Hi all, apologies if this is too broad a question however I thought I'd give it a shot!
Bought our first caravan just over a year ago after several years camping. We didn't spend too much money on the van as it was really just to see if we actually liked caravanning as opposed to camping. Well, after many great weekends and a couple of weeks away at all times of the year it's safe to say we love it. So.... time to buy a newer van.
After searching for vans in our budget it looks likely that the van we will be buying is around the 10-11k bracket for which we should be able to get a 4 berth 2009-2011 model or so with a fixed bed and end bathroom and have seen several from Swift, Bailey, Lunar, Elddis etc.
So the question is, does anyone have any knowledge or experience as to anything we should avoid buying? Were there any really poor models or years from the main manufacturers? I keep reading things about poor build quality on newer vans, anyone have an opinion?
Also, anything I should watch for in particular on vans of that age, anything that would make one a better buy over another (apart from things like included motor movers/awnings etc)
I think the simple answer has to be that all the large UK manufacturers are much of a muchness so buy whichever you like. What you should look for is a service history of annual services & damp checks.
I agree with Opensauce, all manufacturers have their failings, none more than others in reality. You read more about swift and bailey as they sell far more vans than the others. Adria seem to have a good following and we liked ours, but then we like our Bailey too and haven't had any issues with that either.
Best to have a good look around, decide on a layout to suit you and then start looking in earnest. Check all vans for damp however new as any van can leak but most don't.
I can personally recommend a Bailey Senator Wyoming series 6, we have a 2008 model but I think they go up to 2011. It has a great end washroom with a huge separate shower. The sofas are also long enough to put your feet up and have an afternoon snooze!! We love ours and have had no problems with it apart from when I stepped back into the plughole in the shower and cracked it, it's been plastic welded now and I've put a hard plug cover over it!! We always go to the NEC caravan show and have yet to see a nicer caravan than ours. Happy shopping!
Avoid any UK manufacturer..look for German or Dutch vans...much better build quality IMHO...having said that one of my friends has a Bailey Orion which looks very good..early days yet tho'..there is a thread on here about buying direct from abroad and saving a packet ..worth looking for
Quote: Originally posted by billyboggins on 11/1/2016
Avoid any UK manufacturer..look for German or Dutch vans...much better build quality IMHO...having said that one of my friends has a Bailey Orion which looks very good..early days yet tho'..there is a thread on here about buying direct from abroad and saving a packet ..worth looking for
Foreign vans suffer damp and leaks just like any other. The myth they are better is fuelled by the fact you don't read many bad things about them. Main reason is they don't sell hardly any vans here. Look on overseas forums and you'll find plenty to read about. No better, no worse.
I bought an species affinity with the new solid construction ,I'm very pleased with it !no problems Google solid caravan construction and see. Tows really well too
As most say all of a muchness really, especially for the high volume manufacturers.
I have had four different make vans in the past and all leaked, the latest being a Bailey, as next doors and chap across the road, but others owners very satisfied,
You pay yer money and you take yer chance!
as above I think they all are capable of leaking. After all, you're basically towing a lot of glued together plastic panels over long distances, all sorts of road and field surfaces, and in all weathers. You can't expect to avoid movement or cracking. Saying that, we're very pleased with our Bailey Senator (once we fixed the cracked back panel!) and surprised at the quality of the fittings and the room inside. It knocked the socks off the Elddis, Swifts and Omegas - for our money. We had a Hobby Excelsior 8 years ago - solidly built van - more build quality than Bailey but a heavy van to tow and the layout and design had a few irritants, just down to differing cultural tastes I would say. Have fun with your search!
------------- Sometimes You're the windscreen; sometimes the fly
Our last caravan was a swift charisma 550 2009 model. we got 9k trade in last may. It was a lovely van, fixed bed, end bathroom. We changed it for a challenger sport 584 again fixed bed but transverse island bed which we prefer. We. Have had no problems but any caravan of that age can suffer water ingress so make sure whatever you buy you get it checked out fully.
I personally found caravan build has gone backwards, our first van of several owners and 1972 vintage was bone dry in the 6 years we owned it, unlike the 4 newer ones we have owned since.
I used to own a Bailey pageant series 7. It was a 2008 model and the floor went spongy. When I had the floor repaired at a cost of £500 , the repair centre said Bailey had used cheap floor materials in their vans that year and just before it so they could be worth avoiding. I now own a Bailey senator Carolina series 6 which is a 2009 model and it's sound so don't let it put you off
Finally bought one. The fixed bed with the washroom right across the back of the van was the layout we did go with in the end therefore we've bought a Bailey Pegasus 2010 model from a private seller. I know that Baileys have had mixed reviews however I'm not sure that it's much if any worse than other vans of it's age when taking sales volume into account I guess.
There has been a lot of advice from people re: annual servicing and as the 'van has had a main dealer annual service every year since new with the last being in Aug 2015). There was paperwork for every service in the van including items fixed under warranty each time together with damp reports.
That together with the fact that the van is in mint condition in and out with literally everything included, including two awnings, aquaroll, wastemaster and a powertouch auto mover and two brand new tyres it seemed like the right buy after much researching and looking at different vans.
Time will tell however the advice given by people that said that the most important things to do are to research what you want, look at lots of similar 'vans and check everything you can carefully, then double check them, walking away if you need to (head over heart) is actually about all you can do and is probably correct in the long run.
Anyway I just wanted to say thanks for the advice on here and the PMs I've received, it's all been useful and much appreciated.
Cheers
Ron
** Edit just realised I've replied on the wrong account as we have two user Id's... Newcampa = Campalots just to avoid confusion! **
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Topic: Which Caravan?
