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quoteThe build quality of new caravans and motorhomes is a hotly discussed topic at the moment. With advances in construction methods, developments in design and the introduction of eco-friendly processes, there’s no doubt that plenty is being done to enhance new models’ performance and durability.
All that said, the only real way to determine whether caravans and motorhomes are improving is to ask you, the consumer, your thoughts. And that’s exactly what we did last month.
We can now reveal the results…
Hundreds of you responded to the poll and with just a few votes in it, it was a really tough one to call!
A majority verdict was reached however; 37% of you told us that yes, build quality is improving and that new construction methods seem to have raised standards.
32% of voters on the other hand, voted in favour of more being done. Whilst a huge 29% of you said that no, build quality isn’t improving.
Let’s take a look at some of your comments
Despite the biggest share of readers backing manufacturers for improving build quality, all comments came from those who felt there was room for manufacturers to make improvements. Roger got in touch to say, “I have been looking for a new motorhome; sadly as yet I have been unable to find the layout or specification we would really like. However, I have looked at many makes and types and the conclusion I have come to is that the offerings from UK manufacturers fall well short of those from mainland Europe in terms of quality.”
Mike also thinks that European manufacturing leads the way, “I think that the pride in what is being built in Britain has gone. We should be world leaders instead we lack behind the European manufacturers.”
Motorcaravanners Club (MCC) member Clive tells us, “I have seen literally dozens of members upgrade or buy new vans; there is an extremely poor reputation attached to motorhome manufacturers’ quality control during their manufacturing process, a very common remark being, ‘If the car industry turned their vehicles out like this there would be a public outcry’, and NO these complaints are not diminishing with today’s vehicles. We need someone like Mercedes, Fiat, Ford etc, to produce their own motorhomes, and apply their car production assembly line quality control criteria, then we can expect a satisfied customer base.”
Mark agrees saying, “If Volkswagen built their own motorhomes to the same standard of the cars I have owned I would buy one tomorrow. That way I could be guaranteed everything would work and nothing would fall off.”
David, an avid caravanner tells us, “Regarding caravan build quality, I believe that there is still much improvement required. ‘Vans now seem to concentrate on the initial ‘wow’ factor but when you look deeper into the van when viewing with purchase in mind you still see poor assembly, inadequate fixings and poor alignment of doors etc.”
Click here to read all the comments in full.
Do you agree with the 37% majority?
Whether you do or you don’t, we would love to hear from you! Submit a comment below and join the conversation!
I have justcome across this post and it amazes me that nothing ever seems to get done with all these companies building caravans supposedly fit for purpose. I purchased a new compass in 2016 after taking nearly a year to decide the better van, 100% water proof, light, and built with new SOLID. Year 1. the tracker and alarm was wired wrong in the factory, did not find out until tracker told me the alarm was going off yet i stood next to the van and it clearly was not,water pump stopped needed a new one, first service damp all round front window. mmm good 1st year. year 2. second service damp in front of van and also in both wheel arches, i have now lost all confidence in the van and can not face another year of this its ok them saying its getting done under warranty but it costs to travel to get it done and this time have lost the van for over a month. pathetic!!! feel really sad especially because it was my retirement money. Peter L
collect our van back from dealer in kenilworth .Sat 13th .all done
Have had Pilote and Deftleffs motorhome both been fine, but would never buy British one, herd so many problems with Build Quality and damp.
just had my autoquest one year old 1600 miles on the clock rechecked for water ingress , solid seal wonder sealed, it needs 30 hours of work to cure damp, put the comments on your advert for this years model of the 2015 new autoquest you posted, but it doesnt seem to be acceptable, is this why manufacturers get away with producing shoddy goods, the serviceman reckons almost every make of vehicle is returned for repairs so this indicates we have no chance of receiving a decent return for our cash…..not good.
Sorry to hear that Richard but sadly the comments made by your service guy ring true. While having two complete sides changed on my second motorhome at three years old I saw just about every make in for some damp repair. The problem is its accepted by many in my opinion as a sort of ocupational hazard. Wonder if the plane in the new glossy ad lets water in . I personally think the industry needs some kind of regulation to because it ca be a major uphill struggle to get expensive warranty work. I should know ive been there twice. Now as not to upset anyone monitoring this post I will be very careful in what I write next. My second motorhome was diagnosed as needing two new sides 1st Aug 2008 it was completet 1st June 2009. My third motor home damp problems were posted on a forum by a friend as I had problems with the manufacturer admitting there was a common problem even though dealers had admitted there was. I also noticed on slightly newer models changes had been made to retify the non existent problem. The van was eventually repaired under warranty but I can say more. A few of you out there may understand why. I have now changed to a Bailey GT65 caravan in the hope of getting away from the curse of damp but as a trained engineer I cant see it getting to its tenth year of warranty.
I agree the manufactures just turn out rubbish and expect the dealers to put things right I agree action is needed but what????
how about petitions &letters it would shake them up if there was enough supporters we don’t do enough but we moan a lot
i have complained at the dealers richard and am in the process of contacting the manufacturers which is not so easy to do, a bit help from an orginisation such as the caravan club or simular would help, and be much more useful than just trying to find out if there was any good comments for build quality as clearly there is no such comment out there.
we have been waiting just over six months to get our six month old caravan put right we not far off from getting it done .but it’s disgracefully to take so long .I’m not a happy chappie
yippee caravan in end month
our caravan went in Saturday for warranty work should be in for week .spoke to trevor baxter at show .looked after us .letting us have outside power point fitted outside van free of charge
I blame caravan manufacturers they send them out with lots of faults, theirs attitudes to customers stinks but also it’s our fault we put up with it we should fight back after all these vans are not cheap time for action?
Seems its a waste of time posting your comments here. Some of my post from yesterday is now missing. Seems this insurance company wants to restrict what is written. The whole industry seems a little too cosy. Doubt this will get posted so good luck people. Looks like I’ll be changing insurance companies this year !!!!
Hi Ian,
Thanks for getting in touch. You’ll notice that your comment was made live earlier, it is showing above your most recent comment. Whilst we encourage people to share their views on the blog, we try and avoid publishing anything that could be consider slanderous in anyway. We review every single comment that comes through on the blog, this is standard procedure for most online blogs. As I say your comment was published in part on this occasion.
Many thanks
Lucie
Ian you are not alone when you talk to other caravanners they have the same problems I have friends who are waiting to get faults to there caravan fixed its a waiting game as dealers and manufactures try there best to say your problem is not serious and if you use your caravan a lot you will get faults.There answer is to change the model slightly ie. call it Mk2 / 3 and so on rectify the faults and wait for customers to find more faults, Magazines are not to keen to help as there revenue comes from caravan manufactures it’s a dead end that way to get results.
Seems I am not alone. In past ten years have purchases 3 motorhomes (last two new) and one new caravan. All three motorhomes had major damp problems which justbecame too much so decided to try a caravan Iin 2013. Bad move. Thinking of calling Iit a day!!
Lots of tales of woe, could it be the labour force at fault? Perhaps they don’ t take pride in their work as good old workmen used to do.
quality control none existant no pride .vanmaster was slow built but they have gone I think.
mine were both eldis motorhomes peter webster, 165 on a 12 plate, and a 175 on a 63 plate, derrrrrr, the rule once bitten applies
I purchased an Elddis 115 motorhome and realised I had made a big mistake .Went over to France in December and nothing worked! Went to a motorhome dealer in Le Havre to be told they cannot service or Repair Uk vans due to E.E.C rules. Luckily a French Peugeot dealer found a dud fuse and all was well but dreadful service from the supplying dealer
I have bought 2 new motorhomes in England. Recently I saw a motorhome that had been ripped down one side – it has frightened me how fragile they are. My next van will be self build from another country – that way it will more likely survive a bump.
I.ve had a 2011 carioca694 never had a problem I didn,t enjoy fixing it,s part of motorhoming!
i suppose motorhomes like houses need constant attention keeping them in as a good a condition as possible, but i would not think removing side walls of a new house is enjoyable, replacing screws that come loose is simple, repairing peeling doors not so simple, having to repair any form of new appliance is a disgrace but normal with anything british built, which is the reverse of days gone bye, when british was best. very sad.
i have bought 3 new caravans in the last 10 yrs, they have put me off caravaning for life.why do people keep buying this junk? les.
dear craig, having read your findings on the voting , i find the results are a bit like politicians findings, they can not be representative of the majority of owners, only of the few that bothered to vote, not sure what the way forward is but the current method of voting and the comments on this post obviously do not match.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your feedback. Whilst we do agree that the headline poll results don’t appear to fully represent the opinion of those who’ve submitted comments, we must publish the results in the exact same way they were presented, i.e. in four possible options. That said, if you combine two of the voting options, ‘I think more can be done’ and ‘No – not in my experience’, they make up 61% so it then becomes apparent that although ‘Yes – new construction methods seem to have raised standards’ received more votes, the majority of people disagree with the idea that build quality is improving.
Many thanks
i think in relation to caravans manufacturers of motorhomes are lacking in quality, i have had doors peeling or falling off on both a 2012 and a 63 plate motorhome both with water ingress problems both from the same manufacturer, the conclusion is build quality is probably deteriating more than improving as the second vehicle is supposed to be manufactured with the new miracle water ingress free glued system, perhaps a return to much better built caravans is the way forward.
Our Baily Valencia is three years old it has been back to the dealer many times . ie. all window blinds have been changed pin holds in fabric, Alde heater stopped working found out that fuse blown. Dealer fixed but did not tell me where fuse was , book does not tell you where fuse is .I have found said fuse now keep spares.gas rings will not light just been for service so hope we have a result.Water ingress had to fight with dealer to get it to Baily to be repaird ,had to fight our case with Baily for them to get on with it.They did a good so I have to give them credit.fuse box came adrift bad fixing job by dealer. Laundry box cover hinge rusty broke .awning light broke away.I could go on, where is the quality in caravans now,inspection is done by inspectors wearing dark glasses, company’s don’t care as long as caravans keep rolling of the production line, leave it to the dealers to put it right.
2 friends both had brand new bailey vans .& had nothing but trouble .things falling off they have both sold them .
Our first van gave problems with coachwork, fittings and appliances. They all got fixed eventually, mostly at our expense because dealer and manufacturer bounced us between themselves. So when we bought our next van we looked long and hard at what was on offer. We settled on a Vantage Sol that is now four years old. The only real problem was with the oven and this developed after a year and was replaced under warranty at no cost to us. There is quality out there, but you do have to search for it!
Some disturbing reading especially as new to motorhoming.
Makes me wonder what the NCC is for, and there needs to be more in depth investigation by the motorhome media into the deficiencies regarding quality, but suspect they would be worried about loss of advertising if too critical.
Maybe there needs to be a Trip Advisor type medium so that the parties in the industry take the end user more seriously.
Naming and shaming will soon flush out the poor manufacturers and the sales organisations.
I have seen some interesting sites outlining some of the misdemeanour’s in the industry so keep it up.
this site we put our comment on could help by sending complaints to manufacturers there will come a time believe me when they have got to do something or go the way avondale went down the pan
Hi Richard,
We inform manufacturers of any comment that mentions them directly. They each have the opportunity to post a reply where necessary. Failing that, we direct those who submit such comments to the manufacturer’s customer care department. I could get in touch with Luna for you if you like? Or put you in touch with them? Many thanks
Lucie
I forgot to mention that our Luna clubman SB one year old has already bean in workshop for six weeks as it was full of damp everywhere oh and all the rear lights fill up with water when it rains
we went for coachman .build quality better but still quality control faults we couldn’t open the door . turns out the frames out .still waiting &waiting to get it rectified . if I could turn back Time I would have kept our £18.000pounds
Never again will I buy Luna one year old faults too many to mention what I will say is every thing that could fall of fell off the seats are too wide can’t open draws windows don’t fit on third thetford toilet still not right lights fridge sink new seats already front of van fell to bits had to get my own joiner to put it back together and those are just a few faults 50 plus to date I can honestly say the only thing that shed has going for it is the alde heating superb £22,000 very very disappointed
We bought a new Bailey Pegasus GT65 Turin in July 2013 (18 months old) The van has spent 9 of the last 18 months in the dealer workshop being repaired for shoddy workmanship and faulty items. The total list so far has come to approx. 30 different repairs and recalls. The other thing that annoys me is that the caravan manufacturers find faults in new product but do not inform their customers like the motortrade. We have to complain before they are rectified.
I bought a new sterling 570 continental May 2nd 2014. up to now i’ve had 15 faults, it is at the manufacture getting a new roof fitted (4 weeks ) due back in Febfuary, when we first took delivery we went to connect up to the car to find that because my car had L E D lights it was not compatIble to the van, 10 days later sorted out, First trip out we went to but the awning up and we couldn’t feed it through the awning channel due to faulty awning caps. which is still on going but i am told will be sorted out when new roof fitted. we had the sky light replaced due to water comming in. I feel that i have been the guinea pig and paid £25000. for the privilage. The advert says SMILE thats not possible, Of all the 4 new caravans i bought this is by far the worst. i boght this to last me for another 5 years which will take me to the end of my caravaning days, and i cannot afford to change it. The dealer has been most helpful thoughout all my problems and is chasing up with Swift to get this van to the standard it should have been. MAURICE BROWN
When Caravan interiors were built using Marine Ply, standards of fit were high, but now everyone uses Plastic Coated MDF parts Doors and Panels seem to fit badly, and damage very easily.
The quality and craftsmanship just is not there any more, Vans are assembled like diy kits, rather than being crafted.
I gave a negative comment before. Our caravan has good points, The heating system is very good, easy to tow, wash room good and grade 3 for winter use. In fact we have been away for the last
two Christmases. It is just the front drawers that let the caravan down
Thanks for everyone’s comments. Has anyone got any good stories of build quality? The biggest proportion of votes said that build quality had improved – so there most be many that are happy with their ‘vans.
Manufacturers have worked hard to make their vans more aerodynamic, better insulated (Grade 3) and less prone to water ingress with the reduction.
Better insulation in itself is a major advantage as allows owners to use their caravans and motorhomes for longer periods of the year.
Production lines do appear to be becoming more akin to the car production so efforts are being made to replicate techniques and standards set by the general automotive industry.
I bought a Rapido in March of last year in the hope that it would be better than our previous two Hymers. There were also three gouges cut into the vinyl floor which no one would admit to having caused.We couldn’t wait to change to a Hobby.Our two Hymers were rubbish and made me ask why do I pay over £50,000 and get so many faults when ,if this was a car, there would be an almighty stink. Motorhomes are definitely not getting better in our opinion!
We bought a Hymer 544 in 2012 and it was the worst motorhome we have ever had in 50 years of motorhome/caravanning.Apart from the horn stopping working,the wipers gave up in a rainstorm while driving at 60mph on a motorway,the main control panel stopped working and worst of all, the electric bed refused to return to the ceiling after use. Hymer paid our expenses to Bad Walsee but couldn’t fix it and only the threat of legal action resulted in us getting a new van which was only slightly better. All of this happened to a van which had under 3000 miles on the clock.Definitely poor quality!
several times when at caravan show we have seen people trying to open doors that have been stuck bits loose or hanging off these vans should be perfect when on show. how do they expect people to have faith in manufacturer’s.
Thanks for all your comments everyone. This is a hotly disputed topic, and it’s great to hear back from so many of you.
Just got rid of the same van agree 100% with Phillip
We bought a lunar Quasar 2 berth. The front draw unit is to big. You cannot open the bottom drawer without lifting the cushions I’ve e-mailed lunar and contacted the dealers. But to no avail..I think it is a design fault. Lunar slightly reduced the size of the caravan, but failed to reduce the size of the draw unit. I know you can get smaller drawers other manufacturers use them. I like the caravan but would have liked more help.
Standards are low. Bailey new van came with excessive noseweight over max for chassis; dealer and Bailey not interested; thank you Trading Standards. Recall because of possible wheel detachment. Dealer charges over fixed price service cost Bailey stepped in to tell me “they should not do that”. Wow? What odds will you give on them fixing recent damp under warranty?
I have been looking to buy a new caravan for the last 3 or 4 years without success as the manufacturers seem to dictate what we want! I have therefore been forced to soldier on with my reliable 10 year old van. Numerous friends who have updated have been plagued with problems. Primary structures seem to have improved, although not without teething difficulties, whilst still getting failures of fixtures and fittings.
best bet mate keep your old one if you buy new I guarantee there will be something wrong with it &it will take months to get it put right
We bought a new Bailey model Vigo March 2014 we have had a few troubles with it but the dealer was very good in putting these right but in December we found a crack above the door which the dealer cannot repair it has the new alu body shell and it has to go back to Baileys they cannot take it back until April and it will be 6 to 8 weeks away. That will be at least 5mths with out our van they say we can use it but will it get worse the van cost £23000 Bailys should pull there finger out I will not buy another one
Without any doubt with 50 plus faults on our “” new”” Luna clubman SB we are speechless as to how they get away with turning out rubbish like this it really is a shed and as for Luna they were not interested for sure our next van will be Adria can’t believe we paid 22000 pounds for this rubbish very very disappointed
Phillip, 50+ faults is totally unacceptable for any manufacturer. The dealer supposed to carry out pdi checks prior to delivery so they need a swift kick up the backside for letting you have it in that state. Vote with your feet next time and walk as far and as fast as you can away from both. Best of luck. Ps name and shame is the best way to get standards improved.
dealers don’t make the caravans.in my mind blame is 100% manufacturer .
Hi Philip, i can strongly recommend Adria caravans as i bought one last April from a dealer that does ‘dealer specials’. It’s solid as a rock,put together really well and the couple of small concerns i have had were sorted out straight away. As my first new van purchase i spent months looking for the right van for my family and the only two manufacturers that were of a quality standard were Coachman and Adria. Couldn’t afford the Coachman though ! Best of luck,
Matt.
that van is not fit for purpose get a refund contact trading standards Luna will soon take notice or get dealer to change van to another make