Leaking Elddis
We found a stain around one of our windows, dealer found loose window rail, sealed it and board renewed, checking other windows, 2 were found with the same problem and will need new boards also, all this on a van we bought new in 2018. It also had a hairline crack in the roof light frame above the bed in 2019 which leaked again new rooflight and board renewal. We have now lost confidence in this Caravan, wondering how many more leaks it will spring up. Anyone else had this number of leaks in 2 years.
Comments
-
I bought a new Compass Casita 550 Sept 2019 and that developed a leak in June 2020 and it had not been used since we bought it. Same place as yours the rooflight above the bed. New Roof light replaced and waiting to have the board replaced at the end of Sept. Not leaking now but a bit of a shock for it to leak.
0 -
SOLID is an acronym - Soggy or lets in damp.
2 -
hello all.
we have have 2014 elddis crusader cyclone that leaked on the rear sunroof over the bed and the front sunroof over the seating, even the panoramic roof leaks. These leaks started in 2019 and captain tollys used to good effect but eventually it needed a proper fix.
The main problem is shoddy workman ship, these areas of assembly do not use the 'solid' method of assembly but traditional jointing compounds.
Rear roof - removed and re-sealed 2 leak paths evident due to poor preparation where the non-flexible sealant had not adhered to the sunroof frame.
Front sunroof - removed and new mounting frame fitted (£170!!) as multiple cracking allowing water ingress. Clamps used appeared to be over tightened causing deformation of the roof lining and frame
Panoramic roof - seal around upper edge leaking where sealant as dis-bonded from window panel. To big a job to do do solo so an automotive seal as been fitted to deflect water away from affected area. Tolly's fluid used to attempt a seal in the joint
Both sunroof apertures were missing the roof reinforcement battens that dometic show fitted in the installation instructions, these are now fitted. all joint faces were primed with sika 205 and sealed with sika 710 as recommended by dometic. All clamps were tightened finger tight.
At least lockdown allowed the use of a roof cover and dry the caravan roof panels out.
0 -
Oh, i forgot to ask what type of windows you have that leaked so i can check mine.
Its not just Elddis with water ingress problems, it is affecting all makes of caravan despite the various methods of assembly according to a relative who works in the trade...
0 -
Watto64, the first leak was the roof light above the bed it had a hairline crack in the roof frame, possibly from overtightening when assembled new. The other leaks are all top window rails , the two front outer windows, and the window opposite the island bed where the screws had worked loose.
0 -
Are you aware that the roof light above the bed is a warranty repair even if the caravan is 3 -4 years old. The incorrect glue was used as it does not allow flexing and cracks the roof light frame. Dealer should be doing the replacement under warranty!
0 -
Hi Surfer,
Not keen on letting elddis do a repair on a job not done right in the first place and having to have the caravan out if action for weeks at a time and having to deal with the original dealer is not preferred either..
Do it right, do it yourself!!
0 -
Hello sorry to open an old thread!
could I ask which dealer you used and also the age of the caravan, as ours is a 2018 so just out of warranty!we are on holiday and have been out for the day and come back to a huge wet patch on our bed.. will be firing off an email to dealer in the morning.
Just wondering where you got the info from.
Many thanks
0 -
Whether bought new or second hand from a dealer you are still covered by the Consumers Right Act 2915 for up to 6 years as this is an inherent fault. If bought privately you are on your own. Is your dealer telling otherwise and if so they are telling you porkies!
0 -
We returned to caravanning in August 2020 after a 20 year break. I bought a 2020 Elddis Xplore 422 which on first impressions offered us a sensible layout at a reasonable budget with plenty of storage space compared with my last unit a 1993 Coachman 440/5.
Our intentions was to use it to avoid Covid restrictions, when relaxed, as accommodation to visit distant friends and family in the UK.
We picked up the Xplore in early August and were able to make use of it for a trips to Greetham, Norfolk and Blenheim/Henley.
Putting the van away for the winter we were happy with the our little home from home.
2021 proved to be different. To date we have encountered the following problems (latest and worst first)
1) water leaking in through front window hinge rail - dealer has put a claim into Elddis for remedial work to the internal skin (80% on the damp meter ceiling to floor) and has temporarily sealed the window with duct tape until they obtain approval from Elddis and obtain the necessary parts. It recently survived a major rain storm without further water ingress.
2) sink waste separated at glued trap connection - repaired on site with vasaline (no sealant available 7:30 Saturday evening) plus a good few laps of electrical insulation tape.
3) sink tap loose - removed and studied construction decided to fit locking nut to fixing spindle thread
4) cutlery drawer catch not holding drawer shut under braking conditions - its forwards facing - damaged and bent runners with ball bearings falling out - sourced new runners and replaced. Also dresser lower door opening when on the move so will add magnetic catch
5) whale water heater - the hot outlet "quick fit" plug into the heater tank is ABS/ plastic - it sheared one evening whilst having our evening meal depositing a large quantity of hot water into the front of the caravan wetting shoes, bedding and the carpets. We had to seek emergency alternative accommodation for the night before returning the next morning to pack up and curtail or stay. Our dealer was approached personally and offered to look at it in July. It being April I decided to fix the problem myself. Rang Whale who immediately offered to send me a brass replacement outlet plug. This arrived promptly 2 days later complete with a 4 page instruction leaflet in English and German with instructions how to remove the sheared off plastic thread! It took minutes to repair but days to dry out the sleeping bags and shoes.
6) the shower screen retaining clip came away from the shower cubicle liner as the self taping screws were simple screwed into thin plastic liner. Extended screws secured into the wooden wall behind + spring loaded clamps top and bottom during transit have proved to be successful.
7) the front blind cassette came away from the wall. Keep on re- tightening the screw after each trip. Maybe better after the water damaged internal front skin is replaced?
Otherwise can't fault the Xplore, love the layout for 2 adults, it tows very well and has allowed us to get out and about during these Covid limiting times. Two more excursions planned and hope the water damage repair will be better than new.
0 -
" Otherwise can't fault the Xplore"
I hope you right. At least it may be helpful for you to know you have 6 years protection under the Customer's Rights Act 2015 (from the dealer).
I have an Elddis Xplore 304 & dealing with Elddis/dealer over major inherent faults has been an absolute nightmare...Elddis do everything possible to duck their responsibilities. No wonder they are bottom of the pile when it comes to customer satisfaction. I won't risk another Elddis again, I afraid.
0 -
And yet if you look in the recent club magazine, caravan design awards, it’s Elddis, compass, buccaneer, with little to no mention of build quality etc.
Im coming to the conclusion, after nearly 40 years of membership, that this isn’t a members club but an agent for manufacturers. No one listens to members feedback and worse, no one cares.
as long as we continue to spend our hard earned money on defective products and they can sell everything they produce nothing will change.
1 -
Which magazine is the consumers champion C&MC is a commercial player in the Leisure industry. If C&MC attacked every LV manufacturer that produced problematic LV’s they would not be around today. I believe the ‘Club’ mentioned in its title isn’t what we’ve come to believe, I think the Club in C&MC relates to you paying an annual fee for discounted prices for C&MC’s offerings & not as a campaigning tool for the benefit of those fee payers, sorry but it’s a fact.
0 -
However at the same time the club exists because of its members therefore it should operate in the best interests of its members by doing honest reviews and not a review standing in a caravan and looking around. A reviewer should be using the caravan in a field 24 hours for a couple of days before writing a review.
It would be a very bad move by manufacturer to pull advertising because of a bad review by the CAMC of one of their caravans so it is highly unlikely that will ever happen. To them that would be economical suicide and advertising they make poor quality caravans!
Sorry the threat of pulling advertising would not work.
0 -
The club is a business, as Rocky said. The clubs, dealers, manufacturers, repairers all belong to the same trade organisation and they look after each other. Therefore, you won't find CAMC fighting the consumers' battles.
0 -
The club only exists because of its members. No members, no club therefore they should also be operating in the interest of its members and not as a business! Although it is useless as we found out, the club has a legal helpline to help consumers.
0 -
With due respect Surfer this is the 21st century all the ‘gentlemanly behaviour’ hardly survived the 20th century even then it’s rare. All monied companies are living in grey areas as a matter of course for survival. The best you will get is some will mostly be upright some are so mired they’ve gone to the wall losing Govt’s millions if not Billions☹️, top of my head?-Carillion🤷🏻♂️
0 -
- Yet another example of shoddy poor workmanship and lack of quality control, as for after sales or customer care as many dealers and manufacturers call it - it’s poor as well, but according to them ( dealers and manufacturers) problems are rare.
- The industry is shameful at times.
0 - Yet another example of shoddy poor workmanship and lack of quality control, as for after sales or customer care as many dealers and manufacturers call it - it’s poor as well, but according to them ( dealers and manufacturers) problems are rare.
-
Reading all this is an eye opener. We have cracks in both front and rear roof panels. A window was stolen whilst the van was on a storage site which has compounded the issues. We have been told that the van is a write off by the insurance assessor and are waiting for his report. It's a 2017 explore and we have it serviced every May at the dealership. The assessor seems to be suggesting that it's a warranty job as he said the panels are a known issue. We were so shocked by the state of the caravan. It's got mould, electrics have gone, all internal panelling is sodden. We have had to bring it home despite not having a suitable driveway. Access to our front door is now restricted. The service manager at our dealership is usually very good but any advice on what our rights are under warranty are much appreciated. We bought it new. It's our first caravan and we were really happy with it until this happened
0 -
My advice is you need to take the dealer to court - we are. We have an xplore; cracked panels with 10 cracks due to exceptionally shoddy manufacture by Elddis (we have a damning expert report on these inherent frame & panel defects).
Also make sure you get proper (unbiased) legal advice. E.g. Which?Legal is low cost and v good; they can hold your hand and guide you.
Breach of contract claims usually need to be started within 6 years of you buying the caravan -so act asap; very important.
0 -
Elddis caravans. I’m about to sell my campervan and return to caravanning. I know that Elddis had a poor reputation a few years ago and that they now refer to SoLiD Construction. Their technical statements refer to Elddis bonding all panels together.
I cannot find any data from Elddis which states whether they still use timber in their panels. Anybody help? If timber is still used then I’ll steer clear. Thank you.
0 -
There are alternatives to timber. Eriba Touring caravans are built around a tubular steel frame.
0
