Bailey Unicorn Series 3 Cadiz- Build Quality.
22 April 2015
Open Letter to Nick Howard, Managing Director Bailey Caravans
Copy: Bailey Customer Services, Bailey Marketing Department, Editor Caravan Club Magazine, Caravan
Club Discussion Group
Dear Mr Howard
RE: Bailey Unicorn Cadiz S3
This is my second Bailey. The first was a Unicorn Valencia S1 purchased in 2011.
I was first attracted to Bailey by the 10 year guarantee against water ingress. Sadly there was a significant damp issue around the front lockers in my first Bailey. The floor had to be replaced. I was going to replace the Valencia with a Swift but 2 salesmen
explained that Bailey had made significant improvements to address the previous issues found in Series 1 and 2. I was finally persuaded by the arguments and was drawn to the layout and design of the new Cadiz, so I paid my deposit. When I took the old van
into the dealers as part exchange they found further damp in the front lockers and in the offside back corner. I was surprised and pleased that I had traded it in.
What follows is a list of quality related issues I have to date discovered on my new Cadiz since I took delivery from Robinsons Caravans of Chesterfield on Tuesday 24th March.
- 1. Delay.
Delivery to the dealer was delayed. The build date changed from week commencing 23/2/15 to 9/3/15.
- 2. Further delay.
We had arranged to collect the van on Friday 20th March. This was further delayed because there was an issue fitting the new Power Touch mover. I was told that because the battery box has been moved to the underfloor locker near the axle the wiring
kits provided by Power Touch are not suitable. I had to wait for a new cable to be despatched to the dealer. I eventually collected the van on Tuesday 24th March.
Given the fact that the S3 has been around for a few months why did this suddenly become a problem?
- 3. Awning Rail
Before taking the van on a long tow we booked on to a site 5 miles away from the dealer. We checked everything and all seemed ok with one exception. The awning would not slide onto the rail. There were two obstructions both on the two clips. I went back
to the dealer and spoke to a fitter. He said that if I took it back to their workshop they would use a knife and if necessary a file to clear the track. I eventually cleared a big glob of sealant from each area and used a small file to widen the track for
the awning. After an hour we had the awning on.
Reading various discussion groups I have discovered that this seems to be a common issue. Is it and if so why has nothing been done to resolve it
- 4. Bathroom Door
The bathroom door brushes against the trim on the back skylight. I did not pick this up during the handover. There is nothing that can be adjusted so I’ll just have to live with it.
Quality control issue.
- 5. Shower door
After opening the shower door a couple of times we were unable to close it. The reason being to the magnetic strip slipping down its channel on the door thus preventing it from closing. This was quickly fixed by nipping the bottom of the channel with a pair
of pliers.
Not a major issue but one which you could easily address.
- 6. Wardrobe Hanging Rail
After the first tow with clothes hanging we arrived at our destination with clothes all over the place. The hanging rail had fallen down. This was easily addressed by using a pair of pliers to slightly twist the ends of the hanging rail so that they fit
more tightly into the supported at each end.
Once again not a major issue but another example of poor quality control and lack of attention to detail.
- 7. Cosmetic finishes
One of the reasons for selecting this van was that I liked the layout and the finishes. Sadly one of the cosmetic features is not as it should be. The mock suede feature above the front window which accommodates the three LED lights is full of air bubbles.
Once again not a major issue but another example of poor quality control and lack of attention to detail.
- 8. Radio
Reassured that everything seemed to be working we ventured further afield to the Abbey Wood Site in London. Upon arrival I noticed the radio had moved out of the metal sleeve. I pushed it firmly back in. It fell out during the next two tows. After thinking
about it then from close observation I came to the conclusion that the metal sleeve had been installed upside down so there was no way the two dimples would ever engage with the radio itself. So I took the sleeve out, reinstalled it the other way and hey presto
the radio is now secure.
This is minor but should not happen if your technicians did their job properly.
- 9. Jockey Wheel.
I note that the actual jockey wheel has been swapped for one which is wider and with a rubber tread. I like this. However, with the caravan within weight tolerance and a nose weight of 75kg the jockey wheel has been damaged due to contact with speed humps
and the ramp on the Dover ferry. I think this is because the wheel itself is a larger diameter than the last one and it is also slightly forward so easily grounds.
Could you please look into this issue.
- 10. Kitchen Tap.
The kitchen tap valve cannot be fully opened clockwise as it hits the trip of the cassette window blind.
Design/quality issue.
- 11. Clock
As we arrived in France I decided to change the time on the small clock fitted next to the offside radio speaker. I fought with it for 20 minutes to get it out because it was so tight (it took a long time because I did not want to damage the clock or the
aperture.) I eventually got it out but the rubber surround which holds it in place is lost in the void. I remounted it using rubber bands.
Poor design.
- 12. Heating System
During our first night in the van we tested everything we could think of especially the heating system on gas and electricity. It coped extremely well with outside temperatures falling to -2 deg C.
Sadly a fault appeared when camping near Geneva. The 6 amps provided was not enough to heat the van on a cold night so we switched to gas which worked well for 10 minutes then we got a very loud vibrating sound.
I switched off immediately fearing the system was dry. It was not. So we started again and again it started vibrating after 10 minutes.
For info the gas seems to be flowing ok as we have no problems cooking.
After reading page 66 of the handbook I followed the instructions for air lock.
I was surprised to find the heating pump had already been set to speed 5 (instead of the recommended speed 2 for a caravan). After following the procedure to the letter we still get loud vibrations on gas.
a) Pump set to 5 not 2. Evidence of poor quality control.
b) Vibrations continue – must be a fault.
- 13. Registration Plate
Somewhere between Milan and Venice the registration plate fell off the back of the caravan. Fortunately the Caravan Clubs Red Pennant service were able to dispatch a new one within 24 hours.
Dealer Issue. Not enough double sided tape used.
- 14. Electric cables are sagging below the body of the caravan.
Cables are sagging beneath the nearside front and back corners and underneath the tow bar fairing. The back one was held in place by a plastic hook fixed with double side tape which has failed the front ones were held in place using globs of sealant. I have
secured with a mixture of double sides tape and gaffer tape.
Poor design and appalling quality control
In order to balance this lengthy list of issues I would like to add the following:
- We like the layout.
- I am 6ft 2inches tall but the large single bed easily accommodates me. (We did however replace the hard mattresses with memory foam ones.
- The large fridge is great. Sadly it is not possible to accommodate a 1 litre bottle of soft drink in the door as the shelves are too narrow.
- The fact that the gas and battery lockers are now centrally located make it easier to get the nose weight down. Subsequently the caravan tows very well.
- We miss the centrally located light ceiling light.
- The kitchen extension flap is welcome.
- I prefer the smaller front and back skylights to the former larger ones.
- Could the pull out table at the front be made a bit deeper?
- Good to see that the external gas barbecue point has been moved from offside to nearside.
- Kitchen layout much better than MK2.
- I can’t see the point of the solar panel. Has anyone ever asked for this? I would prefer not to have this and save the weight.
Summary
I have been towing a caravan for 26 years. I manage risk carefully so the caravan is always loaded correctly.
I have an upgraded weight plate to the maximum 1550kg. The caravan is fitted with the latest Power Touch caravan mover. The caravan was weighed after we had loaded it sadly it was several kilograms overweight so we took out the microwave and now carry heavy
items such as gas cylinders, chairs and the cable reel in the car.
Finally, I appreciate that many of these issues are minor but, they reflect a generally poor attitude to quality control and lack of pride in doing a good job. I now fear for any issues I cannot see.
I paid almost as much for this new caravan as I did for my tow car, a Honda CRV.
I have not had any problems with my CRV. The radio has not fallen out, the cables have never shaken loose, there are no air bubbles in the roof…… you get where this is going.
I would not accept these sort of issues in a car so why should I accept them in a caravan?
If only Honda made caravans!
Comments
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I know I am a few years late but interested as to if any reply was received. I too wrote to Bailey re a few quality control concerns. In the end were fixed but with a proviso basically I did not annoy them again!
All well and good the MD putting in an appearance on the Caravan Show tv programme and extolling the virtue of his vans pity it does not filter down to common manners.
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We'll Bailey Caravans still have quality issues, I part exchanged my Series 3 Cadiz for a Series 4 Cadiz and wow never ending quality problems. This includes the 1st new series 4 being rejected by the dealer and returned to Bailey. The replacement remains problematic with faults and quality issues.
I reckon the whole caravan industry is like where the car industry was 30yrs ago with not bad products but rubbish quality. Bailey Caravans seem to be preocupied with one issue and that is volume production. Make one every 3 minutes and forget the customer and quality.
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i know im more interested in MHs but look at the Swift or AS forums and you'll see that Bailey are far from alone.
while there are plenty of threads about dogs, modifications, destinations etc, the overwhelming majority are about faults.
whats saddening is that there are easily identified recurring issues, with owner after owner getting the same fault on a particular model..
at least Swift monitor their forum and even reply from time to time but when I asked on AS if certain 'popular' (not) issues were passed on by the mods to AS HQ so that they could be formally identified and eradicated at source (basic root cause analysis) by factory process changes, I was told this wonderful source of raw, real, data wasn't communicated in any way and if owners had a gripe contact the dealer or visit one of AS 'meetings'....
as mentioned above, these issues must be costing a packet and wouldn't any business want to use this info to make the product better and remove the need for customers to traipse all over the country and for dealers to spend time fixing the same issue over and over again...
however, if the dealer gets paid, every time for shelling peas, where's the incentive for them to cut off this nice little earner....?
i really don't get it, but why would I, I'm just a customer....
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We've been caravanning for almost 40 years, the only exception to good quality caravans was an Explorer Group Compass which was that badly made you could see daylight through the front window frames and the cupboards were coming away from the walls. Needless to say we keep clear of Explorer/Elddis now...
We too purchased a Unicorn 3 Cadiz, looked super inside, BUT after the first winter in storage I got the van out for an Eater trip only to find it was rotten and mouldy inside where the rear roof seal had leaked (a known problem to Bailey, which I consider should have been a quality recall).
Dealer did sort it out but we missed our Easter break, I wrote to Bailey but they were not in the least it bothered.
Needless to say (again!) we swapped the van on the very day we got it back from being repaired, and will never venture near a Bailey caravan again.
We are on our second Coachman - with no issues or concerns other than a loose pipe under the sink........
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As stated previously by another poster Bailey are not alone in being "crap" others are just as bad. I am in the process of selling my Bailey and talking to a dealer he is totally fed up with Bailey. Once the van has left the factory they could not care less. My first and last Bailey
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If they are that bad why do you keep buying them. The other year I talked to a guy on the CL who was on his third Bailey. His wife commented that she hoped the new one was going to be better than the previous two because they had both had damp and had to be returned to the factory. I asked him why he kept buying them and he said it was because he kept it there and thats what they sold. He also commented that it was easy to get it fixed he just phoned them and it was already on site.
They have just as much trouble building Motorhomes. I suppose at the end of the day it's down to price and they do have the Uk spec which non of the foreign vans have ( Microwave, Cooker, Large Bathroom, U Shaped Lounge, Crap Beds and terrible build quality.
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I am afraid that the quality problem is not limited to Bailey and indeed if the customer surveys carried out by Practical Caravan are correct bailey are by no means the worst. The industry even including the foreign built ones cannot top 90% satisfaction so it does not bode well for whatever you buy but if you want one then you just have to check carefully and keep your fingers crossed.
The mover problem seems to be down to Powertouch or the dealer though, as Powertouch supply the kit and the Bailey batteries have been in the floor for some time, so there should be a kit for them. Powertouch are generally regarded as very good, and it does make me wonder if this was an excuse by the dealer who might have ordered the wrong kit, as if they did not make the kit for these caravans they would lose a lot of sales.
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We poked our head in a Bailey Motorhome today at the local Dealers. There is a cupboard to keep the table in with a long thin door. The door to the cupboard was the shape of a banana. Very poor design. If its bent that much already makes you wonder what the rest of it is going to be like in a years time.
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Whilst this resurrected thread is four years old, the problems highlighted are very much current so no improvement in build quality by the industry.
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I’m a bit late on this thread but we too have had issues on a 12 month old Cadiz 3 we purchased in 2017 but not just manufacturer issues but dealer. When we went on our first trip the motor mover would not engage with the tyres as if had been fitted/ adjusted correctly. We then had a leak at the back which was fixed at no cost by the dealer when Bailey would not honour the work as we had missed a service. They did offer details of a company who provided similar cover and for just £100 a year! The dealer had in fact missed the service as it should have been done between the time they took the van in and when we collected it which was after the anniversary window. This is our first newish van and had I known about this we would have walked away from it. That said the layout is exactly what we want (other than no central light) and my old Sportage tows it like a dream.
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I have always had Bailey Caravans without any problems. My 4th. new Caravan was a Bailey Pegasus with the new Alu-Tech build,it quickly had DAMP problems, Bailey sorted it, after 3 years I was beguiled by the Lunar Clubman.
When I part exchanged the Pegasus more damp was found but I had a new Lunar so didn't care.
In the second year of owning the Lunar it was off the road with serious Damp problems for over 8 month, most of the time was waiting for Lunar/Campbells Caravans (the suppling dealer) to get round to sorting it. After 3 years of ownership the Lunar was again damp and the floor was delaminated I part exchanged it for a Bailey Unicorn 3 Cadiz, a very nice caravan.
On the 2nd. year service I was told that the suspension of the Unicorn needed replacing Bailey refused to do it, Al-Ko refused, both said I had damaged it by hitting a Pot Hole or overloading the caravan. It cost me £1200 and it was damp.
Whilst repairing the damp to the near side a lot of other damp was found at the front of the caravan so that was also repaired.
I have had enough, I part exed the van and have bought an Adria Adora, a caravan with a reputation for NOT BEING DAMP.
I like Bailey Caravans but I will not have another one or any other British caravan until they get there act together.
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reading all this I think I've been very lucky - until now - yesterday my Coachman VIP was diagnosed with damp after 14 years of faithful service. Let's face it, at the end of the day we're pulling a box, stuck together with glue around some of the worst roads in Europe, it's inevitable they're going to leak sooner or later. Make the most of them while you can, it's still a great pastime!
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In just over four years of ownership of a U3 Barcelona, the only real problem we had was a leaking shower tray, which was down to poor design and cost me £500 for the dealer to put right. We sold it shortly thereafter and bought a Knaus Starclass which has just had its first service. The highest damp reading was 4% (in mid October).
I won't say the van has been perfect but I'm hoping the 'teething' troubles have now been sorted - mainly replacing the useless Dometic toilet which is a Dometic problem - nothing to do with the quality of the van which is certainly in a totally different league from the Bailey. For example, the shower 'tray' actually extends about 8" up the walls, so there's no chance of it leaking as the Bailey one did. I was also impressed with the fact that Knaus insist that fresh underseal is applied to the underneath of the wooden laminate floor at every service - a fairly obvious thing to do, but apparently only Knaus and Eriba do it.
It strikes me that British vans don't seem to be designed by people who have any practical knowledge of using them - otherwise a few simple, and fairly obvious design changes could eradicate many of the problems reported on here.
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