I'm in the same position as you, Ollie. Like you, i fancied a Lunar and now find they are no more! Like you, I like the look of a Bailey BUT i have now been told N number of times that they suffer from damp more than other brands.
touch choices !
Hi Steve what about a Adria Caravan they appear to have a good reputation for long evity.
The big difference if a more modern caravan gets water ingress is that all, or a lot, of the materials now used are impermeable to water damage. I knew Bailey alutech did have some problems with condensation running down and affecting the board flooring in the corners , but I thought that had been solved. So whilst water ingress could be upsetting its potential to do damage should be less, especially if detected early.
Parksy
Moderator
The time has come to draw a line under the discussion about the differences between driving articulated lorries and towing a caravan.
This thread asked for advice about the choice of caravans and their relative pros and cons.
It's not about commercial vehicles.
If there's nothing constructive and on topic to add, scroll on by.
I’m going to support the idea of buying from a dealer unless you are pretty confident regarding both assessment of the van and able to fix unforeseen faults yourself that will inevitably arise in a s/h purchase. There are lots of things that go wrong with caravans. Dealers can be pricey, they are factoring in repair costs for faults they know the customer will find during the warranty period. Our dealer earned their keep in this respect, replacing a skylight and a window and some catches that cracked as the older van came back into use (old plastic gets brittle, multiple failures may occur if a little used van comes into use). They would have been costly replacements. Happy to mention them as a customer, no connection, as they were great, no resistance to fixing problems at all,
Used Caravans & Second Hand Caravans for Sale
www.thecaravancompany.com
Steve
When we rejected our caravan due to numerous faults, it was the Caravan Company that bought it and had on their forecourt within 2-3 days. Just saying.I’m going to support the idea of buying from a dealer unless you are pretty confident regarding both assessment of the van and able to fix unforeseen faults yourself that will inevitably arise in a s/h purchase. There are lots of things that go wrong with caravans. Dealers can be pricey, they are factoring in repair costs for faults they know the customer will find during the warranty period. Our dealer earned their keep in this respect, replacing a skylight and a window and some catches that cracked as the older van came back into use (old plastic gets brittle, multiple failures may occur if a little used van comes into use). They would have been costly replacements. Happy to mention them as a customer, no connection, as they were great, no resistance to fixing problems at all,
Used Caravans & Second Hand Caravans for Sale
Steve
Fair comment. The issues we had were predictable. Someone had dobbed some silicone on a small crack near the hinge side of the skylight. And on cracks on the other window. Could have been anyone but…. Failure of both in use inevitable. Tow electrics terrible, being me I just did those, wanted a 13 pin anyway. So you could get the impression they only fix what they have to, primarily a customer driven process. Rather like the deal with a brand new caravan where the customer seems responsible for the QC 😀. Later discussions did strongly indicate that they don’t like unsatisfied customers though, absolutely no quibble about the repairs which is why I mentioned them. All s/h caravans are going to break? It’s whether they fix them?When we rejected our caravan due to numerous faults, it was the Caravan Company that bought it and had on their forecourt within 2-3 days. Just saying.
Steve
Our rejected caravan required a new front panel and about another £5k repairs to be done. All manufacturing and dealer issues. At 11 months it was still within the 30 day window believe it or not!
Parksy
Moderator
As an alternative purchase strategy, If you have any family or close friends who caravan, I'm sure they would be happy to go with you to look at caravans, and their experience may catch things that a novice might not.
A further possible option if you have any neighbours with a caravan, caravanning might be an ice breaker subject to make contact with them and to see if they might help you.
A further possible option if you have any neighbours with a caravan, caravanning might be an ice breaker subject to make contact with them and to see if they might help you.
Facebook
Twitter