Caravan manufactures, where has the trust gone?
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- In this video I ask the question, where the trust has gone in the caravan manufactures, and discuss a few ways on how they could potentially get it back, which they probably won't like or agree with. I don't think anyone has talked about this issue before, but i think it is one of the fundamental problems in the industry.
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I liked your thoughts very interesting🌞
I like what you are putting out
Thank you. it time we had a honest view
As The Campsite Warden I have mentioned many times in my Vlogs issues with new vans from Bailey and Swift, note its not just caravans but also MoHo I have seen many new vans full of snags and issues with the owners thinking it's just their van. From windows, to doors, to nightmare plumbing and much much more.
One big issue for me is the manufacturers don't press dealers to repair/service customers who have bought elsewhere.
I drive a car. I bought the car from a dealership 200 miles away because of the excellent deal that nearer dealers couldn't match and saved a good chunk of money. I knew that my local dealership would service my car and deal with any warranty claims else they would lose their franchise. Same if I'd bought even from the internet.
I bought my first caravan from a dealer 150 miles away - a very good deal. A much nearer dealer refused to match the offer or even offer any discount, with the threat that if I didn't buy from them I needn't bring it to them for servicing or warranty work (they since closed down!). Fortunately another dealer close by, Teesside Caravans, did service the van and did a warranty claim, and two years ago I bought my new caravan from them.
But Teesside Caravans is not the norm, and this anti-competition attitude by dealers and manufacturers frankly stinks.
This is a big issue and there is a lot to unpack there, a deal isn’t all about money, you might not like this, but why should a dealership be forced to support you, when you didn’t support them. I’ve had a customer buy up north to save £500 on a deal I didn’t want to do, but got funny when I said I wasn’t going to do the warranty, and actually said “but it’s going to cost me £500 to take it up there and back” I have to say, I had to fight to urge to say what I thought. We don’t get paid enough by the manufacturers to make it worth doing. I do other dealers warranty all the time to gain customers, but I draw the line if a customer has gone out of their way to ‘get a better deal’ like I said, it’s not all about the money..
Atlantic reply to you is totally correct. Warranty work is severely underpaid for what it takes hence if you didn’t buy it from them they are perfectly right to refuse to carry out the warranty work that is subsidising the maker and purchaser for the work required.
Spot on I totally agree. I am in the market to buy a new MH but am lacking confidence in the build quality within the industry. 😢
The manufacturers sound like the British car industry in the 70s before the Japanese came along, Toyota in particular, with their radical approach to quality and design.
Keep an eye out for my video on a flirtation with Chinese manufacturers..
I bought a new 2022 coachman 575 as our first caravan thinking they were the best. I have had so many problems including the Dometic fridge door coming off the wall tape peeling all the cushions replaced, bathroom top and omnivent replaced. When I look on the various forums it seems there is a lot of customers not willing to criticise the manufacturer and instead blaming the sub supplier which is perpetuating the problem.
How sincere and genuine you come across. If I was in the market for a new caravan ( im not ) then it would be a shame I live so far away. If I was to buy a brand new unit it would be a local dealer as near to me as possible. That's because I wouldn't want to be travelling far ( at least two journeys) to get warranty work done. What is the hourly labour rate difference between a customer paying for repairs compared to what a manufacturer pays. I've often thought why so many elddis/bailey/swift units are on the market almost as soon as the glue has dried!!.
Another good honest video.
congrats on your last vid getting o many views.
As someone else has said in these comments you come across as such an honest dealer and I have to secound that.
Looking forward to your next instalment, have a good weekend and all the best
Thank you.Very interesting and well put.
Thank you.
As a caravan site warden, (I met you this week) I constantly here customers complaints about their caravan faults, most are virtually new caravans, some with really big issues, apparently most manufacturers always seem to try and wriggle out of admitting to, and putting the fault right.
Thumbs up to teeside caravans. There is no better advertising than satisfied customers word of mouth. I once read the trust pilot reviews of lowdhams ( gunthorpe) oh dear !!!!!
Spot on video, my conqueror has had a new kitchen, front pano window and still has issues such as most doors don’t close properly and the general fit is poor
Another great video , having purchased our new Bailey caravan in January after 7 trips equalling 66 nights of use there have been so many issues. Our dealer is very supportive and has been great but they don't make the caravans. This is our 4th Bailey and the most problematic. Bailey have certainly been cost cutting as the build quality is shocking . We know every manufacturer has issues and perhaps you could say we have been unlucky with this one as our issues don't seem to be had by others with the same model as there is nothing on the forums. Would we buy another Bailey is a good question but they do need to get better .Gaz
What model?
@@Roadwarrior92 Bailey Pagasus GT75 Messina
You seem to be advocating a forum for discussing problems and ideas with the aim of improving the design and reliability of caravans. If I've got that right, I would suggest that It would be essential that it also works as a database for analysis and research. It would also be good if manufacturers could be in on it from the start but given that it could be like airing dirty washing in front of the competition they may be reluctant to do so. However if it was going to happen anyway they might as well be!
Perhaps manufacturers will invent new ways to fix these things if they need to respond to open discussions about defects!
It strikes me that you could be in the best position to invent that reporting system!
Hi Like you I have a Caravan RUclips Channel. I have recorded videos regarding issues that I have had over the years of ownership. I have said I wish they would watch the videos but as you said they work on an outdated method re sales etc. I also feel that they don't take what we say seriously and to me they appear arrogant.
Personally I feel that Caravan Manufacturers should be regulated by an independent body and held accountable for poor build quality like the Car Industry is. Looking forward to your next videos. Thanks Phil🙂👍
Hi Phil, that’s the weird thing, I know the people who own theses companies and they aren’t arrogant, maybe it’s a case of the landscape of the buying public is changing and they are not adjusting to it and the result is this disconnecting feel between the manufacturers and the customer. What ever it is, it’s definitely a problem for everyone concerned.
@@atlanticcaravansUK Hi. Thanks for replying. You maybe quite right with your summary. It would be nice if they were a little more open. Then the distrust from Customers would be eased and confidence may return. I certainly have no intentions to purchase another Caravan in the next 5 years. Thanks Phil
I was going to get a caravan 2 years ago. But just about everyone i have spoken to advised against it.
Water ingress, sealant drying out. Electrical issues etc.
So its Hotels for me.
Again, not what we want at all to hear..
I rang swift HQ and asked them a simple question ' what is the name of the wallboard design in your 2013 sprite quattro please"... I got.. "go to a dealership". A simple question that they surely would know. Basically caravan manufacturers don't give a shit about their customers.
Yeah ask the dealer, as you would with a car, you could ask them why my brand new caravan has water ingress.
Very thought provocking, we need to keep the Brisish manufacturers high because the Germans business plan will be to eliminate their local competition!
A further thought in this age of change and disruption, especially in the transport world...
How are caravan manufacturers responding to the coming change in tow car availability to EVs?
When a Chinese company like Huawei can come up with their first EV, the luxeed s7, in just 2 years, It puts in perspective the 3 years of development you say the caravan manufacturers need to implement new ideas.
In particular they need to seriously consider improving the drag coefficient of caravans has that makes far more difference to energy consumption than mass. So now would be a good time to be selecting new lightweight materials and implementing new designs that will make better and more fuel efficient caravans!
I'm exploring the idea of getting my first caravan and first EV probably a Kia EV6. I am now fully aware of the pros and cons after a year of research. I came to conclusion is completely doable but with the major drawback of having to unhitch caravans while recharging at most charging stops. But I trust this will change over time.
Charging frequency should be minimised to stopping no more frequently than the car occupants need to pee, themselves!
Yes infrastructure needs to improve but the cars themselves are getting there and costing no more to run than a diesel in fuel on public charging and of course the bonus of cheap charging when operating from home (for those fortunate enough to be able to do so)
Auto express do a readers reliability survey for new and used cars as do Parkers I think.
Something like that would be great in the caravan industry as it would expose the bad ones publicly and they would have to take action or they would have no business.
I think the caravan magazines do something like that but I don’t think they publish the bad bits, only what manufacturers come top. Can you imagine the flood gates opening if there was an open platform .. hang on, I’ve just had an idea.
@@atlanticcaravansUK I think it's something definitely worth doing
@@atlanticcaravansUK also top of a bad pile is still rubbish 😁
To gain customer confidence they should do product recalls, and and fixed the faults, even if the customer hasn't reported an issue, widow seal, sunroofs and flooring etc
The problem is, they don’t have actual fixes for these things, they are just fire fighting the problems, they might have for future builds, but like I said in the trust video, they can’t do much about it now. The trust can be gained by owning up to it.
Yes I can total see where you are coming from
My brand new swift challenger se 560 has had loads of problems but they dont care they've had my £34,000 . I am coming out of the hobby
This is exactly why something has to be done, well, if they want customers to sell to it does..
I bet the all the pot holes in the UK are not helping with the after sales faults. There must be movement in the chassis and transferring all the energy up into the body of the van and twisting and cracking all the glued joints and seals. As the caravan chassis has got relatively poor suspension travel, with small wheels and low profile tyres with a lot of weight all on the absolute limits of the vans chassis capabilities with a single axle. Seems like driving on deteriorated UK roads in a van not designed for such a rough ride maybe causing more problems. I know that all commercial vehicle ladder frame chassis are designed to take in impact along with the suspension and you can see the whole body twist as it is designed to do so. Perhaps the designers of caravans should take more consideration into the movement of the upper body when on the move in a near off road situations. Seems like even the designers of the Boeing aircraft admits mistakes over 737 Max 9 door and windows blowing out and committing over compensation on the controls and crashing with new technologies. It would be nice to think that when you purchase a 30-60k caravan it is not going to leak and fall apart from day one to an unsuspecting buyers beware public, is it a lot to ask? UK manufacturers should be ashamed of themselves. Seems to be the Wild West out there for new and second hand units and a matter of luck what you end up with.
SO what do we purchase? A niche non UK product with no oven and the door on the wrong side? The wrong side of what and who wants an oven and cooking indoors in the summer.
Waiting for your interesting German caravan talk.
Nice work! 🌝
My heart says that I'd love a brand new caravan ... but my head says to buy something that's a few years old, give it my own inspection before parting with my money and save ££££ (research is knowledge, and knowledge is power ... caravans / motor homes / camping all come with their own set of issues)
I’ve got an online course on how to do that going live soon.. 20 years experience in buying caravans..
we have come a long way with the design and building of caravans in the 80s and 90s. dire times they were. manufacturers have spent millions trying to solve the problem of water ingress.. but for some reason they always seem to cure one problem and create another. is it just bad luck. i give in
The manufacturer are absolutely tosh, they just chuck out the same unreliable badly built rubbish, we don't have a new caravan,( well 5 yrs old it works) but anyone you talk to who has a new caravan the build quality is awful, and all they do is bigger flashier more stuff, but it's still crap. Unfortunately it needs a manufacturer to go bust for the industry to actually wake up and smell the coffee. Better off buying used as problems hopefully have been sorted. And the UK manufacturer built the same old rubbish, nobody thinks any different, I've seen some of the European stuff, German vans just are more interesting, some of the french vans are built to look like a boat. Some of these manufacturers need to go to a caravan site and actually talk to people about how crap their products are, if you don't then they'll be looking for a job, as theirs will have gone.
I have been buying new caravans for 50 yrs and the main problem is there is no quality control, I have to disagree with you, I believe caravan manufactures can be compared with car manufactures, they are both built on a production line. Nissan use robots to build the body but if you go to the Trim and Chassis plant you will see a empty body become a car that is built by hand usiny 1000s of parts, I say again they are built by hand, there is QC at every station.
By comparison a caravan has 100s of parts with a simple design, no engine built by hand, no gearbox, the most basic suspension and not much else. without good QC anything can happen, a common fault on Swifts and reported in 2017 was the waste pipe under the sink coming apart and dumping the dishwater into the cupboard, two years later when I bought mine it was still the same, cheap to fix but Swift don't care.
The caravan industry may be a cottage industry but that is not a excuse.
Are people happy with the build quality of their van's? I thought with all new building composite materials and new joining technologies with aluminium clamping joints and modern glueing technology was a way forward and a distancing from the bad old days of bad press with poor quality materials and build quality and a terrible reputation. With the new technology stopping movement and leaking and things falling apart and not working.
The Hymer caravan had a one piece bonded wall and roof with ply, a tough insulation and alloy skin on the outside, all bonded together years ago but heavy. I would rather have a non UK spec van with no Oven that don't fall apart and leak like a sieve and grow mushrooms inside 🍄🍄. I heard horrible stories on site by people with new UK vans with big problems and bonded windows falling out and leaks in roof and bad defects. People tell me the older vans were better built. I would buy a new van again but not a UK van as they are now.
All very interesting again. I like your maverick approach.
But your are an agent for these manufacturers and make a living with them in the industry. Have you had this conversation with them? What have they said? I think you are addressing them through this video but talking about confidence and a couple of years into the future is of no interest to the individual who has a caravan and no intention to keep buying them or someone who just wants a reliable second hand van. May be we should go back to trailer tents, at least we can waterproof them ourselves, easy storage, cheap to service and you can tow them with an electric car. Seem as though the caravan market is destroying itself and is just another "vehicle" for the real product that is the finance and insurance market. The build quality of the caravan is not the most important part when the industry is all about employment, marketing, dealerships, repairing, servicing, sales, warranties and finance. That's the real product.