It is well screwed together and certainly not flimsy and if I was in the market for a new van I would seriously consider the new Lunar Clubman.

Sandt

We bought our first van in Sept 08 - we hadn't got a clue what we were buying, saw it, liked it and bought it, superb quality; excellent spec for two people (and our puppy) - what was it?? A 2004 Lunar Clubman 475 2CK. In the 12 months we've had our van we've consistently compared it to other vans (now we have some idea of what we're talking about) and nothing comes close. Would we buy Lunar again, dead right we would - got my eye on the lovely Lunar Clubman SE - just waiting for thta lottery win!!

The great British public will only ever moan about what's wrong, we never say whats good .. well I'm flying the flag for Lunar and my advise .... go for it and enjoy!!