Quality of modern Caravans...

Page 4 - Passionate about caravans & motorhome? Join our community to share that passion with a global audience!
Mar 14, 2005
17,557
3,051
50,935
Visit site
I have to disagree about doing right first time costing more. Several business I have been involved with have clearly demonstrated that by adopting a right first time, the savings in scrap and rework time and materials exceeds the small additional costs of using quality assured suppliers.

Ironically production rates (good product leaving factory) is not adversely affected, and reduced warranty costs raises profitability. There are other benefits such as a very positive customer base.

A good quality Management system has to be driven from the board room, you cannot succeed if you have try to drive it by only inspecting final product.
 
Jul 18, 2017
11,951
3,329
32,935
Visit site
I have to disagree about doing right first time costing more. Several business I have been involved with have clearly demonstrated that by adopting a right first time, the savings in scrap and rework time and materials exceeds the small additional costs of using quality assured suppliers.

Ironically production rates (good product leaving factory) is not adversely affected, and reduced warranty costs raises profitability. There are other benefits such as a very positive customer base.

A good quality Management system has to be driven from the board room, you cannot succeed if you have try to drive it by only inspecting final product.
We built two way radios for the army and air force and we had to get it right first time as not much use to a troopie in the bush who needs help or even a casevac. We used quality parts and the radios were reliable and robust. The only time we had them back was if they got damaged. They were at a reasonable price otherwise the defence force would not have agreed to the contract.
 
Jun 20, 2005
17,266
3,486
50,935
Visit site
So true Prof.
I had a product recall claim years ago. One million units involved. They used an inferior weld. A correct one would have cost less than 1p per unit. It was all about using the cheapest component weld material. Things have improved but there are employees paid good money to source parts cheap. Quality isn’t a prime mover! Let me loose and I reckon I could reduce the Warranty bill significantly .The chargers I mentioned would probably not cost more than £5.00 a unit. Wind back. Why are component manufacturers still making rubbish😪😪😪.And the big boys still buy crap?!?!
 
Jun 26, 2017
445
16
10,685
Visit site
Our caravan is just under 3 years old and recently we found what could potentially be an issue leading to cracked panels. Ten days ago I sent the dealer pictures of the issue and still no response. Phoning is a waste of time as no one answers the phone and it just rings and rings!
The issue is that in the front gas locker on the offside there is a metal strip that attaches the outer wall to the inner I assume to prevent movement and additional stresses which could cause the outer panels to crack. All the rivets are missing on the one side. On the nearside they are all in place.
Obviously this is of concern to us as we want to use the caravan and all we want is some feedback!View attachment 601

This was the subject of a well-known recent Swift safety recall notice. It would seem that on a number of 2017 vans, the aluminium angle that was supposed to be glued and screwed was missing the glue. This can lead to the screws vibrating loose and ultimately falling out as per your example. Nothing to do with panels cracking though, and only subject to a Safety recall because it can cause movement of the bulkhead to which the gas pipe is fixed. Swift have been distributing calendars showing available Engineers time slots to registered owners and encouraging them to get in touch so that their van can be inspected and if necessary, remedial action taken.

I’m assuming that you haven’t been contacted ? ... Did you purchase the van from new ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dustydog and Hutch
Jul 18, 2017
11,951
3,329
32,935
Visit site
This was the subject of a well-known recent Swift safety recall notice. It would seem that on a number of 2017 vans, the aluminium angle that was supposed to be glued and screwed was missing the glue. This can lead to the screws vibrating loose and ultimately falling out as per your example. Nothing to do with panels cracking though, and only subject to a Safety recall because it can cause movement of the bulkhead to which the gas pipe is fixed. Swift have been distributing calendars showing available Engineers time slots to registered owners and encouraging them to get in touch so that their van can be inspected and if necessary, remedial action taken.

I’m assuming that you haven’t been contacted ? ... Did you purchase the van from new ?
Last night I got a response after 10 days and probably because I re-sent the email. This was the answer "I have spoken to our engineers about this issue and they have advised me that they have seen this before. They think the screws have worked loose during travel. When the van comes in in October they can refit these for you. The metal strip is also additionally held on with sealant and this we believe will be sufficient for you to carry on and use until your visit in October."
Hopefully they are correct. We have three more outings booked with 2 fairly local and one 2 hours drive, but all three are mostly on A roads.
 
Nov 11, 2009
20,111
6,135
50,935
Visit site
This was the subject of a well-known recent Swift safety recall notice. It would seem that on a number of 2017 vans, the aluminium angle that was supposed to be glued and screwed was missing the glue. This can lead to the screws vibrating loose and ultimately falling out as per your example. Nothing to do with panels cracking though, and only subject to a Safety recall because it can cause movement of the bulkhead to which the gas pipe is fixed. Swift have been distributing calendars showing available Engineers time slots to registered owners and encouraging them to get in touch so that their van can be inspected and if necessary, remedial action taken.

I’m assuming that you haven’t been contacted ? ... Did you purchase the van from new ?
Doesn’t look quite like the Swift recall photos that I’ve seen. Is it a Swift one?
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts