Swift or Bailey??
Hi Guys and Gals. I would welcome members thoughts on the following. We are considering trading in our 2017 Sprite for a brand new 2025 Bailey Pegasus Grande GT75 Bologna. We have only ever owned Swifts so for us this could be a big decision. We are really only considering moving because the Bologna layout ticks all the boxes for us. So the question is what have your experiences been of the 2024 or 2025 Baileys? Have they lived up to your expectations? Those of you that have gone from Swift to Bailey, have you been happy to move, regretted moving?? Those of you that have moved from Bailey to Swift, same questions. But please I’m really only interested in recent experiences. I’m eager to hear of your experiences. Many thanks in advance. Rob
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Hi, Rob, we downsized from a Bailey Madrid to a Swift Conqueror nearly 3 yrs ago and are very happy with the change. The new Baileys, in our opinion are no longer up to the standard they were when we purchased the Madrid, and definitely inferior in quality to the Conqueror. Swift & our dealer has rectified any problems that have arisen without question in a time scale that suited us, and the same cannot be said for Bailey these days as our neighbour who has the same age van as ourselves, from the same dealer, has waited ages for the problems he has experienced to be rectified. I guess others will say the opposite, but I can only speak for ourselves.
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If you looked at the Practical Caravan and C&CC customer survey earlier this year Bailey came bottom although Swift did not do a lot better.
Neither look a good bet for a reliable purchase on the basis of the reviews but the survey was on a limited number of caravans and so may be open to interpretation. The owner of a Bailey next to us in storage did buy a new Bailey and it had a few faults which a better build should have eliminated. He had a good dealer though and hey sorted it.
I would look carefully at the dealers here and make sue you use a good one as that is probably the difference.
The company consistently doing best is Coachman if you can manage the higher price and weight.
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Many thanks for your response. I tend to agree. We bought our Sprite from new and it had its fair share of faults, luckily in the first 3 yrs so warranty took care of them. The Coachman’s are nice but we have spoken to owners that have had their fare share of faults. I agree, finding a good dealer is probably key. I’d like to speak to a Bailey owner that has purchased new in the last couple of years. We considered staying with Swift but I’m not keen on the layouts. That tall fridge just inside the door leaves few options for mounting a TV. And a few of them have a solid door between the kitchen and the rear of the caravans, which could be a right pain. The Bailey Bologna we looked at has a great feeling of space, but not sure about the build quality.
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From the early comments, reliabilty/quality would appear to be an issue and you are spending a significant sum. Have you considered a German van where these would not be such an issue. The specification I found for your van on the Wandahome website also suggested a payload of only 160kg. By the time you have motor movers fitted you are down to 100kg. Is that really enough for such a large van?
2025 Bailey Pegasus Grande GT75 Bologna
Colin
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We bought a brand new Bailey last year, our second, and will never buy another. Yes, they are well designed, but they are very poorly built.
On our first trip I had to mend the hopper for the central heating which was pouring pink fluid all over the bottom of the wardrobe. It was just very badly fitted.
We then had water pouring into the front as there was no sealant in the front offside quarter.
We've had badly fitted blinds, peeling trim, a broken sensor…I could go on.
Thankfully the dealer, Winchester Caravans, have been briliant, so we now have the caravan we paid for but, my advice is steer well clear of Bailey.
I even spoke to one of the owners at the Caravan Show, who listened, but basically wasn't interested.
I can't speak about Swift
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Thanks for your response. I’m so sorry to hear of your experience. If you have central heating then you’ve obviously bought one of the more upmarket models. Even more galling when you’ve spent a lot of your hard earned wedge for a better standard of caravan. It surprises me that more of these issues aren’t picked up by the dealers when they do the PDI. We had similar when we bought our Sprite. Just as well we had a long warranty. On the flip side we have friends who’ve had nothing but trouble with their Swift Challenger. I guess having a good dealer after sales is key. We were also considering one of the Alicanto range, so now maybe we won’t. Many thanks for your response.
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This comment is probably not much use at all but our last three caravans were from the Swift stable and all three were well built and didn't give us any issues and we kept each model between three and six years. We did look at Bailey Caravans but I thought they were flimsy in comparison. We immediately turned that on its head when we purchased two consecutive Bailey Motorhomes and apart from some water ingress into the floor (could probably have been avoided by better sealing) we had little problems over 12 years of ownership.
David
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Thanks for your comment, and yes, it’s perfectly valid. I would imagine similar construction methods, and if not similar production skills and practices. The Baileys we have looked at are definitely lighter, but then that’s probably a selling point in this day and age. The damp floor issue keeps repeating which is troubling.
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Just to put another fly in the ointment…
We bought our Swift Challenger (580) new in 2019. Almost from day 1 we had a host of problems. Brakes wearing out prematurely* (shoes and drums - we’re on our third set and expecting to have another set when it goes in for service - probably another £1,000), screws falling out repeatedly, the glass hob cover flew off whilst travelling*,damaging the cupboard opposite, glass panel at the side of the hob fell off, roof light surround fell off, had to replace the seat cushions due to poor foam, at a cost of over £2,000. If I thought about it I could probably come up with more faults. Our previous caravan, a 2008 Bailey Senator (Arizona) bought S/H, gave us no issues at all during 8 years of ownership. I think it just comes down to luck of the draw. When paying the sort of amounts required to buy a new caravan, luck shouldn’t come into it. I would agree with others, crucial to go with a good dealer. After we’d bought the Challenger, out of interest/to kill time we looked at a Knaus, I forget the model. It was immediately apparent that the build quality was in another league. If there was a suitable layout, with a suitable MIRO and we were in the market for another caravan, funds permitting, that’s where I’d be looking.
*I would consider myself a very steady driver.
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Thankyou for your response. I think I agree with pretty much all you have said. Our 2017 Sprite had loads of problems during the first few years, but once we had got them all fixed, it has been a good caravan. I think build quality across all the major brands has suffered as they chase profit, and to a degree, building lighter caravans that can be towed by family cars. It’s a shame that the European brands don’t make caravans that can directly compete in size and layout. We looked at a single axle Adria and it was heavier than some twin axle caravans. We’ve even spoken to Coachman owners that have had their fare share of problems. As you say, I think it is key that you find a good dealer that will fix issues as they arise, and ensure that all servicing is completed on time and not skimped.
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Buy German for sure instead of buying British. I travelled far and wide with a little Eriba for 14 years and the only tiny problem was a micro switch failing on a water tap
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@Rob Baber We too have a Swift Sprite from 2017, we've been lucky is that it hasn't had that many faults. Similarly to @Freddy55 we had screws coming out where they held the oven in place, luckily it is too heavy to fully slide out but did by about a cm, and a mini flood due to the flexible hose from the sink coming away. The dealer said Swift had used the smallest amount of hose to connect the sink to the pipes underneath, almost in a straight line, and they replaced it with a suitable length that hugged the side wall and have more play in it.
Apart from that so far (touch wood) nothing. We have thought of replacing it a few times but another factor in its favour is that it passes its damp test every year very well indeed and again touch wood, as the dealer said 'this is one of the driest vans I've seen' and we keep it outside.
I know there is considerable pleasure in having a new caravan but we do feel reading threads like this down the years, and there been many, that it is a risk not worth taking until we have to.
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I think its wise to pick a good dealer. Our local one was Lady Bailey nr Blandford but, after hearing rumours at the caravan show, opted for Winchester Caravans.. Its a 90 minute drive, but they have been brilliant. When we had problems they collected our caravan, and then delivered it back again. You can't really ask for more.
In the meantime, Lady Bailey went bust at the end of last year leaving a load of customers scrabbling to find a dealer to maintain their warranties, as many dealers will only look after caravans they have sold and, in my experience, mobile service companies steer well clear of warranty issues, even if they're approved by the manufacturer.
I agree that foreign built caravans are generally built better, but they also tend to be heavier and have what I consider to be odd layouts.
Adria are really built well, but feel like a continental hotel bedroom, and have an A Frame so long that it wouldn't fit on my drive.
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Thankyou for your comments. Our Sprite is a Dealer Special and so it came with a lot of extras, upgrade upholstery, solar panel, etc etc, pretty much the Diamond Pack that was being offered at the time. It’s had its fair share of faults, too many to mention, but always wanted to go back to an L shaped lounge we had on a previous van. The only current Swifts with this lounge have a rear fixed bed which we don’t like at all. We were thinking we could trade ours while there was still a decent value in it, and the Bailey ticks most of the boxes layout wise. The 8’ wide is an added bonus. We are lucky that we wouldn’t have to finance, but it’s still a lot of money to spend and then find we wish we hadn’t. If we were going to another Swift I would almost know what we were getting, but we’ve never owned a Bailey. ??
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”and a mini flood due to the flexible hose from the sink coming away. ”
Oh yes, we had that too, it made a right old mess before it was noticed. Putting it right wasn’t the easiest task, access wise. It actually failed twice, so I decided to use a solvent glue. It’s been fine since 🤞
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We have been considering a new van for several years, but have not found one that “ticks all the boxes”. We do not want a wider van, so that is limiting our choices, as we would like a decent shower room, large fridge freezer, Alde heating, fixed single beds and a good weight upgrade.
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We have looked at just about every new model available from Swift and Bailey, and a good few Coachman’s. Every Swift we almost liked had either an End Bed, claustrophobic, Solid Hinged Door between kitchen and Bedroom, Why??, or the tall fridge on the right as soon as you walk through the door, horrible. The Bologna is the nearest we’ve found to what we want, but it’s a tad flimsy inside, the electric control panel is pretty basic compared to Swift. L shaped lounge, Tall fridge, huge bed, Stable door (I know !), and acres of space. Quite like the Lusso but is it worth that much more?, and pretty heavy. Who knew that buying a new caravan could be so difficult?? Maybe we should stick with our old Sprite??
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If you cannot find what you want it make no sense [to me] to change. I think you need to broaden your approach and look at more manufacturers. Either that are re-assess your needs/preferences. If these do not change and what you would like is on the heavy side then you obviously also need to get a heavier tow car. To me this looks like you are going to have to compromise, or stick with what you have.
Colin
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I agree with Colin who says look at other manufacturers. A Swiss gentleman arrived on a site in France and showed me his brand new Fendt Bianco - now there’s a make no one ever mentions on here. It struck me as the smartest caravan I had ever seen, and it seemed so sensible to have a very nice on board bathroom without a shower - though some of you might find that controversial.
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I think you have to have a layout that you love. If it is not you may grow to hate it and there is really very little in quality between bailey and Swift. I would go with your heart but make sure you have a good dealer.
We are not tied to any one make having had seven new models from six different makers. Coachman was easily the best although not perfect, yes they do have faults, but generally they seem to be less than the other British makes.
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Thanks for your comment. After reading members views, I agree with all you have said. I think getting the layout you want is priority. Members seem to have had problems with both Swifts and Baileys. Coachman’s are not immune from faults but I guess you get what you pay for. Most faults seem to be in the early years of ownership and if you have a good dealer that can get the faults sorted, then the later years are relatively plain sailing.
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What is the problem with a tall fridge beside the door? A fridge full of food is heavy, so best as near to the wheels as possible. We have the fridge one side and the rest of the kitchen opposite
Or a solid door between living area and sleeping area? We have a concertina screen and the top hangers can be a problem!
When it comes to continental vans, the problem for us is the lack of dealers within a sensible distance, hence only considering an Adria or a UK van
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After having experienced our Knaus caravan there's no way that we'd go back to buying any British caravan now. The difference in build quality is staggering. No more leaks or sloppy construction!
After 34 years of owning British caravans we finally saw the light in 2018. Our 7 year old Knaus has been perfect, beautifully made, and has never leaked! When we pitch on site, people still ask if it's a new caravan, despite it being well used over the years.
We will definitely keep our Knaus.
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Yes Timbo, No one board shower. A toilet and a washroom. Exactly like the German Eriba we ran for 14 years. Campsites in Europe all have good facilities and our European friends use them.
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I have come to the conclusion that if you intend to buy a British caravan, the satisfaction surveys can be a crude filter initially. However, I now consider the quality of the dealer first and foremost since when you inevitably contact the dealer for warranty work or servicing, it is their response and willingness to resolve issues that is paramount if you are to enjoy your ownership of a caravan/motorhome. If you can find a good dealer with a product that suits at the right price then you should be OK.1
