Bailey Caravans - a warning
In 2012 my wife and I decided that we wanted a larger caravan. After looking at several we decided on the Bailey Orion 530-6, as it had a fixed bed, sufficient headroom, space for grandchildren and for its size was fairly light. We purchased the caravan
in May 2012. Although some of the build quality and design were not as good as we were expecting from such a reputable manufacturer, we were generally pleased with our purchase.
After using the caravan for the rest of the 2012 season we left it in storage at a site in South Wales where we had stored our previous caravan – an ABI two-berth – for several years. In February 2013 we returned to the caravan to find that mice had gained
entry and left droppings over many of the surfaces in the caravan. After cleaning up we took a friend of ours, who was thinking of buying a caravan or motor home, to the Caravan Show at the NEC. There I went to the Bailey stand and told one of the senior
staff about the mice. His response was somewhat less than I was expecting. At the very least I had hoped to get an apology and some suggestions as to how we might prevent future ingress by vermin. However, all I got was, “Well, mice will get in through
the smallest hole.” When I pressed him for suggestions as to where the mice had gained entry he asked me to keep my voice down - I didn't - and offered no suggestions. He did not seem in the least concerned about our vermin invasion. Presumably as Bailey
had our money that was all that was important.
When, a few months later, the caravan was serviced by the Bailey agent where we had bought it we told them about the mice invasion and particularly asked them to look for and plug any gaps. They assured us that all the gaps were needed for ventilation.
On Saturday March 22nd 2014 we returned to the caravan for the first time this year and found, once again, that mice had invaded and left far more mess than the previous occasion. This time we found many acorn husks: clearly the access hole was big enough
for acorns to be brought in. Among the items ruined were the duvet, the mattress protector, two folding chairs, an umbrella, a shoulder bag, a teddy bear that a friend had given us as a mascot and the bag for the water container. After inspecting the underside
of the caravan I found large gaps in the two rear corners, each big enough to insert my thumb, at the ends of the Alu-Tech extrusions.
So, instead of a happy start to our short break, we had a twenty-six mile round trip to the nearest town to buy a new duvet, a new mattress protector, some metal mesh to nail over the gaps, a pair of snips to cut the mesh, some nails, a steam cleaner to
clean the upholstery and several bottles of disinfectant and bactericide cleaners. We then spent over three hours cleaning every part of the caravan and cutting and nailing metal mesh over the two gaps at the rear. When I got to the front of the caravan
I found that one of the gaps there had been filled with a very tough mastic, which made me think that all four corners should have been plugged. I sealed the other with mesh.
I have written to Bailey to ask for reimbursement of my expenses, but they have refused.
During the several years that we stored and used our ABI caravan at the same site in South Wales, we never experienced an invasion by vermin. Perhaps ABI know how to seal a caravan against mice.
I'm sure that there will be many caravanners who will rise up and say that they have used Bailey caravans for many years and never had a problem, but I thought that other members should know of our experiences and maybe think twice about buying a Bailey
caravan.