Caravan build quality
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I bought a new Lunar in 2014, what a lovely reasonably priced reliable dry caravan it is. Only problem was a low drop down door, the dog stood on it and the hinges detached
Build quality is questionable with screws overtightened into softwood but it does the job admirably with no great expectations from me, warm dry and cosy and tows well.
I'm not looking for a mansion on wheels, just a decent place to put my feet up at the end of the day.
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I agree entirely about the questionable build quality of modern vans. It's not as if the problem is confined to a particular manufacturer - build quality appears to be, at best, 'variable' accross the range of UK produced caravans.
I think UK manufacturers and consumers probably have to wake up to the fact that, if you want a decent van with a good user payload, then these requirements are going to have a weight implication. Personally, I'd rather have a heavier van that can carry what I want it to, and will last a few years without it falling to bits!
David
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the biggest problem with caravans is the Alko chassis. Not strong enough. It's basically an "a" frame with 2 long legs and the only thing that keeps the legs the same distance apart is the axle. This enables the chassis to twist when you hit any object/hole and that twisting action goes straight through to the floor/walls and roof. This enables the joints to move and split after a short period of time. Cross members at front half and rear half will produce a stronger caravan with less twisting. It's simple engineering but they are more concerned with keeping the weight down so more cars can tow them that this simple engineering solution is a no go.
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There is a general malaise regarding build quality, as most caravan manufacturers know that the public will continue buying their products no matter what shoddy workmanship goes into the design and manufacture. ---------.It has been often discussed on many forums and the general concensus appears to be, that British built caravans suffer most, but they do include loads of bling and gadgets and are built down to a price and weight...... .. German built caravans however, tend to be slightly short of the gadgets, but are solidly built to last and last, with the downside that they are more realistically priced for a quality product and can be heavier , requiring the owner to match it with a proper towcar.
The prospective new caravan buyer has a choice :- Pay for proper quality products - OR - go for the cheap and cheerful and put up with poor build quality.
K
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We changed from an Elddis Crusader last year that had the ideal layout for us, but had lot's of problems, far to many to list. We know have a Knaus Starclass 565 that has everything in it as standard that we need. It is also no heaver than some of the top of the range Swift.
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Perhaps I'm now going to shatter a few illusions. Like CGB, we have just taken delivery of a Knaus Starclass (695) - top of the range / price bracket from Knaus and it's not perfect by any means, although, that said we are not regretting our switch from a Bailey Barcelona, although we had few problems with that particular van.
We have just had our first week away in it and a number of things have become evident which one wouldn't notice during a showroom inspection.
The water pressure was rubbish but I have cured that by switching the Truma pumps over to Whale High Flows (fortunately I had a spare at home).
The optional front chest table is so high that I am almost resting my chin on it when you eat.
The bathroom sink is set so far back on the plinth that it's almost impossible to brush your teeth etc without sticking your head in the bathroom cabinet!
And this is a van that won a CAMC design award in 2018!
The battery locker door cannot be opened without using a screwdriver to prise it open since it is such a bad fit. This is due to be changed by the dealer and ironically, it is the only part of the bodywork made in the UK!
That said, the quality and fit of the woodwork inside is in a totally different league from the UK vans we have seen or owned, as is the quality of the fittings and the built-in safety features. The MIRO is almost identical to the Barcelona, yet it has a sensible payload of 350kg.
I have to say that the beds, in terms of both size and comfort - and the size of the huge bathroom which doubles as a dressing room are the big selling points and we have not seen another van anywhere with these features - so overall we are pleased with it.
But..... there is still room for improvement - even with a German van.
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The optional front chest table is so high that I am almost resting my chin on it when you eat.
Did your mother never tell you to sit up straight and stop slouching?
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Yes she did Cy - and she also told me to grow up - but clearly that didn't work, either.
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I have had my Bailey Unicorn Valencia for 7years without a problem. However, I now find damp around the base of the toilet and it has to go in to put it right. This van has a 10 yr water ingress warranty and I have all the paperwork to prove that it has been serviced properly by an approved workshop on virtually the same date every year which is a condition of the warranty. I am very much hoping that Bailey will put this right but guess what- I ain’t holding my breath- I’m sure they’ll be a clause or some other tripwire that will see me digging into my pockets! It really is a case of Russian Roulette when buying a new van!
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Our last Quasar leaked twice. Both times the dealer was excellent and got things moving without delay. In normal circumstances we would probably not have touched another but it was the only make my wife could not fault so fingers crossed we have another.
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Merve - we had exactly that problem with our 4 yr old Barcelona - turned out to be the sealant around the shower tray had failed. We had only been using the shower for a couple of days before we noticed the water and it had tracked across the floor and the wettest place was around the base of the toilet.
It was quite an easy fix for the dealer - took a week before we had it back but it meant removing all of the bathroom furniture to allow lifting of the floor covering for it to dry out - and a bill of £500!
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We bought the Knaus Starclass 480 in October 2018. After suffering problems with our previous UK-built caravan we've been really pleased with the Knaus.
Yes I agree about the bathroom sink, but will willingly live with this restriction as the cupboard above is so useful. Our water pressure is just fine. We don't use the optional chest of drawers so this is not a problem. The gas locker door works a treat and is a brilliant design.
Overall, a very solidly built and comfortable caravan that we hope will last many years. A million times better than our previous caravan.
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The gas locker door works a treat and is a brilliant design.
It's not the gas locker that the issue is with - read my post again - it's the battery locker. I agree, the front gas locker is an extremely good design.
It turns out that out of the four Starclass's the dealer has, 3 have this problem - as do all of the Buccaneers he has - they also have the same locker.
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...so Mrs WW doesn't rate leaking twice (with the subsequent hassle of dealer repairs) as 'faults'?
keeping the elements out is a pretty fundamental property of a caravan, I'd have thought?
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I totally agree with the two post's already on here regarding the Knaus Starclass. The front lounge chest of draws all though very well made and with thick real wood in the base of the draws is to high, when extended out. Also the sink and cabinet being to far forward. But when we spent a lot of time at the NEC show in the van we know have we understood that we had to compromise on certain things from our last van. So maybe not perfect, very little is, but the build is miles better than our last Elddis. Our water system works fine and is probably the best we have had in six vans,
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I think there was a problem with Luners "leaking" but according to some friends who had one it was sorted after they found that an employee was not useing his equipment correctly to save himself some time?
They have another Luner as they say the layout suits and it is lighter than others for a match with his company car
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There was certainly a problem with our 2005 Swift leaking!
My experience of the same year Clubman (different model) as Deleted User User's was fine whereas his was nowt but trouble. When we bought our 20012 Clubman we had really fancied the 'new' Bailey construction at that time. When we tried the seating it was a no-no. Not anywhere near the same comfort. We were pleased enough with our 2012 model to buy the 2018 version
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According to the dealer the problem was with 2014 models. The seal between the front panel and roof was the problem. I think the workshop foreman was exagerating saying they all had come back, but it was certainly a lot, and the claim seems to have just gone through as routine. There was a specific fix developed for this.
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Totally agree that every van is a compromise and, overall, the general layout and most of all the extremely comfortable single beds were what we were looking for and in these respects, plus as you say, the build quality, the van excels in my opinion.
The water pressure was nowhere nearly as good as the Bailey but now that I have fitted the same pumps that they used, the shower is almost as good as that at home.
In my boating days, the only yacht which was as near perfect as I have ever had was the Westerly which was redesigned, inside and out to my spec - but that's not going to happen with a caravan!
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Caravan companies are not manufacturers they are IMO assemblers. They bring all the parts in and then assemble them. I bet not one of them has a quality inspector in their third party supplier premises. Why is it Lunar, as an example, have a constant problem with floor failure. It seems to me that the common sense thing to do is inspection and testing whilst being witnessed by Lunar quality inspectors.
Of course it could be that the design criteria is based on 14 day usage a year and not the 100+ days that some of us do.
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Now pleased to report that after two days with the dealer (ALV at Tebay) they have done a brilliant job remedying the few 'niggles' we had. By removing the front sliding bed slats (which we would never have used) the chest of drawers (and table top) have now been lowered to a sensible height. The battery locker door proved to be more problematic but has now been fixed to my complete satisfaction. Delighted with their customer service and looking forward to getting away soon.
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