NEC Caravans on display.

[travellerone]

I was a little disappointed at the condition of some of the caravans that I visited at the show. I appreciate some had undergone a few days heavy foot traffic but !
Handles and fittings loose.
Doors not closing correctly with a poor fit.
Exposed wiring on show running inside wardrobes.
Hot and cold water pipes exposed that were on the inside of an external hatch to under bed storage.
Quality of the plastic vessels in bathrooms, one was cracked.
I was very impressed with some of the German brands, just wish they would offer doors on the UK side.

 

[Martin24]

The footfall probably has very little to do with it. It's just what is happening in the industry at the moment with poor quality, fit and finish. Sadly getting more and more the norm.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Cable looms and water pipes have never been placed in conduits in British made caravans. In fact the running of these items are where it is more convenient during manufacture with no concern what so ever as to the possible danger to them by the user, or the user having sensible storage space.

My van has an upright piece of 2x1 wood (under the off side front bench, part way along it) to support the water pressure damper vertically. The damper is located on the side that causes most interference to using the bed locker for storage. It would have been more user-friendly on the other side of the upright. where you can't store items in any case, as the pressure switch is mounted on the floor there and is in the way. hmy:

Edit - it is obvious, as has been stated many timesbefore, caravan designers are NOT caravan users. Designers only care about pretty graphics on the outside - why? :evil: :evil:

 

[pitpony]

I don't mind exposed water pipes, last year on the Blackhorse CC site at Folkestone my wife noticed water on the floor near the fridge on inspection the tap body on the sink had an hair line crack, a trip down to the caravan dealers in the village for a replacement tap and within a couple of hours I had a new tap fitted,

 

[Abinitio1989]

There were some VERY rough edges in many of the show models we looked in at the show (from all of the major UK manufacturers.

Nobody (I don't think) would accept a new car with the "lack of finish" displayed, why do people still accept new caravans in such state? Its bewildering!

 

[Hutch]

Hot and cold water pipes exposed that were on the inside of an external hatch to under bed storage.

On my 2013 Coachman the pipes are hidden under a conduit on the under bed door.

 

[xtrailman]

I've had caravans with cables in lidded trucking.
And the Swift HT models also have a clever idea where the cables can be tucked out of sight at ceiling level.

Pipes i prefer on show to inspect any leaking joints.

To be honest i think some people deliberately pull things apart just for fun, and who's to say it might even be someone from a rival make, its a quick way to destroy competition.

I've also driven VW and Vauxhall cars on demo with trim etc hanging off, so its not just caravans.

 

[Raywood]

I suspect some people do pull things apart to see how strong they are but a bit of damage from the useage they get is inevitable given they way they are treated which does not happen in real life. They also suffer from bits being taken. I would hope the businesses involved go through them each night and put right any problems though.