Help with caravan purchase
I currently have a 68 plate Bailey 79/4t motorhome, Thinking about changing to a caravan to give us the freedom while on we are away on site.
Looking online the Buccaneer ( 2020 Buccaneer Barracuda) is about as good as you can get, Is this correct please as I've only had 1 caravan which was a Coachman 575 2017.
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Difficult to answer as what you describe as 'as good as you can get' might not be anybody else's preference for a variety of reasons.
Perhaps you could elaborate on your preferences in more detail.
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Thank you for the reply Jill.
Twin axle, end island bed, 8ft wide with all the bells and whistles. Like the L shaped lounge in the new Barracuda.
Because we are new to caravaning we do not have the knowledge of what is the best quality/ Make to go for.
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The reality in respect of quality is it's a lottery. The last Practical Caravan survey, probably the best review available, gives a 1 in 4 chance of having quality problems.
At Baltic Wharf at Easter we experienced yet another fault on our flagship Sterling Continental 570 that was marketed as the best construction materials. In discussion with other owners, amongst them a new £70k Vanmaster owner who had suffered failings of common parts, we determined the 10 year warranty is to give the assemblers of caravaners sufficient time to put right all the faults a new caravan develops. They have common poor quality parts such as heating systems, fridges, ovens, plumbing, chassis etc
Warranties vary from assembler to assembler, read them thoroughly. A good local to you dealer is worth their weight in gold if you get a lemon. Not many dealers will undertake warranty work if you didn't buy the caravan from them. The caravan has to go back to the dealer you bought it from for warranty work in most cases, factor that into your research.
Price and quality have no relation, a high end flagship caravan can be as good or bad as a cheap lightweight one.
We call ours a 'heap of crap' with over 50 faults ranging from cracked rear panel, to failed heating system, to faulty electrics, rebuilt kitchen, faulty roof lights, failed locker catches, door retainers, the list is too long to remember to be honest.
We won't be buying another and will continue to get warranty work done on ours for the 10 years, then scrap it. It is currently awaiting parts for a water leak causing damp on a supposedly damp proof caravan made of fandango materials.
When we looked at changing from a MH to our heap of crap there was very little honest information about the abysmal quality being sold. Perhaps people were ashamed to let others know they'd been duped, or the acceptance of poor quality by repeat buyers was the norm.
Take off the rose tinted glasses and do a lot of research, then go through it with a fine tooth comb before handing over cash.
There are doubtless good caravans out there, but the fact is there are heaps of crap like ours that cost good money too.
Or you might like to spend precious holiday time fixing things instead of enjoying the locale and doing activities.
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It is unusual to get "damp" in most modern vans where ever built , as it rare for them to have any "absorbent" material in the construction,, it is not unusual to have water ingress in any vans as a result of poor sealing on joints,and nearly all other of faulty parts are bought in from overseas,
If buying a used van just make sure that any warranty left is transfered to you,there may be a fee involved
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Buccaneer , when they were an independent manufacturer used to be right up there with the best ,hand built to order caravans. Not sure these days of batch building and badge engineering , they are just another 'quality name' ,whether the product is still well put together is another matter.
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In the case of the OP's favoured Buccaneer, it’s just a posher Elddis so likely to suffer from the same problems as lower spec Elddis models.
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Have a butchers at this brochure:
http://storage.highbridgecaravans.co.uk/brochures/Sterling-Continental-2015-Brochure.pdf
Particularly this statement:
'The Continental is the flagship caravan within the Sterling range, built with SMART HT construction.
It has an exterior and interior style that exudes quality to make it the definitive touring caravan range.
The expanded seven model line up benefits from what is probably the most extensive research and testing programme to bring you a truly 21st century range that uses technologically advanced components and construction methods.'
Unless I'm mistaken the materials making up the 'Smart HT' construction were not available across the range.
Here is the 'Swift' brochure for the same year:
https://assets.swiftgroup.co.uk/swift-group/brochures/caravans/2015%20Swift%20Brochure%20web.pdf
No Smart HT construction.
Here is the 'Elegance' brochure for the same year:
Smart HT construction.
I'm not familiar with how Swift employ their workforce, but Bailey use temporary labour like students on holidays. I understand the selection criteria is one head, two arms, two legs, brightest goes to the electrical installation section, the flexible to the plumbing section; regardless of competence, experience or ability
However, all that is pointless as our heap of crap has damp according to the recent service report and warranty claim. Until it is repaired it requires frequent, 3 monthly, damp tests. It may be 'unusual', it has damp.
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Swift say Smart construction is used throughout our caravan and motorhome ranges, and as for the workforce ,all manufacturers take on "temps" at peak construction periods , those who are involved with gas/electric/plumbing ,are required by law to have the qualifications to do that type of work
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No they dont . They work of one qualified person ,who just plugs tester in at end for electric gas ,qualified is supposed to do final joint to gas appliances ,,plumbers dont have to be qualified ,, Big companies in the building trade do the same
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Can't quite understand why you would want to change!!! There are lots of sites with easy access to towns/cities/villages. Driving a motorhome is a lot easier than towing a caravan!
David
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A 2017 caravan, a 2018 MH and now a switch back to a caravan. That's a serious depreciation hit you are taking. Make sure you get it right this time.
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