Quality
Comments
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I think the AS mods are very perceptive. They don’t stand for any nonsense and nip problems in the bud.
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I've never seen any nonsense to be 'nipped'....
yes, folk debate issues that question how AS does certain things (water filling, Truma heater fitment, over hungry Sargent PSU modules) which result in popular threads...mainly flat batteries and blown fuses
if you think the debate in these areas in nonsense, I don't agree (but that's not for this forum....)
to my mind, its the disallowing of real discussion which occurs because the mods deem the above to be 'anti AS' (when it isn't) that's unhealthy in itself...
'nonsense' IMV.....
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Yes a +1 there TW. From what I've seen anyone trying to give confusing and/or wrong advice (for example trying to give advice from one specific model when discussing an entirety different MH) is quickly dealt with by the mods. Helps with the person needing help and keeps the thread on track.
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I think many forums have the measure of disrupters who either know nothing of the subject matter being discussed or generally attempt to control the thread with their false knowledge which can be very dangerous. The mods on most forums are very perceptive I have found👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊. ‘Real’ discussion to one is ‘disruptive’ to another.
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ah, you mean someone who's had four vans, 2 British and two German, has used Truma products for ten years and Sargent for six years, and has had solar systems that work perfectly for eight years? so knows a bit about their use?
didnt know you had such an interest in MHs to be browsing the AS forum regularly enough to be so familiar with its goings on?
the mods even took umbridge to a recent joiner who just happened to be the owner of an eletronics company specialising in Motorhome Chargers and batteries (and a significant contributor to MMM) as he didn't agree with one of the mods summation of a particular issue....
im glad to say many members were very supportive and made it clear that this wasn't how a well intentioned constructive and expert input should be dealt with.
of course, if AS want to fit PSUs that eat more power than the sun provides and leaves their customer with flat cab batteries, no doubt that's ok?.....while advice about a seperate charge controller that requires no connection to a PSU, isn't?....despite many members making that very change..
if AS decide customers don't need a filler that allows the use of an ordinary hose to fill their tank (leaving them with the marmite external pump and aquaroll filling system) and will charge a significant fee to retrospectively fit one, that's ok, too?
and if AS fit their Truma Combis longitudinally (with fuses hard up against van external walls, rather than transversely as in the manufacturers explicit instructions) and customers can't replace a fuse or use the reset button when the thing inevitibly overheats, that's OK, too.
if you read the forum as you say, you'll note that one mod even published his idea on how to cust a hole in the side of his coachbuilt to enable changing a fuse....hacksaws at the ready, guys.....
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Corners and Rocky, I think you have recognised that the mods are familiar with a few well used sayings from the practical engineering world, such as:
- A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and passing on limited knowledge as fact is even more dangerous.
- Assumption is the mother of most foul-ups.
- There is no substitute for experience and it cannot be bought or sourced from books but is gathered over many, many years.
On a brand specific forum it quickly becomes apparent who is and who is not familiar with that brand, who knows what they’re talking about and who falls into the categories described above.
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yes indeed, agree with all of that
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Act III, Scene II of Hamlet springs to mind
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thanks
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oh lol. But again there is no need at all to be rude or insulting BB in making your point is there? play the ball not the man, and who is continuing the off topic thread, actually who started going off topic, you did with AS forum suggestion (I think this as a caravan related thread)
anyway you're taking this very personally? Why? Was it you in the AS thread people are talking about??
Anyway back on track, as I see it there are problems with all makes? Certainly I've seen posts on all the makes and not one manufacture escapes, as the OP says, do they? I am at a loss what the CAMC can do, is it there to offer good sites sites and services, it does and has lobbied for our interests in government but can it really affect manufactures to the same extent?
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you're right DD, sorry....but sometimes the long ball is more effective...
i think for 2019 I'll stop doing subtle....
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Corners, apologies....smartass was a bit near the mark...
though it actually refer to the comment (ball) not the poster(man)
you're right, all makes (including my own) have issues (though not my own specific van)...it's the level of issues and the way in which they are handled that marks out the differences between manufacturers.
the swift forum is rife with customers' complaints but at least swift have the guts and brains to post staff in place who can take the flak back to the factory if necessary....a great way of uncovering root causes and eradicating them at source.
yes, it's much better not to have the issues in the first place, but if problems are dealt with effectively and efficiently the customer will go away happy...
wriggling and using 'other suppliers' as an excuse for getting something resolved wears thin pretty quickly.
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thanks BB and accepted
I agree with what you say, the swift forum is the forum run by the manufacturer and does try to keep their customers happy, maybe thinking of repeat sales.
I too have gone back to shops and makes, suppliers, garages... when what I've had good service from them even with any problems. Yes you could switch makes or whatever but then how do you know if they might just ignore you when you have switched?
Have a happy new year !
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thanks and to you and yours...
we certainly will, we're Iberia bound in a week or so....
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Hi Wendy14,
So pleased that you got sorted out ok. It is so stressful to pay out a very large sum of hard-earned money for a new caravan only to become beset with major issues. To us, the whole point of buying 'new' was for peace of mind, so that we could enjoy our hobby without unnecessary worry. The van came with a 10 year water ingress warranty and we were sufficiently naiive to believe that we could enjoy a brand new caravan without worry.
We also sold our 2 year old Elddis caravan at a loss, but it was worth the financial loss to overcome a continuing very stressful experience. Best wishes for the future with your motorhome.
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I've said for long enough now that the build quality of camping outfits is a joke. Last year we sold our motorhome and tried to give up camping as I was sick of issues with expensive outfits we had bought over the years. However, once it's in the blood it's hard to give up, so 3 months later we ended up buying a 3 year old, 2 berth caravan which was a fraction of the cost of other units we'd owned. Hopefully (fingers crossed) it'll be good to us and I won't change it until it falls apart on the driveway. We'll see 😎
I often think cars are going the same way now. Whichever car we have seems to have issues, and I'm not a picky person!! With my experience of cars electrics over recent years there's no way I would ever travel in a driverless car 😳😳😂😂
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Interesting thread.
Firstly I find it a bit odd that the CC haven't responded to any of the points raised.
Secondly there is a bit of "you pay you money......." etc. ~Everyone has the opportunity to make extensive research before parting with their cash, however one should remember what a caravan is. Its a flexing box in simple terms, out in all weathers and all temperatures, then dragged for many miles over its life. Its inevitable that given the nature of the construction, that certain seams are to fail on the roof/vents/windows. Regular servicing probably helps, at least to spot trouble at the earliest opportunity.
On most new vehicles now, manufacturers offer a water ingress warranty, some up to ten years, so as long as you get it serviced and keep the warranty up, you should have some peace of mind.
We can all speak from personal experience and its right that we should, however like a previous contributor, I have had less problems with continental vans than British ones- thats not to say British makes are problematic- but having considered and viewed many vehicles I am quite confident in our latest choice which is an Adria- which will be our third over a number of years.
I had to opportunity to work on the Adria stand at the NEC in October and it makes it easier to talk about them having a complete faith in the product. So munch so we ordered a new one. Happy days :-)
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probably the most telling section of the above report......the word 'gulf' comes to mind in these stats....
"Moving on to reliability, which brands make the most fault-free caravans? Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a strong correlation between the most satisfying caravans to own and those with the fewest faults.
Eriba, the second-placed brand among new caravans, has the most fault-free tourers. Some 57% of respondents said they had no issues at all with their caravan.
The next-best brand in terms of fault-free new tourers is Knaus, with 50% of owners reporting no problems. Adria, our overall winner, is best-of-the-rest with 37% of owners telling us their vans developed no faults.
There’s a big difference between these Continental manufacturers and the most popular British brands. Sprite leads the way with 29% of ’vans being fault-free, followed by Compass with 28% and Coachman and Elddis both with 20%. Just under 20% of Baileys didn’t develop faults, and 16% of Lunars. For Swift this percentage is 14% (improving to 17% across the Swift Group as a whole)."
while at the top end, some might see that even Eriba might have 43% of vans which have a fault at delivery (is that truly good enough?) yet at the lower end we have the 'best' British brand (Sprite) 'leads the way' delivering 71% of their vans with faults and Swift vans with 86% of vans being delivered with some fault(s) or another....
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Agree. These surveys should be “weighted” to reflect the number of owners. I remember a relative of mine who once worked for a car accident repair shop. She would never buy a Ford because of the large number of repairs i.e. accidents. She was convinced that Fords were a safety risk.
The other point to make is that it is well known that when somebody buys something foreign or a bit unconventional they tend to be positive in their reviews of the product. Psychologically they are defending the fact that they have done something a bit different and feel the need to support their decision.
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whilst I do agree with the 'numbers' thing, but there were 2000+ respondents, and even if UK vans accounted for 80%, that's 1600.
...and if (say) the majority are Swift/Bailey (say) 60+%, 30% odd each, that's still 480 respondents each, with them only getting a fifth of these out of the factory error free....around a hundred.....
so Bailey and Swift between them only delivered 200 good vans out of nearly a thousand....that's pretty poor using any statistics.
using the same split, continental vans might account for 20% of the total..400...
yes the total is smaller, but large enough to see that (on average) the good figure is near 50%, an enormous difference over 20%
yes, there might be a bit of defensive speak in buying a continental van but I can see that skewing the result to reflect the recorded numbers.
MH purchasing seems to have shrugged off this 'anomaly' and continental MHs are seen as the same 'ordinary' purchasing options as UK brands...
yes there are different dealership spreads, but we are talking poor deliver performance not the sales numbers themselves.
when was the last CT Eriba/Knaus/Adria caravan leaking/ddelamination thread....?
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UK vans were 94% (it says), down from 98% last year. That’s not many continental vans so I stand by my comments. I can understand why, say, Hymer would be better as they are much heavier with a price to match but why would Knaus and Adria be that much better? They all seem much the same when you look at them and use similar equipment. Still, the Dutch rate Knaus very highly and they should know.
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It's good to hear that the Dutch rate the Knaus brand very highly. We've recently bought a Knaus Starclass 480 to replace our previous problematic British caravan.
I have to say that the Knaus is a much more solid caravan. The quality of finish and fittings (both interior and exterior) is so much stronger and positive. The roof would be strong enough to walk on and will take a roof mounted aircon unit (which most UK caravans cannot). The heavy-duty fibreglass roof will also offer increased protection against heavy snow and hailstones. The downside is that the caravan is slightly heavier for its size. But it is a very stable tow, which is very reassuring.
No issues at all so far with this van but no doubt time will tell.
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Every time this survey is run. The results are the same. Continental manufactured vans come out better every time. As the results are reported as % then the number of respondents is not that significant. Obviously if there is only one respondent then the result is either 0 or 100% satifaction which would be ridiculous to report.
There are only three possible explanations for continenal product scoring higher.
1 Purchasers of Continental vans are less decerning and have low expectations
2 Continental vans quality is the same as U.K. products, the owners know this but are too embarrassed to admit it.
3 I know this is a bit far fetched. But just maybe they are better built?
Btw better built doesn’t mean you won’t get a lemon but it does improve your odds.
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I used to walk on the roof of my Bailey Unicorn. I also felt the overall quality seemed excellent and there were no problems with any of the fixtures and fittings. Unfortunately, they failed to properly seal the floor joints which resulted in two returns to the factory for massive damp ingress. I subsequently learned that after I sold it there were further damp problems resulting in a £5000 bill for the unlucky purchaser.
The moral of the tale - not all is what it seems!
I am sure your Knaus will be better.
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