Swift roof cracks
Hi just discoverd an issue with the roof of some Swift caravans and thought it would be something to share if not already known.
My daughter was advised by our dealer that there were cracks across the rear roof of her challanger sport Which then lets in water to the rear end.
having a similar aged van (2012), i checked with the dealer only to find that following the front end repairs for damp, that the rear end is now likely to crack.
The dealer informed us that there is a problem with the GRP mouldings around 2012 due to a different supplier of mouldings (cheaper perhaps)
We were offered a fix at next service, but prefer not to wait until there is more damp to rectify.
Now waiting a date for the bonding of strengthening moldings.
Comments
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I have heard of this problem and also witnessed a front end crack on a van arriving on site. The owner was informed by his supplying dealer that it is a 'known problem' and all would be taken care of on his return home.
Would be wise of owners of this make van to keep a careful eye out!!
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I have heard of this problem and also witnessed a front end crack on a van arriving on site. The owner was informed by his supplying dealer that it is a 'known problem' and all would be taken care of on his return home.
Would be wise of owners of this make van to keep a careful eye out!!
Write your comments here...I would suggest contacting your dealer or Swift who can tell by your vin number and arrange the repair before the roof cracks and lets in water. It involves a couple of moldings bonded to the roof, takes a couple of days if moldings
are in stock at the dealer.0 -
Our dealer applied the additional caps at our 2014 Challenger's first service foc. at my request. Earlier this week I asked Swift on Swift Talk if there had been any issues following the application of caps and their technical director reports no further
issues. That'll do for me. BTW if you didn't know what to look for you wouldn;t know the caps were additions. I believe that some are having the whole ABS panels replaced by GRP under warranty where cracks have already shown.0 -
Our van has been repaired under warranty, but although this is a structural issue with some panels,Swift have declined to repair my daughters van under warranty as she missed her last service before the problem was found at her revised service date. We are
not likely to purchase two more Swifts if they do not meet their warranties. The issue is clearly not service related, so should be repaired under the 10 year water ingress warranty.0 -
Our van has been repaired under warranty, but although this is a structural issue with some panels,Swift have declined to repair my daughters van under warranty as she missed her last service before the problem was found at her revised service date. We are
not likely to purchase two more Swifts if they do not meet their warranties. The issue is clearly not service related, so should be repaired under the 10 year water ingress warranty.I am assuming the caravan is less than six years old. If so as this is a known problem it should be accepted that it is faulty. You therefore need to go back to the dealer and tell them that they are liable under The Sale of Goods Act. I suspect they know
but will not admit it it. If they will not repair it you need to establish the cost of the repair and issue a small claims summons against them. If you paid any part on a credit card or used Hp then you also have a claim against the finance company and need
to put a claim into them.You can get more detailed advice from the clubs legal helpline who are very familiar with this type of problem.
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have 2008 challenger roof repaired 2013 just checked cracked again this fault has been around a lot longer than 2012
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The dealer informed us that there is a problem with the GRP mouldings around 2012 due to a different supplier of mouldings (cheaper perhaps)
We were offered a fix at next service, but prefer not to wait until there is more damp to rectify.
Now waiting a date for the bonding of strengthening moldings.
I believe your dealer has seriously misunderstood the issue; it is not failure of a GRP moulding, because the problem was they used an ABS plastic not GRP, only changing to GRP for 2016 MY.
ABS is not necessarily "cheaper" but allows more freedom to design contorted stylish panels. It however is much more prone to stress cracking a weakness that increases over time as it is also prone to UV structural degradation.
The caps should allow any later developing cracking that could occur to do so more harmlessly, as they seal them from allowing water ingress, the real issue. Plus they very effectively shield this critically stressed area from further UV damage, and will to an extent ease the stress carrying.
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Hi Bluemalaga I am in a similar situation to your daughter.
My Swift Freestyle is a 2015 model. I bought it at a year old from a friend just after it’s first service (it had only been used for one 5 day trip in its first year). Due to illness they wouldn’t be able to caravan again.
As my first caravan I have loved it. However on cleaning it to cover it up for winter I have noticed several cracks and the sealing type strip bubbling up on the roof towards the rear. I have contacted Swift but as I have missed my 2nd service my warranty is invalid. My 3rd service is due end Jan 2018.
I am horrified that I have found these cracks on a van of this age.
Swift have offered as a gesture of goodwill to pay for parts but not labour. I believe this was also the case for your daughter Bluemalaga. Please would you be able to give me an idea of her labour costs.
My member name is my late greyhounds name I am actually female.
I don’t believe that missing a service should have any relevance to bodywork defects.
My next step is to contact the dealer who sold the caravan initially but they are on Christmas holidays until the new year.
I would appreciate any helpful suggestions as I am having sleepless nights worrying about this.
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In 2013, a replacement full rear panel for a 2011 Swift van was £3500 retail (other parts are likely to be needed including, possibly, awning rails, sealant etc)
The labour for the repair including some additional internal repairs and paintwork was £2000.
If it's one of the ones where "caps" can be fitted to cover the cracking then it will be MUCH cheaper.
That 2nd panel cracked about 2 years later and was replaced under warranty.
You'll obviously have to get an up to date estimate but I think the retail price of parts is outrageous so, whilst the whole thing may not seem fair, on balance it may be a good offer.
I'd be cleaning the area and adding some gaffer tape to reduce any short term leaking.
If you decide that you don't want to pay the labour, the other option I'd use is:
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGiKusd5r8A
This tape is expensive but US RV'ers seem to believe in it. It just depends on the size and position of the cracks. Another important fact I'd suggest is to have holes drilled at the end where the crack is propagating which will reduce the stress intensity and stop it from growing.
IMHO, Swift are generally very fair with their warranties but my First Rule of Caravans is read the tiny print in the warranty and make sure you meet them all.
I'm sorry to hear your story but I think you'll have to resign yourself to putting it down to experience and try to avoid losing too much sleep.
Hope this helps.
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Sorry to hear you are having the same issues with Swift selling goods not fit for purpose and then opting out of their responsibility.
However the cost to my daughter was more than the £1000 to repair, she then sold the van to the company that carried out the work and then claimed the van was not worth what she expected. They tried to knock more money off what they originally offered. The original offer was a lowly £8k and then they tried to buy the van for £7.5k which was refused in favour of the original as my daughter had become somewhat disillusioned with the whole business of caravanning and did not want to sell on the van to another in case there were further issues. The dealer then offered the van for sale at a very reasonable £11250.
It looks like a whole new panel was fitted, as the caps were not evident after repair, but I would be taking an educated guess on this.
We had the caps replaced under warranty but were told that the labour cost would not be much as they only needed bonding. The tape is not structural we were told and should not cause a problem if it bubbled as the van was sealed underneath the tape.
Good luck
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Just re-read your post Jimmy. We were assured that the problem only occurred on 2012 models due to the type of panel used in that year.
I am sure I read somewhere, maybe on this forum, that if you use the KNOWN PROBLEM statement/terminology in your correspondence with Swift, there is some legal clause that would be applicable. It seems that for for up to 3 years this has been a known problem and I have not heard that Swift have notified any owners, which should be an expected action from a responsible manufacturer.
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This is not just a problem with Swift. I have a 2015 Compass Rallye bought new. I found when I washed it the rear nearside corner had stress fractures, the dealership got in contact with ECCLES who replaced the whole rear panel under warranty on its 2nd service. I have since found the new panel has a stress fracture on the rear offside corner. Again the dealership has been in contact with ECCLES and this time they are fixing it with mouldings when it is serviced. This is obviously a major manufacturing fault and whoever makes these rear panels needs a serious lecture on quality and stuff being fit for purpose.
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I think you mean Elddis, JO. 👍🏻
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Sorry, you are quite right. I realised I had got the wrong name about 11 pm last night. It should read ELDDIS
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We bought a Swift Archway 2014 second hand from the first owners in 2017. We had a great couple of trips but then discovered a couple of cracks in the roof. We looked through our warranty small print and thought we were not covered as we were second owners. We tried asking at a small repair shop local to us. They did lots of tutting and shaking of heads and said it would cost around £700 to repair and they would not be able to guarantee the work for more than a year. They also 'very kindly' offered to sell the caravan for us to traders that they were in contact with. We were understandably gutted to think that our retirement investment had gone downhill so quickly so I decided to contact Swift directly. The first contact made gave a negative response so I appealed and explained that as it was only 4 years old it was a shock not to be covered. I then received a second reply from another Swift Customer Service agent who said that yes we were indeed covered and that I should mention her name if there were any problems. We subsequently had the repair done very professionally by Panel Works of Bawtry who guarantee it for 24 months. It is always worth persevering I think. I just want to let people know that Swift gave us excellent support and help with this issue.
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While the campers keep buying their rubbish they will keep making it. The Caravan and Motorhome industry in the Uk is about 30 years behind the times. As can be seen from other posts people are having to modify NEW caravans so they don’t fall apart.
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My 2014 Swift ace statesman has cracks in the rear wall and swift don't want to know, been quoted by repairer £4500 to repair
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Sorry to be negative but whilst I expect things to last forever and suppliers to offer and meet their warranty conditions (and purchasers to meet theirs) I think this has lasted reasonably well?
On the positive side, at that age, there must be a cheaper (if not brilliantly cosmetic) repair e.g plastic welding or Rooflock tape (search on e-bay) which I've had to do.
Or see the possibility(s) above.
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