Caravan Poor Build Quality

If 95% of all caravan manufacturers tried building cars they would go broke!! most people seem to accept the rubbish that gets built.

Sounds like they haven't lifted their performance at all over the past 10 years.

Traveller or Jayco????

dont touch a jayco been there done that

I have owned a golf campervan, similar - but better - to jayco swan etc for 10 years. It is an offroad model and has been everywhere - almost. I have absolutely no problems with it. Is that a recommendation or not....

Tahiti Blue,

It seems to be a problem right through the caravan industry. Mine is a Supreme Getaway Offroader. The build quality was shocking. I complained and got most of the stuff done under warranty - after they had 3 goes at getting it right!

I did some of jobs myself as I wasn't confident about the dealers abilty to make my van "bushproof" - as I like 'em to be.

It doesn't matter what brand you buy they all seem to end being FIATs. "Fix It Again Tony"!!

The biggest issue is the lack of quality workmen. These days they just drag a a young guy off the street and tell him to "stick a screw in there". The next guy does the next screw!

The old saying still holds true - "If you want something done properly, then do it yerself."

Bilbo

Before I bought my 22foot all roads caravan,I found nobody
complaining about Evernew vans. Bruce can build just about
anything you want, and once you pay your money he dosen't
ingnore you. So I guess this is a good story.

Not a new complaint - have a look at the MSN Caravanners Forum, Traveller rate a special mention including photos.
I have just purchased a 23' Roadstar and the only issues I have with it at the moment are small items the dealer forgot to advise Roadstar of. I made a post on the Caravanners Forum about the Roadstar and next day received a phone call from the warranty manager in Melbourne. He advised me he had spoken with the dealer (on the basis of my Forum post) and all the issues would be resolved. He also advised me he checks the forum twice a day for posts. If you want to be noticed maybe post your issue there.
You'll certainly know of any unresolved issues with my van!
Peter

we owned a brand new junko Sorry jayco no got it right first time JUNKO dove outback for three months before ofloading it to a dealer in Qld no major probs just little probs and build quality was BAD

Got a majestic knight and HAPPY now

I own a Galaxy branded as a Fulcher. Had a few problems with it shower leaking, cupboard door latches not working etc mainly cosmetic things and the service I got from Fulchers under warranty WAS NOTHING SHORT OF DISGRACEFUL. Phoned Galaxy in Melbourne, parts etc arrived in a day or so & I fixed it myself & sent Fulchers the bill, they, as one would expect, refused to pay for my time but when I indicated that I could take the matter to the small claims court I recieved payment.
It's been round the block now and is in tip top shape...
The imported Vans seem to be of a very high build quality, I don't know how they will, in the fullness of time, withstand our conditions....

Yep me too a new Coromal 5.35 full van in 2004 its been nothing but a headache from then and still going I will most probley have to go to Dept of Fair Trading now because Coromal dont want to know about it now it is out of Warranty .And yes once you pay for it they dont wanna know you anymore so Dealers you are about to be named very soon.We should start up a BAD dealers web site mabey something to think about because its too much money to ignore that we have paid out ..PS... So from me dont buy a COROMAL CARAVAN...

dj

I purchased a new Majestic Gold Tourer Jan 2005 (in Qld). Prior to delivery I had it raised (wanting better clearance), stabilizers replaced with drop down jacks and ordered annex walls. The day I brought it home the pelmet over kitchen had come apart. Flimsy as it may be, they had used what appeared to be gyprock screws.
(not wood screws - I fixed it myself)
Annex walls are a joke and didn't notice until I had reason to use them 12mths later. They are too small - Obviously forgot to add extra length after we asked them to raise the van!! We have had the water filter blow a seal - messy. I was told you cannot buy a repair kit, but have to replace whole unit. Phewy, I went to auto shop and purchased 3 different sized rubber O-rings - Fixed at total cost of 50c (not $98)
Finally one of the gas roof struts completely ceased and had to be replaced.
(not an easy task - but amazing what an old fan belt can do to help)
I just cant be bothered - I wish I hadn't sold my Goldstream offroader.

Yeah unfortunately it seems to be a case of "big ain't necessarily better"!

We're going thru the throes at present of deciding which 'van we'll buy.
High on the list of preferences are Golf (already mentioned earlier), Royal Flair (waiting on a mate's report on HIS new one) and Elross (this is a small WA concern which builds vans of the same ilk as Kedron and Bushtracker - but not as expensive and closer to home!!). At present, Elross is the maker of choice, but as we're about a year away from choofing off around Oz, we've still got a bit of time to consider all possibilities...

Cheers
Red

We have a Jayco Outback Eagle that is just three weeks out of warranty. Since the warranty run out we have experienced:
1. The powered water pump has failed
2. The hand pump has failed
3. The very thin ply under the seats is collapsing. (we are average weight)
4. The front boot door is jamed shut.
5. Some spots of surface rust appearing in the galv
6. We also noticed that the sink is not level with water running to the back of the drainer.

There is no doubt that the build quality leaves a lot to be desired, however, even with the above problems we are still happy with the van. We have just come back from a wonderful trip to Fraser Island where the van towed behind the Patrol beautifully. The comfort provided by the van far out-weighed the problems encountered.

We looked at dearer vans but they all had their faults. We will keep the Jayco but expect to have to give it on-going maintenance to iron the bugs out especially when taking it off main roads. The Jayco Outback would not be an option if we were tackling serious off-road adventures but is a wonderful compromise for our needs.

The dealer have always been willing and helpful with any problems we have encountered so far. My main complaint would be that it can take up to two months from the booking date, to get the problems looked at even while it was under warranty. But that is alot better than getting a brush-off.

Cheers, JJ

Hi Tahiti Blue
Funny you should ask. At the moment we are going through some problems with our PS422 Coromal (still under warranty) - electric winch failed 3 times, stove not bolted in, both water taps and connection under van to water tank in trouble, back bed which does not pull out properly, fibreglass roof with huge bubbles in it. In fact you name it, it is wrong with our van. We have been told it's a Friday afternoon job. In fairness to Coromal they have not refused to repair most of the problems, but a lot is just band-aids stuck on the problem and when one problem is repaired another one surfaces (does anyone remember Frank Spencer - I think he works for them). The final straw has been that they told us we're too old to own one of these vans. I'm 62 and my husband is 69 and we do extensive off-road camping with a cartopper and Toyota Landcruiser.

It's out of warranty this month, so perhaps we will have better luck fixing it ourselves. We've looked around again (on more than one occasion) since we bought the PS422 and we still come back to it as having what we want in a van. The problem appears to be - no quality control anywhere down the chain.

Beema

To all respondents, my grateful thanks,

Beema,
Thanks for your's also but what is a Coromal PS422?

If you want to complain about a product or service,, OR a good product or service as the case may be ---- here's a web site that does it well.

www.notgoodenough.org/

Barry

Our Van, see profile is a Regal 16ft off roader Desert Series that was built in Dec 01 and since has done 60k with very little trouble. Done the GRR, Great Central, many of the NT's dirt roads plus most back roads in NSW and Qld as well as the usual tourist spots on the east coast.
Boot lid jamming, smartcharger for batt system died,center bolt in spring broke.
Result + All fixed by manufacturer at no cost and no probs.
This included a window being replaced at no cost. The window was broken in Broom by some kids on push bikes going silly. The window was poorly reglassed at Karatha and when the manufacturer saw the fix it was replaced as I said no charge.
Result, I can Recomend Regal Caravans.
Tyres are starting to show the wear and will be replaced very soon ready for the next big trip.