I hate the shapes of the new caravans . They all seem to now be the same and all using the same gluing technique .
I was looking to change , however what to . Are they all now the same the new shape due to the way the are constructed .?
Are they all now made in the same way ?. Can some one that may have more knowledge than me convince me that they are better . sturdy . I don't feel that a van that is glued together is going to stand up to much .
Am I missing something even coachman are doing the same and now the shape of their new 2015 is like all the others.
Glue? As far as I know it is only the Elddis group that uses a combination of channelled wooden dowel and glue. Bailey and Swift are not 'glued' together and I think shapes are for aesthetic reasons. People seem to like the modern shapes with the panorama skylights.
Bailey tried a different shape with the Orion, it was supposed to be more aerodynamic. It was a bit like Marmite some hated it some loved it. I like it
Caravans are slowly becoming more streamlined - in as far as one can streamline a box. Vanners now expect to get more than 18 mpg when towing and companies who don't oblige will find themselves out of business.
Bonding these days is a world away from gluing - or else jetliner wings would fall apart to give just one example.
Caravan construction until very recently has been way behind the times, due in part to older conservative owners but also due to complacency on the part of manufacturers. Some of them are seeing a glint of light but there's still a long way to go. Just look at the way they all too often treat those with warranty claims.
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Quote: Originally posted by nora on 01/8/2014
I don't feel that a van that is glued together is going to stand up to much .
Am I missing something
Yes you are missing huge advances in bonding technology. If modern aeroplanes can manage with wings glued together, then I'm sure my caravan won't fall apart either at the first bump.
lets restate the point made by Hairywol: "Bonding these days is a world away from gluing - or else jetliner wings would fall apart to give just one example".
So forget all your thoughts about school paste etc we literally are far far away from such "glues" in modern "bonding" products.
It is as said not just aircraft, its high spec cars and even minehunters that have to withstand mines going off close by that have left conventional fixing way back in the dark
With a bonding product the stresses and shocks are not concentrated and overwhelming point fixings they spread the load and add elasticity to damp out the shock. In technical terms they are in the right application way superior to conventional fixings.
However, not all caravans exploit their potential, some even simply bond wood instead of screwing together wood. Personally, I would not entertain such construction, bonding wooden frames bring some advantages but misses the fuller picture; bonding wooden frames was the way aircraft in the 1930s; some 75 years back were done.
I would not buy one that was not bonded, and as said not one bonding primarily wood to wood; made that choice way back in 2002 with zero regrets other than unable to buy an English product back then.
The trouble with all bonded construction is once the glue has set that's it. With a bonded construction caravan, if a panel gets damaged it can't be replaced, whereas a screwed or bolted panel can be taken off and replaced.
Quote: Originally posted by Andy Higham on 01/8/2014
The trouble with all bonded construction is once the glue has set that's it. With a bonded construction caravan, if a panel gets damaged it can't be replaced, whereas a screwed or bolted panel can be taken off and replaced.
However, they do get replaced, just as they do with cars, ships and aircraft. Bonding can be broken, cut, peeled or simply over bonded. Would any of these products ever get competitive accident damage insurance if it was not the case?
There are two sorts of bonding. The one type is where different materials are laminated and bonded together to give a panel with the required properties.
The other type is where two panels are joined together to form a joint. This is the radical type of bonding used by elddis.
I wouldn't feel secure if jetliner wings were 'bonded' to the fuselage. Boeings 787 dreamliner uses composite construction but the wings are fitted into a wing box. They had development problems with delamination at this point.
Quote: Originally posted by brianconwy on 01/8/2014Surely people don't think cars are completely assembled by robots?
The Tiguan is, mostly.
There has to be some human interaction, of course - but VW don't employ hoodies, and they seem to make a really goos job of doing the bits they do.
If you look at some of the 'caravan factory visit' videos on You Tube, you wouldn't want some of the workers there to creosote your fence, much less build your caravan.
------------- I glanced in the mirror, and it was love at first sight...
Yep! robots eliminate human error or as its better known as not giving a s**t. The old story "if you employ monkeys and pay them peanuts..blah..blah!!" Sadly true in many manufacturing jobs these days and quality control being told not to be too fussy.
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It is a fool who has to say something.
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Topic: Opinions on new caravan structure
