New Bailey should I

Nov 11, 2019
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Hi,
I'm looking for some advice please, We are thinking of buying a new 2022 Bailey Alicanto Porto but I am a bit concerned about the water ingress Bailey has been plagued with in the past. It's a lot of money to spend so want to get it right. Have Bailey overcome their leaky problems? what do you all think. Any help would be much appreciated.

B W.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Sadly most makes of caravans leak. My best advice , daft as it may sound, is to have your new purchase fully inspected and tested by a qualified caravan engineer , before handing over to you. Make sure he tests , tries , all aspects of your proposed purchase.
 
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May 24, 2014
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To answer directly. I have just ordered a 2022 Unicorn. Intend to extend warrsnty to 6 yrs and water ingress to 10 yrs respectively.

Currently have Sterling Continental. Bailey cant be any worse.
 
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Jun 16, 2020
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A recent thread talked about how limited the water ingress warrantee is. If I remember, only body joints are included, not little bits like windows, window surrounds and wheel arches. Forget the details but worth double checking. Also can’t remember what make, but I think it concluded they were a much of a mucheness.

John
 
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Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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I agree with DD, all caravans have the potential to leak. Quality control is awful. Bailey were known for a leaky roof strap which was reportedly resolved Post 2018. However our 2019 Pegasus had a leaky roof strap. This was eventually fixed under warranty. No issue with the claim, but getting the parts took months. Perhaps we were just unlucky.
mel
 
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A recent thread talked about how limited the water ingress warrantee is. If I remember, only body joints are included, not little bits like windows, window surrounds and wheel arches. Forget the details but worth double checking. Also can’t remember what make, but I think it concluded they were a much of a mucheness.

John
It is a bit of a con as it is only the sealed joints that come under the warranty and the chances of them having water ingress are virtually zero.
TBH IMHO damp on any caravan under 6 years of age should be classed as an inherent fault in the design or manufacture and claimed under CRA 2015.
 
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Oct 8, 2006
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We're on our third Bailey - Pageant Majestic S5, Pegasus 462, and currently a Unicorn 4 Seville - and the only water ingress we had was the usual of into the from lockers (due to poorly sealed grab handles) on the Peg.

At least there are no more 'Leaky Lunars' to be had!
 
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Jan 31, 2018
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Current Bailey's are really good and given their construction,leaks don't stain or damage wall boards. Super caravan don't worry.
 
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Jul 19, 2021
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Forums are always skewed, you get to see all the issues that owners have, but you don't get to see how many DONT have issues.
My Bailey Pegasus GT65 is 6 years old and touch wood no damp. Although I did have some water ingress from a toilet cassette hatch but Bailey are not the only ones with that issue. I fixed it myself for a tenner. I see that they use a different style door now anyway.
 
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Regardless of which make of caravan you consider, with the present methods of construction, they all have the potential to leak. Until the manufacturers start to adopt proper quality control to maintain consistency of construction, there is no certainty that successive caravans from the production line will be good or bad.

Survey's from the last couple of years suggest there is about a 20% warranty rate for new caravans. That does suggest 80% are basically ok, but 20% is a ridiculous high failure rate and the industry should not simply accept it they should be actively resolving it, rather than spending time making changes for the sake of change.
 
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Jun 20, 2005
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The big disappointment is that Alu-tech. All the various bounding and composites still haven’t solved the water ingress problem. Surely there must be a sealant that is21st Century bullet proof? Sorry, just dreaming😉😉
 
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New Bailey's don't have front lockers. Leaks are generally roof straps or floor but we had no issues and if they do leak their construction means little or no damage. No wood. Other than the floor. That seems a big shame to me.
 
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That was the point I was coming too. Water ingree by the front locker - no longer exists - so thats one problem solved. The other issue, ignoring the grab handles I heard, and I stress heard, was that panels where they met the floor allowed water in, but as I understand it the panels on the latest models overlap the floor edge and water drips off rather than finds away under. How true this is I dont know, but if it is true it would appear at least Bailey are trying to alleviate the issue rather than just ignore it.

Currently we have the SWIFT SMART HD Construction, which does include the floor, and I have to be honest and say I really like the construction. Its such a shame that some of the materials inside are beyond bottom budget and ruin what could have been an excellent caravan.

Either way, the Bailey reports of water ingress arent putting me off at all and we are looking forward to a new chapter.
 
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You're right re the floor too in that it was I think a plastic trim overlap issue. Certainly never any sign of a problem on ours. We would definitely have another Bailey.
 
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The Bailey Alu-tec use a continuous roof , front and rear panel. That does away with the two roof straps. Never had a problem with the grab handles . The front locker box was never water sealed. Water does get in , usually spray through the vents by the gas bottles, nothing that causes damp. The floors seem to be the vulnerable points. As the Prof said the real problem is the poor workmanship at point of assembly. A ridiculous state of affairs in the 21st century.
 
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... As the Prof said the real problem is the poor workmanship at point of assembly. A ridiculous state of affairs in the 21st century.

It isn't just the workmanship that's the problem. A well designed product can prevent workmanship errors by making it virtually impossible to assemble it incorrectly. this is sometimes called de-skilling. So for example if a sealing compound is needed its pre prepared as a gasket, or its an action that is automated.

I would guess that if a prepared gasket cost 20 pounds more, its likely to save far more than that in warranty claims, so the price of the caravan should not increase.

Investing in quality may seem to put money on the BOM. but it often more than pays for itself in reduced after sales costs, and improved customer satisfaction leading to repeat orders.

The bean counters approach of cutting all manufacturing costs to absolute minimum has often been shown to give rise to much bigger aftersales costs due to poorer reliability. Its a short sighted approach, that has let many businesses down.

Modern businesses that are successful look at the whole life impact of designs, and consider things like customer satisfaction with the same regard as production cost.
 
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We had problems with some aircraft repairs, due to bean counters non payments to suppliers , we didn't have, enough sealeants, so engineering quality was decreased, sealants were thinner, we got the jobs done but fuel cells, started leaking after a year, aircraft in for repairs, engineers refused to work until supply increased. Bean counters replaced, supply reinstated. etc. False economy.
 
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We had problems with some aircraft repairs, due to bean counters non payments to suppliers , we didn't have, enough sealeants, so engineering quality was decreased, sealants were thinner, we got the jobs done but fuel cells, started leaking after a year, aircraft in for repairs, engineers refused to work until supply increased. Bean counters replaced, supply reinstated. etc. False economy.
Look too at Boeing's woes. First the Dreamliner issues then the 737 for what happens when corners are cut.
 

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