I was talking to a service engineer a few weeks ago who works for a caravan dealer and the topic of floor delamination came into the conversation as I had to repair mine this year. He went on to say that many caravans suffer from this problem but on a percentage basis there are more Avondale caravans that go into the workshop for floor delamination repairs than any other make.
After all, it's the people in the workshops who undertake the caravan repairs that know more of the facts regarding repairs.
Thanks both that is interesting...and conflicting after camping in an old MOD tent that the old man had and he had a few bob in his pocket he went with a Bessecar in the 90's...the largest cameo with a ford grandada 2.8 estate he never earnt a fortune but always bought quality.
Bearing in mind I have a boy 11 and a girl 8 both are wanting for a caravan rather than a tent, we mid forties folk are happy in a tent but get the caravan bug more so for a longer season.
any views on fleetwood 560 for dipping my toe in?
------------- It's better to ask a silly question than make a silly mistake.
Avondale caravans were built in Atherstone, Warwickshire which is less than 10 miles away from me but talking to a person a couple of years ago who knew someone who worked there said, "Like so many caravan manufacturers of today, the quality has somewhat diminished over the last few years but Avondale got to a stage whereby the recalls were ever increasing. This led to a production problem and in the end the company had no choice but to go into liquidation".
Like I said in a recent post, the standards in the caravan industry are falling very much the same as the British motor cycle and car industry did and Avondale and Fleetwood are prime examples of that failure. An identical pattern is slowly emerging but in reflection to what I have stated here, I would be somewhat cautious buying either an Avondale or Fleetwood caravan as companies just don't stop trading unless there is a constructive reason to do so.
tango55 another intersting insight, I would look at the much loved German vans but with an 85% ratio bearing in mind I would be new to this they would tip the scales and not suit our requirments.
But did they fail because they were expensive during a bad time in the economy or because they cut corners?...it would seem that have done reagrdless of spec.
I know from going on here tent mfrs had bad years? is this the case with Britsh caravans? Is there a stand out brand?
------------- It's better to ask a silly question than make a silly mistake.
Having owned 2 Avondales in the Past, a 89 model Adonis (very basic no frills van) and an Olympus 92 5 berth, both bought secondhand, l would not buy another one if they were still available today. The Adonis was bought in a mad moment of Sunday afternoon exitement as we visited a dealership to buy gas for our tent camping, having lost my lovely little ABI Monza in a divorce settlement in 86.
The Adonis was cheap, cheerful, and almost new condition, but when in use, the beds were uncomfortable thin mattresses that needed the addition of an airbed undernieth before we got any decent sleep. Most of the screws in the cupboards were corroded, and my husband, a Joiner by trade, spent a whole weekend replacing them and also fitting a new external door lock and keep, as the original one would pop open if ever we hit a bump in the road, or if someone leaned against it on the inside.
We eventually lost this van in an accident, and it was the insurance company who found us the Olympus, which had a better spec, fridge, hot and cold water system, and an extra berth at the back. Sadly it also had major damp over the kitchen area that had water running down the walls whenever it rained, and also the floor delamination in a two year old caravan. Avondale did put it right, but the same old discomfort in the beds was still bothering us, and even there latest models that we looked around whilst waiting for the repair at the dealership, where very shoddily made, felt flimsy, and simply not worth the money. So a few months later, we bought a new Coachman Genius 460Se, a lovely van, craftsman made to perfection, and nice comfortable sprung beds as well. We kept this caravan for 6yrs, until our teenagers no longer wanted to 'share a room with Mum and Dad' and we sold up and moved on to doing the static and package type of holidays until they had left home and my husband had just retired, then we were back to what we knew and loved best, so we bought a Lunar Zenith 4, a nice little 4 berth caravan, with a lot of spec for your money, fairly sturdy built, and very comfortable, but after owning it for 3years, it sprung a leak in the rear corner behind the bathroom, resulting in a £600 repair bill, so this, combined with our need for a larger bathroom, made us look for a new caravan with a good long warantee, and we bought the Elddis that we have now, ironically, from a dealership that now occupies the old Avondale factory premises at Atherstone.
There have been a few minor teething problems to date, but so far we are very happy with it, and as we are no longer spring chickens ourselves, we plan to keep this caravan for the rest of our days until we once again sell up for good.one thing that has improved through, and that is the use of motor movers, without one we would have had to give up the hobby years ago, they are a worth while addition to any caravan, and can save a lot of injuries such as hernias and bad backs caused by trying to handle a caravan manually into tight spaces and awkward angled pitches.
Julia
------------- Just love to be out amoungst Nature and Wildlife
Celebrating 37 years of Caravanning in 2019, Recently Considered Retiring, but Totally Addicted for Life!
we have an Avondale a 2001 mdel, we have also owned an elldis and a and a top of the range sterling and to be honest the Avondale is the best we have had its older than both the others we owned, but dry, comfortable and to be honest quite cheap to buy. suppose its like everything you get good and bad in everything
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Topic: Fleetwood Avondale etc
