Bailey Unicorn Series 3 Roof Leaking

nutter
nutter Forum Participant Posts: 4
edited October 2016 in Caravans #1

Our bailey Unicorn series 3 Vigo is only 22 months old and, after a short rain storm last weekend we had water running down the wall of the rear wardrobe. I noticed that the inside trim covering the side to side roof joint was sagging a little, so I eased it away from the ceiling and got drenched in a cold shower of water lying in the troim. When I looked into the gap of the roof joint (It is Alu Tech construction, so bolted together) I could see water droplets along most of the joint. Having contacted our dealer, we are taking the caravan in for a check and for a report to be sent to Bailey along with an order for any parts which may be needed. The dealer tells me this is an isolated case but I know of 3 other series 3 Unicorns, all about 2015 vintage, with this problem. One has been "fixed" twice and still leaks! 

To say I am dissapointed would be an understatement, you don't expect this in any new caravan, especially one that costs £22,000 plus and is as new as this

Our previous caravan, a Bailey Senator Series 6 was 8 years old when we sold it and had covered 23,000 miles with no leaks whatsoever. So much for Alu Tech construction being the answer to a maidens prayer where water ingress is concerned. 

Is this an isolated problem, or is it quite common?

 

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Comments

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #2

    It has beeen reported before on series three Unicorns,our dealer has had a couple, and they think that Bailey were caught out by the huge amount of orders for them ,which they think, "overloaded" the production facility, and they used extra "staff" to boost production,but even then other models were delayed, still no excuse for problems for the end userFrown 

  • cabbiemick
    cabbiemick Forum Participant Posts: 297
    edited October 2016 #3

    Just not  series 3 but bailey have had problems with all alutec models as stated before our Barcelona was 60  precent damp hope your not without your van for to long

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #4

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingessSmile 

  • cabbiemick
    cabbiemick Forum Participant Posts: 297
    edited October 2016 #5

    jvb you only have to read the many threds about leaking bailey

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #6

    But that applies to any make of LV if some one has a problem they wiil want the world to knowUndecided

    I have had a mission this year since buying our latest Bailey,

     As soon after we got it we noticed the Dometic 9300 fridge was getting too cold it froze food in the salad drawer,even with thermostat almost off,

    Every time i saw a Bailey with that model fridge i asked the owners if they had the same problem, and up to now of the 37 i have spoken to only 3 say theirs is ok, our dealer said our was alright?,the out come is that I called out Dometic to our van while on site,and it turns out that the gas valve is the problem which since ours, and one of the wardens, was chaged have been fine,

    While in conversation with other owners Water Ingress as reported by some was always talked about and not one had had a problem,  some said they had had other minor problems which we all agreed should have easely picked up when the dealers did the "PDI?"

     Ps I have been invited to the NEC on Wed (free ticket from someoneWink)so will as part of my "mission" be seeing Dometic and BaileyCool

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #7

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingress

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #8

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingress

    I don't that's quite truthful is it?

    The way you tell it you have a queue of weeping Hymer owners outside your van every morning telling you how damp and badly built their caravans are.  

    Mind you if the £ goes down any more they could afford to buy a new Bailey every weekend probably cheaper than the cost of towing it home. 

  • trev864
    trev864 Forum Participant Posts: 12
    edited October 2016 #9

    Our 2016 Cadiz had the leaking roof joint when it was just six weeks old. Same symptoms as the original poster.

    It has now been repaired, so far so good.

    This is a known issue to Bailey and they were supposed to have modified the build to that joint prior to ours being built. Obviously didn't work.

    Our dealer has had three Unicorns with the same issue since we notified them about ours

  • cabbiemick
    cabbiemick Forum Participant Posts: 297
    edited October 2016 #10

    I my humble opinion I do think bailey get more complaints then all other manufacturer's put together

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #11

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingress

    I don't that's quite truthful is it?

    The way you tell it you have a queue of weeping Hymer owners outside your van every morning telling you how damp and badly built their caravans are.  

    Mind you if the £ goes down any more they could afford to buy a new Bailey every weekend probably cheaper than the cost of towing it home. 

    I just put a more messured post as noted by a German family over here, o, plus the UK owner with a "nightmare Knaus" which with the the amount of them from over there over here,, is on a par with the over here over here.Wink.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #12

    I my humble opinion I do think bailey get more complaints then all other manufacturer's put together

    ...But then Bailey make Bailey unlike Swift and Elddis make  numerous diferent "makes"Wink 

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #13

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingress

    I don't that's quite truthful is it?

    The way you tell it you have a queue of weeping Hymer owners outside your van every morning telling you how damp and badly built their caravans are.  

    Mind you if the £ goes down any more they could afford to buy a new Bailey every weekend probably cheaper than the cost of towing it home. 

    ...Or anything UK built for that matter,

  • JCB4X4
    JCB4X4 Forum Participant Posts: 466
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    edited October 2016 #14

    Going from Unicorn2 that has no roof joint to Unicorn3 with a roof joint was a move always asking for this problem, a case of putting Form before Function. I personally neither like the Form nor the Function but do not really think Bailey have any sort of
    monopoly on water ingress or for that matter any other build quality problems.

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited October 2016 #15

    Our bailey Unicorn series 3 Vigo is only 22 months old and, after a short rain storm last weekend we had water running down the wall of the rear wardrobe. I noticed that the inside trim covering the side to side roof joint was sagging a little, so I eased
    it away from the ceiling and got drenched in a cold shower of water lying in the troim. When I looked into the gap of the roof joint (It is Alu Tech construction, so bolted together) I could see water droplets along most of the joint. Having contacted our
    dealer, we are taking the caravan in for a check and for a report to be sent to Bailey along with an order for any parts which may be needed. The dealer tells me this is an isolated case but I know of 3 other series 3 Unicorns, all about 2015 vintage, with
    this problem. One has been "fixed" twice and still leaks! 

    To say I am dissapointed would be an understatement, you don't expect this in any new caravan, especially one that costs £22,000 plus and is as new as this

    Our previous caravan, a Bailey Senator Series 6 was 8 years old when we sold it and had covered 23,000 miles with no leaks whatsoever. So much for Alu Tech construction being the answer to a maidens prayer where water ingress
    is concerned. 

    Is this an isolated problem, or is it quite common?

     

    Lots of posts with even the latest caravans made, dispite a modified roof joint.

    Wether thats common i can't say.

    U1 had front locker ingress, mine leaked through the floor bolt area. U2 owners have had the floor soaked with leaking showers.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited October 2016 #16

    That interesting as no one i speak to have mentioned water ingres,Smile problems with the new Dometic tall fridge plenty of faulty ones
    Surprised,   some of the early alutec models had a problem when they had front lockers which was traced to water getting in via the led
    lights on the front handles,Frownwe are on our second and no sign of water ingress

    I don't that's quite truthful is it?

    The way you tell it you have a queue of weeping Hymer owners outside your van every morning telling you how damp and badly built their caravans are.  

    Mind you if the £ goes down any more they could afford to buy a new Bailey every weekend probably cheaper than the cost of towing it home. 

    I just put a more messured post as noted by a German family over here, o, plus the UK owner with a "nightmare Knaus" which with the the amount of them from over there over here,, is on a par with the over here over here.Wink.

    .....i did say that it wouldnt be long before the (one) case of the 'horror Hymer' and the other (one) of the 'nightmare Knaus' were trotted out......Undecided

    surely youve met a chap with a 'nasty Neismann' or a 'porous Pilote' or even a 'ropey Rapido'....? 

    or what about the 'Elddiss from 'ell', or the 'soggy Swift', you must have loads of these....

    ive also told you before that Hymer and Knaus actually sell a very large number of vans in the uk, as do pilote and Rapido.

    even Benimar, which many wont have heard of, have now captured 5% of the whole uk market in just 18 months....damp issues?.....not heard of any.....

    however, it seems to be one specific brand that fills the Caravan section with complaints....and that name is in the OP.Sad

  • cabbiemick
    cabbiemick Forum Participant Posts: 297
    edited October 2016 #17

    I wonder how many uk vans are sold in germany

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #18

    Looking on other forums it would seem that the roof joint on current Bailey's does seem to present problems.  What proportion I have no idea.  

    Looking at vairous vans I would say that Bailey are far from the worst made UK vans, but that might be considered damming with faint praise.   

    To the OP. I hope you get it sorted out and have years of trouble free ownership and use. 

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited October 2016 #19

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist.
    Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #20

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist. Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    I am sure that, that is a great comfort to the OP

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
    1000 Comments
    edited October 2016 #21

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist.
    Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    how many German vans did you try to arrive at your objective summary?

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #22

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist. Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    how many German vans did you try to arrive at your objective summary?

    ...How many in comparison to the ammount of UK LVs compaired to other countries products does it need?

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited October 2016 #23

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist.
    Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    I am sure that, that is a great comfort to the OP

    Thank you.

  • xtrailman
    xtrailman Forum Participant Posts: 559
    edited October 2016 #24

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist.
    Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    how many German vans did you try to arrive at your objective summary?

    Why do i need to try any?

     

  • nutter
    nutter Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited October 2016 #25

    Thankyou all for your comments, however whilst I appreciate everything that has bee said, it seems this thread has somehow been hijacked into a comparisson between British and German caravans. That was not the intention, so, if possible, could we get back
    to the original question, which was "are roof leaks common on Unicorn series 3 caravans?" Many thanks.

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #26

    Take a look on the Caravantalk forum.  There seems to be a number of Bailey owners with problems.  It would appear to be major current problem for Bailey

  • JCB4X4
    JCB4X4 Forum Participant Posts: 466
    100 Comments
    edited October 2016 #27

    "are roof leaks common on Unicorn series 3 caravans?"

    I fear that future debate on this thread may now centre upon exactly how any individual poster prefers to define the meaning of the word Common in support of their case.  

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
    1000 Comments
    edited October 2016 #28

    If German caravans or cars were that great we would all own one, and no other caravans or cars would exist.
    Surprised

    But they are not. Its not rocket science.

    how many German vans did you try to arrive at your objective summary?

    Why do i need to try any?

     

    to objectively see 'if german caravans are great', of courseWink

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited October 2016 #29

    Take a look on the Caravantalk forum.  There seems to be a number of Bailey owners with problems.  It would appear to be major current problem for Bailey

    ...If you look on caravan talk forum there is a "major" problem in some peoples mind about all makes

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited October 2016 #30

    Take a look on the Caravantalk forum.  There seems to be a number of Bailey owners with problems.  It would appear to be major current problem for Bailey

    ...If you look on caravan talk forum there is a "major" problem in some peoples mind about all makes

    But the original poster was enquiring about Bailey and unfotunately he has experienced a 100% failure rate.  Other comments would indicate he is not alone.  However you interpret anyone criticising Bailey as a personal attack and needs to be shouted down
     its all getting tedious. 

    Have you ever considered that you expectations are too low perhaps based  upon your own  bitter experience?

    for the op have a look at this thread  
    Bailey leak

    For JVB66 perhaps you would like to comment on the skilled craftsmanship demonstrated in post 36.

     

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
    1000 Comments
    edited October 2016 #31

    Take a look on the Caravantalk forum.  There seems to be a number of Bailey owners with problems.  It would appear to be major current problem for Bailey

    ...If you look on caravan talk forum there is a "major" problem in some peoples mind about all makes

    But the original poster was enquiring about Bailey and unfotunately he has experienced a 100% failure rate.  Other comments would indicate he is not alone.  However you interpret anyone criticising Bailey as a personal attack and needs to be shouted down
     its all getting tedious. 

    Have you ever considered that you expectations are too low perhaps based  upon your own  bitter experience?

    for the op have a look at this thread  
    Bailey leak

    For JVB66 perhaps you would like to comment on the skilled craftsmanship demonstrated in post 36.

     

    ...What site is that?