2016 Bailey Unicorn - Damp!!!
As per heading. Unicorn Cordoba, owned from new in for service. Dealer phoned today to say 41% damp in area above offside wheel arch underneath the fridge and cooker. Will need part of the floor replacing. Apparently caused by Bailey failure to properly seal the screws and wheel arch box. 6 weeks wait for parts, then off road for a week for repairs.
When will these caravan manufacturers be made to build caravans that are fit for purpose?
Paul
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" When will these caravan manufacturers be made to build caravans that are fit for purpose? "
When we as LV purchasers rise up and take a stand, until then one guy at a time with his problem is a pain in the axxe to a dealer but they and the manufacturers are laughing at us.
Happy caravanning.
NB: If the dealer is paid so much to PDI a 'van one wonders what a PDI consists of. How about us as buyers insist on the dealer signing that they have fully checked the product and allowing it to you with no faults.
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My 2015 Valencia lives on my drive in the open and is serviced in January. Dealer always tells me that readings are higher in the winter, so not to worry as mine are between 11& 14 respectfully.
constant each year from new
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Same experience with our 2015 Barcelona - kept on drive but admittedly with heating on 'tickover'. Serviced every December and readings have all been around the 10% mark for the last three services.
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Think I will be clambering under our cooker with my damp meter, this morning - just to double check!
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There are two drop vents in that area on my caravan, one under the cooker and one under the cupboard floor below the sink. I once found dirty/ muddy water there following a return trip home. It started to rain and as I pulled in to a motorway services, I discovered that it was flooded and I couldn’t stop. It wasn’t too deep, no more than six inches. But even driving through it slowly, there was still enough of a wave to find its way up through these vents. Had to lift the cupboard floor to gain access to the void.
i have never experienced any trouble since, and is the first place I check after driving in heavy rain.
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Based on my Lidl damp meter - which I suspect might not be that accurate, 12 - 14% under the cooker but a higher reading of 16% in one spot next to the consumer unit underneath the fridge. Not enough to worry about but higher than the average obtained by the dealer at the end of December.
Around the opposite wheel arch, it was showing around 6%.
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Slightly off-topic but still connected with water/damp - I discovered another apparently daft design feature when I recently replaced the battery. Underneath the plastic tray / liner in the battery compartment is a hole through the floor of the battery holder - open to the elements. Water had accumulated in the bottom of the battery compartment, underneath the liner - no doubt thrown up by the wheels during wet weather. Now - why is there a hole in the bottom when any (hydrogen?) gases given off from the battery would rise - not sink. Can't see the logic of it - unless someone else can explain?
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Some leisure batteries have a vent tube fitted so that the explosive gases that are given off can be routed out of vehicle and safely discharged to the outside.
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Yes John - we had a similar set up in our last boat - sealed battery box with a vent overboard - but the layout in the van means the battery would be standing on top of any tube which would then have to go through a tight right-angled bend to exit the van. Just seems like a token gesture which wouldn't work.
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We were told our 2016 Pegasus Brindisi was showing damp in a few places around the floor at its service in Oct, said it was probably because of the time of year. Told to come back in after Christmas to see what the readings were, they are worse and in other areas. Waiting now for a reply from bailey to authorise the work, don't know how long we will be without the van, very disappointed this was our first new van in over 35 years carravaning.
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Just heard that our Jan 2016 Brindisi has 45% damp in a patch on the rear offside, by the toilet.
Last year it was fine at service. We havent been away since mid September and cannot remember driving in heavy rain this year. So assume the leak is to do with the toilet cassette?
Will be told tomorrow when we collect it. Evidently it is so bad it is a Warrenty job, so we wait to be told when it will be done.
Very disappointing.
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If you read the PC survey results they report leaks at 17% of caravans which is appalling. They do not break down the results by make although they will have the information but basically all makes leak. Our Lunar did at least take three years to leak and it was fixed at a time that suited us though.
If you want a reliable caravan the survey suggests Adria or German. Even then they still had over 10% of purchasers not satisfied but all UK makes had satisfaction scores between 70 and 80% with Eldiss maintaining there customary bottom place and Coachman top.
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Dealer says our leak is from the join in the roof at the rear. Water runs down aluminium walls and into the floor. Its evidently a very common fault. Caused by someone not sealing the screws in the joining strip!!!!! Warrenty accepted waiting for parts. Great! They need the van for 2 weeks just as we were about to go away. Must be dried out, toilet and vanity unit out, so a big job on a van barely 2 years old.
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Our 2016 Elddis Supreme was serviced for the first time last May (2017) by a Mobile NCC Accredited Workshop who I have used for some time on previous caravans. The Service chap found damp around the Battery Box area giving a reading of between 20 – 30%. I called the dealer straight away and started a warranty claim. It took until September 2017 to get all the parts in and get it in to the dealers appointed body shop (body shop has no connection to the supplying dealer). I received a phone call two weeks later to say the body shop had sent the van back as a vital part was missing (Battery Locker assembly). A new locker was eventually obtained and finally on the 22nd January (2018) I took the van back into the dealer for repair.
On the understanding that this repair would be completed in 2-3 weeks I took a trip to the dealer on the 16th February to check on progress (as they wouldn't return any calls or emails), only to be told it was still at the body shop as they had found additional damp areas around two windows (not told which windows or what the damp reading was). This repair had been cleared though Elddis and the van would be ready late this week (estimated Friday 23rd Feb).
So much for the new manufacturing techniques (SOLID). I assume when the van went in for repair the body shop did a full damp check, hence why they found the extra damp?
The real worrying things here are:
- Since last year (July 17) we have undercover storage so it’s been away from the elements all this winter!
- Lack of information from the NON-Proactive dealer. They weren’t happy about telling me which body shop was being used either.
- Numerous faults in addition to the damp, but the strange thing is we really like the van.
All the best,
Chris
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Ours is now booked in for repair.........but they cannot fit us in till the last week in May.
Luckily we do not need the van then, but whatever are these repairers doing?
Is every new van damp? We also have a sailing boat, it has to be watertight or we would sink! It isnt that difficult!
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Remember the advert all caravans one day will be built like this, we had a 2012 Unicorn Madrid from new, loved the caravan but on its 3 year service 60% damp found down the near side from the front, it had to go even though they did the repair.
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