Best caravan manufacturer
Looking to replace our Lunar caravan. Having owned mostly Lunar over last 24 years we now feel like a change but not sure which manufacturer is best.
Our main priorities are:
Aftersales support
Build quality
Value for money
Preferably a dealership in or near Hampshire
Any advice would be appreciated.
Comments
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I can't really help. We are on our second Lunar Clubman ES. We wanted a side dinette and long wide front seating to use as two singles. Other models that we looked at did not have both front seats of a good length or we found seating no where near as comfortable.
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I’m not sure there is a ‘best’.
I’d go for a dealer close to home so it’s not far to take the van back when you need warranty work and have problems.
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There's no such thing as the Best manufacturer. It all depends what your personal requirements are. Vans, apart from a few in a niche market, are built down to a competitive price and reading the caravan press will indicate which manufacturers have the most disappointed customers regarding poor build quality. Your local dealerships should be able to give after sales service.
Regards Kennine
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That is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question. Assuming for the moment there was such a manufacturer it would be no use use to you if they didn't do the layout you wanted? Not that we had than many new caravans, only four. The way we used to approach it was to decide what we actually wanted in the caravan. We tended to keep them some time so there was always some new additions and changes. We also had to live in it so the interior design had to be right. The four new caravans we had all came from the Swift stable and we had no problems with them. But we changed to a motorhome nearly six years ago so I am probably a bit out of touch with the caravan market.
David
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is ‘best’ caravan. I agree with suggestion of using a local dealer, as my brother used one 60 miles away and the van has been to and fro continually with teething problems. It was same make/age as our own (Swift) but we have had no problems at all. I’m afraid luck does come into it!
as others have said, the first two considerations I make are layout and size (tow car capability?)
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If build quality and value for money are your main priorities have a look at the Fendt range. There are not many dealers in the UK but Fendt are the choice for many discerning caravanners in mainland Europe. We’ve had ours from new (having had 6 new UK built ‘vans and 4 second hand UK ‘vans in our time) and without doubt the Fendt beats every one hands down on build quality and reliability. The ‘van is coming up for 9 years old now, we spend approx. 120 nights a year in it and we have had zero problems to date. They’re not cheap but you get what you pay for.
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Adria seems to tick the two more important ones IMO, build integrity and price.
Aftersales support and proximity of a dealer are only likely to be critical if needed, so buy good build integrity to minimise the "need".
Oh, and our last two were a Hymer in 2002, and the present Hymer in 2008, but they don't come in cheap.
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Obviously it is coachman because that is what I currently have.
It used to be Bailey, when I had one of them!
Therein lies the problem, we all choose what we consider is the best for us, reasons for this choice are varied and complex. Nobody makes bad vans, some are better than others. They all have the same basic equipment suppliers and similar build quality.
Write a specification, price, age, must have features, layout, essential equipment etc. You will soon chop down to a couple of manufacturers that you can concentrate on.
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If you want an unbiased opinion you may IMHO have come to the wrong place. You won't get any sense out of dealers either, I've tried. My advice would be to search out an independent caravan service engineer of good repute and see if he will discuss such things.
This is the story I got, yes some german/slovenian brands have a good reputatution but the dealerships can come and go and should you damage the van and need spare parts they can take some time to get. Indeed so can some UK brands.
So as you say you need to look at the whole package, van dealership and manufacturer back up for spares etc.
BTW some independent engineers can do warranty work and deal direct with the manufacturer on your behalf. In my experience shall we say that they can be more customer focused than dealerships.
I was also advised that the best van is one that does not leak, crack, creak (floor) or collapse (axle). if you can find a good one, keep it. Having had 2 of the previous on 2 year old my van I was looking to change it. Yes all parts were available rapidly and all work roof and axle quickly sorted under warranty or goodwill. So I was advised that now it is a sound van and my streak of bad (manufacturer induced) luck has hopefully run out..... maybe I will keep it.
I wish you good luck in your quest, really.
ps watch out for load margins on new vans!
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If you put all the good bits together of all the caravans, you could very well get a good caravan. I think that Bailey have made a good start in producing a shell that won't rot - Alutech is a good idea, but they really need to spend a lot more care in putting together/ building the caravans. We do need further research into improving the construction of the caravan floor, so that that can also be robust and rot/delamination free. Manufacturers also need to produce caravans with substantially more user payload. I still wouldn't mind betting that the vast majority of caravans on our roads are overweight. It appears that Alko have been using cheaper materials and producing less substantial chassis and axles, which have resulted in recent problems.
By looking at the problems, manufacturers could be producing some good vans. It's just that they don't, IMHO.
David
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"By looking at the problems, manufacturers could be producing some good vans. It's just that they don't, IMHO".
I think you are being a bit unfair, there are some very good ones out there. I concede that there as many bad ones as very good ones.
Having spent the majority of my working life in automotive design then the two main points that are the mantra for designers in transport is cost and weight.
Alko could put a much more robust chassis together, easily with a MIRO of 2000kg for a mid sized van. BUT, this would add 30kg to the chassis and cost more. The advantage would then be a payload of 350kg for every new van. Excellent but the MTPLM of the chassis now has to be plated at the higher weight, not good from a sales point of view for the manufacturers. Its a catch 22.
The continental premium vans tend to be built on heavier chassis and thus have higher MIRO. This is compounded by the heavier construction methods which adds more weight. On the plus side they have higher payload and are considered more robust. This all adds cost.
The UK market is dominated by weight and cost, hence we are where we are.
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I concur with Dave. My Fendt is coming up to 15 years. Very few problems with it in that time.
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Perhaps I was being a little harsh in the statement you quoted Phishing - it's a perception after reading so many complaints, I guess. 🙂
However, I think the aspect of user payload is worrying. I do think so many caravanners overload their vans, and I wouldn't mind betting the majority have not been near a weighbridge to check. I was reading only yesterday of a group of caravan owners who now carry nearly everything in the car, after having taken the van to a weighbridge and were astonished at the weight. The instinct still is with some folk, that if caravan manufacturers provide lots of storeage space then it is OK to fill it.
Personally I would prefer a caravan with a more realistic user payload, even if it cost more. I guess it would be safer for the majority of caravanners who probably have no idea of the weight they are carrying.
Any thoughts?
David
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We owned caravans for around 30 years and there is one absolute truth that I have learned. Over a period of time you will be back and forth to the dealer who sold it to you many times. Choose a local one with a good reputation and buy a make which they stock and recommend. Time and time again on this forum people report problems with caravans under warranty and we all repeat the same advice - take it back to the dealer who sold it to you
All very well buying a Fend, Knaus etc. but if the dealer is 100 miles away you are in for a tough time whatever the make. Just remember, although the build quality of some continental caravans may appear superior, they all use much the same installed equipment which WILL go wrong eventually.
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Thank you all for your comments and to k9sam for starting the thread.
We're just debating between a Lunar or a Bailey that we've seen, but can't decide between them. We'll have another look around and chat to the dealers concerned. Using the camping industry for many years now I'm a little reluntant to trust any of them unfortunately. It's only my love of camping that keeps me coming back for more!! 😎
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If you have a good mobile service engineer who is warranted to carry out authorised repairs to your make of van then you might be able to make do without trips to the dealer. Not that simple generally and not suitable for major repairs such as damp which I have experienced on three caravans.
As an aside, I needed warranty work on the Peugeot base vehicle for my motorhome. Peugeot would not authorise anybody other than a Peugeot main dealer to do the work. Due to the size and weight of the vehicle my nearest dealer was one hour away. And they say that motor vehicles are much easier when it comes to warranty work.
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I had exactly the same with Peugeot with our last motorhome hitchglitch, and when I arrived at the dealership I had eventually found in the North East to accept my van on the phone, they looked at me as though I was stupid for even thinking of bringing something 7.5m in length to them. 😳 I had to park in the supermarket car park over the road for them to carry out the repairs. In the main I think you're dealing with idiots who have no customer service skills whatsoever. I'm happy for anyone to correct me if they have different experiences. 😊
Fiat haven't been so bad for us in the past but only because we're blessed by having a Fiat commercial garage about 3 miles from us who know what they're doing, a motorhome is small fry to them.
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