Swift, Bailey or Coachman?

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 In recent years we have had 4 band new caravans,

Coachman, Elddis, Lunar and now another Coachman.

We've not had any issues with the caravans like water ingress or bad build problems, no major failing equipment. 

The lunar did have the back panel replaced under warranty  due to it cracking at the top left corner. The currant Coachman is fine other than the brake issue that lots of vans of all makes are suffering with. They have been replaced but depending on the weather they will either make no noise or when dry will squeal like a pig.

Compare this to the Bailey MH we had for 6 years which had lots of issues, leaking step at the habitation door, water ingress into the luton part of the roof, fridge damaged on fitting, cracked shower panel, cracked outside panel between cab and habitation and 3 bouts of dampness in the floor under the rear seating area, both sides were replaced each time under warranty. It was a lovely van and we had a good dealer who sorted each and every issue without a problem but a 180 mile round trip each time takes its toll. When it was coming up to its 6 years warranty time we got rid and went back to a caravan.

The only problem we have now with the Coachman caravan is the payload, our fault we should have paid more attention when buying. When its time to change it we may just go with a Hobby or it will be another Coachman but one with a better payload. 

Over the years we have had  caravans, ,many makes, (except several years dabbled in the dark side 2002-2011) apart from an Elddis  2011(never again)we have seen from our first in 1969 (a Robin) up to our present second  Bailey no real problems with build only with imported goods , probably the last c/van for us , unless we go for a seasonal pitch?,and i must say the damp/water ingress has with modern materials ,gone away ,but the problem remains as with all makes if you get a "friday  van" from anywhere,

ps one thing we have learnt over the years is buy local if possible,do not be taken in buy a dealer giving a "good deal" but many miles from where you live,just in case of any warranty work 

TG - The current Coachman already had the uplift on and gives us 200+kg payload. More than enough for us. The uplift was, I think, 75 kgs.

Pay load has not been a problem for us since even the grand children in their late teens,  now if wanting to stay with us come in their own cars with pup tents, so we have plenty of Payload in our go almost anywhere any time support vehicle parked alongside

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Oh dear you really do need  to try harder. I think you have also commented about payload and you vehicle that you fill with the "overflow"when travelling 

Ps not every one has a car to tow with,hence "support vehicles"

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Would have liked to have purchased a German caravan after horrendous Bailey and dealer issues. However, there was not a dealer near enough with the van and layout that we wanted. Bought a new Coachman which has been far better thought out and assembled than our previous van. We have had the usual Dometic, BCA and other component failures which are typically fitted across the industry.

The redeeming feature for us is that the supplying dealer has been excellent and replaced equipment where necessary. We now have a caravan that we can use with confidence.

It really is a pity that our UK manufacturers do not appear to provide the same quality and reliability of their foreign competitors.

If you must buy UK, the most critical thing is to have a good supplying dealer that will be just as attentive in after sales service as at the time of purchase.

 

If it wasn’t for the weight (for the layout we wanted) and cost of the German vans, we’d have probably opted for one. IMO, one only has to step inside and the difference is obvious. We bought a brand new Challenger last year. Yes, it looks nice, has all the mod cons, but it doesn’t take long before you realise how tacky and flimsy it all is, especially compared to a Knaus I looked at recently.