Damp new caravans and the industry
Just been told by my dealer that 60% damp in a new caravan is not unusual and that prolonged time for warranty repairs is the "industry norm" as loads of pepole need warranty repairs for damp new caravans! Bought a brand new caravan in May 2015, serviced in Aprli 2016 (early to avoid the dreaded warranry rules) and now stuck with a damp caravan but good news, by the time they get to the repairs(maybe August depending on delivery parts) it may have dried out!! Speechless!! Also told me that this is the normal for the caravan industry, loads of people have damp problems. Asked her why she didn't tell me this at the Caravan Show when I bought a BRAND NEW CARAVAN (am I allowed to name the brand??? If you have a similar problem. please reply and let's see if the Caravan Club can run an article of how to deal with this situation and hopefully we can improve "the industry norm".
Apologies for the spelling of "Damp" but the edit button will not let me change it.
Moderator Edit:
Title amended.
Comments
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If this dealer is speaking the truth then the Caravan Club should definitely be investigating!
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During 30 yrs belonging to the club I cannot remember the club investigating the quality of caravan build and naming and shaming, In fact they seem to deliberately and consciously avoid it. In my humble opinion they fail their members badly on this issue.
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Name and Shame! The so called club is not interested in members. We don't advertise intheir magazine.
I would say even a 6% fail rate is abysmal. Ask your local Council Consumer Protection Department what they think.
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During 30 yrs belonging to the club I cannot remember the club investigating the quality of caravan build and naming and shaming, In fact they seem to deliberately and consciously avoid it. In my humble opinion they fail their members badly on this issue.
Write your comments here..
See the Caravan Club's quality and reliability survey in 2005. It's visible even now if you search on Google. There was another in 1999.
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Our caravan had 70% damp in the rear washroom 2 years after purchase. Repaired under warranty, wasn't happy but what could we do. (Ours is Sterling - so Swift Group)
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According to the last Practical Caravan survey only Swift and Coachman had got below 10% for damp complaints which means the rest are worse. The whole thing is disgraceful and must cost the manufacturers a fortune. Frankly getting it right must be cheaper
but they seem to make very little effort to do that.0 -
The club makes more money from us its members than it does from the advertisers so it is disgraceful that the club will not support it members. The club says that it is a non lobbying organisation, this statement is patently untrue as very recently it took
pleasure in telling us they were a leading light in the campaign to stop caravan MOT's. Come on CC start to look after your members0 -
it is really amazing that they have these problems. We have just swapped MH but not bought a British Built one. The Dealer we used had nothing good to say about most of the British offerings. Swift have had trouble for years on all its ranges and everyone
knows about the Konlikki as it is now called. Using Google and searching for Damp and the name of the manufacturer you are looking at gives you an idea of what's been happening. Swift monitor Swift Talk and if you start complaining they just remove it. Our
Trade In was examined in minute detail for Damp and only excepted when nothing was found. So anyone who is unlucky to have bad readings really does own a white elephant Unless he can pass it on.0 -
Name and Shame! The so called club is not interested in members. We don't advertise intheir magazine.
I would say even a 6% fail rate is abysmal. Ask your local Council Consumer Protection Department what they think.
Imagine if 6% of smartphones failed!
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it is really amazing that they have these problems. We have just swapped MH but not bought a British Built one. The Dealer we used had nothing good to say about most of the British offerings. Swift have had trouble for years on all its ranges and everyone
knows about the Konlikki as it is now called. Using Google and searching for Damp and the name of the manufacturer you are looking at gives you an idea of what's been happening. Swift monitor Swift Talk and if you start complaining they just remove it. Our
Trade In was examined in minute detail for Damp and only excepted when nothing was found. So anyone who is unlucky to have bad readings really does own a white elephant Unless he can pass it on.Most dealers will rubbish the makes they do not sell. It is difficult to know the worst offenders as the companies vary so much in size. Given the size of Swift they do not feature on forums to the extent their size might warrant but they do turn out some
rubnish at times. Given the results of the PC survey they are one of the better firms and indeed Sprite came out top above Adria. Do not listen to everything dealers say about the opposition.0 -
What is a acceptable damp reading on a first service. Ours was 13-14% on our 2015 caravan which I was quite surprised about. In our older 2008 caravan it was a bit less which seemed strange. I often wondered if climatic changes had anything to do with a
rise in damp readings over colder wetter month's.0 -
SB, I'm no C/van expert, my experience is in forestry/trees/logs. I do know that any wood for burning is classed as dry at 15% moisture. Meaning it won't sizzle or spit on the fire. To me personally I'd say 13/14% is excellent. The atmospheric humidity is
around 85% outside right now. The only way to get really low moisture levels is in controlled environments-I don't think you will be be C/vanning in a kiln
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I think you're good to go
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Our van is about to have its first service so I hope I'm not speaking too soon but in thirty years of caravanning we have only had one damp van and that was not a new one, and the older ones had much more wood in them too, we were always advised that you
will never get a 'bone dry' reading because of humidity etc.,Alison
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I was told that anything less than 15% damp in a caravan is ignored. It's classed as dry.
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our Swift is 3 years old and has been repaired twice under warranty for significant damp. My daughters van has been waiting since April for Swift to supply parts for repairs although they will not cover the cost of labour as the van was late for it's third
service. Only agreeing to supply parts eventually, while more water enters the van, as a gesture of goodwill. What happened to the recall notification for known problems.0 -
Thanks all for replying. to date we have still not heard from our dealer Campbell's of Preston re whether the parts have arrived from Lunar or when they can start work on the caravan. We'll have to chase again as have booked to go away in August. This will
be our first trip this year and I'd quite like to go in a repaired caravan. By the way the damp is not this only problem with this van!!!0 -
still not heard from our dealer Campbell's of Preston re whether the parts have arrived from Lunar or when they can start work on the caravan.
My experience is that Lunar parts take forever to be sent to the dealers. My new front window catches took nearly 8 weeks to get to the dealer
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still not heard from our dealer Campbell's of Preston re whether the parts have arrived from Lunar or when they can start work on the caravan.
My experience is that Lunar parts take forever to be sent to the dealers. My new front window catches took nearly 8 weeks to get to the dealer
We have never had parts sent within a reasonable time for any make. I am afraid Lu ars efforts are about par for the course but if you have been in touch with them I would folow up their reply.
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I cannot understand why dealers have to wait for parts delivery, surely it would be in their interest to collect parts especially someone like Campbells and Luner as the two are about one mile distance between.
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We had a damp problem in an earlier van, an Abbey Domino, Swift group. We waited months for awning mouldings to be delivered to the dealer so that repairs could be done. When they finally arrived four or five months later they were the wrong size
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We had a damp problem in an earlier van, an Abbey Domino, Swift group. We waited months for awning mouldings to be delivered to the dealer so that repairs could be done. When they finally arrived four or five months later they were the wrong size
About par for the course!
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Thanks all for replying. to date we have still not heard from our dealer Campbell's of Preston re whether the parts have arrived from Lunar or when they can start work on the caravan. We'll have to chase again as have booked to go away in August. This will
be our first trip this year and I'd quite like to go in a repaired caravan. By the way the damp is not this only problem with this van!!!Oh no! Not Campbells of Preston!
Good luck.0 -
Industry guidelines set by the NCC (National Caravan Council) on levels of damp:
• 0-15% - no concern, natural dampness of wooden frame being recorded
• 16-20% - requires further investigation
• +20% - identify areas needing remedial work
The Approved Workshop’s should also be following these guidelines. 60% damp is not considered the norm, especially on a new caravan – this could indicate a fault at the point of manufacture.0 -
I agree with the last comment that 60% damp in a new caravan indicates a product that is not fit for purpose but where do you go? The supplier refuses to do anything about our complaint, the manufacturer ignores the customer, and the caravan club just looks
the other way. The best advice given to date was by a member of staff at the Caravan Club. They suggested we got the van repaired and sold it quickly and bought a static instead. Tells you everything about this cowboy industry in this country.0 -
M3, you could approach a professional for advice re 'legal recourse' be it-trading standards, solicitor, citizens advice, I'm not suggesting it will be all positive news but you will have all the facts as opposed to being wound up. It's a plan
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