Quality
First time on this forum. We've just been on a CAMC foreign tour and had a fantastic holiday. Its a very sociable event and the conversation frequently turned to problems with caravans. We have 100% water ingress in the rear panel of our caravan, cracking in the front panel and a concave roof which holds water, 3 panels. We are dealing with it and it is horrible as we only bought it brand new last year. We were amazed at how many people on the tour had similar horror stories about damp caravans. My question is why the CAMC are not addressing this with the manufacturers, it is not just one. Surely in this day and age caravans should be reliably dry? We'd be happy to be used as a test case. I do feel they should be working on behalf of members with the manufacturers to improve quality standards. any thoughts?
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Yes Wendy, The problem is that the Caravan Club (I won't use the daft new name) is in reality no longer a club, it is a multi million pound business. Their only interest is promoting their business empire by encouraging more and more people to go caravanning. nothing wrong in that I suppose, but with that sole business aim, there is no room to endanger their cosy relationship with the manufacturers by being critical of build quality and customer after care.
In saying that, I do recognise that the primary responsibility for after care, remains with the retail selling agent, however manufacturers still carry a huge responsibility to get it right! And In that respect I agree with you that both the CC and the C&CC are failing in their duty of care to members (If that really is what we are), by not picking up the torch on our behalf.
I have always used Coachman as a reliable company that does help its customers, but by the same token I am aware of other experienced caravaners that have not formed that opinion.
It is a real and major problem and only we, the buying public can do anything about it. Highlight issues in the main caravanning magazines, they are more on the ball that the CC.
TF
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Just maybe there is the start of something happening TF? I considered new but opted for used when I changed mine this year. and I read of others doing the same. You never know, it might slow sales enough eventually if it continues to make them think
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"The caravan club is not a campaigning organisation". I am 95% certain this came from the lips of Mr G Chamberlain at a public meeting. If it wasn't him it someone who he was sharing the platform with.
To my eternal shame I didn't have the wit to ask why not?
Wendy name your caravan if not your dealer and maybe contact the club's legal advice line. Take notes keep records, follow up every phone conversation in writing summarising what has been said.
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Club speaks with forked tongue. Some years ago they put out a statement that they weren't a lobbying group. Short while after that they claimed it was their lobbying the persuaded the government not to proceed with caravan MOT. The club will not risk its advertising revenue by critising manufacturers, why do you think they don't do long term caravan reviews.
PS I won't be buying another new British van.
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Totally agree Oneputt, it's been well documented how fortunate we have been in our 'van purchases. 2 x pre-owned, 5 x new UK 'vans then decided to go German in 2001 after owning 7 and returning to live in England we decided last September to purchase a Coachman VIP 564, What a mistake ! that lasted 3 months, we purchased a second hand Hymer LuxusLine just to get rid of the Coachman, last weekend we picked up our new Hymer Nova 580 GL. Happy days !
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I recently met a lady on a CS with a "Leaky Lunar" only the replacement 2017 model is no longer leaking. She said she knew her consumer rights and had made the manufacturers sort it out.
I suspect you could get advice from the Club legal department or go to Citizens Advice and trading standards - your van is clearly Not Fit for Purpose. I am joining the ranks of those aspiring to a foreign van if I ever get tired of my non leaking 2008 Abbey1
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Yes the Caravan club should stand up for its members, but it's not going to happen. It would upset to many people, not just the advertisers, but also those who take it personally if anyone dares to imply that their preferred brand is less than perfect. In my opinion the sorry saga of the reliabilty survey shows just how spineless the CC is. I think that the key attribute required for the leadership, apart from being the right sort of chap obviously, chronic sea sickness, that way no one is tempted to rock the boat. Ultimately this attitude will fail both its members and the industry.
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It would be a nice thought but from what I understand, certainly Swift have just had one of their most successful years of sales. I ordered a new van in January and when I collected it in April I was told that model and several others had sold out for the rest of the year and that they were looking at 2018 deliveries!
Whilst (so far) my van doesn't have any fundamental faults, I am infuriated with the constant snagging of generally minor faults, i.e. External TV point cable not connected to the internal socket so was dead, shower room window not screwed into the body in the correct place so catches mis-aligned - had to accept having a spacer bar put in as otherwise it meant redrilling the body. Screw caps missing. A host of bolts etc not tightened correctly so working loose after a couple of trips to name but a few. All sorted now but each visit to the dealer was a 2 1/2 hour round trip and underlines the poor quality control that Swift and I know other UK manufacturers have and really need to get a grip of as motor manufacturers had to!
What is noticeable is that the qualify of some of the materials is a lot poorer than on my last Swift which was a 2011, particularly the covering on the pull-out table which feels more akin to a tough cardboard covering!
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Thats terrible MDD, if you had bought a new car which could cost the same you wouldn't have issues like that.
You have more patients than me. Best of luck with it for the future.
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We've just been told by the agents workshop manager that all caravans hold water on the roof, especially flat roofs and 'especially Elddis'! Ours holds gallons, we can float things on it, people stop and stare when we move off.
It is no wonder the rear is 100% damp, only 1 year old and under a brand new breathable cover for the last 7 months of that year.
Any comments on paddling pool roof?
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Not that you should have to, but would be a good idea to leave it with the tow hitch as high as possible when in storage?
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Thanks. I'm hoping to have got it sorted now...as away for 5 weeks. I had sympathy for the dealer as sole to a few customers with similar gripes to me and they have to pick up the pieces. The only consolation was that I was told I was lucky as if I had a Bailey it would probably have been worse!! Can't comment as I haven't ever had one.
Re the last post from Wendy, I haven't experienced pooling ever such as described
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Do all caravans with a flat roof leak? No they don't none of my Hymer's have. Remember you didn't buy your Caravan from the Manufacturer you bought it from a dealer. It is the dealers responsibility to sort it out don't get caught out with the dealer and manufacturing playing you off against each other.
If water on a flat roof is inevitable. I suggest that you find out from the dealer and or the manufacture whether this is part of the MRO or is part of the user payload.
GET SOME LEGAL ADVICE
Don't rely on well meaning advice from amateur's like me. Good luck btw
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Thaks,
We're getting legal advice from CAMC, just interested to know if others have a roof holding water to 10mm. Workshop manager appears to think that is normal.
Elddis are looking at it next week and then we have the argument about wheher its appropriate to have a third panel replaced on a van that's only just over a year old.
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One wonders why they are designed with totally flat roofs instead of having a small camber which would ensure that rainwater was always self-shedding. Curves are always stronger than flat panels as well.
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I'm very happy with my 2017 Swift Conqueror HT smart.
I believe it does hold a small amount of water on the roof, but it very minor, besides I always store it nose down so it drains quickly, on site I haven't had a problem when starting off, no water being thrown off.
Only issue of note is I've replaced the charger which could trip the sites ELCB randomly.
Swift command is brilliant, and my dealer is 8 minutes down the road should I have problems.
Buying any caravan with wood in the shells construction makes no sense to me.
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most MH based on the Ducato chassis will lie slightly nose down, meaning that water runs off the front.
the only thing holding back water might be accessories (solar panel, sat dish etc) and rooflights.
when cleaning our Bolero's roof, i had to be wary of the fact that, as well as the general downward slope forwards, there was also steeper slope from the Dicato cab....slopey roof and soapy water sharpen the mind when 10 ft above the drive....easy to slide straight down into the garage..
on the Carthago, the flat part of the roof extends much further forward, with only the very small part over the front having a sharp slope.
makes it much easier (safer) to wash this roof.
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No ingress on mine (as yet) but the roof does hold some water, how do I know!
When ready to move on from a sloping site that has been pitched level and after any rain, I invariably forget to tell my wife to stand clear whilst motor moving it of the wood blocks
it then cascades over the side where she's standing ready to retrieve said blocks 
10mm does seem a tad deep though. Plus in storage it is parked nose up, just personal preference over nose down due to no rear window.
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My 2016 Swift doesn't hold water on the roof and I have just had it serviced and all is dry. Couple of minor things to be sorted but the dealer will put it right so I am not bothered. My last Lunar 2013 model held gallons on the roof because it is not a bonded roof and I also had leaky front windows which had water dripping from the front speaker housing. The dealer sorted it out but as it has wood in the bodywork I couldn't trust that that amount of water ingress would do it any good so got rid for the Swift which only has wood in the floor but has a GRP coating on the underneath. If I do change this van it will be for a model with no wood in its bodywork.
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Like one of the posts instead of changing for a new van l opted for used, the amount of problems l had with the four new vans l had over a 12 year period was heart breaking all vans l had were from different Manufacturer's. The first van we had when returning to caravanning from the eighties was a 2 berth second hand Ace Bright star with no problems hence going for used, as some have said you are flogging a dead horse wanting the clubs to do anything, after all who are their biggest advertisers
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We've given up, sold the Elddis caravan at a loss. We've bought a 4 year old Autosleeper motorhome which so far has no faults at all, only done 8000 miles. So fingers crossed!
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As I have said elsewhere on this forum, I believe the UK caravan industry will go the same way as the car industry. All my early cars were British until there was nothing left and it was a Citroen that I bought. I have a 2014 Lunar Clubman, owned from new. I had many problems, some major, the dealer was pretty useless. I contacted Lunar, they did not want to know. I contacted Caravan Club helplines both technical and legal but did not feel that I was getting any support.
It is unlikely that I will buy another caravan, due to my age but if I was buying I would be looking at the European models. It hurts to admit that!
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Lunar, or any other caravan manufacturer, will not entertain claims from or discussions with the public. You bought from a retailer and your contract in law is with that dealership.
If you had problems with a Toyota car would you look to Toyota to rectify matters or be in the dealership where you bought it demanding they put it right?
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Well done. Whilst AS are not without problems, they seem less troublesome than many. We're on our second. Have you checked out the owners' forum? There are some very knowledgeable people on there.
http://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com
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I was also going to suggest the AS owners forum....
its a bit cliquey, there are four 'mods' who run it like a fiefdom, and bristle furiously at any (perceived) criticism of the brand....not unlike this forum in many ways.....
AS also has 'its own way' of doing things, which doesn't always necessarily work out best for the user.....not unlike CC in many ways....
there are a few subject areas that drive recurring threads and it might be worth checking them out and gaining some understanding....
youll find them straight away.....
also check out your van's weight fully loaded, especially the rear axle with a 7.2m van and that long overhang...
the payload of the Broadway is only 388kg, with no water on board nor passenger...
100kg for water, 75kg (nominal) for passenger and you're down to 213kg which is not a lot for two folk touring...
also, due to the rear weight bias of a van like this, the rear axle loading of 2000kg is likely to be breached before you get to load that 213kg.... so usable payload might not be as much as you think...
i suggest filling with water, fuel and passenger and going to a weighbridge and note front and rear axle weights...
this will give you a realistic idea as to what true payload you have...it's not just the 3500kg MTPLM that is limiting but also each of the axle weights....
remember, each kg of weight placed in the rear underbed locker is behind the rear axle and will exert a force greater than its own weight on that axle...
after the initial weighing, put all your 'stuff' in the van (tools, clothes, bedding, shoes, bikes on the back?, electrical items, maps, pots, pans, kettles, cutlery, food allowance, drinks, etc, etc) and weigh it again, with particular attention to the rear axle....
remember, you now don't have a towcar to 'chuck the heavy stuff into' it all has to go in the MH.
i don't post any of this to scare a new MH owner, merely to raise awareness of the different issues applicable to a MH.....
and right up there, once you stretch much beyond 7m with a rear locker, is weight, especially if running at 3.5t...
good luck, I'm sure you'll love the change....
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