Is it just me?
I read the caravan mags, usually when there is a review I am interested in, but they never seem really objective.
There is almost never anything mentioned that is really bad either in design or build quality.
If I read a review I want to know everything, warts and all. In fact, especially the warts.
I am coming to the conclusion the reviews are just a waste of time.
Yes, we need Jeremy Clarkson to do a few reviews . I think he could be quite objective
Maybe if ordinary caravanners did the reviews, the mags would be sued. Are the mags not all in the pockets of their advertisers?, who happen to be, ehm, oh, yes, caravan manufacturers.
I wish it was possible to test use a caravan for a week or even a weekend to find the good and bad points, before purchase.
A caravan supplied to the caravan press for testing cannot fail to be good in a one off test, it will tow ok, the appliances will work & it will look good. Whats not to like? As the advertisers pay the journo's wages, I'm sure any bits that might drop off would not get a mention anyway.
So if the magazines are working for the manufacturers effectively, where do I/we look for objective information?
How can we be better informed where we spend our very hard earned cash?
Quote: Originally posted by uxb443 on 19/12/2013
So if the magazines are working for the manufacturers effectively, where do I/we look for objective information?
How can we be better informed where we spend our very hard earned cash?
All mass produced caravans are produced in much the same way, hand assembled on a production line basis, ie no robots as with car production. This means that you trust each individual operative to do his job correctly each time in order to end up with a viable caravan. The operatives have to work at a speed that only allows them one chance to complete their work, there is no time to go back & double check it.
Each caravan requires 100s of individual operations to produce it, as each operation is carried out by a human being there is potential for each of those operations to be of occasional poor standard, so it is easy to see how new caravans have faults.
The chassis & interior equipment, cookers, heating systems etc are common to all makes of caravan so from this we can conclude that there are no good or bad caravan manufacturers only good or bad individual caravans of any make.
Ie, as pointed out, a lottery, but of course on forums you only read about the bad ones which leads one to believe(imho)that there are far more badly built caravans than is actually the case.
Caravan magazines are just for a bit of light reading. 'Testing' a caravan as done in magazines will tell you no more about a caravan than you can see for yourself at your local dealers.
Quote: Originally posted by uxb443 on 19/12/2013So if the magazines are working for the manufacturers effectively, where do I/we look for objective information?
How can we be better informed where we spend our very hard earned cash?
The best reviews you can get for caravans is from sites like this one, with real people going out using real caravan's every day. Then being good enough to tell everyone how good or bad there caravan is and would they recommend it to others, or even still what have they done to make there caravaning experience better.
It's all about personal choice at the end of the day
I always smile at the bloke in the caravan club mag who does the motorhome reviews, everything always looks so rosy.
The mags will pander to the manufacturers, they are not going to give bad reviews as they would never get them to advertise.
What's bad with one person is good with another, i.e
size of fridge,
placement of microwave,
large or small bathroom
ammount of work space
placement of t.v.
I think one big problem is the make up beds, you don't know what they are like until you've slept on it, and again one persons view isn't anothers.
People often comment on the cut off bottom on the fixed bed, we have no problem with this as we aren't tall.
I think you just have to take your time, see as many as you can and choose the layout you like and take pot luck, thats what we did, we still love the layout of ours and wouldn't want to change it.
I think its a bit like Trip Advisor, some people will give a negative review for silly things like " receptionist drew me a dirty look" or " hairdryer was to hot". These examples are real from Trip Advisor!
Some of us will not let little insignificant things bother us but to others its the end of the world.
I would imagine the same applies to caravans but its not hard to apply common sense.
Equally I agree that sites like this are more informative from real people giving an honest review.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
The most objective test IMHO are those written by Andy Jenkinson for Scottish Caravanner Magazine ... he is a keen caravanner of many years standing himsef which helps a lot. He is also a friend so I could be accussed of bias!
------------- 2020 Volvo XC60 B5 R Design Geartronic / 2018 Swift Elegance 580
Quote: Originally posted by IainM on 19/12/2013
The most objective test IMHO are those written by Andy Jenkinson for Scottish Caravanner Magazine ... he is a keen caravanner of many years standing himsef which helps a lot. He is also a friend so I could be accussed of bias!
I have bought that magazine at some sites in the past, I enjoyed it as he had a very common sense approach and good site reviews if I remember, not had one for quite a while.
Its not one I see in the newsagents though?
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
The Caravan Club only test caravans provided by manufacturers so only test good ones. Problem ones will not be tested.They are too close to manufacturers to be objective. Member safety is not a prime concern. Manufacturers are more important to them. They do not publish all known faults.Just resisting a long rant about proof of above!
Very few reviews are written after towing and using the caravan for a few days. That sort of review would be more objective than the gushing reviews we read where the author has not even used the caravan!
Quote: Originally posted by VangoMan02 on 19/12/2013
Quote: Originally posted by IainM on 19/12/2013The most objective test IMHO are those written by Andy Jenkinson for Scottish Caravanner Magazine ... he is a keen caravanner of many years standing himsef which helps a lot. He is also a friend so I could be accussed of bias!
I have bought that magazine at some sites in the past, I enjoyed it as he had a very common sense approach and good site reviews if I remember, not had one for quite a while.
Its not one I see in the newsagents though?
Most dealers sell it, some sites too. I get mine on subscription.
------------- 2020 Volvo XC60 B5 R Design Geartronic / 2018 Swift Elegance 580
All about expectations too. If I paid £12k for a new van and had a few minor problems I would class them as teething problems as long as warranty covered them, and give a good review. After all that's what a warranty is for. However if I had paid £30k I would expect no problems at all. That's why you pay a lot of cash surely! If I paid £30k and got problems I would call that a bad van, warranty or not, and give it a less than great review. Bit like a mainstream car that needs a bit of warranty work - to me no worries! But pay premium car prices and get problems - that's just plain wrong. My Orion has had a few minor problems but dealer has fixed every one for no charge and has been very helpful too so I am happy because it was relatively cheap. But if I had bought an Airstream (for example - I'm not picking on any particular brand) and it was not perfect I would not be happy, and I would review it as so. I try to read between the lines with reviews. The reviewer may not like a high microwave or a small kitchen or a fixed bed with a cut off corner but it may well be fine for you. A review will not tell you how well the van lasts either so even if it is great today, who knows how well it will wear the test of time! But a review can tell you a lot about the general layout and useability of the van plus any major good or bad points.
Read a review, add a pinch of salt and go look at one yourself to decide. Sometimes you read the review, think its not for you but when you go experience the van - its perfect!!
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Topic: Caravan Reviews - Objective or not?
