Hi all could i ask for your opinions please. What make of caravan would be considered the best build. some seem very poor quality. would be looking at used and no older than 8 years. thanks
I suppose price range determines build quality, the well known UK built names are all mass produced so they can have faults. More important if buying an 8yr old caravan of popular make is to look for full main dealer service history. If caravan has been serviced annually then one would hope that any developing damp problems will have been picked up & rectified. Its damp left unrepaired for yrs that wrecks a caravan.
One could argue that top of the range UK makes such as Vanmaster or Carlight should be better, but very few around & all of these require annual damp check.
The general 'German caravans are better' idea is not really true either. More expensive makes like Hymer are good but cheaper makes like Hobby can certainly get damp & German layouts are not to everybodies taste.
So if you want an 8yr old caravan that is ok, the real answer is full main dealer service history.
I have always had Swift catavans and found them to be good quality although, as nobody is perfect, there will probably be folk who have had bad experiences
------------- hawk
"Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone"
I have the body of a greek god - its in my freezer
I've had lunar bailey and swift, we are on our 4th swift in succession , we just seem to find them good quality, so our next will also be a swift.
That said as generalhawk stated, you can get good and bad in all makes, really it comes down to personal preference and if you like it and its damp free.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Pick the one you like and suits you and your needs.ask for a full damp report at a dealer or do one yourself.ie buy a good damp meter.even at 12 month they can leak in.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Got a Sprite made by Swift and I am very happy with the build Quality so far? One thing i noticed was that the more expensive vans with better fixtures and fittings in most cases were heavier and was a factor for me!
when I traded in my 10 year old swift it was in very good condition but the dealer did not want the full servicehistory I gave them,when it appeared on their website it came with 12 months warranty by themselves so you may not get a service history from a dealer but you should at least get a warranty with it
I disagree. We have a Hymer and the build quality is far superior to any UK van I have seen/owned. ~The only downside, as has been pointed out, is they tend to be heavy and this could be a major factor for some. Ours is 9 years old and still entirely free from damp and any major faults - it's built like a tank.
Thank you for the reply's. I asked as the newer the caravan we buy the easier it is to break.!!!! or so it seems. Just wondered if one make stood out from the rest.
i too would agree- GO GERMAN , we had a swift- its was ok, but showed its age quickly.... we sold it, we bought a german made tec....BEST THING WE EVER DID, we are now onto our second bigger TEC van, the quality of build is fantastic,nothing is chipped, marked or broken and its seriously put to the test with our two kids,it looks like it did the day it rolled out the factory.....
we also looked at Hymer's too, and LMC.... all really really nice and they suited us, we dont have any issues with the door on the wrong side !
hymers are as has already been stated a little heavier but TEC and LMC were lighter....
we did fall in love with a hymer with granite worktops !!! but the TEC won our hearts...and as i say its the best decision we ever made...
sorry to say it but go german you wont be disapointed...
A few years back i asked a breakdown recovery driver "what do you think is the most reliable car" going by your call outs to pick up broken down cars.
his answer was the Trabant because he had never picked one up??
and the worst was the Ford Escort?? because he had picked up lots of them, they made ---millions of them.
so if you get one make like swift of bailey owners reporting problems it could be because there are hundreds of thousands more of them compared to the very small amounts of imported vans, so the imported vans will have less reported problems.
Hi we found bailey! caravans to be the best so far in build quality. having said that all caravan manufactures have had some problems with there vans with one thing or another.
But bailey now have this new body on the market in new vans, which prevents the problem with damp building up.
look at the forms, and buy a new one if you can, they have the New better STRONGER bodies damp free.
Quote: Originally posted by simonpaula on 07/5/2014
Hi we found bailey! caravans to be the best so far in build quality. having said that all caravan manufactures have had some problems with there vans with one thing or another.
But bailey now have this new body on the market in new vans, which prevents the problem with damp building up.
look at the forms, and buy a new one if you can, they have the New better STRONGER bodies damp free.
I take it you haven't been looking on the other caravan forums about damp trouble?
I think you need a good damp meter and check yourself when buying second hand, you can usually tell if a caravan has been used and abused
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Topic: Build quality
