New Coachman VIP leaking
We have just bought a new Coachman VIP 565 and our first trip last week showed that the front of the van leaks very badly. I think that water has entered through the area of the locker door but is also present in the corners of the locker which seems to indicate that the water is coming down from above; i.e. possibly from the windows above. Van is now back at the dealers and waiting for them to investigate the problem further. Has anyone else had this problem with a Coachman?
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How sad that the Flagship of British caravan makers is now prone to the leaky caravan problem, as an owner of a 'foreign' caravan, the Coachman was probably the only home brand I would have wanted to buy new, I will continue for now with my 10 year old 'dry one' 😳
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If you read the latest results from the PC surveys Coachman seem to have dropped down the ratings very badly and for fault free caravans were the bottom name. A pity as they were always the best in my opinion and hopefully the new management will sort this out.
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Ribble.
Above the front windows is a black plastic section that goes across the front almost like a spoiler.It also has the logo Coachman on it.
Now I am not sure why I can get my hand inside this spoiler because mine was full of leaves and debris.The near side was blocked and I managed to rake out the stuff in there with an old credit card,and to clear the ends,is it possible the water has been trapped in here and run down the front of your van.
When my van goes in April for its annual service, I will mention this to my service dept.
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This is so disappointing to read. We are waiting the arrival of our new Coachman in April or May. We decided on Coachman for all the reasons of quality following disastrous previous vans. Our dealer was very confident and upbeat when we placed our order and assured us that Coachman beats Swift for which they are also dealers.
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Our local dealer has taken on a Coachman franchise as well as their long standing Bailey dealership ,and they are pushing Coachman in preference to Bailey, which makes one wonder if there is more of a financial benefit ? and also they get a "free" place on Coachmans stand at shows, where as they have to pay on other companies stands
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When I bought my 2015 coachman VIP 575 I was initially impressed by the quality of the fittings and interior fit and finish and layout. However as time has gone by and following very little use I am fast losing patience with the numerous niggles and faults appearing. So far I have peeling seam tape on interior panels(from new), Alde heating sprung a leak, fixed bed fell apart, I don't think the solar panel has ever worked despite at each service the usual - everything is fine sir, It only puts out 0.1 amps under any conditions. The alarm drains the battery in two weeks. Now I have 100% damp on the off side side wall. I have been advised it needs to go back to the manufacturers in hull, as its too big a job for the dealers.
I bought coachman for quality having read all the stories about swift, bailey and lunar. I'm now thinking of changing for an Adria as they look solid. Anyone any experience.
Iv had caravans since 1984 and I think the build quality being turned out now is poor.
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OOPs just swapped my Clubman for a Coachman 460 VIP, admittedly its second hand, did a straight swap, wife couldn't get on with the small lounge and bathroom, also the single beds to narrow for her she has a slight back problem so wants the full bed that makes up in the 460. l checked the Coachman out no sign of damp it comes with 12 month warranty and the coachman 6 year water ingress. l will pick it up this Tuesday where they will demonstrate, that everything is in working order, don't worry won't l will only accept the van if everything is in working order, of course can't see into the future if things go wrong, just have trust my judgement. l have had all the main dealers Swift, Bailey Lunar, and Abbey before they were bought by Swift the latter being the only van l had no problem with, so l will see how l go on with the Coachman fingers crossed
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We bought a dealer special Coachman Wanderer 15/2 in 2014 as soon as our then Elddis 460/2 had had its 5 year service and been found damp free. Over 90% of the Elddis had been resealed as well as many other repairs in those 5 years. The Coachman has been damp free and the only defects have been minor to components such truma combi boiler and Thetford fridge and these could happen in any caravan. Maybe we were lucky that it was built before Coachman went over to theses "new construction" methods and Heethers I hope you have the same experience.
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We bought a dealer special Coachman Wanderer 15/2 in 2014 as soon as our then Elddis 460/2 had had its 5 year service and been found damp free. Over 90% of the Elddis had been resealed as well as many other repairs in those 5 years. The Coachman has been damp free and the only defects have been minor to components such truma combi boiler and Thetford fridge and these could happen in any caravan. Maybe we were lucky that it was built before Coachman went over to theses "new construction" methods and Heethers I hope you have the same experience.
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This is the usual story that some people have damp and other problems and some people have non. It doesn't matter what make of van . I am sure that the foreign vans have their share of problems but as I don't read Germany forums or Dutch ,French ones either. There are relatively few people own foreign vans in UK so there are likely to be fewer people complaining of problems. It can be the same with cars and other manufactured goods. So I think it is wrong to start saying that 1 make of van is so much better than another and foreign vans are better than brit vans.
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Purchased a Coachman Pastiche, new in 2016. Our 4th. and have been pleased. However the offside awning rail has no "opening" to thread canopy, or worst still I can't get a front cover to fit now when travelling. The dealer can not "open" it. Contacted Coachman, who stated that needs to go back to them to do. Apparently a fault of their suppliers? This means a round trip of 600 miles at my own expense. Very disappointed with their response. Not even a hint of the dealer being instructed in how to do it? Coachman need to get their act together if they want a further purchase and recommendation?
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The downside of purchasing a caravan or motorhome any distance from where you live. I`d rather do with perhaps a second choice close at hand than risk all the hassle from afar. Out of the four caravans and three motorhomes only one has never had to go back for warranty work. BUT its only my thoughts some may not be willing to compromise and accept the distance involved should a return visit be required.
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We had the same problem with the Solar panel from new (March 2016) despite telling dealer about it several times it was not put right until I had to buy a new battery. They then changed the actual control panel under the front offside seating, took engineer 10 minutes, problem solved. My battery has maintained 13.7 v all over winter with just the solar panel charge.
It seems by all accounts this is a regular problem with this make of solar panel system. Control box needs changing.
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Thanks itsmick
ive contacted Solar Technology who manufacture the controllers.
despite being out of warranty now they immediately sent me a new controller which I fitted easily.
they asked for the old one back to check but having sent it I haven’t heard @anything.
anyway the battery is now in my garage for winter but I’ll be checking performance in spring. I did check when I fitted the new controller and it was putting out 3amps straight way so hopeful that at least this problem is solved.
ps my van has been back to factory and had damp repair done new seam tape and a couple of other jobs as well so fingers crossed.
steve
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We initially bought a Coachman Pastiche which initially impressed us however over the two year period we owned the caravan it suffered water ingress resulting in us collecting water in containers as it constantly dripped in during the rain across the front of the van. The van also had water ingress all along the the off side and across the back.
The van had to be returned to coachman on two occasions due to the scale of the repairs resulting in us not being able to use the caravan for long periods.
Giving coachman the benefit of the doubt we bought a Coachman VIP as we felt that the original van was probably a one off. Unfortunately we now have water ingress in our 20 month old coachman along the majority of the near side. Our local caravan dealer has investigated the problem and is reluctant to take on the repair due to the scale of the problem and has advised us to contact Coachman directly.
We have owned caravans for the last 30 years and have never experienced anything like this until we "Upgraded to a Coachman"
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Should you not be reminding your dealer that you purchased the caravan from them, they are expecting you to do all the running around yet Coachman can kindly ask you to " go away ".
We after 7 Hymer brand caravans and 7 yrs in France returned to the UK and purchased a " possibly the better of the UK 'vans " Coachman 560/4 V.I.P. and it was definitely the worst caravan we have owned, so unstable on the road and so poorly put together pieces of matchwood. We got fed up of making good ourselves and went back to a Hymer.
Some say expensive but if you buy cheap and it's no good, it's expensive !!
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I don’t know why people think Coachman are better built than other makes. Perhaps they think Coachman is Coachbuilt!
They are part of the big 5 UK manufacturers and, if you look at their range of models, they have similar ones to all the others in layout and price. I’ve never owned one but would consider one when I’m ready to change, subject to price and layout. All the manufacturers pump out duff models. I suppose we’ve been lucky in that over the last 25 years we’ve had an Elddis, a Lunar and two Swifts and, apart from a duff fridge on the current Swift have never had any other problems.
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My 2018 Highlander 520 suffers same, bought Sept 2018 and was back at dealer for list of faults, water leak at front, burning smell, fridge door fell off, squealing brakes, noisy legs, poor sealing around wash basin, a horrific inboard water pump that sounds like WW3 has been declared. Thanks to dealer most sorted, I say most because told water pump noise is normal. Visited caravan show and see 2019 model now have pump back outside, want to change mine but manufacturer will give no advice, how sad also tell me I should not be phoning them, wait a moment!! did manufacturer not build caravan? so who better to give advice? If you buy a packet of crisps that are bad you contact manufacturer, so why is a caravan different? My caravan now is leaking again at front and needs to go back to factory as damp reading on front around windows shows 46%. I now need to look at my holidays booked and cancel/ change as caravan will be away for weeks. I am not a happy person as you can guess.
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have 10 year old coachman amara, last service showed 50% damp around front of caravan below window level, further investigation showed it to be water ingress into front locker via the seals around the grab handles, outcame the silcone, job done, but dont expect yours will be as simple as this. Such a shame Coachman had a great reputation.
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I have a 2017 Coachman VIP, last Nov 2018 I found the floor soaking wet, The guy in the workshop told me, it is a problem they have he did a temporary fix with some draft excluder I am STILL waiting for the Dealership to do a proper fix. I brought my van from Caravan World Essex a mistake, I will be returning to Homestead Caravans for my next van , who know what customer service is.
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