Definitely, we might just be hearing all the bad things and there are lots of vans and customers out there with no problems at all..

I purchased a new swift elegance 835 this year, so one of the caravans with all these gadgets, i love the alde heating and the reason i went for the elegance was the underfloor heating. It is amazing on a cold scottish winters night. I caravan year round and spend more time in my caravan than i do at my home. So far i love the caravan, i was fully expecting there to be things wrong with it from new after hearing all the complaints about quality issuses you hear about. Theres only one thing i have found that i need fixed and that is one of the chrome grab handles at the rear is starting to pit and tarnish. Apart from that the caravan has excellent build quality and feels solid. I am so happy with it and would 100% reccomend swift. We had a 2018 swift elegance before this one and loved it, that one was solid and after 6 years of carefull use could still easy pass as a brand new caravan to someone who wasnt in the know. but we changed to the new one because we wanted a different layout with a seperate bedroom. We went into other caravans such as the coachman lusso and buccaneers and were horrified at the bulid quality and interiors. Opening the drawers and cabinets in the buccaneers felt like they were made of cheap wafer thin ply, And felt horrible in the hand. Hated the tinted windows which made them both dark and dreary. And were not keen on interior fabrics and such. The only drawbacks of the swift elegance is its mega heavy at over 2 tonne, and was hitting £50,000 after adding options on it. But, i am very very happy with my purchase and so far couldnt recommend it enough

Yes and the best bit of all is that is not made in the uk and will probably outlast anything made by Swift Bailey etc.

I agree, i watch other people through my caravan window setting up on site and cringe at the missuse of the caravns frequently, people are so hashy with them. I treat my caravan with respect and like i was handling a baby lol. Alot of my hard earned cash has been invested into my caravan and i want it to last. I bought a 5 year old, top end caravan last year and after a year of use from me and 5 years use from the previous careful owner the caravan could still pass as a brand new caravan. If you buy quality and look after them and treat them properly then they can hold up.

I just don’t think the market would react to it well, and there isn’t a way of really finding out and conveying it to the manufacturers.

Hi Jon, blimey, yes that was a while ago. Thanks for your comments, it’s a general theme I keep coming across everywhere I look, and I’m sure you see the same thing. I’m still not sure as to the extent of the problem as we don’t hear about all the vans that are fine. It’s interesting bringing it out into to open though as I don’t think anyone has before.

The conclusion has to be that manufacturer's margins are high enough to allow for a lot of warranty work and that they know that to develop and engineer out problems will cost a lot more than warranty work does. The construction methods introduced a decade ago were sold as being better for consumers but in reality they simplified production so high cost skilled crafts people could be replaced by low cost unskilled labour. The improvements to van owners were minimal, the improvement to the bottom line was substantial. The trouble is buyers want a Hymer Nova GL van for Swift Sprite money and weight.

So what would you take out of a Sprite major 4 SB to make it more basic? Or how would you reduce the spec? Also Options are not cost effective, the manufacturers used to offer some options but it’s a nightmare keeping track of them in the factory so they stopped doing it. Customers often say things that they think they want, but when it comes down to buying it, they just don’t. Swift made the Freedom based on customer feedback, no oven, no shower because customers said they never used them, but they didn’t sell because the customer thought they would be reducing the potential customer base on resell, the manufacturers can’t win I’m afraid.

Bonus..

Thanks, I was a bit worried how they’d be received, but I have seamed to hit a bit of a vain of discontent, which has resulted in quite a few people giving up caravanning, which isn’t good.

They do I’m afraid, subscribe to the channel and keep an eye out for a video I’ve got coming up, what is the best caravan to buy..

@@atlanticcaravansUK yes I have subscribed 👍

This is a good point, you knew about the issue the Lunar had so have actively taken steps to keep an eye on them and address it. Unfortunately I think that is what everyone else now has to do with the newer caravans until the manufacturers sort it out, if they have the incentive to do so, which I’m sure they do from a financial perspective and also a PR perspective.

@@atlanticcaravansUK to be honest I was thinking of changing it for something more modern. The problem is what? I looked at a Bailey unicorn and a Swift Challenger but again, there are loads of horror stories. The Lunar has so much going for it and you don’t need a tank to tow it. We done a fair amount on it and also put a solar panel on so there’s not much we are missing. The only thing that would probably make me change at the moment is the scarcity of spare parts. It may come to that but for the time being I’m loving my Lunar! By the way, I love your channel. Some great tips. Many thanks!

⁠​⁠@@tofty21 we should have confidence to be able to buy a new caravan, this negative feedback we keep hearing isn’t good, but unfortunately, if that’s the reality of the situation it must be down to the manufacturers to change things and create some confidence.

Thanks for the comments, they do put a caravan under a ‘rain’ simulator for 24 hours to test the structure, but that is only a random sample and on new, so obviously it’s hasn’t been down the road or sat in heat or cold environments. It would be hard for the manufacturers to do anything else. My issue isn’t that there are problems, it’s how they are dealt with and the speed at which that happens, and the knowledge that the caravans are going out with known issues, but like I said, they could have their hands tied in their abilities to change fundamental issues in a timely way.

My comments of the kit in the van and the build quality being linked were more to do with money and time being saved by not having those expensive time consuming heating systems and fridges ect. A more basic caravan would be quicker to produce therefore, if some of the money and time saved in not including those things was put towards building the caravan better, we might not see the issue we’ve been seeing.

Hi, don’t let all this put you off, like I said in some of the videos, there are lots of caravans out there with no issues at all. It’s important to buy local and have a good relationship with your dealer so if you do have problems there is an easy route to getting them fixed.

Perhaps our van is just a poor design but the Alde heating in ours is rubbish takes an age to warm the van in cold weather (8 hours+) Even then it's not cosy only warm the system is working fine just dosnt get the van hot I was very disappointed

I wouldnt buy a caravan with ANY heating. Fan heater (or 2 if you have a 8ft wide Gin Palace) is fine

​@carmadme I think it is likely it is not working properly, in very cold weather I start ours on gas as it seems to get warmer quicker, then swap it back to electric. We go away when it is freezing, water barrel needs a isulsted jacket and still constant temperature through the van.

@@gillianbradbrook9906 I've bled it and pipes are red hot going in and out of the heater I've tried things in the settings too it's just not a good design or system.....

@@chriss4949 that's fine until you go somewhere without hookup

They are for that reason, but there are many more considerations to take into account when deciding to buy one, and that’s a bonus, but I’d say not the main one.

​@@atlanticcaravansUKI hear you - like their light weight and ease of towing. But it's really put me off of buying one at all after watching your vlogs as it seems the damp problems are the rule, rather than the exception. So as I would only be looking for a 2-berth anyway it goes a long way in helping me to make a decision.

@@atlanticcaravansUK ...Would you say that Freedom caravans are built with superior water-tight capabilities?

@@philipvayro6293 hi, I’ve not had much experience with those to be honest, but I think they are pretty built proof. The build is certainly good, they are heavy and relatively expensive for the size, but that’s a testament to the quality. I think you’ll be fine as long as you’re happy with the size restrictions and the layout.

That’s a good point, they do publicise leak free caravans, that’s where the lack of trust probably stems from..

Not true. We have a company here in Australia that has been around since forever and manufacturers' 100s a month, yet a lot of their van's are faulty! So much for Aussie Built!😅😅😅

If you buy a new caravan and it has proper faults (I'm not talking nit-picking here) you CAN chase the manufacturer for it. The man. might prefer you to go through the dealer, and if the dealer puts the issue right, he'll no doubt be happy. But, otherwise, you COULD chase/sue the manufacturer. A problem is that people buying a "pre-owned van" cannot expect a factory fresh van that is perfect. The other side to that coin is the price: they are not paying "new van prices".

Good video!

Yes, that would be a great, but I think the majority of customers are used to all the mod cons now and we can’t go back to those days.

Everything is just too complicated, the question is, would you sacrifice all that loveliness for more reliability?

Here you go… facebook.com/share/E3ePWNfrZ6iosgca/?mibextid=K35XfP

@@atlanticcaravansUK , thanks, I’ve asked to join

Here you go… facebook.com/share/HddF1qdrxiFoVFQC/?mibextid=K35XfP